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"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them. That's the essence of inhumanity"

George Bernard Shaw

Contents

Animal Emotions

The Experts Say

What you can do

Code of Practice


What happened in 2003 ***Yes, a lot of bad things happened to a lot of animals this past year...culminating in the unforgivable slaughter of Japan's dolphins and New Jersey's bears. At the same time, 2003 saw worthwhile changes and new beginnings on behalf of the animals. I thought I'd write about the good stuff for a change. My unremitting respect goes out to all of you--animal rights activists who won't take "no" for an answer! Happy Hanukkah. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.* And peace, Brenda Kinship Circle The Kinship Circle column runs bimonthly in The Healthy Planet. Ms. Shoss is also a contributing writer for VegNews, AnimalsVoice Online, Family Safety & Health Magazine and other publications. If you would like to reprint this column, please request author permission at info@kinshipcircle.org To subscribe to Kinship Circle Letters for Animals, email: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org or visit: http://www.kinshipcircle.org Good News Chronicles 2003 by Brenda Shoss If bad press is good press, animal rights activists hit the jackpot in 2003. Maligned in the media as "Terrorists with Tofu Breath" and "eco-nuts," animal defenders became trendy prey in a world obsessed with nailing the bad guys. According to the ACLU, a classified FBI memo verifies the government's crusade to spy on non-aggressive dissenters and disclose their activities to a terrorism task force. With public funds earmarked for snooping on protesters, one wonders, "Who is going after the real bad guys?" Americans embraced the hunt for terrorists in the aftermath of 9/11. But some think government surveillance and laws to classify activism as domestic terrorism have gone too far. President Bush's proposed Patriot Act II would grant Attorney General John Ashcroft and the FBI free reign to monitor email/internet communications and seize private records without judicial oversight. Seven states are considering bills to bar humane advocates from documenting abuse inside animal industries. The good news? In a year marked by dwindling civil liberties, a Gallup poll reveals 96% of Americans believe animals are entitled to "some" defense from mistreatment and exploitation. "Some" is a fuzzy word. While most agree the low-life who bludgeons a dog or barbecues a kitten deserves punishment, institutionalized animal abuse is still largely ignored. In a silent contract between abuser and consumer, "codified cruelty" occurs everyday inside factory farms, research laboratories, puppy mills, circuses, rodeos and fur ranches. We don't identify this as abuse. We call it food, make-up, cleansers, entertainment and fashion. FUR Cruelty-free couture emerged around the globe this year. Within days of Christmas, a Written Declaration calling for a ban on dog and cat fur won approval in the European Parliament. Every year over 2 million dogs and cats are butchered to decorate a sweater, line a coat or craft a trinket. Since the U.S. outlawed cat/dog hides, European markets have been inundated with furs deceptively called Asian Jackal, Gae-Wolf, Sobaki or Wildcat. England and Wales enacted policies to restrict farming of all animals for their fur and Scotland passed a Fur Farming Prohibition Bill. Several U.S. retailers flaunted furless inventory for the holidays. A 100-page catalog from Victoria's Secret debuted without the frivolous fur-lined midriffs and jackets of seasons past. For several years, activists have asked the lingerie conglomerate to lose the models draped in electrocuted, poisoned, gassed or leghold-trapped animals. WILDLIFE Wild felines fared well in 2003, after a seemingly organized effort to garner media attention. Frustrated in captivity, one tiger assaulted Roy Horn in Las Vegas and another illegally kept tiger forced Harlem resident Antoine Yates to vacate his flat after growing too vicious to handle. To regulate a thriving "exotic pet" industry (responsible for an estimated 5,000 tigers in nonpublic sites) Congress passed the Captive Wildlife Safety Act to prohibit interstate traffic in lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars and cougars. President Bush signed the bill into law on December 20, 2003. Activists saw other longstanding battles result in triumph for animals. In a sudden urge to do what is best for the bears, Baylor University ended its 70-year old live bear mascot tradition and the Minnesota legislature adjourned without approving a bear hunt with hounds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service withdrew permits to slaughter about 70% of the country's mute swans and the Pennsylvania House of Representatives overturned the game commission's order to kill orphaned wildlife. Maine ratified the nation's first state bill to ban traveling exhibits with elephants. Allies of "An Act to Prevent Cruelty to Elephants" claimed circuses jab metal hooks into an elephants' face, toes, knees and groin to punish and dominate. Foes said the bullhooks are used to direct 100,000-pound animals. Comparable bills are under review in Tennessee, New Jersey, California, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. FARMED ANIMALS The year's biggest success story showed up on grocery store shelves and restaurant menus. "From meatless burgers and tofu hot dogs to chicken-style cutlets and Canadian veggie bacon, [vegetarian product] sales are booming to $500 million per year, according to market research from Chicago-based Mintel Consumer Intelligence," Marsha Erickson reported for the Duluth News Tribune. In a 1999 poll from the Vegetarian Resource Group, a non-profit that tracks vegetarian trends, 57% of diners sometimes , often , or always request meatless entrees. This is good news for some 25 billion animals annually slaughtered for food. Texas lawmakers rallied on behalf of horses when they rejected a bill that would have legalized the sale or possession of horsemeat for human consumption. At the federal level, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act is currently under review in Congress. Whole Foods unveiled "plans to become the first major grocery chain to adopt humane treatment standards," Bruce Horovitz wrote in USA Today. "This move follows nearly two years of intense pressure from groups [VivaUSA and PETA] that have previously persuaded fast-food giants from McDonald's to Burger King to improve standards." Whole Foods will not stock factory-farmed duck from Grimaud Farms, manufacturer of Sonoma Foie Gras. Activists have found ducks and geese with punctured throats, grossly swollen livers and exploding stomachs as a result of forced feedings via metal tubes lodged in their throats. In an interesting footnote, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey opted to delete all animal byproducts from his diet, stating, "I came across an argument I could not refuse: Eating animals causes pain and suffering to animals." ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, Institute for In Vitro Sciences, European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods and numerous other facilities modernized medical and product-safety research with high-tech alternatives to live animal experiments. Nearly 70% of medical schools now use in vitro analysis, cell imaging, computer simulations and other non-animal modes. The University of California, San Diego terminated its lethal dog labs, to join the 82% of teaching colleges with cruelty-free physiology courses. Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a contract research laboratory that conducts animal toxicity tests for household goods, agrochemicals, food additives and pharmaceuticals, watched its stock price plummet as activists targeted the lab's customers and financiers. Brokerage America, Merck, Toxweb, CBC Co. Ltd., Rhom and Haas, Allergan, KOS Pharmaceuticals, and Mellon all cut ties with HLS over the last year. With over 600 violations of animal welfare laws, falsified research records and the arrest of employees on animal cruelty charges, HLS teeters on the rim of permanent closure. Despite a struggle to preserve free speech, the movement did not waver. Indeed, the media chimed in with a year-end commentary from noted AR authors Tom Regan and Martin Rowe in the International Herald Tribune: "We believe there is no disgrace in speaking for animals," Regan and Rowe wrote. "No disgrace in caring for their treatment and demanding their liberation." Overall, 2003 was a decent year for the animals and those who cherish them.