Category Archives: Action Alerts

END DOLPHIN CAPTIVITY THROUGHOUT INDIA

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THIS CAN BE DONE. Don’t skim though this and think, hmm…yeah…mm…will do it later…I’ll just…and then think about other things. READ THIS and do it NOW. There ISN’T any better use of your time for the next 5 minutes. I’ll be honest: ten, because I want you to get a piece of paper and write a paper letter. (If you have forgotten how to write because it has been such a long time, or if you want to do BOTH, you can also email the minister directly at mosefgoi@nic.in).

The Indian Minister of Environment and Forests, Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan, is considering a ban on dolphin captivity in India, with a decision to be made in the coming weeks. India has no dolphins at present, but there are numerous proposals to begin, and it must be stopped before the whole subcontinent is opened to such a trade in misery. (What a great reasons for the Taiji drive fisheries to continue!) We need an OUTPOURING, an AVALANCHE, a DELUGE of letters from everywhere, to convince her that a decision to ban captive dolphins is right, and that people the world over are behind her.

PLEASE MAIL YOUR LETTERS — your friends’ letters, your relatives’ letters, your kids’ letters and drawings –TO YOUR LOCAL INDIAN EMBASSY OR CONSULATE. 

 A list of embassies can be found here. 

LETTER TEMPLATE: 

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing you to express my sincerest gratitude that the Indian Minister of Environment and Forests, Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan, is considering a nationwide prohibition on dolphin captivity.

It is known that dolphins suffer in captivity. They are extremely intelligent, self-aware beings with emotions, feelings and close relationships to one another and their ocean home. Removing dolphins from the sea and putting them into small tanks or sea pens is removing a huge part of who they are as dolphins and forcing them to endure a life of misery.

India is a culture of compassion. In a world where animals are treated so poorly, India represents a beacon of hope. By enacting a total ban on captivity, not only will thousands of dolphins over the years be spared a life of torture and misery, but people will be encouraged to think about who dolphins truly are – as beings who deserve our respect.

As Mahatma Ghandi famously said, you can judge a society by the way it treats its animals. The Minister has the chance to show the world how compassionate and kind India truly is by denying dolphin-exploiting industries to become established within their borders. I hope she makes the right choice.

Yours truly,

 

(Your Name)

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World Week for Animals in Labs

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We’re in the middle of World Week for Animals in Labs (WWAIL). April 20th to 28th is a week filled with demonstrations and events to educate people about the horrors of animal testing and about how needless it is, and to let researchers know that they are accountable for the cruelty they inflict on innocent animals.

Animal research is not advancing the medical industry or helping to cure disease. Real progress comes from other models such as genomic tests, human cell cultures, medical imaging and clinical trials.

wwail bunny

In observation of WWAIL, NARN will be holding a demo in front of the University of Washington Primate Experimentation facility at 3000 Western Avenue in Seattle, WA. Please join this Saturday, April 27th from noon to 2 pm and help educate passers-by about what goes on behind the walls of the “Blue Building.”

Hidden inside this dark, unmarked, sunless building, 700 primates live and die in the name of research. They are subjected to painful surgeries and traumatic procedures until their usefulness is over. The building is the main facility for the UW National Primate Research Center, the largest of eight across the country.

NARN will supply signs and leaflets, but you’re also encouraged to make your own creative signs. Questions? Email info@narn.org

For more information, check out http://uwkills.wordpress.com/.

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Help get chimps OUT of the entertainment industry!

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From allcreatures.org, Originally Posted: April 10, 2013

“Urban Tarzan” premiere episode features chimp

FROM Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

ACTION

Let the producers of Urban Tarzan know that brutal training practices in the entertainment industry are well documented. Remind them that in addition to welfare concerns, using chimpanzees in the media seriously hinders conservation efforts of free-living chimpanzees.

You may send your letter to the creators and executive producer, Mark Basile at:
mark@axiusinc.com

You may also submit your comments to Spike TV’s Facebook page, or post Tweets that express your concern, such as @1UrbanTarzan very disappointed to see a chimp in your show. Please remove the episode!

INFORMATION / TALKING POINTS

There is a growing public awareness about the ethical problems with using chimpanzees in entertainment. Please remind the producers of the show about these issues by sending them a polite letter. Ask them to remove the episode from the air and pledge to never use primates in their productions again. Your letters can make a difference! In the last couple months both Great Clips and CR Fashion Book have removed content with chimpanzee actors after receiving educational letters from advocates like you!

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Criminalize Ag-Gag Laws

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Pigs, chickens, cows and turkeys are being stomped, electroshocked, kicked, pitchforked, punched, skinned, burned…and a lot more….as you are reading this. It happens while you sleep, eat, drive to work, watch movies, relax. It happens unceasingly. Not everyone thinks it’s OK, and the videos/photos/proof brought out of those factory farms have won some significant victories. Ag-gag laws criminalize undercover work. Let’s be really clear: these laws, that are now in place in FIVE STATES and pending in many others, do nothing to improve conditions for the animals — on the contrary. They free farmers to commit the most atrocious acts of cruelty on a regular basis because no one will ever see them. This is also a food safety issue, not that I care ONE DUST MOTE about that. Under these Ag-gag laws, it is not the crime that is illegal, but bringing the crime to light.
This petition goes to the White House and must be answered.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/criminalize-ag-gag-laws/KQWSvsKr

Signing takes less than 10 seconds. Even if your house is on fire you have 10 seconds.

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We Seldom Promote Petitions…

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…as many may be nothing but a way for the signers to feel they did something without, in fact, having done anything. But I think we have a real chance of getting a MILLION people to sign this petition against the Japanese dolphin slaughter, and an equally real chance of having it contribute to the decision on who is to host the 2020 Olympics.

This campaign was begun by Shona Lewendon, who lives near Glasgow, in Scotland. She is not a professional campaigner, a journalist, or a politician. She is a single mother of three, someone who cared so much about the dolphin slaughter that she couldn’t do nothing. As she put it, “I realized that I was a person who had to become a ‘someone’ and try to do something about this.” So, after researching the Olympic Charter and the Sustainability Through Sport Agenda 21, she created an online petition to the IOC, the International Olympic Committee, and its president, Jacques Rogge. She points out that Japan’s actions with regard to the dolphin hunts actually contradict Olympic principles of environmental respect, and in addition clearly make Japan ineligible since it is not compliant with the terms set out in Agenda 21. It has garnered over 300,000 signatures in three months. The IOC’s final decision is on September 7th. We can do this. Allowing Japan to host the 2020 Olympics — as it desperately want to do — would be tacitly condoning the dolphin slaughter. NARN already participated in a demonstration outside the Japanese Consulate in February, and will be doing so again in June. Please take a MOMENT to sign now and a couple of hours to join us then.

For those of you who do not yet know, the Japanese Government grant permits to the Taiji Fishermen’s Union to hunt 2,800 dolphins from September to April for slaughter & to supply the captivity trade. Babies are torn from their mothers, many dolphins witness the slaughter of their entire families before either being taken captive or killed. The manner in which they are killed is horrifically cruel and caused protracted agony. Despite worldwide protests, the hunt continues, in a roped-off cove, hidden under tarpaulins. Those taken captive are held in sea pens, starved and traumatized, while buyers are found. The lucky ones die waiting. Many alternatives that allow the continued employment of the “fishermen” have been suggested, including turning Taiji into a tourist attraction for whale and dolphin watching, but they are repeatedly rejected in the name of “tradition”.

Taiji-Dolphin-Cove4-300x231

 

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Protest “Urban Tarzan” Premiere with Real Chimpanzee

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The new Spike TV show “Urban Tarzan” had a premiere episode featuring a young chimpanzee actor. There is a growing public awareness about the many ethical problems — brutal training practices are just one example — caused by using chimpanzees in entertainment. Please ask the show’s producers to remove the episode from the air, and to pledge never to use primates in their productions again.

You may send your letter to the creators and executive producer, Mark Basile at:
mark@axiusinc.com

You may also submit comments to Spike TV’s Facebook page, or post concerned Tweets. 

Sample Letter to Urban Tarzan:

Dear Mr. Basile:

I was extremely disappointed to hear that Urban Tarzan featured a young chimpanzee actor in the first episode. You should know that chimpanzees used in entertainment are torn away from their mothers as infants, often repeatedly beaten during training, and then discarded when they become too strong to be managed.

The show is supposed to be about rescuing wild animals from human homes, but since it is staged you are not following your own advice! Chimpanzees do not belong in human homes and they do not belong on TV either. Aside from welfare concerns, their appearance in the media seriously hinders conservation efforts. Surely you are aware that chimpanzees are endangered species in critical need of protection?

Please make the compassionate decision to remove the chimpanzee episode from rotation, and please consider to never exploit great apes for entertainment purposes again. Thank you for your consideration of my comments on this urgent matter.

Sincerely,
[Your name here]

Activist letters have successfully moved other companies to remove content with chimpanzee actors, so never think your efforts are wasted! (No act of kindness ever is.)

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“Do what’s best for the elephants”

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Yesterday, The Seattle Times published an editorial opinion piece by David Hancocks, former director of Woodland Park Zoo. His message: Elephants at the zoo are suffering. These complex social creatures cannot have even their basic needs met in a zoo environment.

Thanks to The Seattle Times and letters from the people of Seattle, the plight of Watoto, Chai, and Bamboo is getting attention from decision-makers.

Watoto the elephant pacing in a cage

Unlike their wild counterparts, elephants in captivity do not thrive. Their lifespans are shorter, their natural social bonds are severed, and they are deprived of the enriched environments they need to keep physically and psychologically well.

Elephants are active animals and travel miles and miles every day. In Woodland Park zoo, they have a measly acre to pace in—when they’re let outside.

The elephants at Woodland Park Zoo deserve to be released to a sanctuary. The wheels are in motion. Public opinion is changing and people are siding with the elephants. It’s time, in the words of Mr. Hancocks, to “do what’s best for the elephants.”

Please write to the zoo at:

Woodland Park Zoo, 601 N. 59th Street, Seattle, WA  98103
Email: woodlandparkzoopr@zoo.org and zooinfo@zoo.org

Address letters to:

  • Dr. Deborah B. Jensen, President and CEO
  • Bruce Bohmke, Chief Operations Officer
  • Jamie Creola, VIce President of Education
  • Dr. Darin Collins, Director of Animal Health
  • Dr. Nancy Hawkes, General Curator
  • Valerie Krueger, Director of Finance
  • David Schaefer, Director of Communications & Public Affairs
  • Gigi Allianic, Media and Public Relations

Also please write the mayor, your city council member, and especially Sally Bagshaw the Parks Committee Chair.

Mike McGinn, Mayor
mike.mcginn@seattle.gov, 206-684-4000

Sally Bagshaw, Seattle City Council, Parks Committee Chair
sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov, 206-684-8801

Richard Conlin, Seattle City Council, Council President
richard.conlin@seattle.gov, 206-684-8805

Sally J. Clark, Seattle City Council
sally.clark@seattle.gov, 206-684-8802

Nick Licata, Seattle City Council
nick.licata@seattle.gov, 206-684-8803

Bruce Harrell, Seattle City Council
bruce.harrell@seattle.gov, 206-684-8804

Tim Burgess, Seattle City Council
tim.burgess@seattle.gov, 206-684-8806

Jean Godden, Seattle City Council
jean.godden@seattle.gov, 206-684-8807

Tom Rasmussen, Seattle City Council
tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov, 206-684-8808

Mike O’Brien, Seattle City Council
mike.obrien@seattle.gov, 206-684-8800

Deborah Jensen, Woodland Park Zoo President
deborah.jensen@zoo.org, 206-548-2416

Or send a letter to each of the above council members at the following address:
[Name of Councilmember]
Seattle City Hall
P.O. Box 34025
Seattle, WA 98124-4025

Or fax them at 206-684-8587.

You can learn more about the elephants at the zoo and the efforts to release them to a sanctuary, at Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants.

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Action Alerts

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Malaysia’s monkey war: Take action!
Nearly 100,000 free-living long-tailed macaque monkeys have been killed per year in Malaysia, during 2011 and 2012. And the extermination is continuing. This massive “culling” has been conducted by Malaysia’s own Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
Write to Malaysian officials to protest this monkey war!

Sample letter:

Dear ____,

I would like to protest the Malaysian government’s decision to kill up to 100,000 long-tailed macaque monkeys per year. Not only is this level of slaughter shockingly inhumane, it is also unsustainable. At this rate, this fascinating and unique species could be extinct in Malaysia within a decade.

There are many more productive ways to reduce human-monkey conflicts in urban areas. These include public education, proper sanitation procedures, and contraceptive campaigns. Such measures have already been used with success in Hong Kong and Singapore.

I urge you to put a halt to this destruction of Malaysia’s wildlife heritage.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Minister of Natural Resources, Department of Wildlife and National Parks:
Y.B. Dato Sri Douglas Uggah Embas
Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment
Level 17, lot 4G3
Precint 4
Federal Government Administrative Centre
62514 Putrajaya
MALAYSIA

Prime Minister of Malaysia:
The Honourable Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak
Office of the Prime Minister
Main Block, Perdana Putra Building
Federal Government Administrative Centre
62502 Putrajaya
MALAYSIA

Also Contact these Malaysian Embassies

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Action Alerts

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Help Lucky the Only Elephant at the San Antonio Zoo

Lucky elephant San Antonio ZooFollowing the death of the elephant Queenie, In Defense of Animals (IDA) is calling on the San Antonio Zoo to retire the one surviving elephant at the zoo, and permanently close its elephant exhibit.
The zoo euthanized Queenie on March 10th, reportedly due to a health problem. This leaves Lucky, a 53-year-old female Asian elephant, alone once again. Lucky had lived alone prior to Queenie’s arrival, following the death of another elephant.
Please write brief, polite letters to the zoo’s director, Steve McCusker, and the Mayor of San Antonio.
Ask Mr. McCusker to act in Lucky’s best interests before it’s too late. Urge him to make the compassionate decision to retire Lucky to a spacious, natural-habitat environment where she can live her remaining years in the company of other elephants.

Mr. Steve McCusker, Executive Director
San Antonio Zoo
3903 N. St. Mary’s Street
San Antonio, TX 78212-3199
phone (210) 734-7184
fax (210) 734-7291
mccusker@sazoo.org
If your email directed to Mr. McCusker is returned, please resend to:
information@sazoo.org

Urge Mayor Castro to exert his influence over the San Antonio Zoo to persuade the zoo to take immediate action to ensure that Lucky is sent to a more appropriate environment that can better address her needs. After more than five decades at the zoo, Lucky deserves to be retired to a spacious, natural-habitat environment in the company of other elephants.

Mayor Julián Castro
P.O. Box 839966
San Antonio, TX 78283
phone: 210) 207-7060
fax: (210) 207-4168
mayorjuliancastro@sanantonio.gov

 

 

Shark Dies During Filming of an Ad for Kmart
Though the American Humane Association (AHA) certified the shoot and had a representative present, the shark showed signs of stress as actors jumped in and out of the pool where the shark was being held. Despite receiving adrenaline injections and oxygen, the shark died after being removed from the outdoor pool.
Kmart reportedly requested another shark after the first one died; the production company refused.
Karen Rosa, Sr. Advisor for AHA’s Film & Television Unit, told Reuters, “We honestly don’t know why the animal died. It was not being mistreated. It was not being harmed.”
This is just one more tragic example of how unsuitable and dangerous a production set is for captive wild animals.
A white-tipped shark has died of apparent stress while being used to film a Kmart advertisement in Southern California. Tell Kmart to stop using wild animals in all future advertisements.

Howard Riefs
Director, Corporate Public Relations
Sears Holdings (Kmart’s parent company)
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
(847) 286-8371

AND

Brian Hanover
Media Relations, Sears Holdings
Brian.Hanover@searshc.com

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Leaked Internal Email Uncovers Monkey Death at Woodland Park Zoo Due to Improper Handling

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A male patas monkey. Photo by Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo.

We at the Northwest Animal Rights Network are shocked to learn of a recent incident at the Woodland Park Zoo that involved the death of a monkey due to apparent improper handling by zoo staff. An internal email was leaked by a zoo employee to In Defense of Animals — an international organization we have worked with in previous campaigns — who then reported the information. According to the zoo employee, a male patas monkey suffered grave injuries several weeks ago when zoo staff, reportedly operating against the advice of keepers, captured the monkey with a net. An internal email dated March 2, 2013, obtained by IDA, confirms the monkey suffered a severe compound leg fracture, a traumatic brain injury, and extensive bruising. Zoo staff reportedly placed the injured monkey in a kennel following capture, yet despite his serious injuries, the monkey languished in the kennel alone for an estimated two hours without medical attention or medication to alleviate his pain. A veterinarian eventually euthanized the monkey.

Obviously any case of animal abuse is disturbing, but this has far more serious implications as the zoo employee stated that the monkey would be alive today if proper procedures had been followed. Due to apparent negligence and the failure to adhere to policies concerning the welfare of animals, he suffered painful and life-threatening injuries and was left alone to languish without medical attention for a substantial amount of time.

The IDA has subsequently submitted a complaint to the USDA, stating that this reported incident may violate multiple provisions of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including improper handling of an animal and failure to provide adequate veterinary care.

“The last hours of this monkey’s life were full of terror and pain, as evidenced by information received from the zoo employee and the internal email detailing the monkey’s injuries. This reported case demonstrates a disturbing lack of respect, empathy, and compassion for a vulnerable animal and raises the question of whether other similar cases at the Woodland Park Zoo never see the light of day,” said IDA spokesperson Nicole Meyer. “IDA is asking the USDA to conduct a thorough investigation and to hold zoo staff accountable for this alleged incident.”

We at NARN also urge the USDA to investigate this report and to hold the zoo accountable as well, and we will provide updates about the complaint from the USDA as to what actions, if any, occur as a result. We will also work with IDA for any further actions concerning this incident.

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