Millions of newborn chicks and ducklings are being sent through the mail as if they were inanimate objects. Barely a day old, they are packed in dark boxes without food or water and sent across the country on harrowing trips that can last up to 72 hours.
Farm Sanctuary has rescued a number of animals, including a beautiful chicken called Tofu, who were shipped this way. It recently rescued three ducklings at a post office, because the man who ordered them was too sick to pick them up. The ducklings had traveled from Iowa to California — across a desert by truck — sanctuary co-founder Gene Baur wrote in an email to supporters. They would have stayed in the box without food, water or care if Farm Sanctuary had not stepped in to help. The sanctuary, which named those sweethearts Dominga, Carrera, and Pavarotti, is now asking people to sign its petition for the U.S. Postal Service to ban shipments of live animals.
You can also contact Postmaster General Megan Brennan via her media contact, Toni Delancey, at toni.g.delancey@usps.gov and 202-268-3118. Here’s a sample message:
Dear Postmaster General Brennan,
Day-old chicks and ducklings are shipped around the country without food or water for up to 72 hours. As you know, many arrive dead.
You have the power to ban the shipment of live animals by mail. Please do everything you can to stop this abuse.
Thank you,
Your name
Here’s Tofu’s story:
Kris stands with the “Animals Are Not Property” sign alongside Ryan and Shannon Hill of Sky’s The Limit Sanctuary, Paul and Maggie Bowen, and Dave Roers outside the Enunclaw Live Animal Auction in June.
Kristina Giovanetti is the founder of Seattle Farmed Animal Save, a nonprofit that’s part of The Save Movement, a global effort that started in December 2010 with Toronto Pig Save. The idea is to bear witness to animals sent to slaughter in our own communities. Kris has been holding personal vigils at the Enumclaw Sales Pavilion’s live animal auction for about a year and invites everyone to join her.
The next vigil is from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 15. As the Facebook invitation says, “We are a grassroots, love-based, and peaceful organization. We believe in non-violence and the transformational power of compassion. We follow a Tolstoyian perspective in that we do not believe in turning away from suffering, but instead moving closer to it.” It’s a heart-wrenching experience to watch roosters, geese, rabbits and others struggle and cry out as they are auctioned. There are almost always day-old dairy calves, piglets, lambs and baby goats — and once a month, they auction horses that are sold for slaughter.
It’s also powerful to stand on the road outside the pavilion with signs reminding people that animals don’t belong to us, encouraging them to go vegan, and to honk for the pigs. A surprising number of people honk! A lot yell for us to “get a job,” too, which is puzzling and good for a laugh.
Here’s a Q&A with Kris about The Save Movement in Seattle:
What moved you to start a branch of The Save Movement here?
In June 2016, I attended an all-day vigil in Toronto with Anita, the founder of The Save Movement. We spent 16 hours bearing witness outside pig, cow, and chicken slaughterhouses. The pigs deeply affected me – looking into their eyes, you can really see the fear, you can sense their suffering in a profound way.
Pigs are very much like dogs and to lock eyes with them, to reach out and stroke them in an attempt to provide a moment of comfort and then watch the truck turn into the slaughterhouse where you know they will be brutally killed just moments later is a life changing event.
That day in Toronto I became an activist.
When did you start going to the Enumclaw Live Animal Auction? What have you seen there?
When I returned home, I immediately started looking for places near me to connect with the animals and share their stories. My first trip to the auction barn in Enumclaw was in July 2016.
I’ve seen so many horrible things there – the chickens are transported in cardboard boxes with a few air holes punched in the sides. There is a stone-faced woman who always works the birds. She reaches in, pins their wings behind their back and yanks them out of the box. The birds are screaming, literally screaming as she holds them high and waves them around in the air for a few seconds as the auctioneer works the crowd and finally sells them for 3 to maybe 9 dollars. Then the woman shoves the screaming and terrified bird back into the box, head first.
The day-old male dairy calves always stay with me, in my mind, for days after I see them. They still have umbilical cords dangling from their bellies and look absolutely bewildered. They have no idea they are being sold to become veal calves and will spend the next few weeks chained to a crate and will then be killed.
This place sells lambs and baby goats, too. The babies are always very hard to see. But I think the spent dairy cows are the most heartbreaking of all. They are absolutely skin and bones – it looks like they haven’t been fed for weeks. Their bodies are emaciated and they have large, swollen udders. But it’s the look in their eyes and the way they hang their head that just rips my heart out. These sweet, gentle beings have been impregnated over and over again, and have had their calves stolen from them every single time. Their bodies have been exploited and pushed absolutely to the breaking point. And when their milk production begins to wane, the farmers stop feeding them, then sell them to slaughter to become cheap hamburger meat. It’s absolutely gut-wrenching to see them.
What does it mean to you to bear witness as these animals are sold? What is the power of bearing witness?
Bearing witness is being present in the face of injustice and trying to help. When we bear witness we become the situation – we connect with our entire body and mind. And from that, action arises. The purpose of bearing witness is to provide love and compassion to these animals, to share their stories, to show the reality of animal agriculture, raising awareness to the public, and helping people make the connection. People need to understand what goes on so they will make the decision to stop supporting it.
How do people react to the protest? What do you think of the calls to “get a job”?
We get about an equal number of supportive people and angry people, and a lot of people just pass by with no visible or audible reaction. The supportive people will honk in a friendly manner and give a thumbs up. The angry people show us their middle finger and yell at us. The comment to “get a job” is so curious to me because we hear it all the time, and I’ve heard it at vigils all over the world. I think what they are really saying is that we should do something constructive with our time.
Are there also slaughterhouses near Seattle? Where are they, and what do you know about them?
Yes, there are two slaughterhouses within an hour of Seattle that we have investigated and will be holding vigils at. Both of them are north of the city, around Stanwood and Mt Vernon. The Draper Valley chicken slaughterhouse kills more than 800,000 chickens each week.
Do you plan to have vigils at the slaughterhouses, too?
Absolutely! We are learning the truck schedules and will be starting vigils up there very soon.
Please follow Seattle Farmed Animal Save on Facebook and on Instagram, and join Kris in Enumclaw next weekend.
If you happen to be in Europe this fall, she’ll also be speaking in Luxembourg in September at the International Animal Rights Conference.
In case you missed NARN’s letter-writing party on Sunday, it’s not too late to write letters in support of Trans Prisoner Day of Action & Solidarity (Jan. 22). Find names, addresses and more information here.
www.supportnicoleandjoseph.com
Another prisoner who could use our support is Nicole Kissane, who was sentenced last week to 21 months in federal prison after a judge accepted her non-cooperating plea agreement.
She and Joseph Buddenburg are animal advocates from California who were indicted in 2015 for alleged conspiracy to violate the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. They are charged for allegedly releasing thousands of animals from fur farms and destroying breeding records in Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
You can write to Nicole here:
Nicole Kissane #20651-111
San Diego MCC
808 Union Street
San Diego, California 92101
Joseph had already been sentenced to two years in prison. Here’s his address:
Joseph Buddenberg #12746-111
FCI Victorville Medium I
P.O. BOX 3725
ADELANTO, CA 92301
For more information, visit the Support Nicole & Joseph website and Facebook page.
Join us for our next letter-writing party, which will be posted here.
The Seattle City Council’s final Budget Meeting is tomorrow. Please come to speak out against funding the confinement of suffering animals. Ask the City Council to put the money toward parks programs, off-leash parks and under-served communities rather than more money for the zoo.
Also, please write an email with NO more money for the zoo in the subject line to: Council@seattle.gov
The City has a contract with the Woodland Park Zoo which mandates over $7 million dollars in annual payments. (King County pays the zoo $4.2 million annually). The 2017 budget includes an additional $1.8 million dollars to the Zoo through the Seattle Parks District. The City Council makes the Seattle Parks District’s funding decisions. This $1.8 million dollars is DISCRETIONARY and must be stopped.
The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. and all in-person 2 minute (or less) comments will be heard. Sign-up sheets will be provided outside the entrance of the City Council Chambers. If you wish to speak, please sign up at 4:15.
What: Seattle City Council BUDGET meeting.
When: Tuesday, October 25 at 5:30pm
Public comment: Sign up at 4:15pm
Where: Seattle City Hall at 600 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104. City Hall chambers on the second floor.
Map: http://tinyurl.com/j2yd2ac
Wear: ORANGE
Researchers call these monkeys, here from an NIH-funded research paper about how to reproduce them more quickly, “cynomolgus monkeys.” In the wild, they’re known as long-tailed macaques.
While we’re rallying hard to keep the University of Washington from building a new, underground animal research facility that no one but academic careerists need, a pharmaceutical lab just up the I-5 corridor appears to be doing what we’re trying to prevent: killing animals, including through neglect.
The USDA is investigating SNBL USA, the Everett-based facility of Japan-based Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, for possible violations of the Animal Welfare Act, The Everett Daily Herald reports.
SNBL “uses monkeys, dogs, rabbits, pigs and rodents to study the effects of drugs” there, according to the Herald. It’s the West Coast’s largest monkey lab, with up to 2,000 behind cage doors.
“My monkeys are much healthier than you are,” the former high school teacher who’s making a lot more money as the second-in-command at SNBL’s Everett lab, told the Herald a couple years ago.
Apparently not.
The USDA is looking into 34 monkey deaths brought to its attention by an animal rights activist in Ohio, Michael Budkie of Stop Animal Exploitation Now. The deaths did not occur in the course of research, and one — from October — was blamed by USDA inspectors on understaffing.
The monkey was strangled when its neck got caught in a cage.
Some 25 died of dehydration on their way from a breeding farm in Cambodia to the United States. Two others died of overheating after being chased by workers, and six monkeys died after apparent in-fighting to establish dominance during lives that are spent entirely as research subjects in cages.
SNBL, which likes to point out that activists are bringing attention to its deadly mistakes, also has faced complaints from the Humane Society and Pasado’s Safe Haven, the Herald has reported.
When Scientific American described elephants’ lives in zoos as torturous, Chai could have been the poster child. Ripped from her mother as a 1-year-old baby she was crated and shipped from Thailand to a cold, barren barn cell in Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. At 19 years old and after countless failed artificial insemination attempts, she was sent across the country to Dickerson Park Zoo to be bred. Upon her arrival she was beaten for up to 2 ½ hours for which that zoo was fined by the USDA. She lost 1,000 pounds.
Chai came back to Seattle pregnant. Soon after Hansa was born Woodland Park Zoo began the artificial inseminations again. She was violated by this highly invasive procedure 112 times!
Chai endured the death of Hansa who died at only 6 years old from the herpes virus. This disease is almost always fatal to young Asian calves. Even though all the elephants at Woodland Park Zoo had been exposed to the herpes virus, the Zoo continued to artificially inseminate Chai—despite Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants’ relentless protests.
After Watoto died in 2014, the city of Seattle considered filing charges against Woodland Park Zoo. Watoto went down during the night due to lameness and arthritis directly caused by zoo confinement. Woodland Park Zoo did not seek the assistance of a crane to lift her and she laid on the ground suffering for 4 more hours until she was euthanized. Woodland Park Zoo decided to close the elephant exhibit.
Ignoring science, the vast majority of Seattle residents, powerful media voices, the City Council and the Mayor, the Zoo shipped Bamboo and Chai to the Oklahoma City Zoo—a worse zoo.
We are asking that the Seattle City Council, Mayor Murray and Woodland Park Zoo urge the Oklahoma City Zoo to retire Bamboo to an accredited elephant sanctuary.
PLEASE do two things in Chai’s memory:
1. Write an email to Seattle’s newly elected City Council, Mayor Murray and the Seattle City Council. Addresses to cut and paste are below. Just one line will do!
2. Sign this petition: http://www.peta.org/action/action-alerts/oklahoma-city-zoo-close-elephant-exhibit/
Talking points:
bruce.bohmke@zoo.org, Ed.murray@seattle.gov, Kshama.Sawant@seattle.gov, lisa.herbold@seattle.gov , Sally.Bagshaw@seattle.gov,
Tim.Burgess@seattle.gov, Bruce.Harrell@seattle.gov, Mike.OBrien@seattle.gov, Debora.Juarez@seattle.gov, Lorena.Gonzalez@seattle.gov, Rob.johnson@seattle.gov
RIP Chai. Rest in your newly found peace.
Nancy Pennington and Alyne Fortgang
Co-founders, Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants
Help Animals India is having its first-ever Seattle benefit for India’s animals.
Date: October 17, 2015
Time: 5 pm
Cost: $15 (tickets available here)
Location: Culture Shakti Dance, Seattle
Despite some of the best animal protection laws in the world and a renowned heritage of reverence for life, modern India is a country where millions of animals suffer severe neglect or abuse.
Overpopulation, poverty, pollution, superstition, apathy and ignorance all contribute to their plight. In a country where human misery and impoverishment remain high, the welfare of destitute animals is a low priority.
Help Animals India is a Seattle-based non-profit dedicated to improving the welfare of animals in India by raising money for dedicated Indian animal protection groups and advising them on how to improve their capacity to help the animals.
Join them for a fun evening of Indian Dance Performance by the Dancers of Culture Shakti, Indian and World Vibes Music by Dj Seanuman, Mystic Kombucha on Tap, and a Catered Silent Auction with Items from local businesses.
Delicious Food Provided by Chaco Canyon, The Shop Agora, & Cupcake Royale.
ALL proceeds go the benefit Help Animals India
Can’t make the event? Please consider donating – any amount helps!
You can find out more about Help Animals India on their website or on their Facebook page.
The group No New Animal Lab is organizing another important event: the second March on the University of Washington on Friday, October 2nd at 2 pm.
The timing lines up with the first week of the term, and students and faculty will be returning to campus. Let’s show them what’s going on at their school.
At the first march, back in April, 500 people marched through the UW campus and neighboring streets to show their support for the animals and against UW and Skanska’s plans. It was a watershed moment for the animal liberation movement.
This time, on October 2nd, let’s increase the numbers. People of all ages and from all walks of life will be traveling from around the country to join the match and show their solidarity.
Please share the event widely on social media—Facebook, twitter, Instagram—and use the hashtags #MarchOnUW and #NoNewAnimalLab to spread the word and encourage people to attend.
For more info, read the latest post from No New Animal Lab, and check out their Facebook event page.
Be there and be a voice to animals!
You may have heard about a group of chimpanzees who are in a horrible predicament. They’ve spent their lives as research subjects in Liberia.
If that wasn’t bad enough, the New York Blood Center (NYBC), the organization that exploited the chimps in the name of “science” recently walked away from its obligation to feed and care for the chimps for the rest of their lives.
NYBC had been spending $30,000 a month on 66 chimps, who are no longer being tested on and are living on secluded islands near the country’s capital, Monrovia. But they cut funding and the chimps, many with hepatitis and other viruses, are at risk of dying from dehydration and starvation.
TAKE ACTION:
1) DEMAND CIPRIANI CANCEL NYBC FUNDRAISING GALA:
Cipriani, an upscale event space, is hosting an NYBC fundraising gala on November 5 with sponsorship levels up to $150,000.
CALL (646) 723 0826 and ask for an event planner. Politely explain why you are calling and let them know you are part of an ongoing campaign to have Cipriani cancel this event.
POST to Cipriani Facebook page
2) DEMAND HOWARD MILSTEIN REINSTATE FUNDING:
CALL: 212-842-7300 and demand Howard Milstein, Chairman of the NYBC Board of Trustees, reinstate funding for the abandoned chimps.
Milford Management is Howard Milstein’s real esate company
3) TWITTER CAMPAIGN:
Use these automated tweetsheets to contact NYBC donors and the media. You can also draft your own tweets to the recipients in these sheets:
Tweetsheet
Additional Tweetsheet
For more info about the abandoned chimps, read:
Primate Products Inc. is not just a primate dealer. It’s a house or horrors for the primates confined there. PPI, in Hendry County, Florida, imports, warehouses, and sells monkeys destined for experiments. They have federal contracts worth more than $13 million (including by the NIH, the Army, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
This horrific operation neglect, abuse, and terrorize monkeys. They’ve been cited by the USDA for violating animal welfare regulations–yet the abuse continues.
Please click this link and sign the petition at the end of the page. The content isn’t pleasant, but please think of the monkeys trapped in this hellhole. Do it for them.
It’s your opportunity to ask officials in Hendry County, Florida, to take action against PPI and close it for good.