[Onthebarricades] Protests - animal rights
Andy
ldxar1 at tesco.net
Mon Apr 14 16:13:45 PDT 2008
A quick note... DON'T FORGET TO SEND EMAILS... (see below)
Because e-mails are helping to cheer Michal up ELP has decided to go public
with this story and we ask that everyone please help aid Michal's recovery
by sending him an e-mail of support. The address to e-mail is
realita.tv at gmail.com
[NOTE: I haven't been able to find details on the allegations of police
misconduct which appear in the mainstream report on the York animal rights
arrests as having appeared on the "ALF website" - they aren't on the YAFA,
ALF (US) or ALF-SG (UK) websites, though it appears the activists were
arrested without much evidence on suspicion of making phone calls and that
items such as computers were stolen by police]
* INDIA: PETA leader arrested for protest against bullfighting
* FRANCE: Chinese Olympics protested over dog eating
* PHILIPPINES: Protests call for ban on cock-fighting
* ASSAM/INDIA: Protest over failure to stop rhino poaching
* AUSTRALIA: Activists protest kangaroo killing
* RUSSIA: Stars protest against baby seal hunt
* CANADA: Activists head for the coast as seal killing begins
* US: Animal rights activists burn down taxidermy shop
* IRELAND: Mink released from fur farm
* MEXICO: 24 ALF raids in three months; KFC, restaurants targeted
* US: Animal rights activists target rodeo
* US: UCLA animal abusers get home visits, threats and public protests
* US: ALF liberates goats set for slaughter
* UK: Animal rights activists free rabbits from farm
* UK: Monkeys saved from vivisection in Chile after protests
* UK: Cambridge restaurant stops serving foie gras after protests
["Are our restaurant menus to be determined in future by whether or not
animal activists approve of the way the animals, birds and fish on offer
have been treated?" - silly Guardian columnist... LET'S HOPE SO]
* CHINA: Students beg for lives of mistreated animals, stop butchery
* EUROPE/GLOBAL: ALF actions
* UK: York animal activists succeed in stopping foie gras - but get
targeted by police
* US: Crap arrests at Novartis demo
* US: PETA protest Ringling Bros circus
* US: PETA target presidential rallies with campaign against climate costs
of meat-eating
* AUSTRALIA: Protest at hunting expo - two arrests
* US: Buffalo Field Campaign continue fight against Yellowstone bison
killing
Publicly Archived at Global Resistance:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globalresistance
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP199140
PETA founder held in India over bullfight protest
Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:12am EST
CHENNAI, India, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Police arrested the head of the animal
rights group PETA for a breach of public peace and insulting religious
feelings while protesting against a bullfighting festival in south India,
officials said on Friday.
Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals,
was held on Thursday after she blindfolded a statue of Indian independence
leader Mohandas K. Gandhi to protest against cruelty towards bulls in the
ancient sport of "jallikattu".
Organised as part of the January harvest festival of "pongal", jallikattu is
India's version of the running of the bulls which takes place every year in
the Spanish city of Pamplona.
Fighters and muscular wild bulls -- often pepped up with large amounts of
homemade liquor -- dash after each other in the streets of the southern
state of Tamil Nadu.
Unlike the Spanish version of the sport, the aim is not to kill the bulls
but to dominate and tame them, and pluck away bundles of money or other
treats tied to their specially sharpened horns.
Police said Newkirk was held on charges of breaching public peace, hurting
religious sentiments and damaging statues after she entered a park in
Coimbatore town and put a cloth around the eyes of Gandhi's statue.
She then hung a placard saying: "Reject cruel sport jallikattu". She was
released on bail.
Newkirk told Reuters she did not mean any disrespect to Gandhi but
blindfolded his statue to symbolically shield him from the cruelty of the
sport.
"In the name of taming of the bull, 10, 20, 50 people torment the animal and
thousands cheer," she said. "You can see fear and confusion in the eyes of
the animal as it tries to flee."
India's animal welfare board has also criticised the festival saying men
beat the animals and throw burning chilli powder in their eyes, ears and
mouth to enrage them.
India's Supreme Court banned jallikattu last year, saying it was cruel and
not in keeping with what it described as the country's non-violent
traditions.
But that ban was watered down this month, and the court said the popular
sport could be held under strict government vigil.
Fighters and spectators have been gored or trampled to death, and the number
of injured fighters has often run into the hundreds. The festival has been
marketed as a tourist attraction in recent years. (Writing by Krittivas
Mukherjee; editing by Simon Denyer and Sanjeev Miglani)
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcqbO7l-1Bm1b77FTH0Ct5LxbuFQ
French animal lovers launch Olympic protest over dog kill
Feb 18, 2008
PARIS, Feb 18, 2008 (AFP) - A French association of animal lovers on Monday
launched a petition aimed at encouraging China to ban, by the Summer
Olympics, the killing of dogs for food.
One Voice said the practice of preparing canines for the pot often involves
slow and brutal methods in which the animal is beaten to death, boiled alive
or hung up to bleed while still breathing.
"This trade is widespread in China, even in large cities, although in
Beijing, the authorities are trying to push it outside the city ahead of the
Olympics," said Muriel Arnal, president and founder of One Voice.
The association said it had researched the practice for six months and then
sent a team out across China for more than three weeks with the help of
Chinese associates, filming and photographing dogs being cruelly put to
death.
Several years ago, the backstreet butchers' targets of choice were Saint
Bernards, but now the favourite dogs for slaughter are German shepherds, it
said.
Stolen pets, some of them still bearing collars, were also being killed, it
said.
One Voice said its online petition, launched on websites in France and
Britain, aimed at pushing China to pass laws banning the killing of dogs, in
time for the August Olympics.
Hong Kong, which is a special region of China, and Taiwan, which China views
as a renegade province, both have laws banning the consumption of dogs, One
Voice noted.
http://sports.inquirer.net/inquirersports/inquirersports/view/20080205-116832/Despite-protest-sabong-is-here-to-stay
Despite protest, 'sabong' is here to stay
By Manolo Iñigo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:55:00 02/05/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- I find it futile to totally ban cockfighting in the
Philippines because there is no popular opposition to the game yet among
Filipinos, unlike in the United States where the Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals is a force to reckon with.
Not only that. Cockfighting is tolerated here because the cash-strapped
government earns billions of pesos from the operation of more than 1,400
cockpits all over the country.
In fact, even top government officials, including some Cabinet members and
congressmen, are among the frequent habitués of big-time derbies.
Many people are wondering, too, why the Makati Coliseum and the Ynares
Sports Center in Antipolo City are serving as venues for cockfights. Aren't
these supposed to be public edifices/buildings where cockfighting is not
allowed?
* * *
Recently, animal rights activists belonging to the People for Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) protested the holding of the just-ended World
Slasher Invitational 8-Cock Derby at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
PETA's Francis Anthony Regamit said the protest was part of their crusade to
ban cockfighting in the country. He stressed that cockfighting "only sends
wrong signals to the youth," adding that "cockfighting teaches kids not only
to engage in gambling, but it also teaches them to be violent and cruel to
animals."
Another PETA crusader, Jennilyn Tagasa, belied the claim that cockfighting
is part of the Filipino culture.
"Cruelty (to animals) is not an excuse for tradition. They force the animals
to fight against each other," she said.
* * *
In the US, only the state of Louisiana allows cockfighting. Cockfighting is
banned in all other US states following the passage of a bill filed by Sen.
Wayne Allard in the 106th Congress way back in 1999, amending the US Animal
Welfare Act of 1976.
"It's unfair and it's not even funny," said American cocker-breeders from
the affected states. "It's killing the honorable sport of cockfighting."
Even Big Dome owner Jorge "Nene" Araneta, husband to former Miss Universe
Stella Marquez of Colombia, said he does not bet much and that some of his
cockfighting cronies do not bet at all. "They just love the thrill of
breeding victorious gamecocks," he said.
Hotelier Biboy Enriquez of Firebird fame also considers cockfighting a
sport.
* * *
On the other hand, anti-gambling advocates said cockfighting destroys the
lives of people and undermines the moral fiber of the nation.
"People need jobs, not gambling," former Manila Mayor Mel Lopez once said.
Is cockfighting a sport or a gambling activity?
"Sabong" or cockfighting is both a sport (entertainment) and gambling
activity. If memory serves, the Bureau of Internal Revenue levies an
admission tax of 30 percent on the cost of a ticket because it is considered
an entertainment. At the same time it imposes an 18-percent tax on all
incomes from the operation of the cockpit as a gambling activity.
* * *
Vintage retired colonel Julian Malonso, a former Philippine Olympic
Committee president, wrote to say that before the war, the dean of
sportswriters was Pedro "Pete" Villanueva.
He was among the first Filipino graduates of physical education from the
United States, in Chicago.
He was the sports editor of DMHM Debate-Mabuhay Herald and Monday Mail,
owned by the Madrigal family and later acquired by the Sorianos.
During the Japanese occupation, Villanueva became the sports editor of the
Manila Times, formerly the Tribune, owned by the TVT Tribune, Vanguardia and
Taliba chain of publications.
Tony Siddayao of the Manila Times was widely regarded as the dean of
sportswriters of the post-war era.
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/004200802022074.htm
Protest against rhino killing
Guwahati (PTI): The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) on Saturday staged a
state-wide dharna to protest against the state government's alleged failure
in checking rhino killing by poachers in the Kaziranga National Park.
The AASU staged protests in offices of the forest departments in all
district and sub-divisional headquarters of the state.
AASU Advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya alleged here that the state government
has failed in all respects to check the killings of rhino, which is a
national treasure, by poachers.
"We demand Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain's resignation fo failing to take
adequate steps to stop this heinous crime", he alleged.
The forest minister, on the other hand, said that the question of his
resignation on this issue does not arise as the Chief Minister has already
set up a high-level commission to inquire into the killings.
The Commission has already completed the inquiry and would soon submit the
report to the Chief Minister.
He thanked the students organisation for creating awareness about the
killings but pointed out that they should have done so since the earlier AGP
rule when a large number of rhinos were killed by poachers.
Poachers have killed three rhinos during the month of January last while 22
rhinos were killed last year in the Park.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTQf3EPUk5iaOSMpZNxoAdjKYZgQ
Kangaroo pie on menu as activists protest Aussie cull
Mar 13, 2008
The findings, published in local media Friday, come amidst growing
international protests over plans to cull 400 kangaroos on defence
department land where they are said to be overgrazing.
The British-based Viva! -- Vegetarians International Voice for Animals --
says more than 2,000 people have signed a petition on its website against
the cull and local protesters have threatened to blockade the site from
Saturday.
But millions of kangaroos are slaughtered in the wild every year on the
basis that there are too many, with much of the meat being used for pet
food, and attempts are being made to make it more appetising for humans.
[.]
Official government figures show the kangaroo population "has fluctuated
between 15 and 50 million animals over the past 20 years in the harvested
areas, depending on seasonal conditions."
A supporter of the animal rights group Viva!, former Beatle Paul McCartney,
has called the commercial slaughter of kangaroos a "shameful massacre."
"There is an urgent need for action to protect kangaroos from a barbaric
industry which slaughters them for meat and leather," he is quoted as saying
on Viva's website.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1UXwcYRxNKJHNehXZleuU4cOlDw
Russian stars protest against baby seal hunt
Mar 11, 2008
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russian stars and environment defenders rallied Tuesday on
the White Sea's shore against hunting baby seals, which is still practiced
in Russia in March and April, Russian media reported.
"I think that today we did a great thing and stopped these killings for at
least some time. A law must put an end to this," Russian sports commentator
Viktor Gusev said as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
Television channels transmitted images of men walking in the vast white snow
desert wielding ice-picks, hitting baby seals one after another as snow
turned red with blood.
"I call on Russia to ban killing of baby seals. They are just like human
babies -- they also cry for their mothers," pop star Laima Vaikule said.
Some 335,000 people signed a petition calling for the practice to end, the
deputy chief of Russia's environment monitoring agency Rosprirodnadzor, Oleg
Mitvol, said Tuesday.
According to Russia's natural resources ministry, up to 35,000 baby seals
are killed in the White Sea annually.
"Let us recall that the hunt of baby seals is authorised only in Russia,"
the letter said, adding that their soft white fur coats are partly exported
to Norway.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=ff72842d-5f5b-4503-b676-ec103414bbaa
Seal hunters, protesters head for the ice floes
Ken Meaney , Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, March 28, 2008
Sealers and observers headed to the ice floes Friday as the annual seal hunt
began in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Animal welfare activists had accused the Canadian government Thursday of
denying them observer permits as part of a "cover-up" of the hunt just as
the European Union is weighing a ban on the import of seal products.
But on Friday, Phil Jenkins of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said
60 observer permits had been issued, "so the flap you saw yesterday
afternoon about coverup and all that kind of stuff is nonsense and always
was."
A harp seal pup lies on an ice floe March 24, 2008 in the Gulf of Saint
Lawrence in Canada. Canada's seal hunt is expected to start later this week
and the government has said this year 275,000 harp seals can be harvested.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The Southern Gulf hunt is concentrated in the Cabot Strait area between
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but vessels have not yet reached the floes
there because of heavy ice. Most of the hunters, so far, are from the
Magdalen Islands. About 16 vessels were taking part in the hunt on Friday.
A separate hunt in the northern part of the gulf, between Newfoundland and
Quebec, will likely open next week. The largest part of the hunt, off
Newfoundland's northeast coast, will probably open the week after that, he
said.
The Newfoundland hunt is responsible for about 70 per cent of the animals
killed.
Observer permits were issued for groups such as the Humane Society of the
United States and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. There were also
permits for media organizations such as the United Kingdom's Sky TV.
Once on the ice floes, observers, who usually go to the hunt by helicopter,
are allowed no closer than 10 metres to sealers.
On Thursday, a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare
said the Canadian government was trying to limit access to the hunt while it
works to lobby against a possible ban on seal products by the European Union
that could come as soon as June.
The government denied the claim and said it is only driven by safety
concerns.
A delegation of Canadian officials and hunters headed to Europe Friday to
make their case for the sealing industry.
For this year's harvest, the government set a quota of 275,000 seal harps
out of a population of nearly six million.
Canadian officials have long maintained the hunt is well-monitored and
sustainable and Ottawa announced earlier this year that hunters will now
have to take extra steps to ensure the seals die humanely.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Taxidermy Shop Destroyed By Fire
Letter says activists caused blaze
By Patricia Breakey
Delhi (New York) News Bureau
DELHI _ A letter has claimed animal-rights activists are responsible for the
fire that destroyed Perkins Taxidermy on Jan. 25.
The blaze at the Arbor Hill Road taxidermist shop in Delhi was reported at
about 11:20 p.m., and the 911 call was believed to have come from a motorist
on state Route 10, Delhi Fire Chief Dan Brandenburg Sr. said at the time.
Two to three weeks after the fire, owner David Shaw said, he found a letter
that had been dropped off in the mailbox at the shop.
"Greetings Human," was the salutation on the typed letter that bore no
postmark, Delaware County Undersheriff Doug Vredenburgh said Wednesday.
"The letter took credit for the fire in the name of animal rights,"
Vredenburgh said. "It talked about humans overpopulating the earth and
indicated that the fire was 'just a warning.'"
The letter, which has been turned over to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for examination and testing, was signed ARF, which may be the
acronym for the Animal Rights Front Inc., a group based in New Haven, Conn.
Vredenburgh said it has not been determined whether the letter is
"legitimate or not or if it has any connection with the fire.
"The letter was vague, and we have not determined whether or not the ARF is
a legitimate organization or even what the initials actually stand for,"
Vredenburgh said. "Anybody can write a letter claiming anything, and at this
time, there is no way to verify it."
Shaw said he considered the contents of the letter threatening.
"Let me just say I took it serious enough that when I leave the driveway in
my truck, I have a friend with me," Shaw said. "There are a lot of lunatics
running around out there that no one can stop."
Vredenburgh said that based on the rhetoric in the letter, he believes it
was written by an animal activist. However, because of the lapse of time
between the fire and the delivery of the letter, he questions whether the
person who wrote the letter was actually connected with the fire.
Rich Bell, Delaware County Emergency Services director, said the fire has
been listed as an incendiary blaze, and the investigation has been turned
over the sheriff's department.
Vredenburgh said the determination that the fire may have been arson was
based on ruling out all other usual causes, including electrical causes and
malfunctioning stoves. He added that testing was done to determine if there
was an accelerant, but none was found.
"It would be very difficult to prove that the fire was arson because there
is no physical evidence and no accelerant," Vredenburgh said.
The one-story building housing the shop was a "total loss," Brandenburg said
previously.
Shaw said it was "more of a setback than a big monetary loss because he
salvages a lot of the stuff." He added that he intends to re-establish the
business at his home.
Shaw said he purchased the taxidermy business 11/2 years ago from Bill
Perkins, but he had been working for Perkins for more than 24 years. Shaw
said he leased the building.
He said he wouldn't let the threat stop him from reopening his business.
"Why should I give up 26 years of my life?" he asked.
There are several references to ARF on the Internet. In New York Times
articles from 1987 and 1988, Bill Manetti, of New Haven, Conn., is listed as
both the president and the spokesman for the nonprofit animal rights
organization, but there is currently no phone listing for a Bill or William
Manetti or any group using the organization's name nationwide.
Vredenburgh said the FBI has not been able to locate anyone connected with
any group using the acronym ARF.
The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information about the fire,
letters of a similar nature or the person who left the letter in the mailbox
is asked to call the ********** Sheriff's Department at *********
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Mink farm targeted by animal rights group
By: Joe Barrett
GARDAÍ in Portlaoise are investigating an attack by animal rights activists
at a mink farm in Vicarstown after a large number of mink were released from
their pens over the weekend.
A garda source told the Laois Nationalist sometime over the weekend the mink
farm was accessed when someone broke a lock from a gate, released over 500
mink and sprayed graffiti around the farmyard.
Una Heffernan of Vasa Limited which owns the farm, said while the mink had
been released from their cages they were contained in the holding compound
of the yard and none had escaped into the countryside.
Ms Hefferan said graffiti sprayed around the buildings was quite specific
and gave the name of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).
She was unable to say whether this group has any connections with another
group the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade who have held protests outside
her farm on a number of occasions.
This is not the first time the mink farm has been targeted in such a way.
About five years ago animal rights activists released about 50 mink into the
wild. These were quickly rounded up.
To date no one has ever been arrested, charged or convicted with any illegal
activity in attempting to release mink from the farm.
There have been sporadic protests outside the farm over the past number of
years by the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade venting their opposition to
the farm's activities.
Speaking to the Laois Nationalist yesterday (Tuesday) from a protest line
outside the Department of Agriculture in Dublin Laura Broxson, a
spokesperson for this group, denied any of her members was involved in any
way in the weekend's events.
She said her group has no connections to the Animal Liberation Front.
"This is the first we've heard about this. We're not a group that gets
involved in any illegal activities. We do however support direct legal
action. We demonstrate and distribute publications opposing the fur trade
and would not condone last weekend's actions.
"We can understand though why some people are inclined to take matters into
their own hands in this way. There is a lot of frustration at the slowness
of the Government in coming forward with legislation to outlaw the fur trade
in the country.
"Some people see this type of action as similar to freeing slaves. Those
underground activists see mink farmers as locking up wild animals against
their nature in confined spaces."
Ms Broxson said her group intends organising "an awareness" day in
Portlaoise in May or June which will be followed by a protest outside the
mink farm and she is asking local people opposed to the fur trade to join
them in their day of action.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mexican ALF On A Roll; 24 Raids Against Animal Abusers in Last 3 Months
Received Anonymously
March 6-11, 2008
Mexican Animal Liberation Front On A Roll
24 Raids Against Animal Abusers in Last 3 Months; Here Are The Last Four
On March 6 the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) focused on attacking businesses
that profit from the blood of animals. 3 restaurants in Mexico State where
they sell dead animals, fried and roasted, were in the sights of the ALF.
Not only were paints used but also their glass was sprayed with red paint
and a grill was made unusable.
NO MATTER, SOONER OR LATER, THESE BUSINESSES WILL FALL BY THE HAND OF THE
ALF!
------------------------------------------------------------------
March 7:
A very unpleasant surprise brought managers, employees and police to 'work'
on the night of March 7. One of the many KFC located in Mexico State was
spoiled by radical activists brought together in the Animal Liberation
Front; what they found was economic sabotage like:
x Walls with slogans like Murderers!
x Floors, walls and doors stained with red paint.
x Posters and announcements of KFC with spilled 'blood' paint.
x Lighted signs and cables sabotaged, painted and made unusable.
The worst nightmare of bourgeois speciesists has reached them....
Go vegan sXe!
ALF
------------------------------------------------------------------
March 8
Once again the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) made use of direct action to
remind the animal abusers that we are here and we remain standing in this
struggle. In the early morning hours of this day, militants of the ALF in
Mexico attacked two restaurants but this time not with spay paint because it
is easily erased. This time we decided to attack its large windows with
hydrofluoric acid; the acid is highly corrosive and permanent on glass. The
slogans MURDERERS!, MEAT IS MURDER!, FLA were what these bastards, who have
no consideration for the lives of non-human animals, received.
Stop dreaming, direct action now!
Posted: For the speciesists with rancor, the ALF.
------------------------------------------------------------------
March 11:
Activists from the Animal Liberation Front once again made our presence
known, reminding national and foreign speciesists that we exist and that
vengeance for our animal brothers and sisters has come. Very early in the
day we decided to attack one of the fast-food restaurants originating in the
darkest interests of the American empire, KFC, which was hit with red paint
resembling the blood of innocent animals and FLA appeared in permanent acid
on their windows; this is not the end!
ALF Mexico
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=201749
Animal rights activists protest at rodeo
3/2/2008 12:10 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
Protesters worked to educate the public about ethical animal treatment.
The Rodeo may be your idea of a fun time but there are some who oppose the
methods used to put the show on.
Friday night, some animal rights activists rallied at the rodeo to protest
what they call serious abuses inflicted upon animals during the rodeo.
The activists are angry with the yearly events and want the public to know
what's going on behind the scenes in regards to the treatment of animals.
"They don't buck because they're wild animals like most people believe they
buck because of flank straps that go tightly around their abdomen or
electrical shocks," Kelly Sloan, an animal activist at the protest said.
Through the protests, groups hope not only to end or change the way rodeo
animals are treated, but also to educate the public about what is being
done.
--------------------------------------------------------
For Immediate Release
February 22, 2008
UCLA Gets Watered Down 2-Week Restraining Order Against Five Activists
Meanwhile, Animal Liberation Front Takes Credit for Latest Attack on
Primate Killer Edythe London
Los Angeles- As UCLA spent the day in a Santa Monica Courtroom securing a
temporary watered-down restraining order against legal protesters, the
Animal Liberation Front(ALF) coincidently issued an anonymous communique
taking credit for the latest attack on infamous primate killer Edythe
London. London is widely despised for her abusive treatment of non-human
primates, including those she addicts to nicotine and methamphetamines in
gruesome, redundant and useless experiments in UCLA laboratories.
The communique reads in part:
"Edyth London, you and your work are deplorable. You are given paychecks in
exchange for addicting primates, the closest kin that the human species
knows, to numerous sickeningly addicting drugs like crystal meth. For
forcing these innocent and sensitive beings to suffer through a type of hell
that they would never encounter if it wasn't for your deranged science you
deserve to know true justice. This is why on February 3rd 2008 we left an
incendiary device at your house at 1246 Shadybrook in Beverly Hills. Edyth,
the fire that night was exactly the size we wanted it to be. It was just a
little outreach because we want to see you make the sound ethical choice to
stop vivisecting primates. We know what we are doing and fires can be much
larger. Edyth, your secrets are very ugly and the spotlights on them are
getting brighter. You make us sick and you inspire us into action Edyth. As
each day begins and nothing that you own is burning consider yourself lucky.
Now is the time to stop vivisecting. We don't back down. Ever."
While high-priced UCLA lawyers spent Thursday morning arguing that five
above ground picketers working with the UCLA Primate Freedom Project should
be "restrained" from focused demonstrations 50 feet from private residences
(already a local law in most jurisdictions), it was business as usual for
other activists planning further protests for the upcoming weekend.
Strangely enough, the clandestine activists of the Animal Liberation Front
and Animal Liberation Brigade didn't bother to arrive in court; it seems
unlikely a civil restraining order will deter them much.
Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed by activists in federal court 2 months ago
threatens to take some of the wind out of UC Regents, who may see a large
sum of money going activists' way. Attorney Christine Garcia filed the suit
on behalf of activists, charging UCLA with ten causes of action, including
depriving them of their constitutional rights to free speech.
Animal Liberation Press Officer Jerry Vlasak, MD: "UCLA accomplished
absolutely nothing in court today; underground activists will probably never
even know the restraining order exists, and all but five picketers can
continue their protests against the atrocities being committed by primate
vivisectors on the UCLA campus. Even the five activists named in the TRO
have been given such limited restrictions that they will barely notice the
difference.
For more information, and to read the entire communique from the ALF, visit:
www.animalliberationpressoffice.org.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/10/AR2008031002591.html
California Regents Sue Animal Activists
UC System Aims to Protect Researchers
By Ashley Surdin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 11, 2008; A03
LOS ANGELES -- It was late into the night when 25 people in ski masks
descended on professor Dario Ringach's family home. Pounding on the
door, frightening his small children, they screamed into megaphones,
"Animal killer! We know where you live! We will never give up!"
And they apparently meant it. That year, 2006, according to court
documents, animal rights activists launched a summer-long campaign of
harassment against Ringach, an assistant professor of psychology and
neurobiology at the University of California at Los Angeles and other
scientists who conduct research with laboratory animals.
They hurled firecrackers at his house in the middle of the night and
planted Molotov-cocktail-like explosives at other faculty houses,
threatening to burn them to the ground.
UCLA hired private security, but Ringach feared for his family.
"Effectively immediately, I am no longer doing animal research," he
finally wrote in an e-mail to his persecutors, pleading to be left
alone. "Please don't bother my family anymore."
The University of California regents have responded by suing UCLA
Primate Freedom, the Animal Liberation Brigade, the Animal Liberation
Front and five people allegedly affiliated with them. It is a tactic
that the regents successfully employed nine years ago.
The regents hope to win a permanent injunction similar to one granted
against Last Chance for Animals in 1989. But some experts note that the
regents now are battling more violent, Internet-savvy foes who thrive in
online communities, post faculty "targets" on Web sites and upload
how-to guides for their attacks.
"The reality is that, unlike in the past, where movements really relied
on interpersonal communication and gatherings to ferment this
radicalization, all this is happening online now," according to Oren
Segal, co-director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism
in New York. "The ability for people to learn about the movement and how
to carry out attacks on behalf of it are easier than it's ever been
because of the Internet."
Indeed, a temporary restraining order -- prohibiting harassment and
posting of faculty members' personal information on the Internet -- was
granted Feb. 21 by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. But three
days later, six masked protesters reportedly disrupted a child's
birthday party at the home of a University of California at Santa Cruz
researcher and confronted her husband at the door, hitting him on the hand.
It is unclear whether the protesters are connected to those named in
UC's lawsuit.
Harassment by violent animal rights activists has climbed at
universities across the country, including Oregon Health and Science
University, the University of Utah, and Ohio State University, where
researchers have been victims of home visits or, in one case, found
their windows slathered in glass-eating acid. Scientists, administrators
and lawyers are closely watching the effectiveness of the California
regents case.
Experts say the shift toward more personal attacks is a response to
increasingly fortified laboratories, which universities began securing
in the 1980s and 1990s as attacks heightened.
Now, groups have shunned "Fort Knox" in favor of ill-prepared homes,
said Jerry Vlasik, the former vivisector turned spokesman for the North
American Animal Liberation Press Office. Vlasik has repeatedly advocated
for using "whatever force against animal research scientists necessary."
"If killing them is the only way to stop them," he said in a telephone
interview, "then I said killing them would certainly be justified."
Some scientists refuse to relinquish their work, but others are not
taking chances. Like Ringach, some continue to work but not with
animals. Most who leave the profession make their decisions quietly, not
wanting to fuel the movement.
Still, ripples are spreading through the science community. Positions in
animal research are increasingly difficult to fill, according to Frankie
Trull, president of the Foundation for Biomedical Research, a national
organization that supports the humane and responsible use of animals in
medical and scientific research.
"I do hear scientists say that they have open positions and nobody to
fill them because it's animal research," Trull said. "The bigger
question, and we worry about this a lot, is what will happen to the
future of biomedical research? Will brilliant young minds go to some
other field because this field has become too contentious?"
------------------------------------------------------
Goats Liberated from Future Animal Abusers of America (FFA)
Carpenteria, CA Gets First Visit from Animal Liberation Front
In the early hours of Saturday, Feb. 9th 2008, three young goats were
liberated by the ALF from the Carpinteria High School FFA in California.
After cutting through one lock and one fence, we took them from their small
pens with concrete floors and carried them to freedom. They were taken to a
place where they will be able to live their lives free from cages and
fences, able to enjoy sunshine and grass as opposed to steel bars and
concrete floors. As we brought them to their new home, they immediately
stopped crying, began eating the grass around them, and enjoyed their
surroundings. They listened to us and licked our faces as we soothed them
before leaving the three of them on their own. They will no longer be
victims to animal exploitation or slaughter for human greed.
The FFA is an organization that teaches kids from a young age how to carry
on the fucked up tradition of anthropocentrism, where they are taught how to
raise animals for exploitation, abuse, and eventually murder. FFA is known
for keeping animals in small, dirty, unkempt, confined places where they
lack nurturing and stimulating interaction with other animals.
As long as the FFA continues to raise animals for the meat, dairy, or egg
industries, the A L F will continue to take actions against these practices.
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=156130&command=displayContent&sourceNode=242285&home=yes&more_nodeId1=156139&contentPK=19820582
ANIMAL LIBERATION GROUP RAIDS FARM
08:00 - 09 February 2008
A gang claiming to be part of the Animal Liberation Front has stolen 129
rabbits from a Lincolnshire farm.
The crooks raided Highgate Farm, Normanby-by-Spital, near Lincoln.
They then posted images and video footage, allegedly showing them inside the
farm, on various websites around the world.
The gang claims it loaded the rabbits, some of which are bred for medical
research purposes, into bags in order to release them into the wild at a
later date.
It also claims that before leaving the farm its members glued up the locks
of a sports car, a van and a lawnmower on the premises before covering them
with paint stripper and filling their exhausts with expanding insulation
foam.
The owner of the farm, who wants to remain anonymous, said he was worried
about his animals.
"I was shocked and disappointed when we discovered the burglary," he said.
"We have been producing meat rabbits for the table for many years to the
highest of welfare standards.
"I am worried about what has happened to the stolen rabbits as they would
not survive long in the wild and are not suitable to live as family pets in
solitary confinement. They have lived in communal groups and to be happy
need to feel part of a colony."
Lincolnshire Police is investigating the raid, which happened in the early
hours of January 7, and is calling on the public to help catch the gang.
http://www.envirolink.org/external.html?itemid=200802020921210.99692
Protests free monkeys from cages
By Sarah Crabtree
A SHEFFIELD-based animal rights organisation is celebrating today after 88
monkeys, destined for experiments in South America, were saved.
The capuchin monkeys have been flown to England six weeks after huge
International Animal Rights Day protests initiated and coordinated by
Sheffield animal protection group Uncaged.
Mass marches were staged last December through the centre of Santiago in
Chile, finishing at the Universidad Cat"lica where a primate research centre
was based.
Six weeks later news broke that the centre was to close, and the centre's 88
monkeys were flown to Monkey World in Dorset by a Chilean Air Force plane,
arriving last Tuesday.
The monkeys, aged between two and 30, had been kept in small cages in a lab,
some of them in solitary confinement for up to 20 years. All spent years
only being taken out for medical experiments and never seeing daylight.
Dr Alison Cronin, the director of Monkey World, said the animals had "lots
of psychological and potentially medical problems" and will need to be
rehabilitated before settling into social groups at the sanctuary's Capuchin
Lodge.
Capuchins can be found in the wild in Central and South America, where they
live in groups of around 35. They have a life expectancy of more than 30
years.
http://www.schnews.org.uk/archive/news621.htm
COUP DE FOIE GRAS
A restaurant in Cambridge has stopped selling foie gras after months of
campaigning by animal rights activists. The last straw came when protesters
from the ALF visited Midsummer House in Cambridge on Sunday and did a spot
of redecorating, graffitiing the walls, gluing door-locks and damaging
door-frames and windows to encourage the Michelin-starred restaurant to
remove the dish from their menus. Slogans such as "Stop Selling Foie Gras"
and "Ban Foie Gras" were spray-painted on to the outside of the building.
The posh pate is made by filtly duckers in France where 30 million ducks a
year are force-fed until their livers are 10 times the normal size - whilst
being held in cages so small they can't even stretch their wings. And it's
demand here that helps keep these horrific practices going.
In a press release the group stated, "Because of the continued support by
Midsummer House of such a vile industry, direct action had to be taken." The
restaurant was closed on Monday, with staff spending the day scrubbing the
walls clean. It followed Animal Rights Cambridge who brought their own
Valentines message to staff and amorous diners on the 14th, protesting
outside and waving placards saying "Foie gras = diseased liver" and "Don't
buy into cruelty".
In the end the restaurant management seem to have given in to the pressure.
*See www.directaction.info and www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/foiegras/index.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/27/5
One restaurant has given in to intimidation and changed its menu. How many
more will follow?
a..
b..
a.. Marcel Berlins
b.. The Guardian,
c.. Wednesday February 27 2008
d.. Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Guardian on Wednesday February 27 2008 on p5 of
the Comment & features section. It was last updated at 00:18 on February 27
2008.
A Cambridge restaurant announced last week that it would no longer have foie
gras on its menu. Not, perhaps, an important event in itself, affecting not
too many people. But the circumstances leading to the decision were
disturbing. Daniel Clifford, the chef-owner of Midsummer House - honoured
with two Michelin stars - didn't stop serving the dish because he had been
persuaded to do so by the argument that its manufacture involved the
maltreatment of geese and ducks. He changed his mind through fear. The
Animal Liberation Front admitted responsibility for acts of vandalism that
included glueing the restaurant's locks, throwing a brick through a window
(narrowly missing a waiter), spray-painting the windows and generally
trashing the place, causing several thousand pounds of damage. "My initial
feeling was, 'Sod 'em, we'll get cameras and security to guard the
restaurant,' " said Clifford. "But when the police told me what the ALF was
capable of, I decided to give in. Ultimately I have to think of the safety
of my staff and customers." There wasn't much media coverage of or reaction
to the outrage.
Many restaurants in Britain serve foie gras. Have they all now become
potential targets of ALF violence? Are our restaurant menus to be determined
in future by whether or not animal activists approve of the way the animals,
birds and fish on offer have been treated? Today foie gras - tomorrow
chicken? The life of a goose, even one primed for its valuable liver, is far
pleasanter and its distress far less (especially with modern methods of
feeding it) than that of a battery chicken. A few thousand geese and ducks
might have suffered in preparing the small quantities of foie gras consumed
in this country; many millions of chicken and other animals, destined to be
food for humans, have suffered more. I do not for a moment blame Midsummer
House's owner for submitting to the threats and violence, but I have an
uneasy feeling that the day he did so marked the beginning of something new
and sinister.
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2008-01/18/content_6403020.htm
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 7:23 PM
Subject: (CN) Students beg for the lives of butchered animals
(CN) Students beg for the lives of butchered animals
Posted by: "Cate" cateanna at yahoo.com
Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:34 am (PST)
Students beg for the lives of butchered animals
2008/01/18
After seeing cats, dogs and birds butchered and sold as food, 10 college
students got down on their knees to plead for clemency for the animals at a
market in Changchun, Jilin province, on Saturday.
Despite temperatures as low as -27C, the students begged for half an hour
until the slaying stopped.
"We hope we can stick up for the poor animals and urge more people to join
us to protect them," Yu, one of the student's leaders, said.
(New Business)
...........................
Getty Photos:
CHANGCHUN, CHINA - JANUARY 12:
A student from the Northeast Normal University wears a cat mask as he
demonstrates with other students behind cages full of partridges to be
slaughtered at a market on Taibei Street on January 12, 2008 in Changchun of
Jilin Province, northeast China. The animal market mainly sells cats, dogs,
rabbits, partridges and other small animals for eating. Some of the students
knelt outdoors in temperatures reaching 27 degrees centigrade below zero in
protest to the slaughter. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
http://legacyeditorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=78911634&cdi=0
http://legacyeditorial.gettyimages.com/source/search/details_pop.aspx?iid=78911633&cdi=0
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/389888.html
18th-20th January 08
France - STORES PAINTED, GLUED
Mexico - NEW HOMES FOR PUPPIES
***USA - L.A. GOV'T OFFICIAL VISITED BY ALF
Italy - VIVISECTION PROTESTED WITH STONES AND PAINT
UK - ALF TARGETS SEQUANI TORTURE LAB
Italy - CAMPAIGN CONTINUES AGAINST PET STORE CHAIN
Germany - HUNTING STANDS DESTROYED
FRANCE: STORES PAINTED, GLUED
anonymous report:
"- During the night of January 19, ALF activists glued and tagged the window
of a well-known store: the pictures speak for themselves: ASSASSINS (ALF)
NO to sadistic cosmetics!! The moment was great. WE WILL RETURN!!!!
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS578Z7wgBk
- Same night, the front of a butcher was tagged, glued locks, and windows
broken.
MEAT = DEATH
Special dedication to the butcher: you had been warned that we would return,
and we have!"
MEXICO: NEW HOMES FOR PUPPIES
"January 16:
The Animal Liberation Front Commando-Green Black of Mexico State rescued 4
puppies and gave them a better life.
Every animal is important as we continue the fight.
FLA/ALF!"
ITALY: VIVISECTION PROTESTED WITH STONES AND PAINT
On New Years Eve, a building in Busto Arsizio that will house a vivisection
laboratory was hit with stones and paint.
More information about a new campaign against vivisection in universities in
Italy's Insubria region: http://www.bastavivisezione.net/home.php
UK: ALF TARGETS SEQUANI TORTURE LAB
"Above ground activists have received the following anonymous reports
from December 2007 & January 2008.
1. 'DHL Deliver to Hell' & 'Close Sequani Puppy Killers' sprayed on
a bridge next to a DHL depot. We were ready to smash the place in
but there was lots of police activity around. The ALF are watching
you Sequani Quintiles and following those unmarked vans DHL are
sending in. How long before we trash them too? Animal Liberation
Front
2. A billboard advertising TNT was covered in anti-Sequani slogans.
Perhaps TNT would like to stop dealing with the animal lab
industry and stop delivering for Arrowmight to Sequani. Nigel Arthur
Edmondson works at them both, so we will hit them both. ALF
3. Boards advertising McDonalds were torn down and destroyed. This
company kills thousands of animals every day and has come back into
the eye of the ALF. Until every cage is empty. ALF
4. A van belonging to a butcher was wrecked in West Yorkshire.
Black paint was poured all over it because of his black heart, and
the windows were smashed. No rest for the wicked. Animal Liberation
Front
5. Bayer kills animals inside HLS so we subverted their adverts
near York. They had pictures of happy animals on them to try and
sell their products so 'Bayer Butchers Beagles - Smash HLS' was
painted over them. A.L.F."
ITALY: CAMPAIGN CONTINUES AGAINST PET STORE CHAIN
recent actions reported by activists in Italy:
"december
22 sassuolo (MO)
Windows at Zoolandia pet-store smashed
23 Sassuolo (MO)
Zoolandia store attacked with 2 litres of paint on the entrance
28 Emilia
2 hens liberated from a small farmer.
31 Sassuolo (MO)
A 15 kilos stone helps activists to smash the entrance at Zoolandia
pet-store
january
5: Emilia
a hamster is 'stolen' from a small pet-shop and is now in good hands."
Zoolandia are a chain of pet shops in Italy who have been targeted douzens
of times this year:
http://www.directaction.info/news_dec18_07.htm
http://www.directaction.info/news_apr24_07.htm
http://www.directaction.info/news_mar09_07.htm
http://www.directaction.info/news_feb18b_07.htm
http://www.directaction.info/news_jan28d_07.htm
GERMANY: HUNTING STANDS DESTROYED
anonymous report:
"on nov 27th we destroyed 3 hunting stands in an area close to haltern am
see, north rhine westphalia, germany. stop hunting, and keep your local
forest hunter-safe. ALF"
-------------------------------------------------------
YORK ACTION FOR ANIMALS DUO BUSTED AND LABELED "TERRORISTS"
Oread Daily http://oreaddaily.blogspot.com/
British police raided undisclosed locations in York two nights ago
and arrested two individuals on charges of harassment. This has been
labelled as a terrorist activity due to their membership in York
Action for Animals (YAFA). The cops have linked YAFA to the radical
Animal Liberation Front thus their use of the terror label.
YAFA has succeeded in taking fois grois off the menu in York. As they
report:
"In October 2007 we were aware of 6 places in York with foie-gras on
their main menu, now there are none - the majority of these places
stopped selling foie gras after polite emails or conversations -
their management were friendly and professional and were able to talk
and discuss concerns - there was one notable exception, which will be
kept under surveillance."
After the YAFA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals Europe
staged demonstrations in the York, its city council voted last fall
to stop all future sales of culinary product.
Yet, despite the ban, it became known that the restaurant at the Blue
Bicycle although the dish had gone from its main menu, it was still
available on the specials board and for outside catering contracts.
So YAFA directed a campaign at them (see article below).
As you know foie grois is the swollen liver of ducks that have been
force-fed with metal pipes- this force feeding causes severe
excruciating pain for the poor birds as their livers swell up to 10
times their natural size and they suffer from a medical condition
which a veterinarian would call 'hepatic lipidosis'.
After the ban was passed in York, Councilor Paul Blanchard said York
could help spur a nationwide effort against foie grois.
"The process which leads to the production of foie grois is cruel and
should be banned," he said. "It is so cruel it is banned in 15
countries."
"This motion will be a start and it will raise awareness of this
intolerable cruelty," he added. "This could genuinely be the end for
foie grois in this country."
The following is from The Press (Great Britain).
Animal rights pair held
TWO animal rights campaigners thought to be involved in protests
against a York restaurant have been arrested on suspicion of
harassment.
North Yorkshire Police said today that a number of items were also
seized as part of an investigation.
A spokeswoman said that the two people who were arrested were a 40-
year-old man and a 32-year-old woman.
They were suspected of harassment "relating to an incident connected
to a restaurant in York".
She said both had been released on police bail while inquiries
continued.
A number of allegations have been made on the Animal Liberation
Front's (ALF) website about police officers' alleged conduct during
the arrests.
The website carries a request for supporters to email North Yorkshire
Police's professional standards.
Postings on the site claim the arrests related to the sustained
campaign by YAFA (York Action for Animals) against the sale of foie
gras by the Blue Bicycle restaurant in Fossgate.
YAFA organised a series of demonstrations outside the restaurant,
which it said was the last in York to sell the controversial paté.
Earlier this month, it claimed victory, saying foie gras had been
dropped from the menu.
But the Blue Bicycle said although the dish had gone from its main
menu, it was still available on the specials board and for outside
catering contracts, and it could reappear on the main menu in the
future.
It is claimed on the ALF site that a property was raided by police
under a search warrant issued in relation to unproven allegations of
a "harrassing" phone call made on New Years Eve.
It is also claimed that items removed from the property included
computers, mobile phones, a video camera and magazines and that cars
were also searched.
Another posting on the website contains information on how to
avoid "sensitive" information - for example about an "upcoming
illegal project" - being obtained from computers when raided by the
authorities.
The police spokeswoman said because two arrests had been made, the
force would be unable to make any further comment.
A spokeswoman for the Blue Bicycle declined to comment.
Alan Swain, spokesperson for YAFA, said today that news of the
arrests had come as a shock.
"YAFA is a peaceful, law-abiding organisation committed to bringing
about change through the democratic process," he said. "We exercise
our right of peaceful protest, and have worked very closely with
North Yorkshire Police throughout our demonstrations to keep them
fully appraised of our plans. We have developed a positive working
relationship with the police and are proud that our demonstrations
have always passed without incident.
"We have been made aware that two of our members have been arrested
in correction with a complaint of harassment.
"We understand that these complaints do not relate to our
demonstrations, and the two individuals deny any wrongdoing," he
said.
>From www.dc.indymedia.org:
http://dc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/142763/index.php
(PHOTOS and audio in article and comments)
(text portions reproduced below):
Activist arrested on trumped-up charge at Novartis(HLS) demo
A little after 1 PM on Friday, March 21, animal rights activists
showed up at the DC office of Novartis, a Huntingdon Life Sciences
customer. Shortly therafter, a DC cop showed up, went inside-and then
grabbed one protester and said "as of right now you are under arrest."
She told him the charge was assault for an alleged incident at a
PREVIOUS protest. There is just one problem-the alleged incident(I saw
it last time around) involved a security guard pushing an activist,
NOT the other way around!
This sort of thug tactic-assault someone and then have the victim
CHARGED with assault-marks a dramatic escalation by Novartis and by
MPD in the conflict over Huntingdon "Death" Sciences.
Afterwards, warnings were issued to Novartis that any attempt to make
legal protests during the day a non-viable strategy(due to risk) would
likely provoke the ALF and other underground activists to focus
intensely on Novartis.
Novartis is located at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Suite 725, DC 20004
Phone: 202 626-0100 Fax: 202 393-0912
The police attack was not successful in stopping the protest at
Novartis, nor did it deter activists from going on to protest at the
offices of Merck(Dupont is in the same building), nor at
Sanofi-Aventis, both of which are also HLS customers.
-----------------------------------------------------
Urgent ELP Bulletin (17th of March 2008)
Dear friends
Last week a group of Austrian and Czech animal rights activists broke into a
chicken farm to as part of an open "ploughshares style" animal rights
action.
However during that raid one of the Czech activists, Michal, fell from a
ladder onto a concrete floor. He was knocked unconscious, he broke his leg
and badly injured his back.
ELP did not reveal the news at the time as we wanted to make sure Michal was
okay before breaking the news.
The latest news is Michal has had to endure 2 operations and is still in
hospital. However he is recovering but is said to be feeling very depressed.
Since the accident Michal has received a few messages of support, from
people who were told about the accident and these are said to be cheering
him up.
Because e-mails are helping to cheer Michal up ELP has decided to go public
with this story and we ask that everyone please help aid Michal's recovery
by sending him an e-mail of support. The address to e-mail is
realita.tv at gmail.com
Oh and there is some good news about this action. At least one hen was
rescued during this action, despite the accident.
----------------------------------------------
Columbia, S.C. -- Wearing prisoner costumes, elephant masks, and shackles
and holding signs that read, "Ringling Beats and Chains Elephants," PETA
members will protest the arrival of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey
Circus at the Colonial Center on Thursday (opening night). Other PETA
members will hand out leaflets that detail Ringling's abuse of animals,
including the practice of constantly keeping elephants chained and confined,
which is not only cruel but can also be deadly.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A40029
Should we be taxed for eating animals?
CliMeat Change
By Stratton Lawrence
FEBRUARY 6, 2008:
For those attending any of the presidential candidates' major events
last month, it was hard to miss the pigs. Outside of nearly every rally
and campaign stop across the state, you could find members of People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) dressed in bright pink pig
costumes, handing out buttons and literature emblazoned with the slogan
"Stop Global Warming: Tax Meat."
"Every time someone sits down to a steak dinner, they're basically doing
the equivalent environmental damage of taking a very long journey in a
Hummer," says Ashley Byrne, a coordinator for PETA's campaign. "One
pound of meat is equivalent to driving about 40 miles in a big SUV."
That's surprising to most, but it's true. The United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization found in 2006 that livestock production
generates 18 percent of greenhouse gases worldwide --- more than the
entire transportation sector of cars, trucks, planes, and ships
combined. Cows constantly belch methane from their four stomachs, and
lagoons of pig effluent release the gas into the air. Much of the
world's beef comes from deforested areas (70 percent of former Amazon
rainforest is now used for cattle grazing), a one-two punch from the
loss of carbon dioxide-absorbing trees and the addition of more animals.
------------------------------------------------------
> http://news.smh.com.au/two-animal-activists-arrested-at-wodonga/20080209-1r8e.html
> > Two animal activists arrested at Wodonga> > February 9, 2008 - 3:59PM> >
> > Two animal activists who chained themselves to railings outside a>
> > hunting expo on the NSW/Victorian border have been arrested.> > Animal
> > Liberation ACT activists Bernie Brennan, 43, and Chris Connock,> 22,
> > chained themselves to the Wodonga Leisure Centre to protest the>
> > nation's largest animal hunting expo.> > Wodonga police were forced to
> > use bolt cutters to remove the Canberra> men who were taken to the local
> > police station and charged.> > Mr Connock was charged with trespass and
> > resisting arrest and Mr Brennan> with trespassing, a police said.> >
> > Both were released on bail.> > The men were among 12 activists from
> > Animal Liberation ACT who travelled> to Wodonga to protest against the
> > expo.> > The protesters have spent the entire day outside the expo
> > waving banners> and blowing whistles in an effort to disturb the
> > events.> > Animal Liberation ACT spokeswoman Angie Stephenson compared
> > the expo> attendees to poachers in Africa.> > "They are nothing but
> > trophy hunters who mount animal heads on their> walls and boast about
> > the big kill," she said.> > "Hunting any animal is a senseless act of
> > cruelty, any reason to> continue such slaughter can never be
> > justified."> > The hunting expo features about 200 exhibitors and allows
> > people to gain> relevant hunting-firearm permits and weapons.
------------------------------------------------------------
Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-0070 phone (406) 646-0071 fax
buffalo at wildrockies.org www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
PRESS RELEASE
CITIZEN TAKES ACTION TO SHUT DOWN BISON TRAP
"I called, I wrote, and no response...This is my response."
For Immediate Release, February 25, 2008
Contact: Buffalo Field Campaign, Stephany Seay or Mike Mease 406-646-0070
WEST YELLOWSTONE, MONTANA - An unidentified man has made it impossible for
Montana Department of Livestock agents to capture bison in the recently
erected Horse Butte bison trap. The man is perched upon a platform suspended
from the top of a pair of poles that are standing on end and anchored to the
walls of the trap. A large banner hanging from the platform reads, "I
called, I wrote, and no response...This is my response." Photos of the
blockade are available here:
http://gallery.buffalofieldcampaign.org/v/da/My_Response_HB_2-08.jpg.html
The banner's wording is an apparent reference to a series of call-in days
organized by local and national environmental and animal rights groups
targeting government agencies responsible for the bison slaughter. According
to Stephany Seay, Media Coordinator with Buffalo Field Campaign, "Thousands
of wild bison advocates from around the world have made calls, written
letters, and attended public meetings to strongly speak out against the
slaughter of America's last wild bison. Unfortunately we have been
completely ignored, put on hold, or otherwise disregarded by these
decision-makers, revealing that our public officials are not interested in
the public interest. Sometimes people, after exhausting every other means of
public participation, have no other choice than to take direct action to
stop the slaughter and have their voices heard."
The Montana Department of Livestock was expected to begin capture and
slaughter operations in the Horse Butte trap this week. Construction of the
Horse Butte trap, which hasn't been in place since 2004, was completed last
week.
In spite of receiving thousands of calls from concerned citizens opposed to
the bison slaughter, Yellowstone National Park remains intent on capturing
and killing bison. Between February 8 and February 21, Park officials used a
similar trap to capture and slaughter 290 bison on the north side of
Yellowstone National Park and Yellowstone officials captured 157 bison this
morning. While the government's official reason for the slaughter is to
prevent the spread of brucellosis from wild bison to cattle, no such
transmission has ever been documented. Because there are no cattle on any
part of the Horse Butte Peninsula at any time of the year, such a
transmission is impossible and Montana's intolerance for bison in the area
unjustifiable.
According to a statement made by the man occupying the platform, "Until
bison management in Montana is guided by sound science and fiscal
responsibility with input from every interested party, I choose this stance.
In the past few years I have tried every conceivable method of redress. I
have written, I have called, and I have gotten absolutely no response. I
have nothing left but to put my own life and freedom on the line. The bison
are that important."
2,336 wild American bison have been killed or otherwise removed from the
remaining wild population since 2000 under actions carried out under the
Interagency Bison Management Plan (IBMP), as well as state and treaty hunts.
The IBMP is a joint state-federal plan that prohibits wild bison from
migrating to lands outside of Yellowstone's boundaries. Wild American bison
are a migratory species native to vast expanses of North America and are
ecologically extinct everywhere in the United States outside of Yellowstone
National Park.
Buffalo Field Campaign strongly opposes the Interagency Bison Management
Plan and maintains that wild bison should be allowed to naturally and fully
recover themselves throughout their historic native range, especially on
public lands.
Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field, every day, to
stop the slaughter of the wild American buffalo. Volunteers defend the
buffalo and their native habitat and advocate for their lasting protection.
Buffalo Field Campaign has proposed real alternatives to the current
mismanagement of American bison that can be viewed at
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org/actnow/solutions.html. For more
information, video clips and photos visit:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org.
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