IDA Blog

Exotic Birds

California recently enacted an important law, amending Section 597 and adding Section 597.4 to the Penal Code, (http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/text/347726) banning the sale of live animals “on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk.” The law targets swap meets and flea markets where dog and cat breeders and exotic bird dealers sell their animals. The law also applies to poultry and small animal sales at farmers’ markets, livestock auctions, and other events.

Using this law, we can prevent the sale of thousands of animals every year in California and make business difficult for animal abusers and breeders. Enforcement is going to be difficult, so we need you to help monitor enforcement of this important new law.

IDA is calling on animal advocates across California to be vigilant and do some investigating in your community. Is there a flea market or carnival that sells live animals in your area? How about a parking lot or outside a grocery store? If you find animals being sold outdoors, take a photo of the animals and the area and contact us. We can assist you in assessing if the seller is in violation of the law (there are some exceptions) and contacting your local law enforcement and getting the sales stopped.

If you can help monitor enforcement of Section 597.4, or if you have questions, please contact Hope@idausa.org or 415-448-0058.

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“fear is in your soul – say a prayer for me now”

 

Caged and deprived of everything that comes naturally to them, kicked, stomped on, bludgeoned, thrown to the ground, gassed, anally electrocuted, SKINNED ALIVE!  Does this sound like an entertaining music video to you?  This is Duran Duran’s latest video, “Girl Panic,” featuring five supermodels clad in fur, snakeskin, goat hair, feathers and leather.

 

I’ve always enjoyed Duran Duran’s music, so I was very disappointed to hear about their new video.  C’mon guys this isn’t 1982, it’s 2012, surely you’ve heard about the extreme cruelties of fur production?  The animals live in terrible conditions and are then killed in horrific ways.  A typical fur coat requires the slaughter of 35 – 125 animals.  Tragically, more than 50 million animals are killed for fur each year.  Over 2 million of them are dogs and cats.

 

Please scroll to the bottom and add your name and comment if you’re against Duran Duran’s promotion of fur.

We also request you contact Duran Duran to ask them to promote compassion towards animals, rather than extreme cruelty in the name of vanity.  We recommend you approach them in a respectful manner, so your message will be heard.

 

• Duran Duran on Facebook

• Duran Duran on Twitter

• Simon Le Bon on Twitter
• John Taylor on Twitter

• Email Duran Duran: media@duranduran.com, Askkaty@duranduran.com, customerservice@duranduranmusic.com, info@duranduranmusic.com

 

PLEASE NOTE:

A person that worked on the video and helped source the clothing confirmed that all of the fur garments appearing in the video are made from actual animal fur.  Information on the furs is also available in the printed UK version of Harper’s BAZAAR December 2011 issue.  We have reached out to Duran Duran, politely asking the band to stop promoting the use of animal fur and inviting them to participate in an IDA anti-fur public service announcement.  If they respond, we will post an update immediately.

 

Additionally, please politely ask the models to stop wearing fur:

Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Yasmin Le Bon: info@models1.co.uk

 

To help fur bearing animals please go to our Fur Campaign.

 

To support our work please click here.

 

Work every day of your life to right what is wrong.

 

It’s hard to resist puppies and kittens wrapped up in bows, but in this season of giving it’s important to remember all the homeless animals who need loving homes.

It’s estimated that an unfathomable six to eight million dogs and cats enter shelters each year. Half of them, tragically, are euthanized. Most of us cannot even get our minds around the fact that three to four million cats and dogs are euthanized, every year, in the United States alone.

 

The biggest thing you can do to reverse this trend is to support spay and neuter efforts in your community. Find a good local program and donate your time to help. Become a messenger in your community for spay/neuter programs, by supporting them where they exist, or working to start them where they don’t. Convince your neighbors and elected representatives that funding spay/neuter is the most cost-effective way to help dogs and cats. Write letters to the editor supporting increased public funding for low-cost spay/neuter.

 

Next best thing you can do is adopt furry family members from shelters, rather than supporting pet stores and breeders. There is no good reason to ever choose a pet store or breeder when so many animals in shelters need homes.

 

A few important things to remember:

 

• Be certain you are ready to make a lifetime commitment to your new family member. If you’re a parent getting an animal mainly for your children, be sure you are willing to be the primary caregiver, as children often lose interest.

• Animals given as gifts are frequently unwanted and are returned. If you want to give an animal as a gift, first make sure the future guardian is ready to make the commitment. Give them a gift certificate for a shelter adoption, and then take them to the shelter to see who they bond with.

• About 25% of dogs and cats who enter shelters are “pure-bred,” so if you’re attached to a particular breed, odds are you can find them in a shelter. There are also a large number of breed specific rescues. But consider, instead, a mutt – if you’re looking for love and companionship, the breed is not very relevant.

• If you’re looking for smaller animals, most shelters also have rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and birds. But don’t presume that “small” equals easy to care for – learn the special needs of any species before bringing them into your home.

• Consider adopting an older cat or dog. Shelters have a harder time placing older dogs and cats and they are often the first to be euthanized. There are a great number of advantages with an older animal companion. They have generally already been trained and will be calmer. Black cats are also hard to place due to unreasonable superstition, and black dogs are often bypassed simply because it’s harder to see their facial features in a shelter setting. Tell shelter staff you’d like to meet the cat who has been there the longest, or the eldest dog. The shelter staff will love you!

• If you decide to adopt a dog please consider a vegan diet.  Dogs can be very healthy and thrive on a well-balanced vegan dog food.

• Be certain to spay or neuter the new addition to the family. Accidental breeding is one of the biggest reasons for the overpopulation problem.

 

 

 

If you go about it the right way, the holidays can be a great time to add a new family member and to give him or her all of your love!

 

 

For more tips on how you can be a great guardian and help keep animals safe, please visit our Guardian Campaign.

 

 

To support our work please click here.

 

 

Work every day of your life to right what is wrong.