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Hens in intensive agriculture are crammed into tiny battery cages where they are unable to walk or spread their wings.

This month’s massive egg recall is stacking up to be the largest in history with a mind-boggling half a BILLION eggs snatched back from our nation’s shelves.  Over 1,000 people across 14 states have fallen ill. What’s so crazy is that all this is the fallout from one single egg factory. That’s right, just one facility. That is how outrageously conglomerated our food system has become. A billion eggs from one hen house? Can you imagine what kind of life those chickens must have?

This is no isolated incident either. Just this week there was another recall of 380,000 pounds of deli meats with Listiria contamination, another potentially deadly bacteria which causes high fever, severe headache, nausea, neck stiffness and potential death.

The egg facility involved in the recall has a rotten history. The salmonella outbreak can be traced to Wright County Egg, in Galt, Iowa. They have been the target of government regulators for environmental violations, unsafe working conditions, and sexual harassment of workers, according to the New York Times. Wright County Egg is owned by Jack DeCoster, who also happens to own an egg facility in Maine which was the recent target of a Mercy for Animals 2009 undercover investigation.

The undercover video revealed shocking animal abuse in Mr. DeCoster’s egg factory. Birds were video taped suffering from untreated open wounds, infections, and broken bones. Hens were producing eggs for human consumption alongside their dead cage mates, standing in feces. Workers were seen breaking the necks of hens, kicking birds and throwing them live in trash bins.

Mr. DeCoster pleaded guilty to 10 counts of cruelty to animals and paid fines and restitution coming to over $130,000.  However, it appears from this historically massive egg recall and resulting salmonella epidemic that Mr. DeCoster has not cleaned up his act.  Similar appalling conditions are sure to be found at this factory.

When you keep chickens crammed 10 to a cage and a million to a warehouse, contamination is going to easily occur. These facilities are disgusting, dirty, rat-infested places you wouldn’t want to spend even a minute inside and these poor birds have to live their entire short lives in them. Hens in intensive agriculture are crammed into tiny battery cages where they are unable to walk or spread their wings. Workers have to enter the windowless warehouses with masks and goggles because the airborne fecal dust is so thick. The birds are painfully debeaked. They never set foot outside or feel the sun on their feathers. All their natural behaviors like nesting, scratching, pecking, and preening are completely denied.

So how do we keep ourselves and our family safe from contaminated eggs? The same way we help end the suffering of these tortured hens; by going vegan. We can enjoy improved health and well-being on a plant-based diet without the cholesterol and saturated fat-filled egg. In Defense of Animals has the solution not only to the safety issue, but to the cruelty issue, to the obesity issue, to the world hunger issue. It’s truly amazing how many of the world’s problems can be eliminated with a vegan diet. So recall cruelty! Recall global warming! Recall heart disease and go vegan!

Yesterday I shared with you some of my experiences in New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina rescue.  It will never be easy for me to revisit these memories. Since Hurricane Katrina, I have been translating some of the most painful and searing memories of my New Orleans experience into paintings. While most of these pieces depict animals I rescued, this anniversary painting is different. The painting above is my reflection on the devastation of the storm, and the region’s efforts to revive its way of life.

It is a reference to the very core of Katrina. The frame is built from wooden boards I salvaged from a dilapidated building in New Orleans and then wrapped in distressed linen. I created an oxidized copper background and affixed a tattered American flag I retrieved from the flood waters of the ninth ward. I then layered the flag with news clippings and pigment mixed with actual Katrina flood water. The flag, like the region itself, is still distressed and rough around the edges but waving proudly. This flag is a survivor.

But what truly lives in my heart can be found in the lower right hand section. This sign represents one gut-wrenching rescue my team performed in the ninth ward.  It was 3 a.m. on September 12^th – nearly two weeks after the storm, and our rescue vehicle was flagged over by an NOPD officer. I thought he might ask for our credentials or force us to turn back to the emergency shelter, but instead he begged us to go into the most devastated area in the city in search of his dogs.  While he was sworn to protect the public during this time of disaster, we were the only people who could help reunite his family.

As I neared the address scribbled on the scrap of paper, the dirty water rose to my chest. When our team finally found his house our hearts sank – it was obvious that water had nearly submerged the entire structure at one point. As we broke down the door we braced ourselves for a grim scene.  Sadly, we found the remains of two dogs floating inside the home. I began searching for a third body when to my surprise I saw a large Shepherd mix balancing precariously on the two-inch ledge of a sealed window. He had obviously been perched there above the water for some time.  A wash of pure joy spread over his face when this canine survivor saw our team and the salvation we represented. Reuniting this dog with his human guardians was a proud moment that will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Through these elements this painting represents both the past, present and hopeful future of a truly remarkable place and the people and animals who survived when the levees broke.

When we look back at Hurricane Katrina, I hope we will remember this German Shepherd and those who never gave up hope that someone would come for them. There are still countless animals out there who need our help. Please think of them and support our IDA Rescue Team today.

Every year around this time I receive calls and emails from individuals I worked alongside or families I reunited in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.  Although it has been five years, the bonds that were cemented during our rescue work in New Orleans will last a lifetime. We will never forget the horrors we witnessed there, and the thousands of animals we pulled from the wreckage of the submerged crescent city.  I can scarcely believe half a decade has passed since I stepped into the worst natural disaster our country has ever known.

At that time I was the Executive Director of the Washington Animal Rescue League. As soon as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast I assembled a rescue team, and was one of the first responders on the ground. I knew we were entering uncharted territory when we passed the first city checkpoint and a crowd of desperate-looking people charged our vehicle and threw their keys through our open windows. The keys were wrapped in paper with the people’s names, telephone numbers, addresses and the description of the animals who were trapped in their homes. When I saw the horde of individuals on their knees, tears streaming down their faces, begging us to rescue their animals, I knew this mission would change my life forever.

During our six weeks in New Orleans our team rescued nearly 1,000 animals who had lost all hope of surviving the grim disaster. We scaled dilapidated buildings to pluck emaciated animals from rooftops, pulled cats out of putrid, debris-laden waters and found dogs who had been left to die, stranded for weeks in flooded homes. Each rescue was unique, but every animal shared an initial look of wild desperation, which melted into trust and gratitude once we held them tightly in our arms of compassion.

Our team was the first inside these houses for days or weeks after the storm. We were the only lifeline for people clinging to the hope that their companions would be found alive. It was heartbreaking to tell someone who had lost everything that their cherished friend didn’t make it, but an honor to deliver the news to others that their animals had survived.

As soon as we plucked one animal from death’s door we were off to respond to another plea for help.  The calls never stopped, our rescue vehicles seemed constantly full, as we  perpetually raced the clock in a desperate fight against time. Inevitably, we were too late to save some – it is these lost souls who push me on a daily basis to continue my life’s work.

In the five years since, animal guardians have made huge strides in efforts to include pets in disaster preparedness. President Bush signed the PETS Act into law in 2006, allowing communities to receive funds for including companion animals in disaster preparedness plans. Communities and individuals are much better prepared to ensure their pets’ safety in the wake of nature’s unpredictable fury.

IDA played a crucial role in the post-Katrina response efforts. We delivered supplies to Gulf Coast emergency shelters and transported hundreds of displaced animals to shelters in the north. Today IDA’s rescue team is poised and ready to save animals from both man-made and natural catastrophes. Click here to support our life-saving efforts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has seen a four-fold increase in reported cases of Salmonella Enteritidis in the past three months, amounting to more than 800 cases of this potentially deadly disease every month. Add to that the number of sickened individuals who failed to report their illness.  While there are many different means of contracting Salmonella, health officials have attributed this massive outbreak to contaminated eggs from a factory farming powerhouse in Iowa. This revelation caused the Iowa producer to recall approximately 228 million eggs late last week.

This is in no way an isolated incident; there were dozens of recalls of animal products, everything from beef stew to chicken pot pie, between January and August of 2010 alone.

The news of the egg recall should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the unimaginably filthy living conditions that hens in intensive agriculture are forced to endure. With tens of thousands of laying hens crammed into tiny battery cages, contamination is unavoidable.  It only makes sense that these eggs would likely infect anyone who ingests them.

An egg that comes into contact with fecal matter or is layed by a sickly hen has an increased potential to be infected by the salmonella virus. In turn, these eggs infect unsuspecting consumers. And if you think you can read the label on the carton to easily avoid a certain production company – think again. These 228 million eggs were sold under 13 different brands across the US. Are consumers really willing to take a blind leap of faith when it comes to their health?

Paul McCartney wisely stated, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian.” When the FDA urges the recall of 228 million eggs after an unprecedented salmonella outbreak, shouldn’t everyone go vegan?  If the suffering of billions of animals each year isn’t enough to make people rethink their diet, maybe this alarming outbreak will sway people to stop consuming animal products.

Can you even imagine tens of thousands of animals living on top of one another in a putrid, window-less enclosure? The workers in these facilities wear hazmat-like suits complete with respirators and thick rubber gloves. I don’t know about you, but I’m not inclined to eat anything that comes from a place where you have to wear full body armor just to walk through the door.

Nor am I inclined to eat anyone who suffered as these defenseless animals do. Hens in laying facilities live a truly miserable, frustrated existence. By design, these hell emporiums make it impossible for the chickens to do what comes naturally to them: root in the dirt, spread their wings and peck through the grass for feed. Instead, they live covered in their own feces, often forced to share cages with the bodies of their deceased neighbors.

The insatiable desire for increased production leads factory farms to pump their hens full of hormones and antibiotics to stave off constant sickness. These unnatural conditions can lead to illness in the birds, which increases likelihood of infected eggs. All in all, it’s the perfect storm of misery and disease. Why support this cruel, unhealthy industry? I urge you all to share these undeniable facts with your family, friends and coworkers and urge them to consider their diet choices, and educate themselves about where their food comes from. Let’s help create a healthy world free of suffering and disease for both human and non-human animals.

IDA's Barbara Stagno at The Rally for Canada Geese in NYC

A rally for the Canada geese of New York City. It could have been a dream, with all those people lining the steps of City Hall, but it was real. A day before, I had prepared my talk, and wrote about how wildlife does not belong to government agencies. I asked the crowd – the then imaginary crowd – to join with me in demanding changes for how our government deals with wildlife.

When I wrote those words I had no idea that one day later, more than 150 people would join the IDA rally for the Canada geese. I couldn’t have imagined the passionate and enthusiastic voices of Councilmember Letitia James and State Senator Eric Adams, who spoke about growing up with the geese in Prospect Park…. playing with them, learning about them. Or, as Senator Adams so eloquently said, learning that, in essence, they are really not that much different from us.

When I saw that spirited crowd, I knew that it was true. That people cared deeply and had come to speak up about putting a stop to the government killing of wildlife. To demand change.

Those words I spoke on Thursday August 12, 2010, could be addressed to any mayor in any city. They reflect the feelings of communities all across America, who have had their precious birds taken from them and slaughtered.

Mayor Bloomberg made the ludicrous statement that it comes down to people or geese.

It’s not about people or geese.

It’s about ways to co-exist peacefully with the animals of this earth.

It’s not about making airline flights safer. Killing resident Canada Geese has absolutely nothing to do with airline safety, as these geese don’t fly that high! There are, however, real ways to make airline flying safer, ways that do not require us to kill – and ways that other cities around the world currently engage in.

We will not stand by while you kill the geese who were over bred to satisfy hunters, and who flew away from the hunted areas to come live in the cities where they are safe.

We welcome them in our parks where they can be protected.

If there are too many geese today in Prospect Park, or Central Park, or Flushing Meadow Park, it’s because of government mismanagement, and we will not stand by while you make excuses to wipe out these wonderful flocks that live in our parks.

The people here in front of City Hall today are sending a message. The government’s war on wildlife needs to end and it needs to end now. Humane solutions exist and we demand that they be used.

Let’s start right here in New York City, home of a diverse community of compassionate and tolerant citizens, who have welcomed millions of people from around the world to take refuge in our city.

Out of this heritage of kindness and tolerance, let us reverse the senseless killing of animals perpetrated by government and herald in a new era for wildlife.

Please take moment right now to send a letter to Mayor Bloomberg and the New York City Council and Save Our Geese!

It never gets less painful to witness the horrific suffering that animal abuse inflicts on the helpless victims – this truth I know, having personally rescued thousands of miserable animals leading excruciating lives during the more than twenty years I have been in the field of animal protection.  I was reminded of this fact again days ago in the sweltering summer heat of Mississippi, where we rescued a number of dogs from very dire conditions in three separate seizures.

That feeling of being lucky enough to offer the first gentle touch, the first trustworthy embrace to an animal who has endured years of abuse and neglect is indescribable.  I can tell you that it never diminishes and that it’s this feeling which drives me and all of us in animal protection work to do what we do with our lives.  Again last week in Mississippi, I was filled with that feeling of gratitude and awe as we rescued severely starved and abused dogs, embracing them with kindness for perhaps the first time in their lives.  I would like to share with you my experience from just one of the recent rescues.

In Charleston, Mississippi, I went with the director of our Hope Animal Sanctuary, Doll Stanley, to help Animal Control Officer (ACO) Kevin Hodges respond to a report of a suspected dogfighter.  I had no idea what we were going to find when we walked up on this sad, neglected property in search of dogs bred to fight.  What we encountered was a sight of such profound misery it is difficult to describe – dogs that may have originally been intended to fight were clinging to life.  Chained to tiny six-foot enclosures in collars so tight they had to be cut off, they were emaciated and dehydrated to the point that they could barely stand, their skeletons entirely visible.  Some had fresh wounds, all had visible scars, and their hair was partially worn off, either from being chained or caged in despicable conditions or eroded away by mange.

Approaching these dogs, who had clearly never been shown kindness nor mercy was a testament to the inherent innocence and beauty of animals. While chained, they were terrified, barking and lunging. Aware perhaps that they could not escape whatever inhumane treatment they had endured, they desperately tried to protect their six-foot-in-diameter world. Once the chains were cut, these dogs relaxed, curled up, and accepted help – immediately forgiving the abuse they had suffered.

One unchained dog, a little white-haired sweetheart we later named Esmeralda, regarded me with extreme trepidation.   As I gently called to her, she came towards me shyly, stopping to lie meekly ten feet away. She looked at me with both apprehension and hope. I slipped a collar around her neck, but when I encouraged her to walk with me, she simple could not.  Instead, I scooped her up in my arms and she rested against me as I carried her to safety and a new life.

All the dogs were confiscated and taken for immediate vet care – tragically, even with the very best care, two of the most severely neglected dogs died that night, and a third, the sweet Mona Lisa, is clinging to life as I write this.  All of the surviving dogs are being held at a confidential location, away from the vet clinic and sanctuary, for their security.

That was only one of the rescues on July 28^th. After these dogs, and the others rescued that day receive veterinary care, my promise to them is a better life.  We will seek assistance from partner shelters in order to place them in loving, forever homes, and we will make sure their lives are never again so tortured and hopeless. Please take a minute to watch this rescue for yourself in this video.

My promise to you, as president of In Defense of Animals, is that we will continue to build the most effective and comprehensive Companion Animal Campaign possible.  Together, with your help, we will be there to open the cage doors and stop cruel puppy mills from profiting on misery.  We will continue to seize and rehabilitate dogs from dog-fighting rings and cases of abuse and neglect.  We will continue to work to clear animals from hoarders and over-burdened shelters and we will expand our work to address the underlying problems leading to pet overpopulation.  Together, I know we can accomplish a great deal and save many lives.

That feeling of giving the first touch of compassion to an abused and neglected animal, the first embrace of kindness, is euphoric and profound. I know that everyone of you can feel it too.  By acting on your own innate compassion and through your continuing support, I know you’ll feel the thrill I do on each and every rescue of which I am blessed to be a part.

Wild horses gallop in the Rocky Hills HMA, southeast of Battle Mountain, Nevada. PHOTO CREDIT : USAToday

Despite tremendous public opposition and legal actions the Department of Interior is moving forward with the ill-conceived plan to remove more than 6,000 wild horses and burros from our public lands by October 2010. The Obama Administration’s policy has proven to be both deadly and devastating for wild horses. The Calico Complex roundup, which IDA fought in federal court, has to date taken the lives of 186 horses including 30 foals who have died and 40 spontaneous abortions as reported by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
On July 10, 2010 the BLM began this horrific roundup of wild horses in the summer desert heat in northeast Nevada – the Tuscarora Complex roundup. (See USA Today article.) The BLM reports, given the lack of public access to observe there is no way to verify any BLM-provided information, that 22 wild horses have been killed at the trap site and three have died at the holding facilities. After a lawsuit was filed by Nevada horse advocate Laura Leigh, the BLM began to claim the first part of the Tuscarora roundup (in the Owyhee herd management area) was a “rescue” operation – claiming there was not enough water on the range and that horses were dehydrating. Just last week, IDA had a representative on the ground in Owyhee and observed water, cows and plenty of fencing in and around the Owyhee area.

If dry conditions were so severe one would expect wildlife and cows to be suffering from the same dehydration – yet this was not the case. Rather only wild horses were in need of “rescue.” As one local rancher told IDA – antelope and other wildlife can get under and over fencing, but wild horses cannot. If a need to “rescue” horses occurred – it was clearly a BLM-created problem.

Indeed, in mid-May, the BLM conducted an on-the-ground observation at Owyhee; the promotional video resulting from it, actually titled “Extreme Terrain Requires Extreme Diligence,” stated among other things that “There is little water available to sustain more than 800 horses.” (Also see transcript.) Meanwhile, the BLM warned in its own Environmental Assessment that “Given the dry conditions and the expanding wild horse numbers, along with the limited perennial water sources in the Owyhee HMA, the BLM has a very strong concern that wild horses could suffer from dehydration and possible death in the Owyhee HMA this summer” to justify the disastrous July 10 roundup.

Clearly, the BLM should have taken actions (i.e. fence removal, water delivery, etc.) to mitigate any possible problems. The Tuscarora situation is a classic case whereby the BLM refuses to conduct on-the-range management and reverts to the roundup-removal practice which has already been acknowledged by the Interior Secretary to be an unsustainable practice.  In the case of the horses at Owhyee, just like the horses at Calico, the result is needless suffering and death. Thanks to this broken system, we have more wild horses in government holding facilities (36,000) than free on the range (33,000).

In addition to the BLM-created problem in Tuscarora, the BLM proceeded with using helicopters to roundup these horses in summer-desert temperatures while foals continue to be born. This means newborns and weeks-old foals and still-pregnant mares were run up to eight miles in desert heat. IDA has called for a moratorium on summer roundups and filed an administrative appeal to stop the Tuscarora roundup. We recently received the denial on the appeal and are reviewing our legal options.

We knew fighting the deeply-entrenched BLM would not be easy. We pledge to all the wild horses and burros who have lost their lives, families and freedom that we will continue to fight until these magnificent beings are truly protected and finally given their fair share of our public lands.

Stay tuned for our next action alert – another step in this long fight to bring about the change these animals deserve and need.

Doll Stanley, Scotlund Haisley, Renee Lazzareschi and Hope Bohanec

In Defense of Animals was a co-sponsor of the 2010 Animal Rights Conference in Washington DC, July 16, 17 & 18. This year’s conference, presented by Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) was a grand affair at the Hilton Alexandria with dozens of animal organizations and product vendors in every corner of a huge hall in the hotel.  Scotlund Haisley, IDA’s new president, attended and spoke several times, as well as myself and a few IDA staff from all over the country. Our table was brimming with information and fun merchandise including a new, very popular t-shirt and new buttons.

The three day affair included panels of speakers on a wide variety of topics from developing leadership, enacting and enforcing protective animal laws, advertising and media, fundraising, to effective strategies and tactics and so much more. A video room offered PowerPoint presentations and compelling films throughout the conference.

Along with the three catered vegan meals available at the conference, the vegan sweet treats sent me over the edge on a sugar high! After the vegan twinkies, cupcakes, hazelnut chocolate cups, and ice cream sandwiches, you realize that we can now make anything vegan – and it’s all obtainable at this conference!

IDA’s new president, Scotlund Haisley, offered an evocative speech at the Sunday Evening Plenary Session delving into his past work with the Washington Animal Rescue League (WARL). He single handedly transformed WARL from a scary place for animals behind bars into a homey sanctuary with no cages, running water features, and new age music piped in, creating a “home awaiting a home” for the luckiest animals in the DC area. We are very excited about the prospects Scotlund brings to IDA and look forward to his leadership and the potential he brings to make IDA even more effective in the future for animals.

I highly recommend the Animal Rights Conference as a great place to network, meet other animal loving people, learn about the movement and eat decedent vegan treats. It’s a really awesome feeling to have a thousand people gathered in one place who all feel the same compassion for animals that I do. I came home with vegan gifts for friends, lots of people to contact, and a renewed sense of hope, that we are out there, effecting change for animals in every corner of the globe. I can’t wait till next year’s conference in LA, and hope you will join us!

As the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services continue to systematically round up and exterminate entire flocks of resident Canada geese all over the country, IDA is calling on every one of our supporters to get involved to stop this needless killing.  In 2010, thousands of innocent Canada geese across the country have been or will be gassed to death or sent to slaughterhouses if we do not take action to stop it. Since non-lethal population control programs for resident Canada geese have proven successful throughout the country, the USDA must change course and switch to non-lethal, humane, and progressive population control.

Every person I have spoken with, whether they be in New Jersey or New York, has been outraged, horrified or saddened by the eradication of geese in their communities.  Many are sickened that the slaughter occurred despite public protest or without considering the interests of the vast number of residents who enjoy the presence of the geese in the parks. Of course, the lack of consideration of the interests of the geese themselves is even more disturbing.

IDA has produced another video highlighting the negative impacts of the USDA’s lethal course of action against geese. Click here to watch the video.

IDA encourages you to act to protect Canada geese in your community by contacting your city manager’s office to request a copy of their goose management plan.  Also, please click here to send an e-mail to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, asking him to immediately end the slaughter of Canada geese.

With the help of each and every one of IDA’s supporters, we can make a positive difference for the Canada geese who call the United States home.

In yet another victory for animals, the Sacramento (Calif.) City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance amendment that provides greater protection for animals used in traveling exhibitions such as circuses and rodeos. Presented by Councilmember Sandy Sheedy, the amendment establishes an application and permit process for traveling animal exhibitors and empowers Sacramento animal control officers to perform unannounced inspections to insure the humane care and treatment of performing animals.

IDA founder Dr. Elliot Katz provided expert testimony at the hearing, educating the council about the crippling foot and joint diseases that elephants in circuses suffer as a result of constant confinement and being forced to perform unnatural tricks.

The council also heard from local animal advocates, animal organizations, and leading experts on the behavior and care of wild animals, including PAWS Co-founder Ed Stewart, wildlife consultant and veterinarian Dr. Mel Richardson, and animal behaviorist and trainer Gail Laule, who all urged passage of the amendment.

At one dramatic point during the hearing, the Councilmember showed a video of Ringling Bros. Circus trainers brutally hitting elephants in the face, trunk and body with bullhooks as they waited to perform. It should come as no surprise that the council voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance amendment after seeing this blatant display of cruelty.

Dr. Katz hailed the council’s decision as a wonderful first step. “IDA applauds the Sacramento City Council for its unanimous support of this important ordinance that will better protect animal welfare,” said Dr. Katz. “Now it’s our job to continue to educate the public about the plight of animals used in circuses, rodeos and other forms of so-called entertainment, and keep fighting to end these inherently cruel and outdated displays.”

IDA would like to thank all our Sacramento-area supporters who quickly responded to our alerts, sending emails and making phone calls in support of the ordinance. We also thank Councilmember Sheedy for her compassionate leadership for animals, all the council members who voted to approve this important ordinance, and Mayor Kevin Johnson.

You can view the hearing at HERE. Click on the “Watch Now” button for the July 20^th meeting.

If you would like to thank Mayor Johnson and the Sacramento City Council, you can email them at:

Mayor Kevin Johnson
- You must go to the city website and email the mayor via this form.

E-Mail string for entire City Council:

rtretheway@cityofsacramento.org

ssheedy@cityofsacramento.org

scohn@cityofsacramento.org

rkfong@cityofsacramento.org

lhammond@cityofsacramento.org

KMcCarty@cityofsacramento.org

rwaters@cityofsacramento.org

bpannell@cityofsacramento.org