IDA Blog

Northwest Update

Throughout my 20 years in the animal protection field I have admired the work of In Defense of Animals, and I’m truly honored to accept the position of President of this esteemed organization. I feel very fortunate to have inherited a solid foundation created by Dr. Elliot Katz, and look forward to building on this platform of excellence in order to expand IDA’s positive impact for animals.

More than two decades ago I realized the common thread in the network of animal cruelty – the cage. The cage represents the imprisonment and mistreatment of the animals of this world. I have focused my career on tearing down these cages in their many forms and uses.

The cage is a fundamentally flawed contraption that causes rapid emotional, social and physical decline of its inhabitants. In my experience any animal confined to a cage goes through three phases of decline; typically starting with high anxiety, leading to depression, and resulting in psychological turmoil. Putting an animal in a cage is a violation of that creature’s innate right to live naturally and without suffering. This type of confinement also forces animals to eat, sleep and defecate in a space often only a few times the size of their body. This causes human and animal health problems and can ultimately lead to death in some species.

I conceptualized and built a revolutionary cageless animal shelter that set global humane standards. I lobbied for the adoption of guardian language to change people’s ideas concerning our relationships with animals. I lead the rescue of tens of thousands of animals from puppy mills, dog and cock fighting, hoarding cases, equine farming and countless other cruel instances of confinement and mistreatment. I have liberated hundreds of thousands of animals from the confines of cages and the grip of man-made cruelty.

Read the rest of this entry »

In Defense of Animals (IDA) proudly welcomes Scotlund Haisley as our new President. IDA’s Founder and only President to date, Dr. Elliot Katz, has been elected Chairman of the Board.

“Scotlund Haisley has been a dynamic force in the animal protection world for more than 20 years, and brings an impressive variety of experience that will serve us well in his position as President of In Defense of Animals,” said Dr. Katz. “Scotlund is the ideal individual to maximize IDA’s efforts to become a more powerful voice and force for our animal friends, by ending the rampant mistreatment of animals, not only in the U.S., but around the world.”

Most recently Haisley led the Humane Society of the United States Animal Rescue Team, and traveled the globe to rescue an unprecedented number of animals from puppy mills, dogfighting, hoarding, factory farming and natural disasters. He was the captain of humane law enforcement for the Washington DC Humane Society and the Peninsula Humane Society in the San Francisco Bay area. Haisley spent time in India creating policies and operating philosophies for animal welfare groups. He was also the shelter director for the Manhattan New York City Shelter.

While working as Executive Director at the Washington (DC) Animal Rescue League, Haisley designed and built an animal shelter unlike any in the world. The shelter, renowned for its calming and nurturing animal housing area, is recognized as a prototype for humane animal sheltering.

“I am honored to take on the role of President of In Defense of Animals, and look forward to building upon the solid foundation of excellence in animal rights that IDA has built over the past 25 years,” said Haisley. “I believe that under my lead In Defense of Animals will bring comfort and salvation to an unprecedented number of animals around the globe.”

Scotlund Haisley is also an accomplished artist, who often paints the scenes of cruelty he has witnessed and the animals he has rescued. By putting the images of suffering and salvation onto canvas Haisley is able to spread education and awareness of the suffering of animals. Haisley’s family includes several animals, including a dog named Bergh, named for the pioneering 19th-century animal protector Henry Bergh.

IDA is thrilled to welcome Scotlund Haisley as our new President. Stay tuned to this space for Scotlund’s first IDA blog, coming soon!

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has reported the first sea lion trap and kill of the season on the Columbia River. Named “Lionel” by students from Redland Elementary School in Portland, but known to wildlife agencies by the brand “C653,” the sea lion was trapped and killed by lethal injection on Wednesday. Sixty-four California sea lions are listed on the government’s kill authority letter and are at risk of being trapped or shot by wildlife officials. IDA is skeptical about the Oregon and Washington state wildlife agencies’ ability to correctly identify and humanely handle targeted sea lions.

Yesterday protesters from IDA and the Sea Lion Defense Brigade confronted wildlife officials responsible for the lethal removal of the protected sea lions, to voice concerns and ask questions about a plan that is misguided, has not met the criteria set forth in Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, fails to accurately identify specific sea lions as required by law, and will do nothing to resolve issues that endanger salmon populations.

Fishing quotas for salmon on the Columbia River this year were raised to 16 percent from last year’s 13 percent, while sea lions at the Bonneville Dam are being killed for eating what will likely be only about one percent of the 2010 spring run. These wildlife agencies are not making sound, biology-based decisions regarding salmon recovery. And the agencies’ track record has been abysmal, with multiple incidents of malfunctioning traps and seven sea lions who have died unintentionally in state custody.

Over 50 separate Fur Free Friday educational events occurred in 25 U.S. states as well as actions in Canada, Germany, and Spain on the day after Thanksgiving, November 27 the world’s largest day of outreach for animal rights. Be sure and check out the slide show of events from all over the world!

Fur Free Friday in San Francisco’s Union Square was a huge success! We had over 50 activists on a drizzly morning educating San Francisco shoppers about the terrible cruelty of fur. We had a “bunny” and a “doggy” (activists in costume) in cages with images of the horrors of the Chinese fur trade surrounding the cages depicting the anguish in which animals on fur farms suffer before they are brutally killed. Many people stopped to look at the gruesome photos.

Read the rest of this entry »

IDA was proud to host the first annual Ride To The Light, Three Sanctuary Century, which was a very fulfilling Saturday of cycling more than 100 miles to benefit three awesome sanctuaries, Out To Pasture, Lighthouse Farm Sanctuary and our own Project Hope.

Read the rest of this entry »

What is an animal rights activist to do when a zoo association conference, the Ringling circus, and Veg Fest all converge in Portland in the same week? At IDA, we got busy! Thanks to all the amazing volunteers who came out and helped make this a fabulously successful week of outreach for the animals!

In the first wolf hunt ever authorized by Oregon officials, federal hunters with permission to kill were tracking a pair of wolves Wednesday, and the hunt resumes tomorrow, Friday. Read the rest of this entry »

On our very first training ride for the upcoming Three Sanctuary Century, we came across two stranded chickens in Forest Park. Watch the video for the full details on this unbelievable rescue.

Thanks to Jane Bicquette for bringing us the nets that truly made this rescue possible and for assisting with the capture. Also, thanks to Leslie Rossell for her support.

After you watch this daring rescue in heavy traffic, race over to our fundraising site and give generously to our benefit for these three amazing sanctuaries. Read the rest of this entry »