Northwest Update
IDA calls for Oregon to call off wolf kill
September 4th, 2009 | 
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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 »
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Chicken Rescue!
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 »
Today’s Oregonian: Animal rights protester makes peace with Lloyd Center
Check out Aimee Green’s Oregonian article, Animal rights protester makes peace with Lloyd Center, which details the final chapter, after the permanent closing of the Scamp’s Pet Stores chain, IDA’s Matt Rossell settles his legal dispute with the mall and their security guards who tackled him for 21 seconds of free speech at a Radical Cheerleaders for Animal Rights protest against puppy mills.
A special thanks goes out to the pro bono legal assistance of Stu Sugarman, Rossell’s attorney, who made sure his speech really was free, and continues to ensure that activists are defended when their constitutional rights are challenged. Activists could have long ago been silenced if not for the dilligence of defense attorneys like Stu.
Now
its time to celebrate the shuttering of Scamp’s! Join Stu, Matt and the Radical Cheerleaders for the party of the summer, Puppies Vs. Mall Cops, A totally awesome benefit party!, Saturday, August 29th, 7pm. There will be a showing of the film Paul Blart Mall Cop projected onto a 100″ screen in 7.1 surround sound and then from 9:00pm – Midnight: Kickin’ it Old Skool – 80′s Dance Party! Don’t miss it!
Scamp’s Arrest Court Victory
Yesterday, in courtroom 708 of the Multnomah County Circuit Court, Judge Adrienne Nelson was smiling while she dismissed Matt Rossell’s case (IDA’s Northwest Director) where he had been aggressively tackled and falsely arrested last February 7th at a puppy mill protest. The arrest occurred after a free speech event where the Radical Cheerleaders for Animal Rights had performed some cheers in protest of the store’s sale of puppy mill puppies in their Lloyd Center Mall location in Portland.
The entire event and arrest was captured on video and the Youtube post has been widely circulated, sparking a flurry of complaints against the mall.
The case was dismissed following a civil compromise that was reached between Rossell and the mall owners, Glimcher Properties Corporation, L.P., where both parties agreed to drop all civil or criminal claims and granted the right for Rossell to go back to the mall for “peaceful use” (they had issued a four-year exclusion prohibiting access.) Rossell was represented by Stu Sugarman, local Portland criminal defense attorney, an activist in his own right, and longtime advocate for activists.
The Portland Mercury’s story, “Dog-piled; mall cops pound puppy protesters” details the events of the day and uncovers the mall’s security company opperating procedures, which show that the mall security acted in direct violation of their own rules of conduct by tackling Rossell to the ground and taking him into custody.
Late last year, Ann Yeager of KGW Channel 8, had conducted an investigation into Scamp’s sale of sick and genetically defective puppies from puppy mills. IDA contributed significantly to that news story, sharing contacts gathered over the years from the ongoing campaign against the chain of pet stores.
But the biggest news that puts a giant exclamation point on the end of this issue, is that the entire regional chain of five Scamp’s Pet Stores have closed their doors forever, declaring bankruptcy this summer, around the same time Oregon’s state legislature had successfully passed a puppy mill bill, that would have forced Scamp’s to disclose the sources of their puppies which they have long kept secret.
Simian Stimulus
His opening sentence talks truth about how revolting this news is. “The stench of monkey shit is thick at the Oregon National Primate Research Center [ONPRC], scenting the air long before you hear the screeching of the center’s 4,200 nonhuman primates.”
In the article, OHSU claims that they are expanding to improve monkeys’ lives, and will actually be reducing their monkey census in the near future. However, in a conversation with IDA just last June, Richard Doughty, the Associate Director of Administration at ONPRC, when asked if this expansion was to increase the non-human primate census or just better house the current census, he responded, “both”. We also know that the last decade at ONPRC, they have increased their monkey population by more than 40%, at a time when all these labs should be reducing their animal experiments, and seeking grants involivng 21st century human-based research that holds vastly more promise to benefit people.
Stay tuned for more updates about how you can get involved to oppose this horrible primate lab expansion.
Monkey Business
Read Willamette Week’s current blog, MONKEY BUSINESS: Reporting on OHSU’s Primate Lab, about how OHSU reacted when they got a call from the paper and stayed tuned for more news about this expansion plan and what can be done about it.
OHSU is seeking funding through the Obama Administration’s Recovery Act, which in part has allocated 10.4 billion dollars to the National Institute of Health. In Defense of Animals is addressing this issue and will shortly be releasing a report to the Administration, Congress and the NIH Review Boards with an eye toward funding 21st century human-based research that holds more promise to advance human health than outdated animal experiments.
This is Mister!
Mister arrived at our office about 6 months ago. For years he’d been a Portland neighborhood cat – everyone fed him, but no one really looked after him. That changed when a good Samaritan scooped Mister up. Noticing his teeth were “kinda bad,” she took him to the vet where they had to remove most of his teeth. The vet said it looked like he’d been trapped somewhere and had used his teeth to try and free himself.
Now fully healed and a valuable “team member” at IDA, Mister has the run of the entire upstairs, but spends most of his time atop his perch in Eric’s office.
To say we’ve fallen hard for Mister would be an understatement. He’s a lovable curmudgeon. Stop by and say ‘hello’ sometime.
A Day in the Life of a Chained Dog
This Youtube video depicts a sweet, eight month-old pitbull puppy. We documented his miserable life on a chain to provide evidence in order to prosecute, and hopefully change his plight. So far, the animal control officers have visited multiple times, issued citations totaling nearly $1000, which would have eventually lead to an order to seize the dog and prohibit this person from “owning” animals for three years. Every step of the way our office has been doing everything legally possible to help this dog, but now he is gone, and we don’t know his fate.
Please do what you can for chained and ‘backyard’ dogs in your neighborhood. Find out if your city has a tethering ordinance, and if not, work towards encouraging them to adopt one. Share this link with city leaders and others who can make a difference, and contact our office for ways you can help.
Carriage Horse Dies in Downtown Portland
We’re working with the City to try and enact a ban on horse drawn carriages. Stay tuned. In the meantime, here’s the alert we sent out regarding the incident:
Help IDA ban carriage horses in Portland after tragic horse death
Please contact The City of Portland in response to the recent death of a 23 year-old horse, Balatore, who collapsed last Saturday after suffering a major heart attack while pulling newlyweds in a carriage during the ninth day of a heat wave where temperatures exceeded 90 degrees. Portland currently has no regulations for companies that uses horses to pull carriages.
KATU covered the story detailing how Balatore died in the streets of downtown Portland in front of the main branch of the library while pulling passengers in a cart with a “just married” sign on the back.
It is an unacceptable abuse to allow hoses to work in such extreme temperatures and older horses such as Balatore should have long ago been retired.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please contact Dan Anderson, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Transportation liason, and politely request a complete ban on carriage horses within city limits.
Remind them that horses do not belong in the city, and there is nothing romantic about forcing a horse to pull heavy loads on pavement in the middle of traffic. This tragic example – Balatore’s death – should be a wake-up call to an animal loving city like Portland to make the compassionate choice to ban the carriage horse industry, falling in line with other progressive cities which have instituted a ban including Santa Fe, New Mexico, Reno, Nevada, Camden, New Jersey and Biloxi, Mississippi.
Horses simply don’t belong in the city. The hard pavement is dangerous for their joints and legs, the shoes used limit effective circulation and the horses do not have free access to much-needed water throughout their working hours. These horses are vulnerable to injuries, car collisions, exhaustion and, as in the case of poor Balatore, death.
Please immediately contact:
Dan Anderson, Public Advocate, Bureau of Transportation
dan.anderson@ci.portland.or.us
503-823-1384
You can also contact the mayor at:
Mayor Sam Adams
sam.adams@ci.portland.or.us
503-823-4120
For more information about animal abuses within the carriage horse industry or campaigns to protect working horses, please contact the NW Office of In Defense of Animals 503-249-9996 or matt@idausa.org.
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