IDA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘California’

IDA Staffer Hope Bohanec at MeatOut 2011

In Defense of Animals teamed up with Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) for this year’s MeatOut to feed 1,000 people vegan Tofurky sandwiches! On Saturday, March 19th, we had a fun vegan feed-in at the annual San Francisco peace rally calling for an end to the wars. We served yummy, vegan sandwiches, leaflet IDA vegan brochures, and spread the message that peace begins on your plate!

The San Francisco event featured sandwiches made with Tofurky slices, lettuce, tomato, and a non-dairy cheese spread. With every sandwich, rally-goers received a brochure explaining how a vegan diet can reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, save animals from suffering on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, and conserve precious environmental resources. We got reports that the sandwiches were tasty and very appreciated.

Last year, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors signed a ground-breaking resolution and officially named every Monday to be Veg Day and encourage all San Francisco residents to consider cutting the meat habit one day a week. In this spirit, rally-goers got a taste of vegan versions of meat and cheese to reduce animal products in their diet.

There were 68 of us at the BarkWorks pet store in Thousand Oaks on Saturday, February 13. We marched back and forth directly in front of the store, inside the mall. BarkWorks has six of the 100 stores in Los Angeles that sell dogs and cats from puppy mills.

IDA, the Companion Animal Protection Society and other groups in Los Angeles are working on legislation with local officials to ban this inhumane animal commerce. This legislation would require that pet stores only show animals from the city’s six animal shelters and rescue organizations, not puppy mills.

During the march a woman approached me and told me about a friend of hers who had purchased a dog from BarkWorks. Shortly thereafter the puppy became ill. She wouldn’t return the dog to the store because by then she had falling in love with the puppy.  So she paid out $4,500.00 to save the puppy’s life. Of course, most puppies in the same situation would not have had such wonderful (and able) guardians to pay for their treatment.

If you live in (or are visiting) Southern California and would like to help with pet store demos, please e-mail Bill Dyer: bill@idausa.org.

Recently, Oprah challenged her staff to join her and voluntarily go vegan for one week. Close to 400 Harpo Production employees agreed to the challenge and Oprah dedicated her show  to the results, so we had an Oprah watching party! About 75 delighted IDA and PETA employees, supporters, and other vegans packed into Harvey’s Bar in San Francisco to watch Oprah on the big screen TVs. Harvey’s recently added a few vegan items to their menu including tofu scramble, vegan chili, and vegan quesadillas, so we were well fed. They are also using vegan mayo for their entire menu. Famous vegan cookbook author, Colleen Patrick Goudreau co-organized the event with IDA and was on hand after for a discussion and Q & A about the show and mainstreaming veganism.

The show focused on a few employees and their adventures and struggles being vegan for a week. One of her staff lost 11 pounds in a week and many others reported feeling better with increased energy. Some said that they would continue the new lifestyle for a month, some said they were hooked!

Oprah’s guests were Kathy Freston, author of the new bestselling book Veganist and Michael Pollen, author and local food activist. There was also never before seen video of a slaughterhouse. They wouldn’t allow the cameras to film the actual killing of the cows, but the gruesome processing and grizzly skinning and dismembering was extremely disturbing. Kathy Freston said that she is vegan because horrors such as this footage didn’t sit right with her soul and she could not be part of it.

There was a segment of the show where one Harpo employee took everything out of her fridge that had animal products and to her surprise, it cleared out her refrigerator completely. So Freston took her to Whole Foods and introduced her to a variety of new vegan products including Tofurky,  Earth Balance, and Daiya Cheese . She said that her family learned a great deal about healthy eating and would continue to lean in this new, compassionate direction.

As for Oprah, she said that she is now “veganish” and will also continue to lean in this direction. She is implementing Meat-Free Mondays in the cafeterias at Harpo Productions as well as having a vegan option always available. IDA would like to thank Oprah for bringing veganism to the mainstream, exposing the graphic cruelty of the slaughterhouse, and showing people that there is a new, healthy and compassionate way to live and eat. Go Oprah!

IDA Activists in Action!

Last Thursday, marine mammal activists from all over the world, in over 55 locations, stood together in protest of the Japanese government’s support of the slaughter of dolphins and sale of live dolphins for the public display industry. Events took place at Japanese Consulates and Embassies, sending a resounding message to the Japanese government and a public purposefully kept in the dark that killing dolphins and sentencing the rest to a life of captivity is shameful. How the Japanese government can knowingly allow the human consumption of dolphin meat that contains dangerous levels of mercury and other industrial pollutants is beyond reason. Or how dolphins are mercilessly captured and shipped as cargo all over the world in order to perform demeaning circus-style tricks for food in grossly unnatural, artificial, and highly confined environments.

There is hope for dolphins and other cetaceans through public education and growing interest in finally bringing to an end the appalling dolphin roundups in Japan

Stay tuned for more updates. And if you haven’t already done so, please watch Oscar Award-Winning Documentary, The Cove and Animal Planet’s Blood Dolphins.

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

IDA's Bill Dyer Leads Protesters at The Greatest Circus on Earth

History was made in Los Angeles last night. In the biggest circus demonstration the city has ever seen, 300 activists holding graphic signs and colorful banners and wearing elephant costumes and symbolic chains, encircled the Staples Center to protest the opening night of Ringling. Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

The mood was electric as energized activists handed out thousands of leaflets and stickers and educated the public about the suffering of animals in circuses, where they are chained and confined to cramped cages, shipped around the country for 50 weeks a year, and cruelly trained to perform unnatural tricks.

No matter what direction circus customers approached the venue from, they had to walk a gauntlet of protesters passing out descriptive flyers and telling them of the horrors animals endure for their “entertainment.” At least two families decided not to attend after learning the truth about the animals’ miserable lives with Ringling.

A mountain of evidence against Ringling Bros. Circus, including court transcripts, videos and still images, and the testimonies of former Ringling employees, clearly demonstrates that the cruelty has been going on for years and still continues today. The most recent video depicts Ringling workers hitting elephants in the face with bullhooks before performances and whipping tigers during training.

IDA and a variety of animal protection organizations were represented at the peaceful protest, and their message was united: It’s time to end the use of animals in circuses.

We gave edible underwear a whole new meaning as In Defense of Animals joined forces with PETA, East Bay Animal Advocates and Bay Area Vegetarians to march in San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade Extravaganza on June 27, 2010. When I arrived the morning of the parade, our huge flatbed truck/float was filled with voluminous fruits and luscious veggies. Ladies were pinning greens on skimpy bikinis. One gal had a watermelon cut in half strung on as a bikini top. I joined in the fun and sprouted kale on my mini-skirt. Most of the gals looked like they jumped in a giant salad and came out just covered in strategic places.

There was something for everyone and the more modest among us had the option of t-shirts made especially for the day that read “Vegan Pride” or a variety of costumes. There was a cow, a chicken and a few pigs that held “Please Don’t Eat Me!” signs and a carrot, stalk of celery and other veggies whose signs read, “Eat ME!”

The best part was the outreach. For a long stretch of 8 blocks on Market St., we furiously passed out an estimated 17,000 pieces of veg literature to the lively crowd while smiling, cheering, waving and dancing to Lady Gaga! A few scantly clad veggie people danced on top of the truck “whipping” each other with chard stalks. This was our opportunity to show the world that vegans are not cloudy, dark, doom and gloom types, but fun, humorous, gorgeous and healthy! You can see all the pictures from our adventure here.

We were warmly received and we all felt that this sympathetic crowd allowed us to offer our message of compassion. I hope this inspires you to want to get out, take advantage of the summer months and do some veg outreach! We can provide you with materials and support. We also have World Go Vegan Week coming up Oct. 24 – 31. Start planning your event now! Contact hope@idausa.org if you would like to participate and do some outreach in your area.

Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary/photo credit: Karla Goodson

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.

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Please Credit: Karla Goodson

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!