Workers using Corexit in the Exxon Valdez Spill. Photo Credit : The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council

It’s been over a month since President Obama and the EPA gave BP 24 hours to stop dumping the toxic oil dispersant Corexit into the Gulf of Mexico. The decision was first reported in the Washington Post immediately after Congress heard testimony from BP’s own executives and scientists confirming our worst fears. Not only is this highly toxic chemical relatively ineffective against this type of crude oil, but it was now adding more pollutants to the already poisoned waters.

Numerous independent scientists have come forward to say that Corexit is really only good for public relations. This carcinogenic, mutagenic, and highly toxic chemical does break up the oil into small somewhat transparent ripples and droplets that are more visually acceptable than images of giant black tides drowning wildlife and covering beaches. What the cameras don’t see is the long term damage to delicate ecosystems that are now struggling to escape toxic tides of chemicals. According to environmental engineer Joe Taylor the sulfur and sulfuric acid based dispersant will also deplete oxygen levels under the water, killing plankton and everything above plankton in the food chain. This is not new information. Corexit has been banned for years in the UK because of the long and short-term damage to wildlife and ecosystems. The world was first introduced to Corexit in 1989 when it was used in the Exxon Valdez spill. Images of the workers during that spill spraying the chemical in hazmat suits should have been our first clue something wasn’t quit right with this chemical.

So – why at the time of this decision had BP already sprayed over 600,000 gallons of Corexit on the surface of the Gulf with another 55,000 injected directly into the oil pouring out of the ocean floor? And why, one month later, have they been allowed to dump even more? It is estimated that more than 1.4 million gallons have already been used.

Please act today to remind President Obama that this disaster could have been prevented and that he needs to restore the moratorium on all-offshore drilling in the U.S.

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.

Throughout the centuries, humans have used cages to take non-human animals out of their natural habitats and confine them for enjoyment or financial gain. This phenomenon flows through many forms of animal cruelty. Unnatural confinement is central to puppy mills, vivisection, the dog-meat trade in South Korea, zoos, circuses, aquaria, the exotic bird trade, fur farms, and most of the other exploitative industries IDA fights against.

Puppy mills are one of the most obvious incarnations of this imprisonment. Breeding dogs are often confined to small wire cages for their entire lives, forced to live in horrific conditions while producing litter after litter. These dogs are treated more like a cash crop than living beings capable of pain, loneliness and fear. They live in feces-caked enclosures without proper veterinary care and often only feel the touch of a human hand when they are being forced to breed or their puppies are being taken from them. In this miserable existence they become one with their cages – many have never felt solid ground beneath their feet – only the hard grate of their metal enclosures. One of the most disturbing examples of this abuse I have seen was a Pekingese I rescued from a puppy mill in Arkansas. His severely matted hair had grown around the bars of his tiny cage. I actually had to cut him out of that dank prison to free him.

Another nightmarish example of the cage’s cruel impact is vivisection. Animals are held in laboratories across the country and forced to undergo unimaginable suffering in the name of science. These innocent primates, dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, and other animals cower in the corners of their cages as rough gloved hands reach in to inflict torture. Animals in laboratories are commonly dissected, infected, gassed, burned and blinded. I don’t think that we can fully comprehend the terror of such an existence. For these animals every human interaction is filled with confusion and suffering.

The confinement of birds is perhaps the most fundamentally disturbing use of the cage. Birds are gifted with the incredible ability to soar through the air, envied by all other creatures.  Humans, on a whim, fueled by their desire for an exotic, luxurious pet, take these winged creatures from their rainforest and jungle habitats and force them to live in unnatural confines without proper enrichment. An exotic bird who would naturally fly uninhibited through the treetops is forced to live in a cage often only several times his size. This bird, born to be part of an intricate, social flock, is often forced to live in solitary misery. Some species of parrots can live close to 90 years, but inadequate care and constant confinement dramatically decrease the life expectancy of birds kept as pets.  Until humans cease the imprisonment of these regal creatures they will continue to suffer and die behind the bars of their gilt cages.

These are only three of many examples of the cruelty of confinement. But the cage itself  is not the driving force of the cruelty – it is the humans who stand to profit from the suffering. To make a significant positive impact for these victimized animals we must change the mindset of those who profit from their misery. I remain confident that we are in a position to drastically reduce animal suffering. The need to end animal suffering is great everywhere, but the power of compassion is equal to that need.

In my position as president of IDA I plan to continue that crusade to bring animals out of the darkness of caged confinement and into the safety of a more natural and fulfilling life. We can win only if we band together in a unified circle of compassion, not wavering until we realize our vision of a humane society. IDA has the tools necessary to fight this battle, but we need you every step of the way to ensure victory. I call on you as guardians of the sentient beings of this planet to do your part and continue to support IDA in our work to protect the rights, habitat and welfare of animals. On behalf of the animals who benefit from your acts of kindness, thank you.

Copyright: Wolcott Henry

You may recall in 2008, IDA reported about a juvenile female whale shark rescued by the Atlantis Hotel off the coast in Dubai.  IDA supporters along with local environmental and animal protection groups called for her immediate release in light of the hotel’s reputation for exploiting animals for profit.  Last Thursday, the Atlantis Hotel announced they had fitted her with a satellite tag and released the juvenile female whale shark known as “Sammy” into the Persian Gulf.

The hotel stated that the reason behind their decision to release her was because of the outpouring of local and international support calling for her freedom.  Her welfare, inability to forage, or thrive in the confines of captivity are among the many reasons why pelagic species (especially the world’s largest fish species) do not belong in hotels or any other captive enterprise. While Sammy is back in the wild, other animals at the hotel are not so lucky.  In 2007, despite wide spread international protest, the hotel imported wild caught dolphins from the Solomon Islands, flew them 30 hours to exploit them in their ever cruel, swim-with-dolphin attraction.

The only circumstance where marine species should be held in captivity is when they are injured or sick and need care in captivity before they can be returned to the wild.  Helping them to heal after their rescue, build strength under rehabilitation and then releasing them back to the region they were found, contributes to the survival of the species in the wild. SeaWorld is a prime example of an establishment that gained credibility by employing scientists who developed a noble record of rescuing stranded, sick and injured marine mammals and rehabilitating them to survive in their natural environment.  This activity was consistent with their mission statement “To work with purpose and passion on behalf of wildlife habitats worldwide, encouraging sustainable solutions through support of species research, animal rescue and rehabilitation and conservation education.” Obviously, they no longer live by this mission and infact work against it by capturing animals from the wild, holding animals captive in cramped, artificial pens and forcing them to perform unnatural stunts for food and for amusement of people and commercial gain.  SeaWorld has 50 venues in Japan alone.

One of Sea World’s worst offenses is their determination to hold on to Tillikum, a wild caught male orca from Iceland. His emotional welfare is so poor he continues to kill people. SeaWorld justifies his enslavement as well as other marine mammals with buzz words like “conservation” and unsubstantiated phrases such as “we are contributing to the conservation of the species” in response to protests from people about Sea World’s use of marine mammals for entertainment and profit.  Rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing animals back into their natural environment works truly towards conservation of animals.

SeaWorld needs to stop capturing marine mammals, and refocus their work back towards fulfilling their mission statement. As a first step, they must immediately discontinue their demeaning circus-style shows with animals. They also need to stop the captive breeding of marine species like orcas because they cannot be held humanely in captivity.  It is paramount that they begin the rehabilitation process of the individual captive animals and prepare for their release back to the regions of the world from they were originally caught.

This is an incredible opportunity to maximize the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition’s (SJDC) efforts to stop the slaughter and urge Ms. Mizuho Fukushima, Japan’s new Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety to make public the health risks associated with eating dolphin meat and institute a ban on it’s sale without delay.

With The Cove set to be released in Japan this year, the primary goal of the SJDC will be to use the film as a medium to convince the Japanese public to oppose the cruel hunt and sale of dolphin meat throughout their country. So far, only 600 out of 126,000 million people in Japan have seen the film and those who did were completely outraged.

Our aim is to prevent the Japanese government from issuing 23,000 permits this fall and with the likelihood that dolphins will continue to be tainted with mercury and other harmful chemicals in the future, an end to the dolphin hunt once and for all.

We couldn’t buy better exposure for our campaign to stop the slaughter, consumption, and live capture of dolphins in Japan. A billion people, including media outlets around the world, are slated to tune into the event that will undoubtedly create a surge of pressure directed at the Japan Fisheries Agency to stop allowing dolphins to be slaughtered, and their mercury-laden meat to be eaten by Japanese citizens.

We are so thrilled that The Cove will be released this year in Japan, because combined with the exposure through the Oscars, the Japanese government will no longer be able hide the issues behind media blackouts.

Whether The Cove wins Best Documentary or not, this is a critical victory for getting the information to the Japanese public!

IDA is delighted to report The Cove is now an official runner for an Oscar award for Best Documentary!  As a result, we can expect the next month leading up to, and including, the March 7th Oscar presentations to expose billions of people around the world to the Save Japan Dolphin Coalition’s passionate work to stopping the cruel capture, slaughter, and consumption of dolphins in Japan. The global spotlight on The Cove will also bring necessary pressure on the Japan Fisheries Agency to make public the calamitous health risks, including mercury poisoning, associated with eating dolphin meat. This is especially true for residents in Taiji, the small fishing village where the documentary is based, and the focus of our greatest efforts to ending the slaughter.  University of Hokkaido Professor Tetsuya Endo just revealed the alarming results of a study that conclude residents in Taiji have 10 times higher mercury levels than average Japanese citizens.

The government in Japan will not be able to shield the fact that it has been allowing the poisoning of Japanese people who readily eat contaminated dolphin meat to occur. Moreover, it will no longer be able to cover up the barbaric dolphin slaughter with routine media blackouts on the issue. We hope to use the momentum of the Oscar Award nomination and potential victory to enlighten the public in Japan, so the hunting and consumption of mercury-contaminated dolphins will end, once and for all.

Special thanks to The Cove filmmaking crew, including Director Louis Psihoyos, Executive Producer Jim Clark, Producer Fisher Stevens, and the Oceanic Preservation Society for creating a winning documentary!