IDA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Exotic Animals’

California recently enacted an important law, amending Section 597 and adding Section 597.4 to the Penal Code, (http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/text/347726) banning the sale of live animals “on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival, or boardwalk.” The law targets swap meets and flea markets where dog and cat breeders and exotic bird dealers sell their animals. The law also applies to poultry and small animal sales at farmers’ markets, livestock auctions, and other events.

Using this law, we can prevent the sale of thousands of animals every year in California and make business difficult for animal abusers and breeders. Enforcement is going to be difficult, so we need you to help monitor enforcement of this important new law.

IDA is calling on animal advocates across California to be vigilant and do some investigating in your community. Is there a flea market or carnival that sells live animals in your area? How about a parking lot or outside a grocery store? If you find animals being sold outdoors, take a photo of the animals and the area and contact us. We can assist you in assessing if the seller is in violation of the law (there are some exceptions) and contacting your local law enforcement and getting the sales stopped.

If you can help monitor enforcement of Section 597.4, or if you have questions, please contact Hope@idausa.org or 415-448-0058.

To support our work please click here.

“fear is in your soul – say a prayer for me now”

 

Caged and deprived of everything that comes naturally to them, kicked, stomped on, bludgeoned, thrown to the ground, gassed, anally electrocuted, SKINNED ALIVE!  Does this sound like an entertaining music video to you?  This is Duran Duran’s latest video, “Girl Panic,” featuring five supermodels clad in fur, snakeskin, goat hair, feathers and leather.

 

I’ve always enjoyed Duran Duran’s music, so I was very disappointed to hear about their new video.  C’mon guys this isn’t 1982, it’s 2012, surely you’ve heard about the extreme cruelties of fur production?  The animals live in terrible conditions and are then killed in horrific ways.  A typical fur coat requires the slaughter of 35 – 125 animals.  Tragically, more than 50 million animals are killed for fur each year.  Over 2 million of them are dogs and cats.

 

Please scroll to the bottom and add your name and comment if you’re against Duran Duran’s promotion of fur.

We also request you contact Duran Duran to ask them to promote compassion towards animals, rather than extreme cruelty in the name of vanity.  We recommend you approach them in a respectful manner, so your message will be heard.

 

• Duran Duran on Facebook

• Duran Duran on Twitter

• Simon Le Bon on Twitter
• John Taylor on Twitter

• Email Duran Duran: media@duranduran.com, Askkaty@duranduran.com, customerservice@duranduranmusic.com, info@duranduranmusic.com

 

PLEASE NOTE:

A person that worked on the video and helped source the clothing confirmed that all of the fur garments appearing in the video are made from actual animal fur.  Information on the furs is also available in the printed UK version of Harper’s BAZAAR December 2011 issue.  We have reached out to Duran Duran, politely asking the band to stop promoting the use of animal fur and inviting them to participate in an IDA anti-fur public service announcement.  If they respond, we will post an update immediately.

 

Additionally, please politely ask the models to stop wearing fur:

Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Yasmin Le Bon: info@models1.co.uk

 

To help fur bearing animals please go to our Fur Campaign.

 

To support our work please click here.

 

Work every day of your life to right what is wrong.

 

It’s hard to resist puppies and kittens wrapped up in bows, but in this season of giving it’s important to remember all the homeless animals who need loving homes.

It’s estimated that an unfathomable six to eight million dogs and cats enter shelters each year. Half of them, tragically, are euthanized. Most of us cannot even get our minds around the fact that three to four million cats and dogs are euthanized, every year, in the United States alone.

 

The biggest thing you can do to reverse this trend is to support spay and neuter efforts in your community. Find a good local program and donate your time to help. Become a messenger in your community for spay/neuter programs, by supporting them where they exist, or working to start them where they don’t. Convince your neighbors and elected representatives that funding spay/neuter is the most cost-effective way to help dogs and cats. Write letters to the editor supporting increased public funding for low-cost spay/neuter.

 

Next best thing you can do is adopt furry family members from shelters, rather than supporting pet stores and breeders. There is no good reason to ever choose a pet store or breeder when so many animals in shelters need homes.

 

A few important things to remember:

 

• Be certain you are ready to make a lifetime commitment to your new family member. If you’re a parent getting an animal mainly for your children, be sure you are willing to be the primary caregiver, as children often lose interest.

• Animals given as gifts are frequently unwanted and are returned. If you want to give an animal as a gift, first make sure the future guardian is ready to make the commitment. Give them a gift certificate for a shelter adoption, and then take them to the shelter to see who they bond with.

• About 25% of dogs and cats who enter shelters are “pure-bred,” so if you’re attached to a particular breed, odds are you can find them in a shelter. There are also a large number of breed specific rescues. But consider, instead, a mutt – if you’re looking for love and companionship, the breed is not very relevant.

• If you’re looking for smaller animals, most shelters also have rabbits, rats, guinea pigs and birds. But don’t presume that “small” equals easy to care for – learn the special needs of any species before bringing them into your home.

• Consider adopting an older cat or dog. Shelters have a harder time placing older dogs and cats and they are often the first to be euthanized. There are a great number of advantages with an older animal companion. They have generally already been trained and will be calmer. Black cats are also hard to place due to unreasonable superstition, and black dogs are often bypassed simply because it’s harder to see their facial features in a shelter setting. Tell shelter staff you’d like to meet the cat who has been there the longest, or the eldest dog. The shelter staff will love you!

• If you decide to adopt a dog please consider a vegan diet.  Dogs can be very healthy and thrive on a well-balanced vegan dog food.

• Be certain to spay or neuter the new addition to the family. Accidental breeding is one of the biggest reasons for the overpopulation problem.

 

 

 

If you go about it the right way, the holidays can be a great time to add a new family member and to give him or her all of your love!

 

 

For more tips on how you can be a great guardian and help keep animals safe, please visit our Guardian Campaign.

 

 

To support our work please click here.

 

 

Work every day of your life to right what is wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fur Free Friday, November 25th, is a time to raise our voices to educate shoppers and the media about the real cost of fur – the cold, merciless fact that more than 50 MILLION fur-bearing animals are slaughtered for fashion each year. This number doesn’t even reflect the estimated billion rabbits who are killed annually for their skins, because of laws in places like France, where over 70 million rabbits are killed each year, has falsely labeled the much more valuable fur a “by-product” of the meat industry. Whether on fur farms, where these helpless animals go insane from the cramped, filthy conditions, or in the wild where they are trapped and left to suffer, these animals need your help now.

This year, everyone can help fur-bearing animals no matter where you live, and you don’t even have to leave your house (or get out of your pajamas!). Simply participate in IDA’s Fur Free Friday Virtual Demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. Help us to blast the Internet with our compassionate message; it’s easy to do and a great way to spread the word that it’s time to stop the animals’ suffering.

TAKE ACTION

Facebook Instructions – Speak up for 50 MILLION fur-bearing animals in 3 easy steps!

1. Make sure you have your protest image up. All you have to do is right click on the “You Don’t Have To Wear Fur To Be Foxy” image and choose “Save Image As” to get the image. Replace your profile photo with it and keep it up all weekend!  (The image will look best if you “Edit Thumbnail”.)

2. Go through the list below and “Like” the promotional pages (links included). This will allow you to post comments on their pages:

• Nordstrom
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Neiman Marcus
• Kohl’s
• Macy’s
• BCBG (please also send a quick email to BCBG by clicking here)

3. Starting on Friday, November 25th, start posting your POLITE comments! (Choose from our quotes below or write your own.) Remember that your comments will be seen by followers of all ages and comments that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” will probably be removed before the general public gets a chance to read them and may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Facebook. IDA is not responsible for any comments you may leave or resulting actions.

 

Twitter Instructions:

1. Make sure you have your protest image up. All you have to do is right click on the “You Don’t Have To Wear Fur To Be Foxy” image and choose “Save Image As” to get the image. Replace your profile photo with it and keep it up all weekend!  (The image will look best if you “Edit Thumbnail”.)

2. Go through the list below and “Follow” these pages. This will allow you to send them direct messages and Tweets.

3. Encourage your friends to join your Twitter Demo! Tweet to them to also change their profile image to their “sign.”

4. You can run your Twitter Demo all day – Rain or Shine! But remember messages and Tweets that include profanity or can be interpreted as “abusive” may result in your profile being reported and/or deleted by Twitter. IDA is not responsible for any messages or Tweets sent or resulting actions.

• Nordstrom
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Neiman Marcus
• Kohl’s
• Macy’s
• BCBG (please also send a quick email to BCBG by clicking here)

 

Twitter (Under 140):

 

An incredible amount of suffering is represented in each piece of fur: full coats, lining, or fur trim. Please show compassion and don’t sell fur.

 

Over 50 million animals–including millions of dogs & cats–are killed for their fur worldwide (not including the unknown number of rabbits). Please don’t sell fur.

 

Animals are killed for fur in horrific ways incl. bludgeoning, neck braking, anal & genital electrocution & many are skinned alive. Choose compassion & go fur-free.

 

In the US, there are no federal laws providing protection for the millions of animals who suffer and die on fur farms. Please stop selling fur.

 

Fur trim is not a by-product. Many, perhaps more than half, of all animals killed for their fur are killed specifically for fur trim. Please don’t sell fur.

Facebook Only:

 

Each year, over 50 million animals–including millions of dogs and cats–are killed for their fur worldwide. This number does not include rabbits as that number is unknown. Please don’t sell fur.

 

Animals are killed for fur in horrific ways including bludgeoning, neck braking and anal and genital electrocution and many are skinned alive. Please make the compassionate choice and go fur-free.

 

Over 50 million animals, including raccoon dogs, rabbits, foxes, mink, and chinchillas, spend their short lives in filthy, tiny wire cages until they are killed by ruthless methods on fur farms around the world. Please don’t support this suffering and go fur-free.

 

In the U.S., there are no federal laws providing protection for the millions of animals who suffer and die on fur farms. The fur industry remains completely self-regulated. Please stop selling fur.

 

Fur trim is not a by-product. Many, perhaps more than half, of all animals killed for their fur are killed specifically for fur trim. The number of animals killed for fur trim is expected to exceed the number of animals killed for full-fur garments. Please don’t sell fur.

 

There is no such thing as “green” or “eco-friendly” fur. It takes more than 15 times as much energy to produce a fur coat than it does to produce a fake fur. Furs are loaded with chemicals to keep them from decomposing, and fur production pollutes the environment, wastes precious resources, and poisons our waterways. Please don’t sell fur.

To help fur bearing animals year round please go to our Fur Campaign.

Please join IDA and activists worldwide to speak up for fur-bearing animals on November 25, 2011.

Fur Free Friday is the most widely-attended annual demonstration in the history of the animal protection movement. Don’t miss your opportunity to join with thousands of other activists worldwide for this international day of action.

Mark your calendars, contact IDA, and plan now! We must raise our voices in unison to educate shoppers and the media about the real cost of fur – the cold, brutal fact that more than 50 MILLION fur-bearing animals are slaughtered for fashion each year. Whether on fur farms, where these helpless animals go insane from the cramped, filthy conditions, or in the wild where they are trapped and left to suffer, these animals need your help now.

IDA’s last day for shipping materials for your event in the U.S. is Nov. 17, so plan now and register your event.  We have a new poster to make your event stand out. IDA is asking Nordstrom to be the first department store to go fur-free. Please consider targeting Nordstrom if you have one in your area and we can send you specific Nordstrom literature. Click here to see a list of stores.

TAKE ACTION: In 2008, high-end fashion brand BCBG signed a pledge not to sell fur,
but BCBG’s 2011 holiday line has fur! We are disappointed that BCBG is moving in the wrong direction and has gone back on its word. Please join IDA in asking BCBG to honor its original compassionate choice and go fur free … again! Click here now to send an e-mail to BCBG. 

We have lots of events already posted. Please check here to see if there is an event happening in your area.  Contact Hope Bohanec at Hope@idausa.org or 707-540-1760 to find out how you can get signs, literature, and ideas for outreach in your community.

In a great win for elephants, the Toronto City Council voted to send the Toronto Zoo’s African elephants, Thika, Iringa and Toka, to the PAWS Sanctuary in Northern California. The council voted in May to close the zoo’s elephant exhibit, but decided to send the elephants to another zoo and not to a sanctuary—though a sanctuary was not out of the question if an appropriate zoo was not located.

 

But things turned around last week when Councilor Michelle Berardinetti presented an urgent motion to move the elephants to PAWS amid rumors that the Toronto Zoo was zeroing in on a facility that would not meet the council’s criteria for the elephants. The council had specified that they be sent to a warmer climate and to a facility that did not use bulhooks on any elephants. Councilor Berardinetti’s motion passed by a resounding 31-4.

 

Thanks to the compassion of the Toronto City Council and the hard work of Zoocheck Canada, Thika, Toka, and Iringa are now assured a permanent home in a facility that offers far more space than any zoo, a climate suitable for elephants, and only positive reinforcement training.

 

IDA is very proud of its role in helping these elephants. We sparked the effort to save them in 2009, when IDA called for closure of the Toronto Zoo’s elephant exhibit following the unprecedented deaths of four elephants in less than four years, and urged the Toronto City Council to send the elephants to a sanctuary. The story was widely covered by the Canadian media. IDA kept the pressure on when we made Toronto the first Canadian entry on IDA’s annual Ten Worst Zoos for Elephants list. And it is thanks to the perseverance of Zoocheck Canada that this wonderful victory was finally achieved.

 

Now it’s time to turn our attention to the plight of solitary Lucy in Edmonton, and assure that she, too, can live out her life in a sanctuary in the company of other elephants. And we can’t forget all the other elephants living in inadequate conditions in Canada and elsewhere. With your help and support, we can bring about the mammoth changes they need.

IDA has long been fighting to end archaic, circus-style training in zoos because it’s inhumane for elephants and lethal for keepers. We are happy to tell you that the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has announced a profound change in policy that would bring an end to cruel training practices in zoos. The AZA announced that by September 1, 2014, keepers in AZA zoos will no longer be able to share the same unrestricted space with elephants, with some exceptions. The new policy allows for exceptions, including medical procedures and testing (which is already being done by zoos using “protected contact” training that uses only positive reinforcement and no bullhooks). Zoos also will be required to document all instances of aggression by elephants and to report annually on all injuries or fatalities related to elephants (no such record-keeping now exists). This new directive is a significant step forward, but many elephants in zoos are still kept in woefully inadequate conditions that cause them to suffer and die prematurely, so there still is much work to be done.

More details to come!

To join IDA’s efforts to help elephants – Click Here to  Join our Elephant Task Force!

Seems like IDA has mostly been urging people to avoid movies this year because of the use of elephants and other wild animals who are cruelly trained and confined. But here’s an award-winning film about wild animals that we highly recommend: The Elephant In The Living Room. (Note: There are no elephants in the film but don’t let that stop you from seeing it!)

The Elephant In The Living Room is a documentary feature-length movie, produced by Michael Webber and featuring our new hero for the animals Tim Harrison, that examines the subculture of exotic animal owners and dealers in the U.S. The film takes a balanced approach to the issue, showing compassion for the animals and for a misguided human whose dysfunctional love for two lions is sure to end badly. Its main focus is Harrison’s efforts to help the lions and their owner by convincing him to let them go to a sanctuary. The story takes some unexpected twists and turns, and I’ll warn you that there is one heartbreaking scene. But this film is so important that everyone should see it.

The ownership of exotics is unfortunately alive and well in the U.S., as we know all too well at IDA. We are fighting right now to stop an elephant from being brought to a proposed pseudo-sanctuary in Maine. Despite altruistic claims, it’s just one more story about someone wanting to possess a wild animal, no matter how detrimental it is for that animal’s welfare. Like many parts of the U.S., there is no law in Maine banning the ownership of exotic animals.

The Elephant In The Room is by far is one of the most compelling and enlightening films ever made about the issue, and it’s one you should not miss. It’s not in major theaters, but you can own it on DVD (a bargain for $19.99) or Blu-Ray by visiting the film’s website and ordering a copy (it says “pre-order” because the actual release is next week). And be sure to “like” the film by visiting its Facebook page.

Disclaimer: IDA has had no involvement in the making or distribution of The Elephant In The Living Room. We just think it’s such a significant film that we’re helping to spread the word about it. Buy a copy and share it with friends or arrange a special in-home screening to educate people about this important issue.

Join IDA’s Elephant Task Force to find out what you can do to help elephants!

This year’s International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos (IDAEZ) on June 11^th was an outstanding success, featuring events in 27 cities and a virtual protest that used social networking technology to circulate more than 9,000 messages about the suffering and premature deaths of elephants in zoos. Thanks to everyone for your involvement!

Elephant advocates held demonstrations from the U.S. to Canada to the UK and Spain, educating thousands of people attending their local zoos. Media reports on IDAEZ events carried our message to even more of the public. Scores of colorful banners and posters, and the 30,000 informative flyers that were handed out, opened people’s eyes to the lifetime of misery elephants endure in inadequate zoo displays.

We welcome the many IDAEZ events in new cities this year, including the Houston Zoo, Fresno Zoo, Honolulu Zoo, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Birmingham Zoo, Milwaukee Zoo and Ft. Worth Zoo.

We’re also pleased to report that events could not be held at the Central Florida Zoo and the Brookfield Zoo near Chicago because those zoos no longer have elephants! And it looks like there will be even fewer zoos holding elephants in the years to come.

The virtual protest, also held on Saturday, was a great success. This special cyber-demo allowed everyone to participate in IDAEZ by Tweeting zoos and posting enlightening messages on zoos’ Facebook pages about the physical and psychological suffering that Earth’s largest land mammals endure in cramped zoo enclosures. Rather than allow their members to read the truth, at least seven zoos shut down their Facebook pages in different ways.

IDA thanks everyone who participated in IDAEZ in person and on-line. You helped educate people around the world about the terrible plight of elephants in zoos, bringing us a step closer to ending their suffering. And we also thank this year’s celebrity supporters, Lily Tomlin, Jorja Fox and Mariana Tosca, for their commitment to helping the elephants.

You can visit www.HelpElephants.com to read more about IDAEZ and our campaigns for elephants in zoos and circuses.

Don’t forget to join IDA’s Elephant Task Force to learn what you can do to help elephants year round!