Victor - the goose that survived being hit by an SUV died on January 6th. (photo credit: CBS Denver)

This comes on the heels of another Boulder incident a few months ago in which three students viciously killed a raccoon with a baseball bat, machete and hockey stick.

Many local citizens believe these teens should be charged with felony animal cruelty and, if found guilty, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

As long as incidents like these are passed off as “boys will be boys” matters, nothing will change.  In addition, studies and statistics make it very clear that violence to humans quite often follows violence to animals.

In Mississippi in 1997, 16 year old Luke Woodham killed his mother and two students, and injured seven other students.  He had earlier written in his diary about the torture and killing of his own dog, Sparkle.  Diary entries stated, “I’ll never forget the sound of her breaking under my might.  I will never forget the howl she made . . . It sounded almost human.  We laughed and hit her more.”  An adult neighbor witnessed Sparkle’s killing, but never reported it to police or animal control.  Could intervention have prevented the human tragedy that followed?

I agree that this is very difficult to read and you might want to look away, but it’s not as difficult as it was for the tortured dog or the dead and injured humans.

Fortunately, Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has stated with regard to animal cruelty cases, “We want to make these cases a priority because they matter to the community on a lot of different levels . . .There seems to be a correlation between people who abuse animals and people who abuse other people.”  The DA’s office has decided to charge two of the teens with, among other charges, Aggravated Cruelty to Animals which is a felony.  The teens will appear before the judge on February 1, 2012.

We strongly believe that violence in all its forms will never stop if we don’t take animal cruelty seriously and treat these cases like the heinous acts they are.

To support our work please click here.

Activists at last year's Fur Free Friday!

Last night the City Council of West Hollywood passed a historic ordinance unanimously prohibiting the sale of fur apparel products within the city!  This great success culminated after months of canvassing and rallies spearheaded by the Fur-Free West Hollywood Campaign made up of activists from In Defense of Animals, Last Chance for Animals, Animal Alliance, PETA, OCPA, ARME, APRL and many hard-working individuals, most notably Ellen Lavinthal, Ed Bucks, Shannon Keith and Bryan Monell. Several stores in West Hollywood had voluntarily removed fur items from their stores prior to the City Council’s actions.

In 1989, West Hollywood passed resolution number 558 proclaiming West Hollywood a “cruelty free zone for animals”.   Since that time West Hollywood has passed legislation banning the declawing of cats, prohibiting pet stores from selling puppy mill animals and resolutions banning cosmetic testing on animals and steel-jaw leg hold traps.  In February of 2001 they adopted IDA’s guardian language which substitutes the word “guardian” for “owner“ in all discourse.

West Hollywood is the first city in the United States banning the cruel commerce of fur.  It is a remarkable historic  victory.

Want to help animals killed for their fur in your city? Click here for some ideas on what you can do!

This year’s Fur Free Friday is right around the corner. Click here to see what activists from around the world did last year and start planning your own events soon… more details on that coming soon!

Due to the hard work and dedication of local animal advocate, Brandon Yanak, Ohio has its first Guardian Community. Not only did Brandon convince the Parma City Council to change their animal related ordinances, but he also convinced the Parma Animal Shelter, and the Middleburg Heights Animal Foundation to make the choice to use “guardian” instead of owner as well. See this great 30 second news clip from Tuesday’s victory here!

For more information on how you can make this happen in your city check out IDA’s Guardian Campaign.

One of the neglected dogs being rescued.

On Wednesday, June 29th, HAS volunteer Sarah Thomas, a vet tech, wildlife rehabilitator, and activist, and I set out to locate three horses in Grenada County, Miss., reported to be starving.  On our way, I got a call from my buddy Kevin Hodges, an animal control officer, water-meter reader, and part-time law enforcer for Charleston, Miss., only an hour from us, asking for help with six dogs also reported to be starving. Kevin knows he can count on our support and guardianship of animals we seize.

We located the first property where the horses were, but a privacy fence prevented “plain view” and an uncooperative sheriff meant the groundwork would have to be laid before there would be intervention.  I called Kevin to tell him that we were on our way to meet him. At 704 East Chestnut Street, Charleston resident Sherri White showed us six chained and horribly neglected dogs.  She claimed two to be hers and four to be those of her boyfriend’s relative.
After a visit to the police department, we prepared a seizure order, and crossed the street for Municipal Court Judge Steve Ross to sign. We returned, warrant in hand, and documented the heart-wrenching plight of the dogs and removed them. White protested the taking of her dogs and informed us the other “owner” refused to come when she called him. The chief and a fellow officer arrived to insure a smooth operation.

We immediately took off for Veterinary Associates, HAS’s vet clinic, to settle the dogs in and supervise as they dove into the nourishment they’d long been denied. White had stated she fed her dogs, but only fed the others if she had extra food. One of her dogs was as emaciated as the boyfriend’s relative’s dog to whom she was chained.  I listened in amazement as she told us she wouldn’t interfere when the other dog jumped her dog and would bite going for the morsel of food she gave her own dog.

The extraordinary density and inhumanity of seemingly conscious people is beyond my grasp. The gross neglect of the dogs has been recorded, they’ve been secured in a private kennel, and I’ll be filing criminal affidavits after meeting with the city attorney. Why can’t all community leaders have it so together like Charleston’s?

Photo: via unforth (Flickr)

For months, the answer to the question of whether New York City will again kill Canada geese this spring has gone unanswered when IDA and other activists contacted the city offices. We were told to call another office, or to call back on another day, or to just wait for return calls. Those calls never came.

And while the city refused to divulge this information to animal advocates, claiming it just didn’t know, it turns out that it has been planning all along  (perhaps plotting is more like it) to justify the massacre of the geese by donating their bodies to a food bank in Pennsylvania.

Yes, you heard right.

Apparently, the big brains in City Hall think this will shield them from having to face the kind of mass outrage that resulted last July when Prospect Park woke up to the disappearance of its beloved geese—murdered before dawn by USDA agents commissioned by the city.

But they fail to understand a number of things.

The first is that the public is not that stupid. We see this immediately for what it is—a pathetic attempt to mask a despicable deed by parading it as a charitable and noble act.

The second is that they didn’t do their homework. Donating dead geese to a food bank for the poor is a commonly used justification for animal murder, but it is fraught with controversy.

Free-roaming geese in urban and suburban communities are exposed to a whole range of toxins. PCBs, pesticides, and heavy metals contaminate their flesh. You won’t find this meat on the table of any reputable (or for that matter) disreputable restaurant. But apparently these doltish city officials feel justified—unashamedly—in heaping it on impoverished citizens.

Every year there is some community that tries this little trick and most often the food bank ends up rejecting it. Often the dead flesh never even makes its way to the food bank, intercepted by any decent inspection process along the way. Last year in Bergen County, NJ, the food bank recipients themselves rejected the goose flesh, insulted and repulsed that this is what was offered them.

Can you blame these poor folks? Will they be able to afford the medical treatment they might need from eating tainted food, many already suffering from poor health and a compromised immune system?

What folly. To act as if donating the flesh of tortured birds could possibly cover up the crime of snuffing out the lives of these majestic geese. Carrying out the mass murder of wildlife while hiding behind a  false show of goodwill  is clearly and unambiguously the height of cynicism and cruelty.

A close look at a Bullhook.

In a great win, the Fulton County Commission in Georgia voted 4-1 to ban the use of bullhooks on elephants. The ordinance covers unincorporated south Fulton, and it would apply primarily to smaller circuses that visit the area, effectively stopping them from using elephants in performances and rides. Unfortunately, it does not stop the use of bullhooks by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which performs in Atlanta.

Bullhooks are steel-tipped rods resembling fireplace pokers that are used to train and control elephants through physical punishment and intimidation (see accompanying photo). Handlers prod, hook and strike the elephants, often causing puncture wounds, lacerations and abscesses. There is abundant evidence showing that circuses routinely abuse elephants with bullhooks.

The perfect example of this training is seen in the footage recently released by Animal Defenders International, showing a typical training session for the elephants at Have Trunk Will Travel. The footage includes shots of Tai, the elephant featured in the movie Water for Elephants, being shocked with a hand-held electric device, and other elephants as they are hooked and viciously hit with the bullhook. (This company hires out elephants for rides, weddings, films, photo shoots, and parties, including some pretty seamy Hollywood soirees — just about anything that will make them money.) In one shot, the trainer tells the cameraperson not to show her hooking the elephants. That’s because this is the side of elephant training that’s never meant to be seen by the public, no matter if it’s a circus, a zoo, or an outfit like Have Trunk Will Travel.

What most people don’t know is that about half of zoos holding elephants use bullhooks, even though it’s inhumane for the elephants and extremely dangerous for keepers. Just this year, a young zookeeper was killed by an elephant at the Knoxville Zoo. And last year a seasoned keeper was nearly killed by a young male elephant. What makes these incidents even more tragic is that they were entirely preventable. Zoos can use a more progressive and humane training method that uses positive reinforcement and requires a barrier between elephant and keeper.

Please help IDA keep up the fight for elephants in captivity! You can start by taking part in our International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos (IDAEZ) on June 11, a global event aimed at educating the world about the suffering of elephants in zoos. Click here for more information. If there isn’t an event planned for your zoo, it’s not to late to organize one! Contact IDAEZ@idausa.org to learn how. And stay tuned to this blog for a special announcement next week about action you can take for elephants.

Shark fining is an industry where the fins and tails of sharks are cut off and the remainder of the often still living fish is thrown back into the ocean. Sharks then sink to the bottom, unable to swim and die a slow, agonizing death. Every year, tens of millions of sharks are killed in this manner for shark fin soup, a tasteless, Asian delicacy. This unnecessary dish has been a major contributor to the near collapse of many shark species world-wide as well as in California. Sharks maintain the natural balance in our oceans marine food web. Scientists are warning that the massive decline of sharks is having a devastating effect on the marine ecosystem.

California’s (AB) 376 will give important protection to sharks to help preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity of the California coast and the world’s oceans.
PLEASE TAKE ACTION:  If you are a California resident, please contact your representative and ask them to support (AB) 376.

The plight of horses is worsening. Some blame the economy; others say banning horse slaughter in the U.S. meant “owners” who couldn’t sell their horses let them starve. I say it’s both selfishness and ignorance. Horses are being overbred just like other companion animals. Those who think they can make a buck breed and then find out there are no buyers, at least at the prices they want, and they don’t want to feed what they can’t make money off of and certainly don’t want to give away what they might someday sell. The glut of horses means you can buy a horse for $50, or get one from someone who wants to “unload.”  It’s cool to have a horse and to tell folks you have a horse. Horses are like “trophy brides”: they express status, and, of course, there are some who actually think they’ll ride. The question is how many of these people are caught up in a whim with no thought of how to actually care for horses.

Three weeks ago, I traveled to Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, to look at three horses, two on one property, and another nearby.  The mailbox to one of the properties was open so I couldn’t see the house number. As the numbers weren’t in a cohesive sequence, I’d passed the property by a mile and spotted two other horses at residences along the road. The majestic but thin black horse was chained in the back yard, without water. A neighbor had three horses, one who looked pretty good, one a bit slight, and one clearly needing attention. I left cards as no one was home, took pictures and video, and headed back to where I’d spotted emaciated pit bulls.

From the western direction I could now see a horse behind the mobile home. A young man was working on a truck in the yard and I got out and spoke with him.  He was working on the resident’s truck, who was at work. I gave him my card, told him the dogs seriously need to gain weight, and to ask the man to call me. I told him I wasn’t going to take pictures as I entered the property to speak with him and that I’d take the matter up with the resident.  At that point I could see the horse was tethered to a stake that was in the center of a pile of debris, metal, junk, you name it.  The horse couldn’t raise his head and he was severely malnourished. No water. The young man untangled him and untied the tether and moved the horse under a tree to which he tethered the horse. He got the horse some water and I thanked him, but told him the condition of the horse was grave and asked that he make certain the man understood to call me.

By the time I’d gone to look at the other two horses I’d heard about, I found nine horses in substandard to horrific conditions. The deputy I normally request aid from was in court but when I reached the sheriff’s office my deputy friend was there. He and another deputy listened to me relay the plight of the horse, and my friend jotted down the addresses of the horses and said he’d checked on a couple of them before. He also said he’d catch up with the “owners,” clearly not guardians of the horses, and advise them that IDA would be gaining custody if they didn’t care for them. A naïve stance at best.  How do you just tell someone to do what he clearly doesn’t know how to do, or care enough to do?  There are some animals a person can be given time to make provisions for, but not a delicate horse who’s already at the brink of no return.

I was just sick, but I knew the kindly deputy saw things his way and would have to see for himself. My urging immediate action was of no avail.

The deputy told me he’d tell the people I’d be back in two to three weeks. I was, and three of the nine horses had disappeared—the horribly pitiful horse among them. A woman in the yard said the “owner” had come to get him. I told her the man to whom I spoke who was in the yard said her husband was the “owner.” Finding the horse may be impossible, but the dogs are there, and I gave her advice on their care and two weeks to improve their condition.

The majestic black horse was in pasture now, and I had the blessing of giving his guardian a ride to pick up a lawn mower part down the road. We talked about his horse, and he assured me that he loved him and wouldn’t chain him anymore. He said he did it to let the horse eat some of the grass he’d been unable to cut without the mower part. We parted friends, and I told him I’d keep him to his word and check back.

I will be following up with my deputy to see what he can learn as to the disappearance of the three horses and ask for his aid in pressuring seizure or compliance on the other horses.

Yesterday I went on my own to see about a horse reported to be starving. The caller said two other horses had already died in the small pasture. This horse was also in Tallahatchie County. I found the horse and she was thin. A quick stop at a neighboring residence, and I learned the uncle of the man failing the horse lived just across the road.

Four big dogs greeted me. One wasn’t sure this stranger should come around, one smothered me in nail-gripping affection, and the other two were content to run beside me. I heard a whistle from the edge of the woods and saw two men approaching. They were imbibing in liquid libation. The men were polite, but the elder man, the uncle to the man I was looking for, clearly would have preferred to meet me under different circumstances. This man didn’t know I was informed that one of the horses who died was his. To be certain he covered himself, he told me he’d told his nephew to care for the horse and had told him he didn’t want to have “nothing” to do with horses anymore. I told him the horse was starving, and he needed to let his nephew know it would be better to speak with me than law enforcement. In less than an hour I got the call.

The younger man started with, “My uncle said I should call you.”  I told him his horse was malnourished and I new another horse had just been buried. He said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with that horse.” The conversation was pat, like a script from so many cases. “I’ll tell you what’s wrong with the horse—she’s starving,” I responded. “Well I don’t know what to feed her. Everybody keeps telling me something different to feed,” he said defensively. “Something would have been better than nothing,” I retorted.  “Well, what should I do.” “You’ve got two choices. You can grain her twice a day and provide quality hay, or you can surrender her to us. We don’t make any money off the horses we rescue.  We care for them until they can be placed with people who will care for them,” I concluded.  He already knew there was the threat of arrest. I wanted a “free will” surrender without the implication of threats. “Well then, just come and get her, “ he said.  And I did.

This morning I spoke with the Roger and Peggy Brister. Roger keeps our large horse trailer at his home until our pasture entry is widened, and he just put new tires on our double horse trailer.  He had a job to do, I had errands I needed to tend to, and as Elizabeth and I finished unloading supplies the Bristers drove up.

When we arrived at the pasture site we had to park on the small side road. The pasture was at the slope of a levy without any space for parking. We parked in front of a hedged yard where four women and a child sat enjoining the day on the porch. I called to the women to tell them we’d be parked for a brief time. We’d just come to remove the horse. I knew they were aware of the horse I spoke of.

Roger and Peggy found the opening in the fence where the wooded area met the back corner of the pasture. The horse was wearing a halter and came right to us. Roger clipped the lead rope on and led the gentle, trusting horse out of the opening. She hit the grass like a midnight raid on chocolate. Roger let her have a moment and then moved her along. She stooped to grab a mouthful of grass as she ground the green blades and swallowed them.

I might as well say I named the horse Glory yesterday. She’s such a glorious testimony to the profound innocence of an animal who has been abused and is still so trusting of us.

Glory climbed right into the back of the trailer and the entire rescue was swift and sweet.

One of the women on the porch raised her voice above the wind and asked if we were bringing the horse back. I pretended not to hear her so I could approach her for a genuine conversation about what was taking place. She repeated her question, and I told her, no, we wouldn’t be bringing the horse back. I went on to say the horse was starving, and we would take her to our sanctuary for care. Before I could say I knew another horse had recently died the women chimed in, each letting me know that two horses had died and it was just terrible. They said how much they wished we could have learned about the horses before they died and went on about how no one should keep an animal he or she isn’t going to care for. We had a moment of camaraderie; each of us expressing our beliefs about caring for animals and answering for not doing so.  The occasion would be indelibly marked. These women would tell the story of how the people from the animal place came to save the horse. The fact that law enforcement didn’t come allowed them an atmosphere free from intimidation and leveled the interaction to one of communion with kindred spirits and not law enforcers. I believe word of this event will be more powerful than a news article about just another person who was convicted of something. This was a concrete moment in a community of people who see, listen, and tell.

We arrived home with Glory and, as we pulled into our larger pasture, Everett and Buttercup approached to see who was in the trailer. Within minutes Glory was standing in the midst of horses, people, and our canine grazers, everyone curious to meet her and very excited about a new friend. Elizabeth began to examine her and was shocked when great wads of hair came loose from her back. Glory is thin and has some rain rot issues, but she will prosper and her Glory Days are just beginning.

For the past two years, the city has contracted with the Wildlife Services division of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to kill Canada geese. So far more than 2,800 Canada geese have been cruelly rounded up during molting season, when the geese shed their flight feathers and cannot fly away.

After being rounded up in pens, the geese are transported to mobile gas chambers where they are cruelly asphyxiated with carbon dioxide gas. It is a slow, painful and utterly unjustified death for these beautiful birds.

The city claims the geese are killed to make air travel safer, but killing geese does nothing to enhance airline safety.

For the past two years, new populations of geese have moved in to replace those killed. Repopulation by new flocks of geese is inevitable, totally undermining the effectiveness at reducing their numbers. It is abundantly clear that these repeated killings do not limit the traffic of Canada geese in the airways around NYC airports, and most likely, just increase it.

This year, everyone can speak up for Canada geese, from the comfort of your home, by participating in our demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to do and a great way to tell Mayor Bloomberg to stop the gassing of geese.

Here’s how it works:

Facebook Instructions – Speak up for Geese in 3 easy steps!

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “Canadian Geese” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all week!

2. Follow this link and “Like” Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s Facebook page. This will allow you to post comments on his page – under his posts. He has recently changed his profile to block comments, posts and tags but you are still able to respond to his posts. So even if what he posts has nothing to do with Geese – you can still leave a comment on his page letting him know that as a voter – you expect him to represent you and save these geese! Here is a sample comment that you can use :

The senseless gassing to death of hundreds of Canada geese must be stopped immediately! Make NYC’s airways truly safe by coming up with a plan that is humane and effective at keeping geese out of the pathway of airplanes. Other cities are doing it. NY can too!

3. Post a comment! 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 action that results.

Twitter Instructions – Speak up for Geese in 3 easy steps!

1. Make sure you have your protest “sign“. All you have to do is right click on the “Canadian Geese” image and choose “Save” to get this “sign”. Replace your profile photo to your “sign” and keep it up all week! You can also change the background of your Twitter page to show this sign too!

2. Follow this link and “Follow” Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s Twitter Page. This will allow you to Tweet targeted comments to his page using @ and #! Here’s an example of what that looks like :

#@MikeBloomberg  Make #NYC’s airways truly safe by coming up with a plan that is humane and effective at keeping geese out of the pathway of airplanes. Other cities are doing it. NY can too! @IDAUSA

By adding the @ before his name and IDAUSA (our Twitter Page so that he can see that all the comments are originating from the same action) – this will send your Tweet as a message to Mayor Bloomberg’s page. The #s help make your Tweet go viral by showing up in a search page for other people also tweeting about that topic. By putting a #in front of NYC or NewYork City – you are increasing your chances of getting other New Yorkers to Tweet your message too and joining your demo!

3. Tweet! Because Twitter is a constantly moving message system – you’ll want to Tweet your messages to Mayor Bloomberg a few times that day to make sure your Tweet doesn’t get buried. 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 reasonable for any messages or Tweets sent or action that results.

We’ll have a staff person on IDA’s Facebook all day to answer any questions you might have that day! Don’t forget to also send a message via this alert too!

Thank you for speaking up for the Canada geese in NYC. Their survival depends on your voice!