IDA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Wildlife’

“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.

Naomi Campbell in Duran Duran's "Girl Panic" video

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.

The past week has seen some steps forward for elephants in circuses. These are only small steps but they represent progress for elephants and, for Dumbo, a life that has improved in significant ways.

Dumbo a circus performer no more

Dumbo

For nineteen months, we searched for Dumbo – the African elephant who killed her handler at a Pennsylvania Shrine Circus in April of 2010 and then disappeared from view. The USDA confirmed an open investigation into that incident, following a complaint from IDA. With your help, we were persistent in demanding the USDA’s urgent attention to Dumbo’s welfare, filing complaints and mobilizing people to write to the USDA on her behalf, while making efforts to locate and monitor her.

We can now report that Dumbo has been moved to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado; she is finally out of the hands of her circus “owners’” – the notorious Frisco family.

This is not the perfect solution. Of course, we would have much preferred that Dumbo spend the rest of her life at a natural habitat sanctuary in a more suitable climate. But we are pleased that she will no longer be forced to give rides or perform circus tricks at the point of a bullhook; the zoo manages its elephants using protected contact. She will no longer have to endure the intense confinement of travel.  And she now lives with three African elephants, ending years of solitude.

For Dumbo, who is known as Jambo in her new home, life is better.

Ringling hit with the biggest fine ever by USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has hit the owner of Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus with a $270,000 fine to settle charges that the circus violated federal animal welfare law. The charges involved numerous violations over the past three years, including

• forcing a sick elephant to perform
• endangering animals and the public by failing to safely handle an elephant who broke away from her handlers during a pre-show
• carrying food for the tigers in the same containers used to remove waste from the cages

In all there were more than 24 violations cited, and the fine is the maximum allowed by federal law ($10,000 per violation). The circus has agreed to train staff to comply with welfare requirements, as well. While Ringling officially admits to no wrongdoing, and the fine is nothing more than the cost of doing business for wealthy circus owner Feld Entertainment, Inc., the media is generally getting the message that there were significant animal welfare violations that prompted this settlement, which means that the public is hearing about Ringling’s abuse.

IDA joined with other animal groups to organize the largest circus protest ever against Ringling in Los Angeles in July. We will continue to monitor Ringling and other circuses, to file complaints with the USDA, and to educate the public about the suffering of animals used in the circus.

For more information about IDA’s work on elephants in circuses, go to www.helpelephants.com.

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.

Please make this your profile main picture

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.

On July 10, Chico, the oldest bull elephant in captivity in North America died in the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, Texas. Information is exceedingly sparse: Like so many other elephants in zoos, he was “found unresponsive” in the morning when keepers arrived for work. No one knows how long he had been down or what he went through before they arrived and euthanized him. He was only 46. Chico’s death marks the end of a tragic and disgraceful chapter in captive elephant history, but one that is in constant danger of being repeated.

In 2003, Chico was one of four elephants living at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (now called San Diego Zoo Safari Park). He, along with females Peaches, Wankie and Tatima, had been there for around three decades. Though all originally had been taken from the wild.

Between the four elephants, they had managed to produce five calves for the zoo; two died within a month of birth, and the three that survive to this day were wrenched from their mothers at the ages of one and two years, and shipped to other zoos. Moja is in the Pittsburg Zoo, and Tavi and her half-brother Tsavo remain the only two African elephants at the Canton Zoo in China.

In 2001, San Diego joined forces with the Lowry Park Zoo in Florida to import eleven young, wild-born elephants that were captured at the zoos’ request. They were part of a group of 37 cull orphans and their offspring who had been relocated to Swaziland and were living as established herds in protected parks there – the entirety of Swaziland’s small elephant population at the time. International elephant trade by zoos had been suspended for a decade when San Diego first contacted Swaziland authorities to arrange for the shipment of these elephants.

Despite the best efforts of IDA and the Coalition to Save Wild Elephants, the young Swaziland elephants were brought to the zoos in 2003, but not before San Diego had moved its four long-term resident elephants Chico, Peaches, Wankie and Tatima out to make room for them. Already ailing, Peaches, Wankie and Tatima were shipped out of sunny San Diego and into Chicago’s frigid winters at the Lincoln Park Zoo.

The three elephants did not last even two years there. Tatima died in October 2004; like Chico she was found collapsed on the floor when the keepers arrived in the morning. Cause of death was infection with a bacterium similar to tuberculosis (Mycobacterium szulgai). Peaches followed only three months later, purportedly due to “old age.” She was 55; African elephants can live to be 65.

During the ensuing uproar by elephant welfare advocates, Wankie was secretly loaded onto a truck during the last chilly night of April 2005 and shipped to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah, despite the fact she was recovering from colic (a painful condition that can cause an elephant to collapse). She was found kneeling in the truck, a potentially dangerous situation, somewhere around the midway point of the 22-hour trip, with temps in 20 to 30 degree range and no heat. After one more stop, the decision to continue driving sealed her fate, and she was euthanized upon arrival at the zoo. A final report showed that Wankie died of the same bacterial lung infection that killed Tatima, and that the infection coupled with “stress of shipping” may have caused her collapse.

All these elephants – Chico, Peaches, Tatima and Wankie – were victims of a zoo industry that values female elephants over males, babies over adults, and, always, money over the animals that they claim to care for. Their story should never be forgotten. Nor can we let our guard down when it comes to the capture of wild elephants for the purpose of restocking zoos – a practice that continues today.

Check back for IDA’s blog on the recent import of African elephants to the Pittsburgh Zoo’s breeding center, and how the public never had a clue!

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

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.

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!

Please replace your profile pictures with the Virtual Demo "Sign"

Saturday, June 11, is the International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos, when activists around the world will be sending a message that elephants just don’t belong in cramped, unnatural displays that shorten their lives by decades.

This year, everyone can help the elephants, no matter where you live, by participating in a virtual demonstration on Facebook and Twitter. It’s easy to do and a great way to spread the word that it’s time to stop the elephants’ suffering.

Here’s how it works:

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

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

2. Go through the zoo list and “Like” the promotional pages for these zoos. This will allow you to post comments on their pages:

United States

• Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque, NM
• Audubon Zoo, Audubon, LA
• Birmingham Zoo, Birmingham, AL
• BREC’s Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, LA
• Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY
• Buffalo Zoological Gardens, Buffalo, NY
• Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, FL
• Buttonwood Park Zoo, New Bedford, MA
• Caldwell Zoo, Tyler, TX
• Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, TX
• Chaffee Zoological Gardens, Fresno, CA
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO
• Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati, OH
• Cleveland Metro Park Zoo, Cleveland, OH
• Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH
• Dallas Zoo, Dallas, TX
• Denver Zoo, Denver, CO
• Dickerson Park Zoo, Springfield, MO
• Disney Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL
• El Paso Zoo, El Paso, TX
• Fort Worth Zoo, Ft. Worth, TX
• Greenville Zoo, Greenville, SC
• Hogle Zoo, Salt Lake City, UT
• Honolulu Zoo, Honolulu, HI
• Houston Zoological Gardens, Houston, TX
• Indianapolis Zoo, Indianapolis, IN
• Jacksonville Zoological Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
• Kansas City Zoo, Kansas City, MO
• Knoxville Zoo, Knoxville, TN
• Lee Richardson Zoo, Garden City, KS
• Little Rock Zoo, Little Rock, AK
• Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles, CA
• Louisville Zoological Gardens, Louisville, KY
• Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa, FL
• Maryland Zoo, Baltimore, MD
• Memphis Zoo, Memphis, TN
• Miami Metro Zoo, Miami, FL
• Milwaukee Zoological Garden, Milwaukee, WI
• Montgomery Zoo, Montgomery, AL
• Nashville Zoo, Nashville, TN
• Niabi Zoo, Coal Valley, IL
• North Carolina Zoo, Asheboro, NC
• Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA
• Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma City, OK
• Oregon Zoo, Portland, OR
• Phoenix Zoo, Phoenix, AZ
• Pittsburgh Zoo, Pittsburgh, PA
• Point Defiance Zoo, Tacoma, WA
• Reid Park Zoo, Tuscon, AZ
• Riverbanks Zoo, Columbia, SC
• Roger Williams Park Zoo, Providence RI
• Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Syracuse, NY
• St. Louis Zoological Park, St. Louis, MO
• San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, TX
• San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Escondido, CA
• San Diego Zoo, San Diego, CA
• Santa Barbara Zoo, Santa Barbara, CA
• Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS
• Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, NY
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, CA
• Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, DC
• Toledo Zoo, Toledo, OH
• Topeka Zoological Park, Topeka, KS
• Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, Tulsa, OK
• Virginia Zoo, Norfolk, VA
• Wildlife Safari, Winston, OR
• Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA
• Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

Canada

• Bowmanville Zoo (Ontario)
• Calgary Zoo (Alberta)
• Granby Zoo (Quebec)
• Toronto Zoo (Ontario)

3. Starting on Saturday June 11th, start posting your comments! 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:

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

2. Go through the zoo list above and “Follow” these pages. This will allow you to send them direct messages and Tweets using the @. here’s an example of how this works – you Tweet : @ZooAtl Elephants need more space than urban zoos can provide. It’s cruel to keep elephants in zoos!

And that Tweet goes directly to the Zoo Atlanta Twitter page.

3. Encourage your friends to join your Twitter Demo! Tweet to them to also change their profile image to their “sign”. Here is an example of a Tweet you can use to encourage them to Tweet the zoos you are Tweeting: FF! Follow these zoos ( Then list a bunch of Twitter pages for zoos with elephants and put a @ before their address. Example : @ZooAtl ) & Tweet about what you think of zoos!

4. Starting on Saturday June 19th, start sending direct messages and Tweeting to the zoos you are following using the Reply function. Here is are some examples of a great Twitter Demo Tweet: @ZooAtl is no fun for the Elephants who live there. OR Elephants belong in the wild not @ZooAtl

5, 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 reasonable for any messages or Tweets sent or action that results.

Here are some quick messages you can send (but feel free to create your own):

Elephants are suffering and dying prematurely in zoos.

Elephants should not suffer for our entertainment!

Elephant captivity does not equal conservation.

Elephants need more space than urban zoos can provide.

It’s cruel to keep elephants in zoos.

The largest zoo exhibit is still not big enough to meet elephants’ complex needs.

Inadequate conditions for elephants cause them to suffer painful foot disease and arthritis, infertility, and high infant mortality and stillbirth rates, and aberrant behaviors.

Repetitive rocking, swaying and head bobbing are signs of psychological distress; elephants don’t do this in the wild!

The life of an elephant in a zoo = misery, disease and early death.

Think about it: Elephants have a natural life span of 60-70 years, yet they are dying decades before their time in zoos. You call that conservation?

Time to ban the bullhook in zoos! Stop cruel, circus-style training!

Think about it: North American zoos will spend about half a billion dollars on remodeling exhibits that still will be too small for elephants. That money could protect entire populations of elephants in Africa and Asia!

Think about it: Zoos spend more than $25million a year to display fewer than 300 elephants. That money could protect entire populations of elephants in Africa and Asia!

The world’s leading elephant experts say elephants don’t belong in urban zoos. Why aren’t zoos listening?

Think about it: Scientific research shows that elephants in zoos have far shorter life expectancies than those in the wild.

Keeping elephants in zoos will not save them in the wild.

Elephants don’t belong in cold weather zoos!

To find out how you can help elephants year round – CLICK HERE to Join IDA’s Elephant Task Force!