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ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: November/December 2007

Letters to the Editor

 

Jewish Vegetarians of North America on global warming

Because the world is heading rapidly toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming and other environmental threats, Jewish Vegetarians of North America has produced a documentary, A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal The World, to address these threats. JVNA will send a free DVD of this documentary to anyone who will help arrange a screening or help promote it in some other way.

Produced by the multi-award-winning film maker Lionel Friedberg, A Sacred Duty shows how a shift toward plant-based diets is essential to reduce global climate change. It also challenges people to consider the many moral issues related to our diets, including how animals are treated on factory farms and the effects on human health and the environment.

Although intended for a Jewish audience, A Sacred Duty is like Jewish rye bread: you don't have to be Jewish to appreciate it. The movie will appeal to anyone interested in such topics as Biblical teachings, Israel, the environment, health, nutrition, vegetarianism, hunger, and resource usage.

--Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
President
Jewish Vegetarians of North America and Society of Ethical & Religious Vegetarians
Phone: 718-761-5876
Fax: 718-982-3631
<rschw12345@aol.com>

 

Update on efforts to stop animal sacrifice in India

The October 2007 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE quoted the report of The Hindu that "Animal sacrifice for Dasara has been banned in Greater Visakhapatnam," and "would be prosecuted under the Andhra Pradesh Animals and Birds Sacrifice Prohibition Act of 1950, according to city veterinarian N. Karunakara Rao."

This year the slaughtering was done, but much more slyly. At public places like the railway station, hundreds of animals were sacrificed. Every temple depicting the goddess Durga had animal sacrifices. The municipal office itself had blood on it.

All their statements are nothing in the face of hundreds of sacrfiices. There was no police protection or support to stop the killing.

--Pradeep Kumar Nath
Co-founder
Visakha SPCA
26.15.200 Main Rd.
Visakhpatnam 530 001,
Andhra Pradesh, India
Telephone: 91-0891-3296217
<vspcadeep@gmail.com>
<http://visakhaspca.org>

Editor's note:

In Indian use, the term "sacrifice" often means any animal slaughter done at a religious holiday, or in a ritual manner, regardless of whether the meat is eaten. Elsewhere, "sacrifice" usually means ritualized killing from which the killers will not get meat; ritualized killing to get meat is recognized as just another form of slaughter.

Most of the animal killing undertaken in India at Dasara and the Eid (Feast of Atonement) is routine slaughter, practiced on a much wider scale than usual because even meat-eating Indians seldom eat meat every day. As Indian affluence rises, meat slaughtering is increasingly frequent at all times of year, but still peaks at major holidays.

Meanwhile, the minorities who conduct animal sacrifice in the strictest sense of the phrase are killing more animals than in the recent past, and are increasingly politically mobilized.

This has brought challenges in recent years to progress made toward the abolition of sacrifice. For example, The Hindu reported on November 10, 2007, "Notwithstanding the fact that animal sacrifices have stopped in all Cuttack temples during Durga puja," as the October 2007 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE described, "the oldest Kali temple in the Bidyadharpur locality of Cuttack is set to restart the age-old practice."

The Kali cult is the largest of the several Hindu minorities that practice animal sacrifice.

Thus alerted, Cuttack officials took appropriate action. Chauliaganj police inspector S.N.Behera told The Hindu that "No animal sacrifice was allowed at the Bidyadharpur Kali temple, and the locals cooperated without resistance to follow an Orissa High Court directive in this regard."

At the Dakshini Kali Peetha temple in Puri, meanwhile, where as many as 1,000 goats were killed in defiance of the Orissa High Court in 2005, prosecutor J.K. Mohanty warned local officials "to sensitize the people against the ill-practice," The Hindu added, and the offense was not repeated.

 

Trying to eradicate rabies in Pakistan

Many thanks for the wonderful September 2007 editorial "How to eradicate canine rabies in 10 years or less." I would like to put it up in its entirety on the PAWS website with your permission. Your editorial offers great insight into the current global situation on rabies control. I have been invited as a guest next week on Dawn's First Blast, a local TV talk show, to talk about rabies control. The points made in your editorial are exactly what need to be made clear to policymakers here in Pakistan

--Mahera Omar
Co-founder
Pakistan Animal
Welfare Society
<mahera.omar@gmail.com>
<http://pawspakistan.org>

 

Martial law & shooting birds in Pakistan

The reasons for the imposition of martial law disguised as an emergency here in Pakistan are getting clearer by the day. It is intended to facilitate the militants to hunt the towns, the government to hunt the citizens, and the governors to hunt the partridges.

Retired general Ali Mo-hammad Jan Orakzai, governor of the North-West Frontier Province, the most disturbed province in the world, has had sufficient time to fly to Nawabshah, especially to spend a weekend hunting partridges at the Pai forest near Sakrand in Sindh. He and his companion shot at least 59 innocent partridges, thus further depriving this country of dwindling biodiversity, besides misusing tax money for personal pleasure.

Clearly in their order of priority, getting rid of partridges takes precedence over getting rid of militants.

--Naeem Sadiq
Karachi, Pakistan
<naeemsadiq@gmail.com>

 

Bhutan

Thank you for your July/August article about Lama Kunzang Dorjee and the Jangsa Animal Saving Trust. On a recent trip to Bhutan, we saw street dogs everywhere. In even the smallest towns, the silence was broken every night by dozens of dogs barking. These dogs were in better shape than those I've seen in Nepal and India, but there is a huge need for the Jangsa Animal Saving Trust's Animal Birth Control program.

We did some trekking while we were in Bhutan, and we had some horses and mules with us to carry the supplies. We were very upset to discover that the horsemen planned to abandon one of the mules in the high country at the farthest extent of our trek. He was too old to work any more, and they were either unable or unwilling to continue caring for him. I wish I had known about the Jangsa Animal Saving Trust.

--Lisa Towell
<lisa.towell@yahoo.com>
Los Altos, California

 

Collected facts about turtle racing

Turtle races are held at county fairs, community festivals, and other events across the United States. For the event, wild-caught box turtles are placed in a circle, with the first turtle to exit the circle being the winner.

In 2005 I began an ongoing study to find out how many box turtles are removed from the wild for turtle races, what effect this may have on turtle populations, and how the turtles are cared for. I found turtle races through telephone surveys and Internet searches. When I could, I recorded the number of turtles entered in races. I also attended turtle races and heard accounts from other people who had attended them. I found that the turtles were mostly kept in unsanitary conditions, were usually not returned to their home ranges, and were sometimes released en masse.

I found more than 520 annual turtle races, held in 35 states. Based on entry data from more than 50 races, I estimate that more than 31,000 box turtles are taken from the wild annually for these events. This is enough to adversely affect box turtle populations, which are in steep decline throughout the U.S.

Wildlife agencies should consider prohibiting or regulating turtle races.

--Lisa Towell
<lisa.towell@yahoo.com>
Los Altos, California

 

Political mobilization to stop dogfighting

Last night at the Pace University Law School I addressed students and local animal rescue leaders on dogfighting. Although more than 99% of people abhor dogfighting (and know about it because of the Michael Vick's case), overwhelming condemnation will not reduce dogfighting any more than 70 years of media exposés have shrunk the puppy mill industry. Beating dogfighting requires public monies to pay for professional, full-time undercover detectives who infiltrate the dogfighting world and present solid inter-jurisdictional cases to prosecutors. Law enforcement agencies will not divert existing resources for this work. Nor will lawmakers fund new positions, unless not doing so could threaten their re-election. Staff cost money, and to the community at large, additional staff spell abhorrent tax increases.

I learned these truths several years ago from Connecticut's then chief prosecutor, a dog-lover I'd known since he was an entry-level prosecutor. I heard them again on October 20, 2007 from a concerned local prosecutor at a National Pit Bull Awareness Day event in New Haven, Connecticut (which suffers much dogfighting). And again last night from Officer Kenneth Ross, Humane Law Enforcement Director of the SPCA of Westchester, New York, a fellow panelist at the Pace Student Animal Legal Defense Fund event.

A small political group for animals could win the necessary staff positions and aggressive enforcement by using them as electoral endorsement issues. The top factor that determines what action a lawmaker takes on legislation or public policy is whether it could harm his re-election bid. Lawmakers know an endorsement by your political group for animals would change the votes of some citizens who usually do vote and draw some usual stay-at-homes to the polls to vote for your endorsed candidates. All your group need do is threaten the winning margin of a election, which is a very small number of voters. Two activists who launch a local political group for animals could quickly become power players while holding full-time jobs.

Until we develop politically, most of our goals for animals will remain fantasies, and the dogs and bait animals--and other animals--will continue to pay the tragic price.

--Julie Lewin
President
National Institute for Animal Advocacy
P.O. Box 475
Guilford, CT 06437
203-453-6590
<jlewin@igc.org>
<www.nifaa.org>

Editor's note:

Further to Lewin's point, the Vick case broke after police in Hampton, Virginia, on April 20, 2007 arrested Vick's cousin Davon Boddie, 26, for alleged distribution of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute. Boddie lived in Vick's house. The dogfighting case came to light after a narcotics task force raided the house five days later. Among the hundreds of dogfighting cases about which ANIMAL PEOPLE has collected details during the past 15 years, just a few have resulted from actual investigations of dogfighting. Most have been uncovered by investigations of drug-related offenses or through animal control investigations of complaints about barking and alleged neglect.


 

Arapawa goats

I would like to share some special news about the Arapawa goats. We have the results from DNA testing back at long last, and it is very positive! The Arapawa goats were tested against numerous breeds and stand alone as a unique breed. I am still pinching myself and have hugged my Arapawas to pieces and cried tears of joy.

--Betty Rowe
Arapawa
Wildlife Sanctuary
Private Bag
Picton 412
New Zealand
<walt.betty@xtra.co.nz>

Editor's note:

Betty and the late Walt Rowe emigrated to New Zealand with their children in 1969. Acquiring land on Arapawa Island, they discovered feral sheep, goats, and pigs whom they recognized as descendants of now scarce ancient breeds, and began an ongoing 35-year battle with New Zealand Forest Service officials who have been determined to exterminate "non-native" livestock. Now DNA testing has affirmed the Rowes' contention that the Arapawa goats should themselves be recognized as an endangered subspecies. ANIMAL PEOPLE previously reported about the Rowe's struggle in October 2001, and September and December 2002.


Passing the hat

Your October 2007 editorial "Why animal charities need to learn to pass the hat" was encouraging to a small group like ours with growing pains--helping us to overcome the misery we sometimes feel about taking time away from program work to raise our profile and funds, which are then spent on salaries and other overheads, marketing our money-earning thrift stores, etc. Formerly called Soi Dog Rescue, Bangkok, we are now just SCAD.

--Sheridan Conisbee
c/o ReTails Too
289 Soi Pridi Phanomyong 42
Soi Sukhumvit 71
Prakanong, Wattana,
Bangkok 10110
Thailand
Telephone: 02-713 3354
< sheridan@scadbangkok.org>


More on hat-passing

Your October 2007 editorial "Why animal charities need to learn to pass the hat" is terrific in its coverage of crucial aspects--and the dynamics between them--of raising money for animals. It will help the directors of many animal organizations learn to use their time and energy productively.

--Irene Muschel
New York, N.Y.
<benirv@hotmail.com>


 

Elected in Colombia

Last Sunday we won a spot on the city council to work for animals! We are so happy! We are going to work against animal abuse from this important place in the city..

--Juliana Barberi
Corporacion Red de Ayuda
a los Animales
Carrera 71 # 78 a 11
Medellin, Antioquia
Colombia
Phone: + 57 (4) 257 8536
<http://boletin.corporacionraya.org>


 

The role of globalization in making adaptive species "invasive"

I found Merritt Clifton's October 2007 essay "How adaptive species became 'invasive'" to be a most insightful analysis of the rising trend towards demonizing so-called "invasive species."

Here in Marin County, California a battle has been brewing over introduced deer who have long inhabited Point Reyes National Seashore. Now called "invasive," they are being hunted down and destroyed.

Your analysis of the recent predominance of the term "invasive" over "exotic" and other terms and the linkage to the intensifying attack on undocumented immigrants and the so-called "war on terror" was very compelling. But I felt that there was something still missing from your analysis.

The intensifying drive to eradicate what are essentially migratory and introduced species by environmental organizations and governments is no accident. It is a symptom of the overwhelming urge to address the symptom at the expense of achieving necessary systematic change.

Rather than address the fundamental causes which have led to the accelerating spread of introduced species, many are relying on techno fixes. Our ever-expanding global economy and rampant rates of consumerism are driving rapid growth in cargo vessel transport of people and goods. It is not the animals and insects who are invasive but our global economic system that has dangerously invaded, disrupted and threatens the very ecological systems that sustain all of us.

While there has been much attention to the problem of species being transported in bilge water of cargo vessels, little attention has been paid to the nearly tripling of the global fleet in the past five decades. The rapid expansion of global shipping brings with it the wide ranging dangers of oil spills, noise pollution, ship strikes of marine mammals, greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution that accompany cargo vessels and oil supertankers-all just to import cheap plastic junk to feed our consumer addiction.

Demonizing, persecuting and even terrorizing introduced species is the flip side of the persecution of immigrants. It allows those doing the demonizing to evade responsibility for addressing a destructive global system. Since many of the environmental organizations that are fighting this war on introduced species are funded in part by the very corporations that are primarily responsible for pillaging the planet, it is no accident that they are missing the proverbial forest for the trees.

--Robert Ovetz, Ph.D.
Sausalito, Calif.

Merritt Clifton responds:

Thanks for the good words. My perspective is that a genuinely global economy provides the framework and incentive for abolishing war, the most ecologically destructive of all human activities; and the mechanisms invented for regulating and promoting international trade are likely to evolve into the mechanisms that eventually enshrine the principles embodied in 85 years of effort to adopt a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.

Improvements in communication are beginning to demonstrate, however, that intellectual commerce is likely to become the enduring staple of the global economy, while rising energy costs and wages in the developing world, together with the declining value of the U.S. dollar, promise to slow the commerce in commodities.

 

Giving livestock

I remember reading an excellent article in Animal People about why people should not send live goats etc. to Africa to "help" the people there. A friend is planning to make another donation to this project. Would you please tell me how I can find a copy of this article for her? Thanks!

--Marg Buckholtz
Kingston, Ontario Canada

The article "Livestock gift charities do not help poor nations, say global critics," from the January/ February 2007 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE, along with all other ANIMAL PEOPLE articles, may be copied from <www.animalpeoplenews.org> in either text or html format, or can be e-mailed on request. Write to <anmlpepl@whidbey.com>.

 

Correction

The October 2007 ANIMAL PEOPLE article Court holds Georgia in contempt for allowing gassing mentioned that "Humane Society of the U.S. media contact Kathy Covey credited the end of gassing in Virginia to work begun in November 2000 by longtime HSUS staffer Kate Pullen and Teresa Dockery, then president of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies, now legislative analyst for Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare." Dockery is actually chief operating officer for the Margaret B. Mitchell Spay/Neuter Clinic, and has never worked for Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare.