ESSENTIAL DESTINATIONS

MONTH: September 2007

Letters to the Editor

Trying to stop net-&-bolt deer killing

About a year ago, I became informed about net-and-bolt deer killing, which is now going on in several cities here in New Jersey, and is extensively practiced around the U.S.

In net-and-bolt deer culls, deer are baited and trapped in nets (usually more than one at a time), and held to await execution by an "authorized agent," who usually has no veterinary experience or other experience in killing animals with minimal pain and distress. The deer are killed by firing a steel bolt into their heads. Killing hooved animals with a captive bolt gun is approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association for use in slaughterhouses and other situations in which the bolting can be done quickly and accurately, with minimal awareness by the victim animal that something bad is about to happen. However, netting and bolting deer causes great pain and distress. The deer often do not die instantly. Instead, they may receive several boltings before death, because in order to cause instant death, the bolt must hit a certain part of the brain. This is almost impossible because the netted deer are flailing and throwing themselves around, making it impossible to target one particular spot, which is much smaller for a deer than for cattle, pigs, horses, and sheep, the species for whom the AVMA recommendation was developed. Netted and bolted deer suffer a slow, excruciating death, not to mention broken limbs resulting from their struggles to escape from the nets.

Several of us are banding together to fight this, but we need more support, more help. Please, if there is anything that you can do, contact me.

--Jessica Ross
Princeton, N.J.
<ross.jessie@gmail.com>

PetSmart rabbits

"The House Rabbit Society is hopping mad at PetSmart," in the July/August 2007 edition of ANIMAL PEOPLE, shows the influence that animal organizations can have against the pet trade, and that animal rights and welfare organizations have had an impact on the huge "Pet Factory Farms." Despite the obvious profitability of selling animals, PetSmart is listening and is working with groups such as the House Rabbit Society, and is selling dwarf rabbits who have already been sterilized. We at The Angry Parrot strongly support the House Rabbit Society, and are here to assist them as needed.

PetSmart recently chose to try parrot adoptions in some stores. We support this idea. We maintain that parrots are not pets, but we would rather see unwanted parrots adopted than have people purchase them as cute babies, to grow up to be yet more unwanted parrots.

--Tami Myers
Founder and Director
The Angry Parrot Inc
PO Box 442
Thorndike, MA 01079
413-283-5039
<tami@thebeakretreat.com>
<www.theangryparrot.org>

Quit meat-eating to save the planet

Your front page article, "Animals at risk from drought in Zimbabwe, flooding in India and Bangladesh," and the many other recent reports of severe heat waves, flooding, wildfires, droughts, severe storms, and other indicators of global warming should be wake-up calls that the world is heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe. Changes must be made as soon as possible to prevent it.

I would like to suggest a strategy that the animal rights movement should adopt that might make a difference. A 2006 UN FAO report indicated that animal-based agriculture contributes more greenhouse gases (in carbon dioxide equivalents) than all of the cars, trucks, and other forms of transportation worldwide (18% vs. 13.5%). The same report projects that the number of farmed animals will double in the next 50 years. If that happens, increased greenhouse gas emissions from livestock would negate the reductions from many other positive changes, such as increasing automobile fuel efficiency, switching to more efficient light bulbs, etc.

Hence, while many things should be done to reduce global warming, an essential step is a major shift toward plant-based diets. Without this shift, and many more positive steps, global climate change will get increasingly worse, with disastrous consequences for humanity and all of creation.

The animal rights movement should organize a campaign to increase awareness that it is imperative that there be a major shift toward plant-based diets in order to reduce global warming's worse effects. This is an essential step in helping shift our precious but imperiled planet to a sustainable path.

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

Humane Research Council info site

The Humane Research Council recently launched a website, <www.HumaneSpot.org>, which is a free online resource designed exclusively for animal advocates.

<www.HumaneSpot.org> provides HRC's comprehensive research database, which ANIMAL PEOPLE readers might find particularly interesting. The database has about 450 records currently, including many full reports, and we are adding new items at a rate of 10-15 per week. Our goal is to make this website the most comprehensive database of opinion and behavior research available to animal advocates, and we are already well on our way.

In addition to the database, animal advocates can sign up for "humane spotlights" that deliver new research and data to them via e-mail and/or RSS. These spotlights can be personalized to match users' interests and preferred e-mail frequency. <www.HumaneSpot.org> is also home to several case studies, articles, and independent research reports provided by HRC.

Those who are actively involved in animal protection work can register for free access to these and other resources provided on <www.HumaneSpot.org>. Working together, we can all be more informed and more effective for the animals.

--Che Green
Humane Research Council
P. O. Box 6476
Olympia, WA 98507
Phone: 206-905-9887
<www.HumaneSpot.org>

Anti-rabies walk

We distributed copies of the ANIMAL PEOPLE rabies questions and answers flyer at our September 7 World Rabies Awareness Day walk, and are preparing an Urdu translation.

--Mahera Omar
Pakistan Animal Welfare Society
<mahera.omar@gmail.com>
<www.pawspakistan.org>

Starting an animal charity abroad

If you are an American or Euro-pean, thinking of founding an animal protection project in India or elsewhere abroad, here are some ideas about getting started:

# Take a cold honest view of your financial situation, so that you can prioritize your work according to the reality of your resources as they stand right now. Yes, you can have good luck at any future moment, but as you invest in the first stages you need to know what money you have.

# Put your mission statement in writing. Keep your first-year-plan small enough to be realistic. Be ready to ask for material aid in a clear way, with a prioritized list of necessities.

# Become able to state with knowledge and authority what is currently going on that you hope to change. Then succinctly explain your strategy for changing it.

# Do not expect to win start-up grants, but look up animal welfare people or organizations in your home community, in your own nation, and explain to them your dream. You may need to start with only whatever help is available from your personal friends and family.

# Visit the local government offices and look for people with whom you can build familiarity and explain your objectives. Ask them for guidance. They may not have guidance to offer, but always ask. This gets the government people invested psychologically in your mission, and it will be helpful for you to know who is the local health officer, who is nice, who is not, etc.

# Call for volunteer help right away, through international web sites, but have in mind specific jobs for the volunteers you are seeking.

# Be sure when hiring staff that if you do not have the money for permanent employment you make this clear, so that your hirees can plan their lives fairly. Look for people who really care about feeding, bathing, walking, holding animals while they're on a drip, etc., who can learn by looking into animals' souls.

Your staff don't need to know anything at first, but if they care (this is not always easy to find, mind you) the learning will almost take care of itself.

All the hassles are worth enduring to achieve your dream.

--Erika Abrams
Animal Aid Unlimited (India)
4508 S.W. Massachusetts St.
Seattle, WA 98116
<erikaabrams@yahoo.com>
<www.animalaidunlimited.org>

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ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide. Founded in 1992, ANIMAL PEOPLE has no alignment or affiliation with any other entity.