**KINSHIP CIRCLE DOES NOT SEND LETTERS FOR YOU…
Studies show web petitions and automated letters (that aren’t sent from your
personal email) are largely ignored — especially by government officials.

10/22/09: Don’t Let EPA Kill More Prairie Dogs
Comments must be received on or before October 23, 2009


US Fish & Wildlife photo in Defenders of Wildlife alert, http://www.defenders.org

=============================================================
INSTRUCTIONS TO SUBMIT PUBLIC COMMENTS, FROM THE EPA
=============================================================

COMMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED ON OR BEFORE 10/23/09
Submit your comments, identified by docket identification
(ID) number EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0625, by one of the following methods:

1) ONLINE
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
**If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in the body of your comment.

2) MAIL
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) Regulatory Public
Docket (7502P)
Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. / Washington, DC 20460-0001

3) DELIVERY
OPP Regulatory Public Docket (7502P)
Environmental Protection Agency, Rm. S-4400
One Potomac Yard (South Bldg.), 2777 S. Crystal Dr. / Arlington, VA
Deliveries accepted during hours of operation: 8:30 a.m. – 4p.m., Mon to Fri.
Docket Facility telephone: 703-305-5805

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dan Peacock, Registration Division (7505P)
Office of Pesticide Programs, Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. / Washington, DC 20460-0001
ph: 703-305-5407; email: peacock.dan@epa.gov

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
SAMPLE LETTER
=============================================================

Docket ID EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0625

I am strongly against the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to
register Kaput-D as a means to poison prairie dogs in Great Plains states.

The mass extermination of prairie dogs across 10 states is not only
inhumane, but also imperils other at-risk species in violation of the
Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Act and various federal laws.

Black-tailed prairie dogs themselves are contenders for federal protection.
Their eradication in western grasslands exemplifies government duplicity at
the taxpayer’s expense. We pay to bring a species back — and then either
wipe out the species itself, or other animals key to its recovery.

Please end the government’s war on wildlife with your disapproval of
Kaput-D. In addition, promptly repeal the May 2009 approval of Rozcol, a
similar poison to destroy prairie dogs.

EPA is poised to permit decimation of a species that has declined by over
95% from habitat damage, poisoning, shooting and non-native disease. Prairie
dogs are vital to restoration in an area where bison, bighorn sheep, swift
fox and black-footed ferrets form a nearly inclusive Great Plains ecosystem.

In fact, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has invested 26 years and over $25
million taxpayer dollars to renew the black-footed ferret, among the most
endangered mammals in North America. Continued poisoning of prairie dogs –
90% of the ferret’s diet — sabotages all ferret reintroduction plans.

I am shocked that the EPA is even evaluating whether it should authorize two
new poisons to accelerate the deterioration of a threatened species.

Rozol and Kaput-D assure a painful death, with internal bleeding that may
last for several days. Poison also affects such non-target species as
black-footed ferrets, swift foxes, badgers, golden and bald eagles,
burrowing owls and ferruginous hawks.

What happened to the “Protection” in Environmental Protection Agency? Please
withdraw approval for Rozol and deny use of Kaput-D.

Thank you,

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Tell the EPA to Protect Imperiled Wildlife from Poisons!
https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1589&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr003=fxkmp5qr12.app217a
Federal Register Environmental Documents
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-PEST/2009/September/Day-23/p22810.htm
Notice of Receipt for New Use of Diphacinone on Prairie Dogs
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#docketDetail?R=EPA-HQ-OPP-2009-0625

Help Kinship Circle win $50,000!
Thank you for caring…

PLEASE DONATE TODAY (try either link):
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?cause_id=226645
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?ts=1256064299&cause_id=226645

HERE IS HOW KINSHIP CIRCLE CAN WIN AMERICA’S GIVING CHALLENGE:
*   From now till Nov. 7, 2009, we have to get the most donations to our cause
(each person can donate once daily and it counts as a unique donation).
*   We can also win daily awards of $1,000 and $500 if we can get the most
people to donate in any 24-hour period.

The great thing about this Challenge is that even the minimum donation of
$10 makes a difference. The contest is based on HOW MANY PEOPLE give.

YOU CAN DONATE RIGHT NOW (try either link):
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?cause_id=226645
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?ts=1256064299&cause_id=226645

PLEASE KEEP KINSHIP CIRCLE IN MIND FOR YOUR YEAR-END GIVING.
If you prefer to bypass this contest, you may make a tax-deductible
contribution to Kinship Circle here: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

Thank you for supporting Kinship Circle’s work for animals,
Beverly Nation, Kinship Circle
Social Media Director

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO KINSHIP CIRCLE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

10/20/09: Two Dogs Shot At Point Blank Range In New York


LT: Robert Bushnell, 50 of Berne, was charged with torturing an animal and
dog theft, misdemeanors under state Agriculture and Markets Law, for
shooting two of his neighbor’s dogs. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union) RT:
Mocha, a chocolate Labrador, and Rocky, an Alaskan Malamute, were found shot
to death in the woods in Berne. (Photo provided by Amy Tubbs)

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION + EMAIL BLOCK. Sample letter follows.
=============================================================

Hon. P. David Soares, District Attorney
Office of the Albany County District Attorney
Albany County Judicial Center
6 Lodge Street / Albany, NY 12207
ph: 518-487-5460; fax: 518-487-5093
email: dsoares@albanycounty.com
Heather Streeter Orth: Heather.Orth@albanycounty.com

Berne Town Court
Hon. Kenneth R. Bunzey & Hon. Richard M. Guilz
PO Box 57 / Berne, NY 12023
ph: 518-872-1448
Questions about Berne: info@BerneNY.org
Patricia M. Favreau, Town Clerk: townclerk@BerneNY.org

James L. Campbell, Sheriff
Craig D. Apple, Undersheriff
Albany County Sheriff’s Department
County Court House / Albany, NY 12207
ph: 518-487-5440, 518-487-5440; fax: 518-487-5037
web contact form:
http://www.albanycountysheriff.com/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=1&Itemid=49

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FOUND FOR THIS ALERT):
dsoares@albanycounty.com, Heather.Orth@albanycounty.com, info@BerneNY.org,
townclerk@BerneNY.org

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
=============================================================

Hon. District Attorney P. David Soares, Hon. Kenneth R. Bunzey & Hon.
Richard M. Guilz, and Sheriff James L. Campbell:

Please accept my comments about Robert Bushnell, 50, of Woodstock Road, who
confessed to police on 9/30/09 that he killed neighbor Amy Tubbs’ two dogs.

Sheriff James Campbell said Bushnell transported Mocha, a 7-year-old
chocolate Labrador retriever, and Rocky, a 5-year-old Alaskan malamute, to
state property where he shot them. He fired two bullets into Rocky and a
single bullet into Mocha. Bushnell claims the dogs had attacked his
chickens, chased livestock, and posed a risk to his children.

I urge you to upgrade Bushnell’s misdemeanor charges for animal torture and
stealing to felony offenses. Under Buster’s Law S 353-a., a person is guilty
of aggravated cruelty to animals if…he or she intentionally kills…a
companion animal…(ii) in an especially depraved or sadistic manner. While
Buster’s Law exempts “animals posing a threat to human safety or other
animals,” it calls for an act of killing to be “legally authorized.”

Shooting two companion dogs at point blank range is “especially depraved.”
Furthermore, Bushnell took the law into his own hands when he killed Rocky
and Mocha without legal consent. In fact, Amy Tubbs had tried to find out
whose chickens her dogs had killed — but Bushnell never gave her the chance
to make amends or better confine her dogs.

I hope you will recognize the gravity of Bushnell’s crime and seek felony
penalties of up to two years in prison. Bushnell ought to be barred from
possessing or living with animals as well.

Officials should be concerned that Bushnell resorted to illegal violence to
solve a problem. Violence against animals is a well-documented precursor to
violence against humans — particularly vulnerable victims such as children,
women or the elderly. Animal cruelty investigations often uncover domestic
violence or other signs of a troubled family, P. Arkow notes in “Breaking
the cycles of violence: A guide to multi-disciplinary interventions.”

The deliberate slaughter of two companion animals qualifies as aggravated
cruelty. Thank you for holding animal abusers accountable for their crimes.

Sincerely,

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Kinship Circle Member, Ethel Silverberg
eth27@verizon.net
Arrest made in Berne dog shooting case
http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=848185
LAWS OF NEW YORK, 1999 / CHAPTER 118 / Buster’s Law
http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/legalservices/ch118_busters_law.htm

Kinship Circle Is In America’s Giving Challenge
Every donation brings us closer to winning $50,000.
Thank you for caring…

PLEASE DONATE TODAY (try either link):
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?cause_id=226645
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?ts=1256064299&cause_id=226645

HERE IS HOW KINSHIP CIRCLE CAN WIN:
*   From now till Nov. 7, 2009, we have to get the most donations to our cause
(each person can donate once daily and it counts as a unique donation).
*   We can also win daily awards of $1,000 and $500 if we can get the most
people to donate in any 24-hour period.

The great thing about this Challenge is that even the minimum donation of
$10 makes a difference. The contest is based on HOW MANY PEOPLE give.

YOU CAN DONATE RIGHT NOW (try either link):
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?cause_id=226645
https://www.causes.com/fb/donations/new?ts=1256064299&cause_id=226645

PLEASE KEEP KINSHIP CIRCLE IN MIND FOR YOUR YEAR-END GIVING.
If you prefer to bypass this contest, you may make a tax-deductible
contribution to Kinship Circle here: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

Thank you for supporting Kinship Circle’s work for animals,
Beverly Nation, Kinship Circle
Social Media Director

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

TO DONATE DIRECTLY TO KINSHIP CIRCLE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

10/13/09: Get Serial Cat Killer Off New York Streets


Kittens Bonifide and Elmo…with their killer, Sean Lynde in custody of
ASPCA Special Agents. Bonifide and Emo were two of alleged cat killer
Lynde’s victims. Bonafide was found dead with a broken neck in January,
while Emo went missing and was presumed dead last year. Hermann for News

Lynde returns for a hearing on 11/19/09 to either enter a guilty plea or to
set a trial date… http://forums.manhattanbirdclub.com/post?id=3631405

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================

KINSHIP CIRCLE DOES NOT KNOW IF THESE ARE VALID EMAILS.
They’re constructed exactly as the New York City Courts website instructs to
do so. If you feel strongly about this case, we highly recommend you request
a formatted letter (WORD DOC) to print out — and send by mail for fax.
ASK FOR A NYC SERIAL CAT KILLER LETTER TO PRINT: info@kinshipcircle.org

NEW YORK CITY COURTS:
mobus@courts.state.ny.us, drosen@courts.state.ny.us,
mparisie@courts.state.ny.us, mcassidy@courts.state.ny.us

THERE IS NO PUBLIC EMAIL FOR MANHATTAN DA’S OFFICE.

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
=============================================================

Honorable Michael J. Obus of the New York Supreme Court and the Manhattan
District Attorney’s Office:

I am deeply concerned about the case of Sean Lynde, a Manhattan man who
methodically killed girlfriend Rachael Strate’s four cats. Animal torture
and murder are serious crimes that demand your utmost deliberation.

In October 2008, Lynde allegedly poisoned Cleo, whose body was found with a
mouthful of detergent behind a dryer. He bludgeoned Zoe so severely, a
veterinarian euthanized her. Strate next adopted kittens Willie and Betty.
Within a month, Willie was fatally crippled and Lynde claims Betty “fell off
a countertop” to her death. After Strate brought home two more kittens, one
named Emo vanished and Bonafide turned up with a broken neck.

Lynde seemingly derives pleasure from prolonged suffering — as further
evidenced by past charges for crippling a kitten and instigating a sixth
cat’s disappearance.

I urge officials to levy the maximum felony penalty of four years in prison
for six counts of aggravated animal cruelty and to seek the full misdemeanor
sentence for harassment and stalking charges related to ex-girlfriend
Strate. Please ensure Lynde undergoes extensive psychological evaluation and
is barred from possessing or living with animals.

Violence against animals is a recognized precursor to violence against
humans. Indeed, Lynde already vented rage on Strate in March when he
reportedly struck her computer so hard it cost $800 to repair.

Repeat animal attacks suggest a predatory style that is a sign of “organized
and premeditated violence against others,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood, an
animal behaviorist with ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Initiatives who consults with
cruelty investigators, law enforcers and mental health professionals.

Prolific murderers such as the Boston Strangler, Son of Sam, Jeffrey Dahmer
and Ted Bundy practiced on animals before graduating to humans. Dennis
Rader, notorious for the Bind-Torture-Kill murders in Wichita, Kansas,
confessed to strangling cats and dogs before his sadistic spree. Men
prosecuted for animal cruelty are five times as likely to be arrested for
other violent crimes, claims Utah State University professor Frank Ascione.

I implore New York courts to recognize the gravity of animal cruelty crimes.
Sean Lynde needs rehabilitation and incarceration. Please do not release a
sociopath back into our society.

Thank you,

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

Honorable Michael J. Obus
New York State Supreme Court
Criminal Term, Part 51
100 Centre Street, Room 1324, 13th Floor / New York, NY 10013
ph: 646-386-4051; fax: 212-401-9264
Associate Court Clerk Mary Cassidy: 646-386-4051, mcassidy@courts.state.ny.us
Court Attorney Daniel Rosen, Esq: drosen@courts.state.ny.us
Court Attorney Michelle Parisien, Esq: mparisie@courts.state.ny.us
Judge Michael J. Obus: mobus@courts.state.ny.us
**EMAIL ADDRESSES MAY NOT BE VALID

NOTE ABOUT EMAIL ADDRESSES: Over 250 Supreme Court employees have email
access. The email address is the first initial of the first name of the
employee followed by the first seven letters of the last name of the
employee followed by @courts.state.ny.us (for example, Chief Clerk Barry
Clarke’s email address: bclarke@courts.state.ny.us)

Assistant District Attorney Daniele Gallo
One Hogan Place / New York, NY 10013-4311
212-335-9000
Robert Morgenthau, District Attorney: 212-335-9813

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Accused kitty killer Sean Lynde turns self in; suspected of murdering 4 of girlfriend’s adopted cats
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/08/21/2009-08-21_cops_bag_accused_cat_killer.html#ixzz0OtCnmPT0
Sean Lynde, Serial Cat Killer/Torturer (6 cats in all)
http://forums.manhattanbirdclub.com/post?id=3631405
Four cats brutally tortured, killed – New York, NY (US)
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/15734/NY/US/
Officials: NYC man killed 4 of girlfriend’s cats
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32518757/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Cat Serial Killer Sean Lynde Arrested in Manhattan
http://www.inquisitr.com/34276/cat-serial-killer-sean-lynde-arrested-in-manhattan/
Sean Lynde, NYC Man, Killed 4 Of Girlfriend’s Cats
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/21/sean-lynde-nyc-man-killed_n_265765.html

PLEASE HELP US FUND THE RESEARCH ARM OF KINSHIP CIRCLE.
Your tax-deductible donation to goes directly to work for animals.

DONATE SECURELY ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
10/10/09: Cop Shoots Deaf, 19-Year-Old Family Cat


Tobey the cat who was shot and killed by Raymore, MO police.
http://www.nbcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Family-Upset-that-Police-Shoot
-Kill-Family-Pet/TsLp8dZtzkKY0AaT8YXgWg.cspx

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================
*   TO SEND: COPY/PASTE EMAIL BLOCKS INTO BCC: LINE OF YOUR EMAIL
*   TYPE YOUR OWN EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE TO: LINE
*   COPY/PASTE SAMPLE LETTER INTO SAME EMAIL.
*   Change some words, sign with your name/full address and send!

RAYMORE & CASS COUNTY, MISSOURI OFFICIALS:
info@hsmo.org, rmayberry@raymore.com, eberlin@raymore.com,
jfeuerborn@raymore.com, jalonzo@raymore.com, john.seimears@yahoo.com,
kkellogg@raymore.com, jeffreycox1@comcast.net, mmedsker@hotmail.com,
councilmanadams@yahoo.com, mlewis250@comcast.net, chhubach77@comcast.net,
pkerckhoff@raymore.com, thensley@casscounty.com, hensley@casscounty.com

EMAIL HUMANE SOCIETY OF MISSOURI, THE INVESTIGATIVE AGENCY IN THIS CASE:
http://hsmo.convio.net/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&
SURVEY_ID=1403&JServSessionIda012=pqwxgz88w1.app11d

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
=============================================================

Dear Humane Society Of Missouri, Cass County and Raymore, Missouri Officials:

I am shocked by the Labor Day 2009 shooting death of the Wesner family’s
19-year-old cat Tobey in Raymore, Missouri I understand a Raymore police
officer fired two bullets into the elderly cat’s head, wrapped the body
inside a plastic bag and tossed Tobey into a city dumpster.

As you know, Tobey had slipped out of his house and roamed into a nearby
garage where a neighbor forced him out with hose spray. Raymore police were
summoned to apprehend a “large, vicious, feral cat.” Though Kelly Wesner
describes her six-pound cat as declawed, deaf, and on prescription meds — a
supervisor directed an officer to “put [the cat] down” in a remote area.
Unbelievably, no one involved with the cat’s slaying has been penalized.

I trust that an unbiased internal investigation is underway. If inquiries by
the police department and/or Humane Society of Missouri warrant animal
cruelty charges, these officers should be prosecuted under Missouri Revised
Statues, Chapter 578. Punitive action is reasonable, whether Tobey’s killing
stems from malicious intent or stupidity. At the very least, the unprovoked
killing of a family’s companion animal denotes police misconduct.

When officers encounter any animal perceived as sick, aggressive, or feral
– they should know how to neutralize the animal without resorting to lethal
force. I commend Captain Roger Mayberry for arranging such training after
Tobey’s death. Officers ought to be able to distinguish anxiety, fear and
protective behaviors from genuinely hostile or diseased behavior. If they
can’t, an experienced animal control officer needs to make that decision.

Circumstances in the case do not make sense. If police believe Tobey had
rabies, why did they destroy his head and discard his remains? Certainly
they know that the brain of any potentially rabid animal is preserved for
analysis. Moreover, this was not their decision to make. Strays, even those
deemed dangerous, are taken to shelters rather than gunned down in fields.

Armed law officers displayed an utter lack of judgment. Their response was
inappropriate and demands your utmost attention. Please inform me of any
progress in this disturbing case.

Thank you,

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

Humane Society of Missouri
1201 Macklind Ave. / St. Louis, MO 63110
HSOM Rescues And Investigations Department: 314-647-4400
fax: 314-647-4317; email: info@hsmo.org
web contact form:
http://hsmo.convio.net/site/Survey?ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&
SURVEY_ID=1403&JServSessionIda012=pqwxgz88w1.app11d

Captain Roger Mayberry, Acting Chief of Police
100 Municipal Circle / Raymore, Missouri 64083
ph: 816-331-0530; fax: 816-331-0564
email: rmayberry@raymore.com

Eric Berlin, Raymore City Manager
100 Municipal Circle / Raymore, MO  64083
ph: 816-892-3002; fax: 816-892-3056
email: eberlin@raymore.com

Jim Feuerborn, Assistant City Manager
ph: 816-892-3026; fax: 816-892-3056
email: jfeuerborn@raymore.com

Juan I. Alonzo, Mayor
109 N. Darrowby / Raymore, MO 64083
ph: 816-331-4504; email: jalonzo@raymore.com

Raymore City Council
100 Municipal Circle / Raymore, MO 64083
John Seimears, Ward 1 Council Member: john.seimears@yahoo.com
Kevin Kellogg, Ward 1 Council Member: kkellogg@raymore.com
Jeff Cox, Ward 2 Council Member: jeffreycox1@comcast.net
Mike Medsker, Ward 2 Council Member: mmedsker@hotmail.com
Jeffrey Adams, Ward 3 Council Member: councilmanadams@yahoo.com
Monique Lewis, Ward 3 Council Member: mlewis250@comcast.net
Charlene Hubach, Ward 4 Council Member: chhubach77@comcast.net
Peter Kerckhoff, Ward 4 Council Member: pkerckhoff@raymore.com

Teresa Hensley, Cass County Prosecuting  Attorney
Cass County Justice Center
2501 W. Wall Street, 2nd Floor / Harrisonville, MO 64701
ph: 816-380-8250; fax: 816-380-8252
email: thensley@casscounty.com, hensley@casscounty.com

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Kinship Circle member Carol McCormick
EndCruelty@aol.com
Raymore, Mo., police shooting of cat investigated
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/pets/story/F3FC4DE15FD1E0738625762F008251C3?OpenDocument
Raymore police mistakenly kill family cat
http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/1437680.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_sub
Additional information from Kinship Circle Investigative Researcher


WEAR IT – http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store/

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

9/29/09: Release Cancun Tigers From Misery


PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.lcanimal.org/alert/alert_284.htm
LT: Bengal Tiger with dislocated leg, sitting in feces and rotten food.
RT: Affectionate tigers relaxing on TWAS‘ 320 acres of grassland.

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT:
c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx, hernando.guerrero@semarnat.gob.mx,
martin.vargas@semarnat.gob.mx, ppatron@profepa.gob.mx,
acerecedo@profepa.gob.mx

MORE MEXICAN WILDLIFE AGENCY PROFEPA CONTACTS:
rcarmona@profepa.gob.mx, murbina@profepa.gob.mx, emondragon@profepa.gob.mx,
ljaguilar@profepa.gob.mx, dsanchez@correo.profepa.gob.mx,
hcastro@profepa.gob.mx, vvalle@profepa.gob.mx, kluna@profepa.gob.mx,
fzapata@profepa.gob.mx, ggonzalezg@profepa.gob.mx, gmier@profepa.gob.mx,
rtornel@profepa.gob.mx, jgalvan@profepa.gob.mx, jayala@profepa.gob.mx,
mmorales@profepa.gob.mx, isandoval@profepa.gob.mx, hmejia@profepa.gob.mx,
gherrera@profepa.gob.mx, sgalindo@profepa.gob.mx, lperezc@profepa.gob.mx,
asalinash@profepa.gob.mx, jgarcia@profepa.gob.mx, sphilippe@profepa.gob.mx,
csanchez@profepa.gob.mx, lcvelazquez@profepa.gob.mx,
eesanchez@profepa.gob.mx, vzarate@profepa.gob.mx, favila@profepa.gob.mx,
rcalvo@profepa.gob.mx, jcoca@profepa.gob.mx, nbarajas@profepa.gob.mx,
averaza@profepa.gob.mx, aarrocha@profepa.gob.mx, aibarra@profepa.gob.mx

jmartinezc@correo.profepa.gob.mx, mlopezp@profepa.gob.mx,
lchang@profepa.gob.mx, gperez@profepa.gob.mx, jalvarez@profepa.gob.mx,
aperezz@profepa.gob.mx, avazquez@profepa.gob.mx, ccontreras@profepa.gob.mx,
gugonzalez@profepa.gob.mx, aromero@profepa.gob.mx, ojlara@profepa.gob.mx,
jmorales@profepa.gob.mx, jcalvillo@profepa.gob.mx, fnava@profepa.gob.mx,
rzamora@profepa.gob.mx, ljimenez@profepa.gob.mx, scruz@profepa.gob.mx,
talquicira@profepa.gob.mx, cperezz@correo.profepa.gob.mx,
plugo@profepa.gob.mx, jcardenas@profepa.gob.mx, mbarrera@profepa.gob.mx,
lperezp@profepa.gob.mx, vprocell@profepa.gob.mx, cfonseca@profepa.gob.mx,
bmestas@profepa.gob.mx

CONTACT WITH WEBSITE FORMS ONLY:
Embassy of Mexico in the United States
http://portal.sre.gob.mx/usa/index.php?option=contact&Itemid=6

FIND MEXICAN EMBASSIES IN OTHER NATIONS:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/mexico.htm

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Honorable Officials of Mexico:

In 2004, Hurricane Wilma ravaged Cancun, Mexico hotels and shops, including
Pepe’s Restaurant. When restaurant owner Gil Jose Juarez (Pepe) fled, he
left his exotic wild cats trapped in the rubble.

Pepe lacked resources to rebuild and tend to the animals he’d once showcased
for diners. But rather than secure humane sanctuary for them, he let the
animals escape, die or rot in concrete and steel enclosures.

I respectfully ask you to release Pepe’s remaining tigers to The Wild Animal
Sanctuary (TWAS) — a longstanding refuge for captive lions, tigers, bears,
and wolves that rehabilitates wild animals so they may live naturally on 320
acres of Colorado grasslands.

I understand TWAS, in partnership with Mexican animal welfare group Gente
Por La Defensa Animal and California-based Last Chance For Animals, had
initiated a relocation plan after Mexican wildlife agency PROFEPA rescinded
Juarez’s wildlife permits.

But the rescue mission never happened. Instead, PROFEPA wants to truck the
tigers cross-country to temporary holding facilities near Mexico City until
any legal actions are resolved. These already abused tigers do not need a
road trip that could lead to more ill health or trauma. Moreover, they could
languish in cages for months, or even years, during legal dealings.

One female tiger reportedly cannot walk without lugging her limp rear legs.
The animals have subsisted on contaminated water and food scraps inside
12-foot cages layered in their own feces. They’ve been denied veterinary
treatment. Yet despite negotiations that began in 2008, Mexican authorities
still will not okay their transfer to TWAS.

Don’t let animal suffering mar the image of Cancun as a famously beautiful
resort destination. I hope you’ll make the compassionate and reasonable
decision to let these tigers live in natural habitats, with proper nutrition
and veterinary care, at The Wild Animal Sanctuary.

Thank you,

===================================================================

SPANISH SAMPLE LETTER – Translation by Soni Cat Trimboli

===================================================================

Distinguidas Autoridades Mexicanas:

En 2004, el huracán Wilma arrasó varios hoteles y tiendas de Cancún, incluyendo el Restaurante de Pepe. Al huir Gil José Juarez (Pepe), propietario del mencionado restaurante, dejó sus éxoticos felinos salvajes atrapados en los escombros. Pepe no contaba con los recursos para poder acomodar y cuidar de los animales que el solía exhibir en las cenas. Pero en lugar de albergar los animales en un santuario adecuado, les dejó que escaparan, murieran o se pudrieran dentro de sus prisiones de hormigón y acero.

Respetuosamente solicito a ustedes transferir los tigres sobrevivients de Pepe al Santuario de Fauna Salvaje TWA (un antiguo refugio para leones, tigres, osos y lobos cautivos, que rehabilita animales salvajes dejándolos vivir en forma natural dentro de en un terreno de aprox. 8 hectáreas, en los pastizales del estado de Colorado

Entiendo que TWAS, en sociedad con el grupo mexicano de bienestar animal, Gente por la Defensa Animal y la organización californiana Last Chance for Animals, ha iniciado un plan de reubicación, luego que la agencia mexica PROFEPA rescindió los permisos de vida silvestre de Juárez.

Pero la misión de rescate jamás tuvo lugar. En vez de eso, PROFEPA pretende transportar los tigres por vía terrestre a instalaciones provisioneales cerca de Ciudad de México mientras se resuelven las respectivas acciones legales. Estos pobres y maltratados tigres lo último que necesitan es un viaje por carretera que podría deteriorar aún más su delicada salud, aparte de todo el estrés adicional. Además, podrían terminar languedeciendo dentro de jaulas durante meses o hasta años, mientras se ejecutan las acciones legales.

Nos informan que existe una tigresa que camina arrastrando sus extremidades posteriores. Los animales han estado subsistiendo de agua contaminada y restos de comida, dentro de jaulas de cuatro metros, sobre capas formadas por sus propias heces. Se les han negado cuidados veterinarios. Sin embargo, a pesar de las negociaciones que comenzaron en 2008, las autoridades mexicanas aún no autorizan su transferencia al centro TWAS.

Señores, no permitan que la bien ganada fama internacional de Cancún sea mancillada. Confío que ustedes tomarán la piadosa y acertada decisión de permitir que estos tigres vivan dentro del Wild Animal Sanctuary, en habitats naturales, provistos de nutrición adecuada y el debido cuidado veterinario.

Muchas gracias,

Your Name, Surname, City, Country

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

MEXICAN GOVERNMENT:
Secretario Juan Rafael Elvira Quezada
Titular de la Secretaria de Medio
Ambiente y Recursos Naturales
Blvd. Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez 4209
Jardines en la Montana C.P. 14210 Tlalpan, D.F. Mexico
fax: (5255) 56-28-06-43; email: c.secretario@semarnat.gob.mx

Dr. Hernando Guerrero Cacerez, Coordinador de Asesores
Secretaria de Medio Ambiente
y Recursos Naturales
Blvd. Adolfo Ruiz Cortinez 4209
Jardines en la Montana C.P. 14210 Tlalpan, D.F. Mexico
fax: (5255) 56-28-06-43; email: hernando.guerrero@semarnat.gob.mx

Martin Vargas Prieto, Director General de Vida Silvestre
fax: (5155) 56-24-36-42; email: martin.vargas@semarnat.gob.mx

Patricio Patron Laviada, Procurador Federal de
Proteccion al Ambiente
Camino al Ajusco No. 200, Piso 8 Ala Sur
Col. Jardines en la Montana. deleg.
Tlalpan, Mexico D.F., C.P. 14210 MEXICO
ph: 26-15-20-95 54-49-63-00; email: ppatron@profepa.gob.mx

Lic. Adriana Rivera Cerecedo, Coordinadora de asesores
Camino al Ajusco No. 200, Piso 8 Ala Sur
Col. Jardines en la Montana. deleg. Tlalpan, Mexico D.F.
C.P. 14210 MEXICO
ph: (5255) 5449 6300 Ext 16118 and 16361
email: acerecedo@profepa.gob.mx

President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon Hinojosa
Presidente Constitucional de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos
Residencia Oficial de los Pinos Casa Miguel Aleman
Col. San Miguel Chapultepec, C.P. 11850, DISTRITO FEDERAL, Mexico
ph: (55) 50935300

MEXICAN EMBASSIES & CONSULATES:
Embassy of Mexico in the United States
Arturo Sharukan, Embajada de Mexico en Estados Unidos de America
1911 Pennsylvania AV, NW / Washington D.C. 20006
ph: 202-728-1600
contact form: http://portal.sre.gob.mx/usa/index.php?option=contact&Itemid=6

MORE MEXICAN CONSULATES IN US & CANADA:
http://www.mexonline.com/consulate.htm

FIND MEXICAN EMBASSIES IN OTHER NATIONS:
http://www.embassyworld.com/embassy/mexico.htm

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Save The Cancun Tigers / VIDEO
http://www.lcanimal.org/alert/alert_284.htm
Save The Cancun Tigers / Contacts
http://www.savethecancuntigers.com/index_files/contacts.htm
The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) in Keenesburg, Colorado
http://wildlife-conservation.com/

Styling Fur Kids. Get The Look Here:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store/

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

9/27/09: San Francisco Area -
If you don’t speak for them, who will?


Animals for sale are wrenched from cages by their feet or wings. Cries of
distress are heard from holding trucks. Packed in tiny, stacked cages
without water, they bake in the sun for hours or days. PHOTO SOURCE:
http://www.lgbtcompassion.org/livemarkets/photos-cc.htm

If you live within 20 miles of San Francisco…
JOIN A POLITICAL ACTION LIST TO FIGHT LIVE MARKETS:
SIGN UP HERE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/volunteer/

• CHECK THE SECTION LABELED “OTHER”
• TYPE IN BOX: SF LIVE MARKETS
  

Kinship Circle is recruiting people to work with Dr. Rich McLellan, Director
of California’s League of Humane Voters, toward banning live markets.

If you don’t take a stand for these doomed animals, who will?
We’ve learned that San Francisco’s live markets abuse not only domestic fowl
like chickens and ducks — but also frogs, turtles, rabbits, guinea pigs,
game birds, fish and lobster. Turtles suffer some of the worst conditions…

To date, no merchant has been prosecuted under California Penal Code 597(a),
597(b), 597a, and 597t, which outlaw cruelty to ALL animals. California’s
food/agriculture code is also ignored each time customers move live birds on
public transit and inside car trunks. Animals are ferried into restaurants,
buses, trains, and shared dwellings — often kept alive to be “fresh killed”
prior to meals — in violation of San Francisco’s Health Code 050.

SF authorities have not enforced animal welfare and human safety laws,
citing an exemption for “poultry” and domestic fowl. But California law 599b
identifies “animal” as “all dumb animals” and 597(b) specifies that “every
person who causes any animal…to be tortured, tormented, deprived of
sustenance, drink, or shelter…is guilty of a crime.”

Volunteer to fight San Francisco’s Live Markets
In the wake of California’s successful Prop. 2 (the 2008 ballot initiative
that bans gestation crates, veal crates, battery cages), Dr. McLellan of
California’s League of Humane Voters sees a chance to “out-vote” the
powerful Asian lobby. “But an opposing interest group needs to pressure them
politically, within San Francisco. It needs to be a well organized political
effort similar to the one HSUS coordinated for Prop 2,” he says.

SIGN UP TO FIGHT SAN FRANCISCO’S LIVE MARKETS:
SIGN UP HERE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/volunteer/

• CHECK THE SECTION LABELED “OTHER”
• TYPE IN BOX: SF LIVE MARKETS
  

TO PARTICIPATE IN A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIVE MARKETS:

• You are a San Francisco resident.
• Or, you live within a 20-mile radius of San Francisco.
• Non-residents: Forward this alert to anyone you know in the Bay Area!
  

California League of Humane Voters will contact you about a strategy session
when enough volunteers have signed on.

League of Humane Voters, California Chapter
Rich McLellan MD, Director
Michiko Vartanian, Communications
ph: 323-666-9075 / email: CA@lohv.org
Facebook: LOHVCA  / Twitter: LOHV-CA

NOT A BAY AREA RESIDENT? YOU CAN STILL TAKE ACTION HERE:
7/21/09: Cruelty For Sale At San Francisco Live Animal Market
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1847&seriesfirst=true

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

9/15/09: Freedom Interrupted…
Cloud’s Herd Caught In BLM Roundup


Images of Cloud (the white, muscular horse) and his herd originated with:
*   Horses from Cloud’s Herd will be Slaughtered
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1025
*   Alert from Jerry Finch, Habitat for Horses, http://www.habitatforhorses.org
*   The Cloud Foundation, http://www.thecloudfoundation.org

The auction for horses from Cloud’s Herd is planned for September 26, 2009.

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================

EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO:
feedback@ios.doi.gov, Secretary_of_the_Interior@ios.doi.gov,
Director@blm.gov, Robert_Abbey@blm.gov, Mike_Pool@blm.gov,
janet_lin@blm.gov, senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov

RECIPIENTS WITH WEB CONTACT FORMS ONLY:
-   President Barack Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
-   Vice President Joe Biden: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ContactUs/
-   Chariman Nick J. Rahall, House Committee on Natural Resources:
http://www.rahall.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9
-   Doc Hastings, Ranking Republican Member:
http://hastings.house.gov/ContactForm.aspx
-   Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources:
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
-   Senator Lisa Murkowski, Ranking Republican Member:
http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EMailLisa

U.S, CITIZENS ONLY, ALSO SEND COMMENTS TO:
YOUR FEDERAL SENATORS & REP IN WASHINGTON DC:
http://www.Congress.org
http://www.vote-smart.org/
http://www.senate.gov
http://www.house.gov

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.  
=============================================================

President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary Salazar, Bureau of Land
Management, Members of Congress:

On 9/1/09, the Bureau of Land Management activated a roundup of the Pryor
Mountain Wild Horses. Helicopters corralled the famous horse Cloud
(documented on PBS Nature series) and his band from their mountaintop home
through desert foothills to holding pens.

I’m relieved BLM ended the operation after just six days, but it never
should have occurred in the first place.

The raid on Cloud’s Herd epitomizes years of mismanagement. To appease
cattle ranchers and other private interests, BLM captures more animals than
it can adopt out. With 33,000 horses already in federal compounds, surplus
American horses commonly go from auction to kill floor.

A recent BLM press release claims to have freed “most of the 146 horses
gathered,” including Cloud and his herd. I respectfully demand freedom for
Conquistador, Grumpy and other horses older then 10 — who are not
adoptable. Let them live and die in their natural range.

I urge BLM to decrease horses slated for removal to just 20 adoptable horses
from ages one to two. Ultimately, BLM should pursue non-invasive control
methods — such as range expansion and intensified contraception programs. A
cap on permits to hunt mountain lions would let natural predation curb
mustang numbers. In addition, landowners who permit wild horses on their
property ought to receive tax incentives.

I ask the President, Vice President and Congress to advocate reinstatement
of these magnificent creatures on public rangelands. Your support of the
Restoring Our American Mustangs (ROAM) bill S.B. 1579 can help renew
protections Congress enacted in the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act
of 1971. ROAM’s House version, H.R. 1018, has already passed. I hope the
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee follows suit with swift
approval of S.B. 1579.

Please return Cloud’s entire herd to the wild, so that senior horses are
not sold to kill-buyers. Slaughter is excruciating for these excitable
animals. On Mexican kill floors, a “puntilla knife” is used to sever the
spinal cord — merely paralyzing the horse as workers slit his throat. The
captive bolt pistols used in Canada often don’t work on such long-necked
animals, and leave them thrashing in pain.

Please listen to public sentiment and let wild free-roaming horses and
burros live as testament to the “pioneer spirit of the West.”

Thank you,

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO:
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden
The White House / 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW / Washington, DC 20500
comments: 202-456-1111 or 202-456-9000
switchboard: 202-456-1414; fax: 202-456-2461
contact forms: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/ContactUs/

Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W. / Washington DC 20240
ph: 202-208-3100
email: feedback@ios.doi.gov, Secretary_of_the_Interior@ios.doi.gov

U.S. Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665 / Washington DC 20240
ph: 202-208-3801 / fax: 202-208-5242
Director Bob Abbey: Director@blm.gov, Robert_Abbey@blm.gov
ph: 202-208-3801, 866-468-7826; fax: 202-208-5242
Acting Deputy Director Mike Pool: Mike_Pool@blm.gov
Chief of Staff Janet Lin: janet_lin@blm.gov

House Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building / Washington, D.C. 20515
ph: 202-225-6065; fax: 202-225-1931
Nick J. Rahall, II, West Virginia, Chairman, contact form:
http://www.rahall.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9
Doc Hastings, Washington, Ranking Republican Member, contact form:
http://hastings.house.gov/ContactForm.aspx

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural  Resources
304 Dirksen Senate Building / Washington, DC 20510
ph: 202-224-4971; fax: 202-224-6163; contact form:
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Chairman Jeff Bingaman: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
Senator Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, Ranking Republican Member:
contact form: http://murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=EMailLisa

U.S CITIZENS ONLY, ALSO SEND COMMENTS TO:
The Honorable Representative [YOUR REP'S NAME HERE]
U.S. House of Representatives / Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senator [YOUR SENATORS' NAMES HERE]
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building / Washington, D.C. 20510

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
Congress.org – http://www.Congress.org
Project VoteSmart – http://www.vote-smart.org/
USA Senate – http://www.senate.gov
USA House of Representatives – http://www.house.gov

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Stop the Massive Removal of Cloud’s Wild Horse Herd
http://thecloudfoundation.org/index.php/action-alerts/113-sign-the-petition
Pryors Roundup Stopped Early
http://thecloudfoundation.org/index.php/news-events-a-media/news/wild-horse-issues/143-roundup-is-over
BLM to Sell Some Horses from Cloud’s Herd
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1025
Read About The ROAM Act, S.B. 1579
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/693


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http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store/

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

9/11/09: Mutilated Sharks – Fin Soup’s Main Ingredient


Finning is the process of cutting off the fins of a shark and discarding the
body at sea. Photo – “Shark Finning,” added by Chanica at
http://wdydwyd.ning.com/xn/detail/u_39n264op8kemu

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.
=============================================================

EVERYONE MAY SEND COMMENTS TO:
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Public Information Office, 508 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510-6125
Public Information Office: 202-224-5115
Full Committee Office: Majority: 202-224-0411 / Minority: 202-224-1251
Senator Jay Rockefeller, Chairman:
http://rockefeller.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Ranking Member:
http://hutchison.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room 5128 / Washington, DC 20230
ph: 202-482-3436; email: jane.lubchenco@noaa.gov

U.S. CITIZENS ONLY, ALSO SEND COMMENTS TO:
The Honorable Representative [YOUR REP'S NAME HERE]
U.S. House of Representatives / Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senators [YOUR SENATORS' NAMES HERE]
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building / Washington, D.C. 20510

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    http://www.Congress.org
*    http://www.vote-smart.org/
*    http://www.house.gov
*    http://www.senate.gov
*    Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

MEMBERS, Senate Committee On Commerce, Science & Transportation
If YOUR elected legislators sit on this committee, please write them:
http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=About.Members

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
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Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
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Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Honorable Senators, Representative, and Dr. Lubchenco:

I understand the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 81) has been referred
to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation after its
passage in the House on March 3, 2009. I hope this bill moves quickly so
that a ban on the amputation of shark fins is enforced.

Until fishermen stop severing fins and dumping mutilated sharks at sea, many
species — including hammerheads and makos — remain vulnerable to
extinction. Please support the Shark Conservation Act (H.R. 81), which
mandates that sharks be landed with their fins naturally intact.

H.R. 81 amends the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to close a
loophole that let boats transfer illegally acquired fins as long as sharks
weren’t butchered aboard the same boat.

An estimated 73 million sharks are killed annually. In most cases, their
fins alone are sold for shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy. Though “finning”
was outlawed in all U.S. waters in 2000, negligent fishing practices
continue to hinder enforcement.

Finning is just plain cruel. Fishermen haul living sharks on to decks, slice
off their fins, and toss them back to bleed to death or become defenseless
prey at sea. It is time to end this crime against nature and promote
conservation worldwide. Please do everything possible to ensure that the
Shark Conservation Act passes into law.

Thank you,

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================


PHOTOS: http://www.sharktrust.org/content.asp?did=26881
Finned Silver Tip Shark: http://www.year-of-the-shark-2009.org/sharks.html

Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (Passed in House; Referred to Senate Committee)
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c111:3:./temp/~c111LwBqb3::
Shark Conservation Act of 2009
http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/federal_legislation/wildlife/shark_conservation_act_of.html
Tell Congress: Ban Shark Finning
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/190900047?z00m=19382402
Stop Shark Finning
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/618227620?z00m=19788991

Buy Compassion-Inspired Clothes
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store/

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

9/5/09: Save Gray Wolves So We Can Slaughter Them?


The gray wolf, also called timber wolf, is the largest wild member of the
Canidae family and an ice age survivor originating during the Late
Pleistocene around 300,000 years ago…

Today their fate is uncertain, amid pressure to kill wolves at the behest of
cattle ranchers vying for autonomous grazing grounds. The removal of
Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolves from the list of endangered wildlife is
also a gift to logging, drilling and hunting industries.

Private industries have persuaded federal agencies like the Forest Service,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife, and Bureau of Land Management to poison prairie dogs,
haze buffalo, roundup wild horses…and delist wolves for open season.

Taxpayers spent millions to recover the very same wolves the Obama
administration is now letting Greater Yellowstone states kill. There is no
comprehensive federal wolf plan…just a bunch of guys in camouflage gunning
down wolves in Idaho and Montana.

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================

EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO:
feedback@ios.doi.gov, Secretary_of_the_Interior@ios.doi.gov,
contact@fws.gov, Director@fws.gov, Dan_Ashe@fws.gov, Rowan_Gould@fws.gov,
MountainPrairie@fws.gov, idfginfo@idfg.idaho.gov, fwpgen@mt.gov,
governor@gov.idaho.gov, jkreizenbeck@gov.idaho.gov, BrianSchweitzer@mt.gov,
governor@mt.gov

President Barack Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
WEB CONTACT FORM ONLY, NO PUBLIC EMAIL ADDRESS

IDAHO & MONTANA RESIDENTS ONLY,  ALSO SEND COMMENTS TO:
STATE IDAHO LEGISLATORS:
http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/howtocontactlegislators.htm

STATE MONTANA LEGISLATORS:
http://leg.mt.gov/css/find%20a%20legislator.asp

NATIONAL IDAHO & MONTANA LEGISLAORS IN WASHINGTON DC:
http://www.Congress.org
http://www.vote-smart.org/
http://www.senate.gov
http://www.house.gov

***KINSHIP CIRCLE CANNOT GUARANTEE ALL EMAILS WILL WORK***
During campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses.
Emails from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Dear President Obama, Secretary Salazar, State and Federal Officials:

I am shocked that the Obama administration has activated a Bush-era rule to
remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species list. The delisting of
Greater Yellowstone wolves basically sanctions their slaughter.

Montana opens fire on 9/15/09 with a 75-wolf limit. Idaho’s race to kill up
to 25% of its wolves (during this season alone) began on 9/1/09. Idaho’s
Fish and Game Department hopes to sell 70,000 permits. That’s too many
trophy hunters to unleash on a wolf population that has not fully rebounded.

Idaho’s estimated 1,000 wolves cannot withstand an annual hunt. Yet this
year officials set a 330-wolf quota — with Idaho hunters allowed to take
220 wolves. The state’s Nez Perce tribe may kill another 35 wolves.

Where is the intelligent strategy to sustain the very wolves that Americans
salvaged from near extinction? Instead, we are asked to standby as Idaho and
Montana aim for possibly the largest wolf bloodbath since the 1930s.

It is not too late to halt the hunt and renew Endangered Species Act
safeguards for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. I urge you to take
meaningful action to reinstate protections now.

At the very least, suspend this irresponsible wolf “management” plan until
it undergoes the type scientific scrutiny the Obama administration
advocates. Secretary Salazar’s original verdict to delist wolves didn’t
assess biological repercussions. It failed to consider Idaho’s policy for
the unsustainable killing of hundreds of wolves.

During the Bush administration, conservation groups convinced a federal
court to reject the same delisting rule. This time, 13 groups filed a
similar lawsuit to restore endangered species status for wolves.

Wolves are key to thriving ecosystems. But state plans seem more focused on
eradication than ecologically balanced wildlife populations. The federal
government needs to defend the wolves that U.S. citizens invested millions
in tax dollars to save.

Thank you,

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

President Barack Obama
The White House / 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW / Washington, DC 20500
comments: 202-456-1111; switchboard: 202-456-1414; fax: 202-456-2461
web form: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Honorable Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W. / Washington DC 20240
email: feedback@ios.doi.gov, Secretary_of_the_Interior@ios.doi.gov

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW, Room 3256
MailStop 3238 MIB / Washington, DC 20240-0001
ph: 1-800-344-9453; email: contact@fws.gov
Sam D. Hamilton, Director: Director@fws.gov
Dan Ashe, Deputy Director: Dan_Ashe@fws.gov
Dr. Rowan W. Gould, Deputy Director: Rowan_Gould@fws.gov
USFWS Mountain-Prairie Region: MountainPrairie@fws.gov

Idaho Department of Fish and Game
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 25 / Boise, ID 83707
Walk-in Address: 600 S. Walnut / Boise, ID 83712
ph: 208-334-3700; fax: 208-334-2148, 208-334-2114
email: idfginfo@idfg.idaho.gov
web form: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/inc/contact.cfm

Montana Department of Fish and Game
Joe Maurier, Director, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks
1420 East Sixth Avenue / P.O. Box 200701 / Helena, MT 59620-0701
ph: 406-444-2535; fax: 406-444-4952; email: fwpgen@mt.gov

Governor C. L. “Butch” Otter
Office of the Governor, Idaho
P.O. Box 83720 / Boise, Idaho 83720
ph: 208 334-2100; fax: 208-334-3454
email: governor@gov.idaho.gov
Jason Kreizenbeck, Chief of Staff: jkreizenbeck@gov.idaho.gov
web form: http://gov.idaho.gov/WebRespond/contact_form.html

Governor Brian D. Schweitzer
Office of the Governor, Montana State Capitol Bldg.
P.O. Box 200801 / Helena MT 59620-0801
ph: 406-444-3111; fax: 406-444-5529
email: BrianSchweitzer@mt.gov, governor@mt.gov
web form: http://governor.mt.gov/contact/commentsform.asp

IDAHO & MONTANA RESIDENTS ONLY: Contact your federal and state legislators
STATE – IDAHO LEGISLATORS
IDAHO RESIDENTS – http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/howtocontactlegislators.htm
State of Idaho Legislature, ph: 208-334-2475
State Capitol / Boise, ID 83720-0001

STATE – MONTANA LEGISLATORS
MONTANA RESIDENTS – http://leg.mt.gov/css/find%20a%20legislator.asp
Montana State Senate, fax:406-444-4875
PO Box 200500 / Helena, MT 59620-0500

Montana State House of Representatives, fax: 406-444-4825
PO Box 200400 / Helena, MT 59620-0400

NATIONAL – LEGISLATORS IN WASHINGTON DC
Find your federal Idaho or Montana legislators + contact info:
Congress.org – http://www.Congress.org
Project VoteSmart – http://www.vote-smart.org/
USA Senate – http://www.senate.gov
USA House of Representatives – http://www.house.gov

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Two Idaho hunters kill wolves on opening day
http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/884635.html
Wolf hunting now legal but still controversial
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/03/wolf.hunt/index.html
Reinstate Federal Protections for Northern Rockies Wolves
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/165659664?z00m=19787956
Idaho Wolf Tags Went On Sale August 24, 2009
http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/apps/releases/view.cfm?NewsID=5055
U.S. Fish & Wildlife / Gray Wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains
http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/wolf/

PHOTO COLLAGE CREDITS: Idaho hunters kill wolves on opening day:
http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/884635.html
National Geographic, Joel Sartore; bricabrackorner.com/Wolf3W.jpg;
2008 PiedType.com.jpg; West Yellowstone, Montana 2/9/08:
http://jugalbandi.info/2008/03/gray-wolves/

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

August 29, 2005 – August 29, 2009
In memory of Hurricane Katrina’s
animal victims and human rescuers

THIS IS FOR YOU… By Brenda Shoss

August 29, 2005 marks the day Hurricane Katrina cast
people and animals adrift in a sea of loss and despair.
When the levees broke, a singular scream grew from
dark waters, drowning out reason. Erasing hope.

Who would hear their cries, faint as ashes
lost in fragments? Who would see their
desperation — locked behind doors, bound to
fence posts, stranded on rooftops?

Thousands searched for familiar faces.
But eyes turned cloudy when no one came.
Huddled in bathtubs. Hidden behind walls.
A tail wagged…and a soft purr rose
from the rubble to merge with the wind.

Who would hear them?
Our government did not.
Who would see them?
Our law enforcers did not.
Who would return for them?

You did.

Who has no money, but jumped on a plane.
Drove cross-country, packed to the roof…
Because you were the one a dog needed
You were the hands a cat waited for
You were their food, their water, their love.

This is for you
Who read every word
Networked and planned
To salvage small hearts
Left in the storm.

This is for you
For every mile traveled
For every life saved.

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

Cambodia Monkeys: Stolen From Trees, Sold To Research
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
LT: Cambodia’s long-tailed macaques are stuffed into mesh bags and crammed
into the bottom of a boat. RT: Babies clinging to each other in small barren
cages await their fate. SOURCE: http://www.buav.org/e_projecty.php

===========================================================
#1. SAMPLE LETTER —  TO CAMBODIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Try to personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses*

The Honorable Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister of the Royal Government of Cambodia
Office of the Council of Ministers
41, Russian Federation Blvd.; Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Office of the Council of Ministers: ocm@cambodia.gov.kh
Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries: maff@everyday.com.kh
Ministry of Health: procure.pcu@bigpond.com.kh
Ministry of Tourism: info@mot.gov.kh

Cambodia Embassy, United Kingdom
His Excellency Hor Nambora, Ambassador of Cambodia
The Royal Embassy of Cambodia
64 Brondesbury Park, Willesden Green; London NW6 7AT
email: cambodianembassy@btconnect.com

Cambodia Embassy, United States
His Excellency Sereywath Ek
Ambassador, Royal Embassy of Cambodia
4530 16th Street, NW; Washington, DC 20011
email: cambodia@embassy.org, CH_WID@online.com.kh,
consul-huoth@diplomats.com

Permanent Mission of Kingdom of Cambodia to United Nations: cambodia@un.int

TO FIND CAMBODIAN EMBASSIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES, TRY:
http://www.embassyofcambodia.org/other_embassies.htm
http://embassyinformation.com/
##########

The Honorable Samdech Hun Sen and Cambodian Government Officials:

I am extremely concerned about Cambodia’s inhumane traffic in primates for
animal research. I urge the government to enact stronger laws to save your
indigenous populations of monkeys.

Trapping, breeding and export of long-tailed macaques ought to be illegal.
Investigative findings from British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
(BUAV) show babies forcibly separated from nursing mothers. Monkeys are even
captured within a Cambodian nature reserve. Hunters pound on tree trunks
with oars to frighten wild monkeys and wrangle them into nets.

The animals, caught on film either screaming or frozen in terror, are
wrenched by their tails and crammed into bags. They’re stowed in boats until
sold to a dealer or monkey farm.

Macaques are perceptive creatures with complex behavioral and psychological
instincts. Yet those documented on film in Cambodia have no stimulation or
enrichment. They represent a failure to comply with international standards
for animal welfare.

Rather than sacrifice wildlife, please advocate animal-free research that is
relevant to humans. Primate experiments, in particular, delay medical
progress. For example, researchers recognize primates do not contract the
human strain of AIDS or develop its clinical symptoms. Of 85 HIV/AIDS
vaccines tested in animals, every single one failed in 197 human trials.

The National Cancer Institute now analyzes treatments for cancer and
HIV/AIDS, and tests for drug toxicities, using human cell and tissue panels.
With sophisticated alternatives available, there is no reason to subject
monkeys to torture and death.

The long-tailed macaque is a protected species, categorized as Appendix II
in the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Please do not permit the desecration of Cambodia’s treasured wildlife.

Thank you,

===========================================================
#2. SAMPLE LETTER —  TO THE CITES SECRETARIAT
Try to personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses*

CITES Secretariat
International Environment House
11 Chemin des Anemones
CH-1219 Chatelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
email: info@cites.org
Convention on Biological Diversity: secretariat@cbd.int

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street, NW; Washington, DC 20240
web form: http://www.fws.gov/DUSPIT/contactus.htm

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Nobel House, 17 Smith Square; London SW1P 3JR
email: Hilary.Benn@defra.gsi.gov.uk
##########

CITES Secretariat:

Please investigate Cambodia’s inhumane traffic in primates for animal
research. I ask CITES members to bar CITES related trade with Cambodia, if
non-compliance with international animal welfare laws is confirmed

Investigative findings from British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
(BUAV) show babies forcibly separated from nursing mothers. Monkeys are even
captured within a Cambodian nature reserve. Hunters pound on tree trunks
with oars to frighten wild monkeys and wrangle them into nets.

The animals, caught on film either screaming or frozen in terror, are
wrenched by their tails and crammed into bags. They’re stowed in boats until
sold to a dealer or monkey farm.

Macaques are perceptive creatures with complex behavioral and psychological
instincts. Yet those documented on film in Cambodia have no stimulation or
enrichment. They represent a failure to adhere to animal welfare standards.

The long-tailed macaque is a protected species, categorized as Appendix II
under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species
(CITES). Please look into Cambodia’s trapping, breeding and export of these
animals for experimentation. Cambodia cannot be allowed to desecrate its
indigenous populations of monkeys.

Thank you,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

TORN FROM THE WILD:
http://www.buav.org/e_projecty.php
Why vivisection needs to end / By John J. Pippin
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/12/opposing-view-1.html

Your support lets us work for animals!

*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130



Action Campaigns * Literature * Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this post is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

1/7/09: Misery For Profit At Michigan Pound
This issue comes up for a vote at the commissioners meeting, 1/12/09
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
LT PHOTO: She was a sweet, shy yellow Lab named Liz… By all accounts, Liz
should have been adopted quickly, but for whatever reason her time ran out
at the Montcalm County animal shelter in Stanton, Michigan last week… READ
MORE ABOUT LIZ AND OTHER ANIMALS FOR SALE TO RESEARCH LABS:
Michigan Deals with the Devil, http://www.poocini.com/report/archives/964

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample Letter Follows
===========================================================

Many alerts currently circulating the Internet about Montcalm County’s pound
seizure practice ask activists to CALL and/or SNAIL-MAIL comments, rather
than email them: “Please…write a good old-fashioned letter and copy it 9
times. Often when email is sent for something like this the commissioners
will simply hit DELETE.”

STREET ADDRESS FOR ALL COMMISSIONERS:
Montcalm County Commissioners
Administrative Building, 3rd Floor
211 W. Main St.
P.O. Box 368
Stanton, MI 48888

Commissioner Marcia Walker
home: 616-754-8236; email: lloydwalker@chartermi.net

Commissioner Tom Lindeman
home: 616-754-4918; email: tblindeman@sbcglobal.net

Commissioner Ron Retzloff
home: 989-235-6827; email: comish@casair.net

Commissioner John Johansen
home: 616-754-5375; email: johm@pathwaynet.com

Commissioner Carl Paepke
home: 616-636-5692; email: johm@pathwaynet.com

Commissioner Ron Baker
home: 231-937-5465; email: rbaker68amx@hotmail.com

Commissioner Pat Carr
home: 989-352-8129; NO EMAIL

Commissioner Roger Caris
home: 989-268-5875; email: rcaris@gccmha.org

Commissioner John McCrackin
home: 989-584-3713; NO EMAIL

City of Stanton, Mayor Robert Burns
225 S. Camburn St.
P.O. Box 449
Stanton, MI 48888
ph: 989 831-4440; fax: 989-831-5756
email: mayor@cityofstantonmi.com

Montcalm County Animal Control
154 W. Quarterline St.
P.O. Box 368
Stanton, MI 48888
ph: 989-831-7355; fax: 989-831-7410

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government or corporate websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Montcalm County Officials:

Please do not send companion animals to research laboratories. I implore you
to cancel the county’s contract with R & R Research, Inc. and never again
engage a Class B dealer to dispose of homeless animals.

Behind a lab’s closed doors, animals undergo invasive surgeries, toxic
dosing, food/water deprivation, and prolonged pain. Still, your taxpayers
subsidize pound seizure whether they like it or not. They indirectly fund
animal tests that delay medical progress with misleading results.

It is particularly irresponsible to support animal research when strides in
in-vitro technology, computer automation, and many more animal-free methods
now uncover data relevant to human health and safety.

Clearly, there is no altruism in dealing cats and dogs for research. There
is only profit. In 2006, USDA records reveal R & R Research of Howard City,
Michigan grossed $196,723 from the sale of 621 dogs and cats. Moreover, R &
R flaunts an unethical history. A 2006 USDA citation shows R & R illegally
transported dogs chained to a livestock trailer. In 2005, R & R was cited
for procuring dogs and cats from Howard City, where there is no pound.
Apparently officials sold their strays to R & R.

Before that, the Michigan Attorney General ordered R & R to pull its “animal
shelter” listing in the yellow pages. In the 1990s, a WOOD TV investigative
video portrayed R & R owners gassing animals in a corroded “CO2 barrel.”

At the very least, Montcalm officials ought to be embarrassed by their
relationship with a Class B dealer. I strongly encourage you to terminate
your contract with R & R and permanently stop pound seizure — a shady
practice abandoned by most counties nationwide.

This issue has generated worldwide publicity via the Internet. I look
forward to your feedback.

Thank you,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Michigan deals with the devil
http://www.poocini.com/report/archives/964
Montcalm County Animal “Shelter” Cruelty Exposed
http://www.michanimalnews.com/Montcalm_Animal_Control.html
Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone?
http://www.cccmontcalm.org/
Michigan Animal Shelter Ships Animals to Class B Research Dealer
http://www.michanimalnews.com/co2_euth_followup.html
R&R Research; 19256 W. Kendaville Rd.; Howard City, MI 49329; 231-937-5680
http://guide.labanimal.com/guide/companyd.jsp?b=5285

PLEASE SUPPORT KINSHIP CIRCLE’S WORK FOR ANIMALS…
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

1/6/09: Broken Promises – Armani Returns To Fur
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample Letter Follows
===========================================================

Giorgio Armani is a PRIVATELY HELD company, which means email addresses  for
top executives are difficult to find (without paying a fee). We urge people
to send faxes and snail-mail letters.

Giorgio Armani Corporation
114 Fifth Ave., 17th Floor
New York, NY 10011
ph: 212-366-9720; fax: 212-366-1685

Armani Exchange
111 8th Ave., 9th Floor
New York, NY 10011
ph: 800-717-AXAX
customer service: custserv@armaniexchange.com
web mail: http://www.armaniexchange.com/category/customer+service/contact+us.do

ARMANI HEADQUARTERS
Giorgio Armani S.p.A
Via Borgonuovo 11
20121 Milan, Italy
ph: +39-02-723-18-1; fax: +39-02-723-18-549

Media Contacts for Giorgio Armani SpA
Armani Press, http://www.armanipress.it
Amee Boyle, international press enquiries: amee.boyle@giorgioarmani.it
Mario Zaccardi: mario.zaccardi@giorgioarmani.it
Alice Bon: alice.bon@giorgioarmani.it
Rod Manley: rod.manley@giorgioarmani.it
Marco Achilli: marco.achilli@giorgioarmani.it
ph: +39 02 831061; fax: +39 02 831061041

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government or corporate websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Giorgio Armani Corporation, Exchange, and S.p.A:

I am very disappointed in Giorgio Armani’s failure to sustain a no-fur
policy. In the 2007 Time magazine article, “A Standing O for Lacroix,” Mr.
Armani states: “I spoke with the people from PETA and they showed me some
materials that convinced me not to use fur.”

Yet recent Armani collections feature fur-trimmed jackets and skirts,
floral-pattern fur coats, and fur-adorned baby snowsuits. A “little fur
trim” is a lot of suffering. In fact, your use of rabbit skins is so
offensive, I’m inclined to boycott Armani until dead animals are eliminated.

Rabbits farmed for their fur or meat are squeezed inside tiny wire cages
that cut into their non-padded paws. Before slaughter, many perish from
dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation.

Killers break necks and bludgeon skulls — smashing live rabbits against
walls — before stringing rabbits by their legs to behead them. Fur is
stripped from their bodies in full view of other living rabbits.

All fur-bearing animals are killed as cheaply as possible. Pelts are often
derived from genital electrocution. The killer delivers a 240-volt blast of
electricity into an animal’s rectum. The conscious, convulsing animal
endures a heart attack for two or more minutes.

Sometimes animals are “neck-popped,” injected with pesticides, or
asphyxiated with carbon monoxide from unfiltered engine exhaust.

No matter how you market it, fur is synonymous with violence and death. I
encourage you to join Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Stella
McCartney, Todd Oldham and other popular fur-free designers. Please notify
me when Giorgio Armani is serious about cruelty-free fashion.

Thank you,

===========================================================
TAKE ACTION AGAINST ARMANI STORES NEAR YOU
===========================================================

Armani Locations Worldwide:
http://www.armani.com
Click on “Store Locator” at bottom of page

Armani Exchange Stores:
http://www.armaniexchange.com/storelocator.do

From Bridget Soeder, Kinship Circle, galileao@aol.com — A good second step
for activists willing to take an extra few minutes to help this campaign
succeed: Select the store of your choice, to send snail-mail letters to the
attention of the store manager. With the right amount of letters received by
local managers, there should be, at the very least, a decent ripple effect
to reach key players and maximize our efforts.

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Tell Armani to Keep his Fur-Free Pledge
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/armani_fur
TIME MAGAZINE: “PETA showed convinced me not to use fur.”
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1640080,00.html
Armani Rabbit Fur Campaign Makes Its London Debut!
http://blog.peta.org.uk/tag/giorgio-armani
PETA Urges Tom And Katie To Keep Suri Fur-Free
http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/09/25/peta-urges-tom-and-katie-to-keep-suri-fur-free/

DOWNLOAD FREE FACT SHEETS:


http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FactsAboutTheFurIndustr.pdf
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/FurAmericasNewPacifier.pdf

PLEASE SUPPORT KINSHIP CIRCLE’S WORK FOR ANIMALS…
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130



Action Campaigns * Literature * Animal Disaster Aid Networking
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

1/19/09: Unnecessary – Live Dogs Cut Open To Train Med Students
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample Letter Follows
===========================================================

Robert P. Kelch, M.D.
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs
M7324 Medical Science Building, Box 0626
University of Michigan Health System
1500 E. Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
ph: 734-647-9351
email: rkelch@med.umich.edu

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government or corporate websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Doctor Kelch,

Two decades ago, medical schools let students practice emergency procedures
on dogs. Today, the University of Michigan is among a small number of
institutions that still use old-fashioned animal labs. More than 90% of
Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) classes taught in the U.S. and Canada
benefit from human-focused simulators alone. Dogs, goats and pigs just
aren’t effective teachers any more.

I respectfully ask you to terminate live animal labs. Apparently UM has even
incorporated companion animals from Michigan shelters into its course
materials. Since researchers are not required to learn a dog’s origin, it’s
easy to wind up with someone’s lost or surrendered pet. Koda, a
silver-and-black malamute sold to UM, died along with other dogs who were
cut open, practiced upon, and discarded.

I am shocked UM buys shelter animals from disreputable Class B dealers like
R & R Research to kill them in crude training drills. Moreover, emergency
medical training is better served by non-animal systems. As you know, the
American College of Surgeons endorses TraumaMan System, Synman, human
cadavers and other synthetic models for ATLS.

Overall, animal-free research cuts costs and improves proficiency. A timely
New England Journal of Medicine article highlights the “very detailed
feedback and…more subtle measurement of trainee performance” gained from
virtual reality simulators. The article summarizes: Inanimate models are
“safe, reproducible, portable, readily available, and…cost-effective.”

Students who gain surgical knowledge from dogs deal with inconsistent
variables. Incision pressure differs between dogs and humans. Shape, angle,
and texture of internal organs are also vastly incongruous. Why teach skills
that don’t apply directly to human beings?

Please update the University of Michigan’s trauma-management training with
methods more relevant to human anatomy and surgery.

Thank you,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Ryan Merkley, PCRM Manager of Humane Education Programs
rmerkley@pcrm.org
Save Dogs From Trauma Training At University Of Michigan
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/atls/michigan/index.html
U-M’s surgical training experiments on dogs blasted
http://www.freep.com/article/20090114/NEWS06/901140322/1001/NEWS/U-M+s+surgical+training+experiments+on+dogs+blasted

Please Support Kinship Circle’s Voice For Animals…
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

1/21/09: Man Who Filed Dog’s Teeth To Gumline Belongs In Jail

ACT BY 2/10/09 – Sentencing scheduled for 2/11/09


A McMinnville, Tenn. jury found Chris Barnett guilty of animal cruelty for
filing down the dog’s teeth last year… Barnett faces up to a year in jail
when he’s sentenced. Man Faces Jail Time For Dog Abuse,
http://www.wsmv.com/news/18497464/detail.html#-

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Email block + sample letter follow
===========================================================

The Honorable Larry “Bart” Stanley, Jr.
111 Court Square; McMinnville, TN 37110
ph: 931-473-2373; fax: 931-473-6328
NO EMAIL ADDRESS

Honorable Lisa Zavogiannis, District Attorney General
131 E Main Street; McMinnville, TN 37110
ph: 931-473-9572; fax: 931-473-7410
email: lszavogiannis@tndagc.org

John Pelham, County Mayor
Warren County Executive Building
201 Locust Street, Ste. 1; McMinnville, TN 37110
ph: 931-473-2505; fax: 931-473-0635
email: wcexecutive@blomand.net, admin@warrentn.org
Admin Assistant, Carol Cantrell: carolc@blomand.net

City of McMinnville, TN
Dr. Norman Rone, Mayor
101 East Main Street
PO Box 7088; McMinnville, TN 37111
ph: 931-473-1200; email: mayor@mcminnvilletenn.com

Bobby Kirby, Vice Mayor
101 East Main Street
PO Box 7088; McMinnville, TN 37111
ph: 931-473-2200; cell: 931-607-8770
email: bobbykirby@blomand.net

Representative Charles Curtiss
120 General Jones Road; Sparta, TN 38583
ph: 615-741-1963
email: rep.charles.curtiss@legislature.state.tn.us,
rep.charles.curtiss@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Janis Baird Sontany
32 Legislative Plaza; Nashville, TN 37243-0153
ph: 615-741-6861; fax 615-253-0325
email: rep.janis.sontany@capitol.tn.gov

Senator Eric Stewart
500 Dinah Shore Blvd; Winchester, TN 37398
ph: 931-967-3742, 615-741-6694
email: eric@votestewart.com,
sen.eric.stewart@legislature.state.tn.us

Senator Doug Jackson
10 Legislative Plaza; Nashville, TN 37243-0025
ph: 615-741-4499; fax 615-741-8745
email: sen.doug.jackson@capitol.tn.gov

IF YOU LIVE IN TENNESSEE, EMAIL YOUR STATE REP AND SENTATOR.
FIND CONTACT INFO HERE: http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/

Governor Phil Bredesen
Tennessee State Capitol; Nashville, TN 37243-0001
ph: 615-741-2001; fax: 615-532-9711
email: phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

===========================================================
EMAIL BLOCK: All emails (from above) found for this alert
===========================================================

lszavogiannis@tndagc.org, wcexecutive@blomand.net, admin@warrentn.org,
carolc@blomand.net, mayor@mcminnvilletenn.com, bobbykirby@blomand.net,
rep.charles.curtiss@legislature.state.tn.us,
rep.charles.curtiss@capitol.tn.gov, rep.janis.sontany@capitol.tn.gov,
eric@votestewart.com, sen.eric.stewart@legislature.state.tn.us,
sen.doug.jackson@capitol.tn.gov, phil.bredesen@state.tn.us

FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Judge Stanley, Ms. Lisa Zavogiannis, and Government Officials of Warren
County, McMinnville, and the State of Tennessee:

I am concerned about the case of Christopher Barnett, a McMinnville, TN man
who claims his rights as an “owner” justify the February 16, 2008 mutilation
of his Alaskan husky, Lucas. Barnett’s violent actions rank as felony
aggravated animal cruelty.

Witnesses saw Barnett beat Lucas and then chisel off the dog’s teeth until
root and nerve were exposed on at least 16 uppers and 14 lowers. The year
and a half old dog’s head “jerked back and forth,” one witness said, as
Barnett ran a saw-like tool through the dog’s mouth.

I urge officials to levy the maximum felony penalty of two years in prison
and a $3,000 fine. Please ensure Barnett undergoes psychological counseling
and is barred from possessing or living with animals. Lucas and Honey, a
Boxer also under Barnett’s care, cannot go home to this unremorseful abuser.

In addition to grinding Lucas’ teeth down to the gum line, Barnett also
bludgeoned the dog so severely he fractured a bone in the eye area. He is a
repeat offender, charged in 2004 with deliberately killing an animal in
Giles County. Though never convicted of this offense, his recurring behavior
ought to be a red flag for those who determine his punishment.

Criminologists view the intensity of hostile behavior — regardless of the
victim’s identity — as a precursor to future violence. “People begin to
fantasize about violent actions… The next phase is usually acting out
against animals,” says the FBI’s Alan Brantley, Investigative Support Unit.

Prolific murderers such as the Boston Strangler, Son of Sam, Jeffrey Dahmer
and Ted Bundy practiced on animals before graduating to humans. Dennis
Rader, notorious for the Bind-Torture-Kill murders in Wichita, Kansas,
confessed to strangling cats and dogs prior to his sadistic spree. Indeed,
men prosecuted for animal cruelty are five times as likely to be arrested
for other violent crimes, according to Utah State University professor Frank
Ascione’s extensive research.

Animal torture is a serious crime that warrants your utmost deliberation.
Christopher Barnett requires extensive rehabilitation and incarceration.
Please do not release Lucas or Honey into his custody.

Thank you,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Dog severely beaten, teeth filed down to gumline Mcminnville, TN (US)
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/13218/TN/US/RSS/#TOP
Additional Research From Emilie Bottiggi and Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle
ebottiggi@aol.com, pawsitivedirections@yahoo.com
Man Faces Jail Time For Dog Abuse
http://www.wsmv.com/news/18497464/detail.html#-
Witnesses: Man Beat Dog Before Teeth Filing
http://www.wsmv.com/news/15766759/detail.html
Accused Dog Abuser Faces Felony Charge
http://www.wsmv.com/news/15588757/detail.html?rss=nash&psp=news
Demand Justice for Lucas, Pure Bred Husky Horribly Abused
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/demand-justice-for-lucas-pure-bred-husky-horribly-abused-by-owner?page=2
Man Punishes Dog By Grinding Its Teeth
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?s=7935838
Man Beat Dog, Then Filed Teeth, Witnesses Say
http://www.wsmv.com/video/15767143/index.html

Please Help Kinship Circle Continue Its Work For Animals
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130
KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

1/22/09, UPDATE: Obama’s Freeze May Give Gray Wolves Reprieve
Plus: Sign-On To Letter To Abolish “Lethal” Wildlife Services

On 1/14/09, an Interior Department rule under the Bush Administration
removed gray wolves in the western Great Lakes and northern Rocky Mountains
regions from the federal endangered species list.

Photo credit: John and
Karen Hollingsworth, US Fish & Wildlife Service

KINSHIP CIRCLE: After years of struggle with the Bush Admin to keep
safeguards intact for America’s gray wolves — within 24 hours of his White
House arrival, President Obama attempts to restore stolen protections.

“Within hours of Obama’s inauguration, his administration froze last-minute
Bush administration regulations before they could take effect. Among them
was an Interior Department proposal to remove gray wolves from Endangered
Species protections in much of the northern Rocky Mountains…”
http://news.aol.com/main/inauguration/article/obama-day-one/310532

We hope more anti-environment/animal rules, made by Bush & Company on its
way out the door, are also frozen and overturned.

================================================================
President Obama Puts The Brakes On Delisting Wolves

SOURCE: 1/21/09, Obama Freezes Pending Federal Rules, Wolves May Benefit
FULL STORY: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-21-03.asp

WASHINGTON, DC (ENS) – In one of his first presidential acts, President
Barack Obama has ordered federal agencies to halt all pending regulations
until his administration can review them… The freeze halts publication of
federal regulations planned under the Bush administration but not yet
published in the Federal Register.

Wildlife conservationists say the freeze will possibly prevent the removal
of gray wolves from the federal endangered species list in Montana, Idaho,
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, and also in portions of Washington,
Oregon, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio…

Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity says the pause will
afford President Obama and his new Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar the
opportunity to rethink the previous administration’s efforts to remove
wolves from the endangered species list…

Gray wolves are gone from over 95% of their historic range, including on
millions of acres of national forests, national parks and Bureau of Land
Management public lands whose ecological health has suffered in the absence
of wolves… In the northern Rocky Mountains, wolf numbers are too low and
populations too fragmented to ensure long-term survival, Robinson says…

The Fish and Wildlife Service and its predecessor agency were responsible
for the extermination of wolves throughout much of the 20th century on
behalf of the livestock industry… Under an exception to the Endangered
Species Act, Fish and Wildlife Service actions have resulted in the federal
killing of 931 wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains and at least 1,951
wolves in the Great Lakes region from 1996 through 2008.

KINSHIP CIRCLE ACTION CAMPAIGNS:
11/25/08: Save Gray Wolves From Bush Admin’s Kill Plan
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1779&seriesfirst=true
NOV. 2008: Animals Would Like President-Elect Obama To Know…
Wildlife Want An End To Lethal Management
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2008_12.html#anchor4
9/29/08 UPDATES / AUG – OCT: Bush Admin VS. Gray Wolves: GOP Losing
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_aug-oct_2008.html#anchor10
2/29/08 UPDATES / APRIL – JUNE: Gray Wolf Hunts Planned After De-Listing
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor28
FACT SHEET FOR YOU TO DOWNLOAD: Hunting
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/AHuntersStory.pdf

OTHER REFERENCES:
Obama Freezes Pending Federal Rules, Wolves May Benefit
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-21-03.asp
Bush: Gray wolves aren’t endangered any more
http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=bush-gray-wolves-arent-endangered-a-2009-01-15
Government makes decision on gray wolf protection
http://www.physorg.com/news151221933.html

================================================================
Sign Letter To Abolish Wildlife Services Funding

SOURCE: 1/22/09, Brian Vincent, brian@bigwildlife.org
BIG WILDLIFE WEBSITE: http://www.bigwildlife.org

DO NOT REPLY TO KINSHIP CIRCLE.
We do not have time to forward letters for people, but hope you will sign
and send to Big Wildlife. SEND SIGNED VERSION OF LETTER BELOW TO BRIAN
VINCENT: brian@bigwildlife.org

PLEASE SIGN ONTO LETTER TO ABOLISH WILDLIFE SERVICES FUNDING
DEADLINE TO SIGN ON: January 29, 2009
Below is a letter prepared by Wild Earth Guardians to the Obama
Administration urging the White House to end funding of the Department of
Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. As you may be aware, every year, Wildlife
Services kills millions of animals, including thousands of native
carnivores. The agency employs a host of cruel (and expensive and
unnecessary) methods to kill coyotes, bears, cougars, wolves, and other
wildlife. Animals are shot, poisoned, gassed in their dens, trapped, snared,
clubbed, pursued by hounds, targeted from helicopters and planes, or lured
to bait stations where they are shot. Other animals, even family dogs and
cats, are unintentionally injured or killed by agency actions…
http://www.wildearthguardians.org

TO SIGN ON TO LETTER:
DEADLINE TO SIGN ON: January 29, 2009
Send the following information to Brian Vincent — brian@bigwildlife.org
He will then forward that information to Wild Earth Guardians.

YOUR NAME:
TITLE:
AFFILIATION:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
EMAIL:
WEBSITE URL:

COPY OF LETTER YOU ARE SIGNING ON TO:
January 26, 2009

Nancy Killefer, Chief Performance Officer
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500

Re: Get the Federal Government Out of the Wildlife Extermination Business

Dear Ms. Killefer:

President Barack Obama has called for budget reform and line-by-line review
to root out government programs that do not work. In his inaugural address
of January 20th, Mr. Obama called upon government to “restore science,” make
government “work” and when it does not to “end” programs.

One obvious candidate for the axe is Wildlife Services, a branch of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, which spends over $100 million annually to kill
more than one million animals-including black and grizzly bears, beavers,
mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves. Most of this killing is done to protect
private industry and public lands ranchers, yet all Americans foot the bill
for this ineffective, wasteful, ecologically unsound, and ethically
indefensible agency.

Between 2004 and 2007, Wildlife Services killed more than 8.3 million
animals, largely at taxpayer expense. We contend this agency is:

*    Biologically and Fiscally Unsound. Both biologists and economists
criticize Wildlife Services for using a “sledgehammer approach” to wildlife
management, which relies largely on non-selective killing methods such as
poison, primitive neck snares and traps, and aerial gunning, but fails to
look at look at long-term, ecologically sound, and humane solutions to
human-wildlife conflicts;

*    Unnecessary. A handful of livestock producers actually experience
predator problems while the vast majority of unintended cattle and sheep
deaths come from birthing problems, disease, or weather, not predation.  In
essence, Wildlife Services’ livestock protection program is an unneeded,
costly subsidy to one private business that unfairly competes with private
animal control businesses for contracts;

*    Sloppy and Dangerous. Wildlife Services litters the American landscape
with deadly poisons and traps that are inherently indiscriminate and often
kill curious pets, threatened and endangered species, and other animals that
are unintentionally killed. The USDA’s Office of Inspector General has
sanctioned Wildlife Services as a security threat on several occasions for
its negligent handling of toxicants. Last year, the Environmental Protection
Agency charged the agency for improper placement of sodium cyanide booby
trap on public lands that harmed a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist and
killed his dog. In addition, the Wildlife Services aerial gunning program
caused at least ten human fatalities and 28 injuries to federal employees
and contractors; and

*    Anachronistic, Unethical, and Environmentally Abusive. Because of this
agency’s history of misuse and abuse of wildlife and public lands, it has
been called to task by Congress several  times over its 100-year history. A
1995 GAO report found that Wildlife Services fails to use non-lethal methods
to protect livestock and a 2001 GAO report said the agency could not justify
its costs relative to its benefits. Moreover, the American Society of
Mammologists – one of the oldest and most respected professional
associations of scientists in North America – have issued two resolutions,
first in 1934, and then in 1999, that called on the agency to “cease
indiscriminate, preemptive, lethal control programs on federal, state, and
private lands….and to focus on the implementation of non-lethal control
strategies, compensatory measures, and sound animal husbandry techniques.”

Astonishingly, even though practical and time-tested non-lethal alternatives
are available, Wildlife Services continues to rely on lethal, indiscriminate
methods that wastes millions of dollars in worthless, “research” projects
that provide little to no practical applicability. In the meantime, new,
more effective non-lethal techniques that have been developed are seldom
actually employed in the field. The few useful functions of this agency
could be easily transferred to state, local and private agencies without ill
effect. The Portland International Airport, for example, handles its own
bird-strike mitigation program.

As the Obama Administration takes its scalpel to root out costly and
wasteful programs, we urge the administration to see this agency for what it
is by getting rid of this costly, ineffective, and unjustifiable boondoggle.

Sincerely yours,

================================================================
Please Support Kinship Circle’s Voice For Animals…

*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

UNSUBSCRIBE:
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”
* Enter kinshipcircle@accessus.net
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. Visit our website to learn more:
http://www.KinshipCircle.org

1/29/09: An NIH Fairytale About Animal Testing Targets Kids
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

ABOVE: Cover and two pages from “The Lucky Puppy,” a misleading children’s
workbook produced by North Carolina Association for Biomedical Research.
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/images/coloring/luckycolor.pdf

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
===========================================================

Christine Bruske Flowers, Director of the Office of Communications and
Public Liaison / National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
P.O. Box 12233, MD NH-10
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2233
ph: 919-541-3665; fax: 919-541-2260
email: bruskec@niehs.nih.gov, cb551b@nih.gov
staff: rmackar@niehs.nih.gov, peterso4@niehs.nih.gov, rozier@niehs.nih.gov

Dr. Linda S. Birnbaum, Director
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
111 T.W. Alexander BG 101
P.O. Box 12233, MSC B2-01
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709
ph: 919-541-3201; fax: 919-541-2260
email: birnbaumls@niehs.nih.gov

Raynard S. Kington, M.D., NIH Director (Acting)
National Institutes of Health
Building 1 – Shannon Building, 126
1 Center Drive
Bethesda, MD 20892
ph: 301-496-7322; fax: 301-402-2700
email: kingtonr@mail.nih.gov

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Ms. Flowers, Dr. Birnbaum, and Dr. Kington:

Please permanently delete “The Lucky Puppy” from all National Institutes of
Health (NIH) websites. Young children may not realize that this coloring
workbook is a tall tale about animal experimentation.

The Lucky Puppy presents a distorted view of animal research:

“She had mice in her lab. They lived in nice, clean cages.” Mice, rats and
birds are not even protected under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Lab animals
typically don’t receive veterinary aid or pain medication. They are deprived
of food, water and hygienic housing. Their enclosures are overcrowded (with
mice, this can lead to cannibalism and smothering). Environmental enrichment
is rare. Record-keeping is often haphazard.

But the NIH knows this, since the examples above are drawn from the agency’s
own documentation on labs that have failed to comply with federal law.

“Mice were fed good food. But they were sick with the same disease Lucky
had.” Lab mice are not sick. Experimenters artificially induce human disease
and injury. In this contrived setting, animal stress alone “can influence
the researcher’s understanding of scientific discovery.” Results may be
inapplicable to human health and safety, according to a report in
Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science.

“‘But how can animal medicine be good for children?’ Matt asked. Dr. Smith
smiled and answered, ‘The mice in the lab, puppies like Lucky and children
like you are all animals. Our bodies might look different, but we really are
very much alike under our skin!’” Anatomical, physiological, cellular,
genetic and psychological variations between species make accurate
correlations between animals and people unlikely.

For example, researchers recognize primates do not contract the human strain
of AIDS or develop its clinical symptoms. Of 85 HIV/AIDS vaccines tested in
animals, each one failed in 197 human trials. Furthermore, U.S. deaths or
injuries linked to drug therapies more than doubled from 1998 to 2005,
according to findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Each recalled
drug had proven “safe” in animal tests.

Still, animals are mutilated, paralyzed, and burned. Toxins are poured into
their eyes. Corrosives are smeared on shaved skin. Poisons are forcibly
ingested. They vomit, convulse, hemorrhage, and die.

In reality, animal experimentation makes a lousy kids book. Why not flaunt
advances in animal-free technology? “Nowadays, Mr. Cell and his in vitro
friends, Cell Lines and Cellular Components, let scientists try out medicine
in stuff that actually comes from humans! That’s how we make sure the
medicine works and is safe for children, instead of just mice.”

I urge you to remove The Lucky Puppy and similar propaganda from the
biomedical research industry.

Sincerely,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
http://www.pcrm.org/
PCRM Director of Research Policy, Hope Ferdowsian. M.D.
info@pcrm.org
NIH Lies To Kids In “The Lucky Puppy”
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/images/coloring/luckycolor.pdf
Urge the NIH to Remove the “Lucky Puppy” Coloring Book
https://secure2.convio.net/pcrm/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=208

Please Help Kinship Circle Continue Its Work For Animals
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130


ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
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Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
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2/6/09: Coyote Solution: Kill Them All?
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

“

“Despite stating it knows of “no instances in which coyotes…have acted
aggressively toward visitors or staff,” The Huntington maintains a “coyote
abatement program,” paying a private trapper to snare and kill coyotes on
its property… This winter a security guard was allegedly fired after
attempting to free a coyote trapped in a snare. He was so disturbed by the
coyote’s suffering that he filmed it…” – Camilla Fox, Project Coyote
Director, cfox@projectcoyote.org * http://www.projectcoyote.org/

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
===========================================================

Mr. Steven Koblik, President
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
ph: 626-405-2100
email: skoblik@huntington.org, publicinformation@huntington.org

COPY LETTER TO:
The Huntington Board of Trustees
Stewart R. Smith, Chair:  ssmith@kinsmith.com
Peter K. Barker:  peter.barker@gs.com
Paul G. Haaga, Jr.:  pgh@capgroup.com
Anne F. Rothenberg:  rothenberg.anne@gmail.com
Geneva H. Thornton:  genevathornton@earthlink.net

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Mr. Koblik,

I am dismayed to learn the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and
Botanical Gardens has one solution for coyotes on its property: Kill them. I
respectfully ask you implement enduring and nonviolent means to coexist with
wildlife. Visitor education and humane deterrents would certainly enhance
your image more than neck snares and death.

Wiping out indigenous wildlife commonly triggers more problems than it
resolves. Coyotes are integral to Los Angeles basin ecosystems. Killing them
offsets natural cycles. For example, coyotes and foxes prey on rodents; when
coyote numbers drop, rodent and smaller carnivore populations rise.
Ultimately, coyotes offset the decline by reproducing more quickly and
boosting their numbers to pre-slaughter levels or higher.

Moreover, snaring is ruthless. The steel-cable loop designed to strangle an
animal within minutes usually fails. Necropsies of snared coyotes reveal
that 63% suffer hemorrhaging (evidenced by grossly swollen heads), bloodied
eyes, and broken teeth from trying to gnaw through the snare. Some animals
break their own limbs to escape the pain.

A trap-and-kill approach to coyote conflicts is never ecologically or
ethically defensible. Please stop Huntington’s “coyote abatement program.”

I encourage you to partner with wildlife organizations that can help devise
site-specific solutions for humane coexistence instead of extermination.

Thank you,

cc: Stewart R. Smith, Chair
Peter K. Barker
Paul G. Haaga, Jr.
Anne F. Rothenberg
Geneva H. Thornton

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

VIDEO of neck-snared coyote (WARNING: graphic content)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4488070257573285313
Project Coyote
http://www.projectcoyote.org/
Animal Welfare Institute
http://www.awionline.org/joinus
Humane Society of the United States
http://www.humanesociety.org/

Let’s Make Change Happen. Please Support Kinship Circle.
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
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ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

2/9/09: Fix Endangered Species Act That Bush Broke
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

Urge your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor H.J. Res. 18, to reverse
last-minute Bush admin changes to the federal Endangered Species Act.

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
===========================================================

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    Congress.org — http://www.Congress.org
*    Project VoteSmart — http://www.vote-smart.org/
*    USA House of Representatives — http://www.house.gov
*    HSUS — https://community.hsus.org/humane/leg-lookup/search.html
*    Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

The Honorable Representative _____________________________
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Representative,

Just before leaving office, the Bush Administration stripped the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) of vital protections. I ask you to un-do this “hack job”
on our nation’s primary wildlife law. Please co-sponsor H.J. Res. 18,
legislation from House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Jo Rahall
that seeks congressional disapproval of Bush’s drastically changed ESA.

In 1973 Congress elected to preserve the most vulnerable plants and animals
in this country. Since then the ESA has sustained some 99% of imperiled
species, including bald eagles, ocelots, grizzly bears, gray wolves, and sea
otters. The ESA also shields 200 million acres of crucial wildlife habitat.

These safeguards are basically gone if changes announced by departing
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne are not reversed. For example, the
Bush re-write bans the ESA from taking action to save polar bears from
global warming threats. Scientists widely accept that human-generated
greenhouse gasses cause ecosystems to lose biodiversity, leading to the
extinction of entire species.* We already know the Antarctic ice sheet
collapsed last year. Melting ice specifically jeopardizes polar bears. It is
reckless to exclude them from climate change events.

The Bush regulations also excuse highway construction, dams, logging, mining
and other developments from ESA assessment. Projects that could push plants
or animals into extinction can proceed without consulting biologists in the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.

These changes are anti-science. Please do not let antiquated policies
pervade the current administration.

As your constituent, I urge you to reject destructive environmental
regulations. I simply ask that you uphold the Endangered Species Act, which
did not need an overhaul in the first place. Please co-sponsor H.J. Res. 18.
I look forward to your feedback on this important issue.

Thank you,

*U.S. Global Change Research Program. Climate change impacts on U.S. “The
Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change”
http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/Library/nationalassessment/overviewfindings.htm

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Life In Small Bites Environment Blog
http://anniekatec.blogspot.com/2009/01/endangered-species-need-your-voice.html
H.J. Resolution 18 / Status, Full Bill Text, etc.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-hj18/show
Urge President Obama’s Interior Secretary to Rescue the Polar Bear!
http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/Rescue_the_Polar_Bear

Help Kinship Circle Continue Its Work For Animals
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130



ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

2/11/09: Horse Slaughter Bill Is Back In 111th Congress
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

Horses at Ciudad Juarez [Mexico]
plant are stabbed in the back until the spinal cord is severed, then hoisted
so their throats can be slit. JERRY LARA: San Antonio News-Express.

Horses at slaughter

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
===========================================================

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    Congress.org — http://www.Congress.org
*    Project VoteSmart — http://www.vote-smart.org/
*    USA House of Representatives — http://www.house.gov
*    USA Senate — http://www.senate.gov
*    Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

The Honorable Representative [YOUR REP'S NAME HERE]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senators [YOUR SENATORS' NAMES HERE]
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Representative and Senators:

The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503) is back on the
legislative calendar, after moving through the Judiciary Committee with
bipartisan approval in the last Congressional session. Please help pass this
measure to ban the possession, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling,
delivering or receiving of a horse or horseflesh for human consumption.

I am counting on you to support H.R. 503, reintroduced 1/14/09 by House
Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. and Rep. Dan Burton. I
encourage my Senators to introduce and endorse a companion bill that also
activates an export-for-slaughter ban on our nation’s horses.

In 2007, state courts closed America’s last three equine processors in Texas
and Illinois. Still, the lack of a federal law let over 100,000 horses go to
slaughter in Canada and Mexico in 2008.

To reach kill plants, horses are jammed in double-decked cattle trailers
that hurt their heads and necks. Food, water and rest are withheld for 24 or
more hours. Horses arrive weak and injured. Some are dead by journey’s end.
Others kept in the over-packed trailers endure hot or cold weather extremes.
Horses who collapse are brutally offloaded.

Slaughter is excruciating for these easily excitable animals. Horses are
goaded into the kill box with fiberglass rods. Workers pummel their faces,
necks, backs and legs. The captive bolt pistols used in Canada often don’t
work on such long-necked animals, and leave them thrashing in pain.

In Mexico, killers use a “puntilla knife” to sever a horse’s spinal cord.
Investigative footage from a San Antonio News-Express expose in 2007 shows
alert horses stabbed repeatedly around the withers. When a horse finally
falls, he is merely paralyzed while workers dangle him by his hind leg and
slit his throat. Some horses even remain sentient when dismembered.

Violent slaughter should never be an alternative to rescue, adoption or
humane euthanasia. Furthermore, without a federal law horse kill plants may
reopen in states where they are not currently banned.

As a constituent, I ask my Representative to back the Prevention of Equine
Cruelty Act (H.R. 503). I urge my Senators to initiate similar legislation
to end slaughter and domestic/global transport of horses for human
consumption. Your feedback matters to me very much.

Thank you,

===========================================================
DEBUNKING THE “UNWANTED HORSE” MYTH
===========================================================

This horse was bought [at auction] by a woman who lives in Michigan. Photo:
Sally Ryan for The New York Times. Horses Spared in U.S. Face Death Across
the Border — http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11horse.html

SOURCE: Animal Welfare Institute, PREVENTION OF EQUINE CRUELTY ACT
http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/

Pro-horse slaughter organizations and individuals have consistently fought
the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and Prevention of Equine Cruelty
Act, claiming there is a huge “unwanted horse” population in the U.S.
Proponents of this unsubstantiated claim, including the American Association
of Equine Practitioners, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the
American Quarter Horse Association (all members of the Horse Welfare
Coalition, a group founded and led by the slaughterhouses and represented by
former US Representative Charlie Stenholm of Texas) have lobbied Congress to
block passage of the federal ban.

Their premise is that slaughter improves horse welfare — offering a
“humane” way to dispose of these animals, a “necessary evil” without which
horses would be subjected to neglect, abandonment and abuse. In truth, no
hard data exists to back claims about a burgeoning population of “unwanted
horses.” It is clear that killer buyers working for slaughterhouses are
outbidding other buyers at auction because they have financial incentive.
The market for slaughter horses is set by the international demand for their
meat in other countries, not by the number of supposedly unwanted horses.

A truly humane veterinary organization has emerged to counter the bogus
claims of these veterinary and industry organizations. Veterinarians for
Equine Welfare (VEW) was founded by a group of leading veterinarians to help
educate the public about horse slaughter from a veterinary position.

“Horse owners currently have two options when their horse has reached the
end of his or her trail: They can pay to do the right thing (re-home or
euthanasia) or be paid to do the wrong thing (send to slaughter). A few
thoughtless folks choose to do the latter, and it should not be an option.”
– VEW co-founder Dr. Nicholas Dodman

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

United States-100,000 horses slaughtered for meat.
http://www.farminguk.com/news/United-States-100,000-horses-slaughtered-for-meat.10388.asp
Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503) Reintroduced
http://capwiz.com/compassionindex/issues/alert/?alertid=12443456
PREVENTION OF EQUINE CRUELTY ACT
http://www.awionline.org/legislation/horse_slaughter/

YOUR SUPPORT LETS US WORK FOR ANIMALS
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND: A RUSSIAN PHILOSOPHER, A MORTGAGE, AND A DEER…….

Yes, I borrowed the title’s first three words from Dostoyevsky. As in Fyodor Mikhaylovich. Those who can’t escape their Russian Lit past recall the “Crime And Punishment” author as one reflective dude. What does a Midwest mom/animal advocate see in the 19th Century Russian essayist? The link is “Notes From Underground,” a novel starring the infamous Underground Man. The unemployed and unnamed servant sees life happening, but can’t react.

He analyzes an action, its under-action, and the thorny layers of subconscious until he slips into “conscious inertia.” Underground Guy is so psychologically paralyzed, he can’t move his limbs. Of course this all takes place in a seedy basement apartment with sickly yellow lighting.

He sees war, violence, suffering…as human tools to protest the concept of fate — the notion that every action is preordained and serves higher purpose. In fact, most human events are without purpose. It is this empty flutter that writes our history.

I thought about all this today when I read columnist Bill McClellan’s “Couple’s dream home causes many sleepless nights,” in the St. Louis Post Dispatch. He tells us how an unforgiving real estate market steals Crystal and Tom’s hope, along with the mortgage on their Jefferson County, Missouri home. The Andersons worked hard to finance the airy cedar-log cabin. They deserve to “sit on the porch and gaze into their woods.”

Tom and Crystal’s porch provides a panoramic view of the woods. Critters occasionally check out their lawn. The Andersons refer to the animals as “game.”

When a deer wanders into their yard, Tom shoots it. His head, McClellan informs, is “now mounted in their living room.”

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Tom gushes. “I got that deer on my own property!”

“Yes, it was all working just like it was supposed to,” McClellan concludes.

This is fate? Picking off wildlife in one’s backyard? To me, it’s more of that empty flutter — a senseless life-stealing moment that serves no purpose. McClellan didn’t pull the trigger. I have no idea if the writer hunts. Still, he is an apathy enabler. The deer is merely a shot in the afternoon. Gone. Done.

I am really sorry the Andersons’ property lost over one-third its original value, destroying the terms of their bank loan. Still, I am more upset that Tom shot the deer, just because he could. And I am saddened by Bill’s nonchalant description of the slaughter.

The deer is a life that doesn’t matter. He’s scenery. But maybe his life does matter — to him, his mate, his herd. Perhaps his life serves a purpose beyond human pleasure. We take it, only because we can.

Note to animal killers: I am not interested in the hunter’s “argument.” There is no rationale I haven’t heard before. I dispute them all in “FACTS: Hunting.”

You can download the fact sheet here: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/AHuntersStory.pdf

Conceivably, Tom had no idea there were options to shooting the deer. You’re supposed to kill what you don’t understand, right?

— Brenda Shoss is founder and president of Kinship Circle, a nonprofit animal advocacy organization serving the global community. Brenda’s animal-focused columns run in The Healthy Planet and she has written for The Animals Voice, Satya Magazine, VegNews, and other publications. She regularly speaks at national animal protection events and produces humane educational materials.

http://www.KinshipCircle.org

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
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UPDATE: His Name Was Peanut.
Case Moves Forward – Slowly.

SOURCES: 2/18/09
Angella M, angella@lavalink.com.au
Rescued With Love, Inc.
http://www.rescuedwithlove.org/crueltycaseinmackay.htm
Horrendous case of animal cruelty
http://www.aspcacommunity.org/profile/SherryWilson

KINSHIP CIRCLE, Brenda Shoss: I could barely bring myself to research and
write about Peanut. All cases are unforgivable, but the little dog’s
bewilderment as his life was taken in pieces…gave me nightmares.
Sometimes, the face of one becomes the face of all.

On 10/20/08, Danielle and Karen Neilson’s 7-month fox terrier, Peanut, was
abducted from their home in Queensland (Australia).

Trent William Cunniffe, 24, and Jonathon Connor Blake, 21, were arrested on
charges of animal cruelty, illegally stealing and killing an animal… Even
police were repelled when they viewed videophone images of Peanut’s ordeal.
The puppy wails as the men slash him with garden shears and a pocketknife –
severing his nose, a front leg, rear leg and finally, his head. During the
video’s last segment, Cunniffe and Blake display the amputated body parts…


PHOTO: Rescued With Love
http://www.rescuedwithlove.org/crueltycaseinmackay.htm

UPDATES IN PEANUT CASE
2/16/09: Trent Cuncliffe’s case was adjourned to February 16 2009. Usual
court procedure is for Cunniffe to undergo preliminary assessment by a
psychologist to determine if he is fit to face charges. His case may be
referred to Mental Health Court, where it could take up to one year for to
determine whether he was of sound or unsound mind at the time of the
offenses. The decision as to whether Cuncliffe goes to Mental Health Court
(or criminal court) has not been made as of this writing… He has been held
in Mackay Base Hospital’s psychiatric ward.

1/30/09: Jonathan Blake’s court case was adjourned to January 30. 2009. At
that time, his case was again remanded until May 29, 2009. He is expected to
enter a plea at the May court date. In the meantime he is detained in
Capricornia Correctional Centre.

12/15/08: From Rescued With Love – I rang…the Police Prosecution
Department and spoke to Sgt. Scott. I was very pleased to know that Senior
Council Graeme Page, who is involved with BLEATS (Brisbane Lawyers Educating
and Advocating for Tougher Sentencing) was advising police who are basically
prosecuting for the state. Sgt. Scott said the maximum penalty was being
sought…The case is still receiving attention, and that is the best news.

BOTTOM LINE: Both men are still in custody. Neither have entered pleas. Case
is in limbo, at least until May. Kinship Circle will do it’s best to update
you and alert you to further action.

CHECK FOR UPDATES:
Rescued With Love, Inc.
http://www.rescuedwithlove.org/crueltycaseinmackay.htm
Horrendous case of animal cruelty
http://www.aspcacommunity.org/profile/SherryWilson

If  you have not yet sent comments from our first alert, you can read it here:

KINSHIP CIRCLE ACTION CAMPAIGNS:
10/31/08: His Name Was Peanut – Torture And Death Of A Puppy
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1771&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
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http://www.cafepress.com/KinshipCircle

Tees, Hoodies, Long-Sleeves, Cap-Sleeves, Track Suits, Caps, Tote Bags,
Doggie Tees, Pillows, Clocks, Cards, Posters, Mugs…and our personal
favorite: Thong Bikini Underwear! Please indulge yourself or someone else
today. Your purchase supports Kinship Circle’s work for animals.

KINSHIP CIRCLE CAFE.PRESS STORE:
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KINSHIP CIRCLE’S MAIN STORE (more message-wear):
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ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: kinshipcircle@accessus.net
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

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2/23/09: Wired To Be Wild – Primates Aren’t Pets
FOR A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL:  INFO@KINSHIPCIRCLE.ORG
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.

AP photo: Travis the chimpanzee, pictured here in a 2003 file photo
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,495787,00.html

Travis once worked in show biz, commercials mostly — Old Navy, Coca Cola,
even a guest spot on the “Maury Povich Show.” But when Travis outgrew his
ah-how-cute image, the 200-pound chimpanzee moved in as Sandra Herold’s
“pet” in her Stamford, Connecticut home.

On February 16, 2009, a visitor rubbed Travis the wrong way. Who’s to say
why Travis felt threatened? As Charla Nash, 55, exited her car, the
15-year-old chimp tore open her face, spilling blood in pools.

Herold dashed inside to phone 911. She returned with a butcher knife and
stabbed her pet repeatedly. Herold, 70, beat the animal with a shovel too.
She thought: “I must save my friend. I’m killing Travis.”

But Travis managed to stagger away. Soon, officers showed up and secured an
area for medics to stabilize the gravely wounded Nash.

Travis was confused. Though mutilated, he followed officers to their cars.
Travis, trained to open doors, easily entered a cruiser and cornered a
surprised policeman. Shots were fired into Travis. The chimp fled.

Stamford police Lt. Richard Conklin claims officers followed Travis’ blood
splatters down a driveway, through the home’s door, past rooms, and finally,
to his living area. Travis retreated to the only place he knew — a human
place with toys and blankets. Bewildered, he awaited his next command. But
no voice came and Travis died.

Travis: knifed, beaten, shot and killed after
attacking a visitor at the home where he lived as a “pet.” MyFOX NY

CNN was stumped. The press scratched its head. Experts vied for
explanations.

Here’s a thought: The most predictable thing about Travis was his
unpredictability. Even if he could log on to a computer to view photos of
himself (he could) Travis was a creature of the jungle. Not a TV celebrity.
Not someone’s beloved child. Travis was programmed to subdue female chimps
and progress toward the head of his pack in the wild.

There is no way around it: Cuddly evolves to belligerent, even hostile, as
primates mature. Sometimes caretakers confine unruly pets in dingy cages or
drug and defang them. Others dump primates at roadside zoos or sell them to
breeders. Since accredited zoos refuse them and most respectable sanctuaries
are full, few options exist for these former “pets.”

Still, an estimated 15,000 primates live in private settings in the U.S.
State laws are sketchy — some ban all exotics; others permit primates. A
thriving traffic in monkeys and apes poses a public health risk as well,
since primates can transmit diseases such as Herpes B virus, yellow fever,
and monkeypox,

Travis craved and needed social bonds within a chimpanzee community. This is
no one’s fault. He was just wired to be a chimp, not a human kid.

Chimps like this little guy are wild animals who naturally mature with
aggressive tendencies.

Once again, the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80) has been introduced in
Congress. This federal legislation bans interstate trade in nonhuman
primates for the exotic pet industry. Ask your Representative on Capitol
Hill to cosponsor H.R. 80. Ask your Senators to introduce a companion bill.

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
===========================================================

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    Congress.org — http://www.Congress.org
*    Project VoteSmart – http://www.vote-smart.org/
*    USA House of Representatives — http://www.house.gov
*    USA Senate — http://www.senate.gov
*    Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

The Honorable Representative [YOUR REP'S NAME HERE]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senators [YOUR SENATORS' NAMES HERE]
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
SAMPLE LETTER — This letter is prepared to inform you about the issue.
Try to shorten and personalize your letter before sending.
===========================================================

Dear Representative and Senators:

I am very happy to see the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80) back on the
legislative schedule. A widely publicized chimp attack in Stamford,
Connecticut spotlights the need for a federal ban on interstate and foreign
trade in primates as pets.

I respectfully ask my Representative to cosponsor H.R. 80 and help move the
bill toward passage. I encourage my Senators to introduce and endorse a
companion bill that debilitates the primate pet trade.

Headlines nationwide focused on Travis the chimpanzee’s vicious attack on
Charla Nash, a friend visiting Sandra Herold’s Stamford, CT home on February
16, 2009. As Nash exited her car, Herold’s “pet” chimp Travis, 15, tore the
woman’s face. Nash lost a lot of blood and may be permanently disfigured.

To save her friend’s life, Herold stabbed Travis repeatedly and beat him
with a shovel. Officers at the scene finished the 200-pound chimp off with a
gun. Once shot, Travis retreated to the only place he knew — a human place
with toys and blankets. Bewildered and bleeding, he awaited his next
command. But no voice came and Travis died.

The most predictable thing about Travis was his unpredictability. Like all
nonhuman primates, Travis was a creature of the jungle. Not a TV celebrity.
Not someone’s child. Travis was programmed to vie for leadership in his pack
as he matured. He was wired to act aggressively in the wild.

An estimated 15,000 primates live in private settings in the U.S. State laws
are sketchy — some ban all exotics; others permit primates. The thriving
traffic in monkeys and apes poses a public health risk as well, since
primates can transmit Herpes B virus, yellow fever, and monkeypox,

Baby primates become belligerent, even hostile, as they grow. Sometimes
caretakers confine them in dingy cages or drug and defang them. Others dump
primates at roadside zoos or sell them to breeders. Since accredited zoos
refuse them and most respectable sanctuaries are full, few options exist for
these former “pets.”

I call upon my elected officials to do everything possible to assure passage
of the Captive Primate Safety Act this year.

Thank you,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Chimpanzee Attack Revives Calls for Federal Primate Law
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,495787,00.html
Support the Captive Primate Safety Act
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2009_primates_pets

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ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

YOUR SUPPORT LETS US WORK FOR ANIMALS!
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

SUBSCRIBE:
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Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

2/24/09: Louder Please! Help Network For Animals
Kinship Circle is now on nearly every social network site, thanks to Beverly
Nation, our social media director. It’s simple math: With more people like
you to email, fax, call, snail-mail — the louder we are for animals.

MAKE YOUR FRIENDS OUR FRIENDS. Please follow, befriend, tweet and list
Kinship Circle on any social network page you maintain.

BOOKMARK & PARTICIPATE WHEREVER YOU CAN:
1. Kinship Circle’s Main Website: http://www.KinshipCircle.org

2. Facebook: http://profile.to/kinshipcircle

3. Twitter: http://twitter.com/kinshipcircle

4. Kinship Circle Blog: http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com

5. Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Blog: http://kcdisasteraid.wordpress.com/

6. Friends Of Kinship Circle Blog: http://www.friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

7. LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kinshipcircle

8. Care2 Network: http://my.care2.com/kinshipcircle

9. Change.org: http://www.change.org/kinship_circle

10. MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kinshipcircleonline

11. Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/people/kinshipcircle/

EASY STUFF YOU CAN DO:
FACEBOOK: http://companies.to/kinshipcircle
Become our Facebook friend, so YOUR friends will follow.
Also join the Cause – Stop Animal Cruelty – Kinship Circle!
Add http://www.KinshipCircle.org under your favorite groups or sites.

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/kinshipcircle
Follow Kinship Circle’s tweets on Twitter.

LINKEDIN: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kinshipcircle
Join our LinkedIn network + become a part of the Kinship Circle Group.

CHANGE.ORG: http://www.change.org/kinship_circle
Got something good to say about Kinship Circle? Please write a testimonial.

KINSHIP CIRCLE BLOGS: Get the discussion going!
Leave comments about particular writings.
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com
http://kcdisasteraid.wordpress.com/
http://www.friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

ADD YOUR IDEAS:
CONTACT BEVERLY NATION, beverlynation@gmail.com
Visit KC social sites. Jumpstart the shout heard around the world.

===========================================================

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Please indulge yourself or someone else — on COOL STUFF that shows a
commitment to animals. Your purchase supports Kinship Circle’s work!

*   KINSHIP CIRCLE’S MAIN STORE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store

*   KINSHIP CIRCLE CAFE.PRESS STORE: http://www.cafepress.com/KinshipCircle



ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

YOUR SUPPORT LETS US WORK FOR ANIMALS!
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

So here I am, in po-dunk Columbia, Missouri. Well, not so much Nowhere, USA

3/4/09 Blog: Saving Whales At The Edge Of The World
By Brenda Shoss

LEFT PHOTO: Kinship Circle’s Brenda Shoss with filmmaker Tim Gorski for a
screening of his film, “At The Edge Of The World.” RIGHT PHOTO: Minke whale.
Juergen Freund. OCEANS. Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef, Australia.

as a small college town, home to the University of Missouri….

It’s a weird place to meet my globe-trotting friend, Tim Gorski of Rattle
The Cage Productions, Documentaries of Animal and Environmental Protection.
But there he is: Auburn hair and arty beard under a film-ish beret. Lanky,
cute, and quite serious about the film, “At The Edge Of The World.”

Edge premiers at the True/False Film Fest 2009, where “thousands of
volunteers, patrons, staff members and filmmakers come together each year to
create a weekend that reignites our sense of purpose.” Who knew?

“At The Edge Of The World,” a Wealth Effect Media production directed by Dan
Stone, depicts the volatile wars between the Sea Shepherd Conservation
Society and Japanese whalers in the Antarctic Southern Ocean Whale
Sanctuary. As Edge’s field producer, Tim helps captures a cat-and-mouse
chase in visceral portraits. You can nearly feel the apprehension, rage and
rapture of Sea Shepherd’s mostly volunteer crew. They’re at sea to stop
Japan’s harpoon boats from firing exploding metal into whales in Australian
Antarctic territorial waters (where a 2008 Australian Federal Court Order
now bans them from whaling). The international crew may puke and shiver in
perilous waters, but their mission is unshakable: Save the whales.

LEFT: Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd founder/president aboard 1 of 2 ships
(Farley Mowat and Robert Hunter) used in Operation Leviathan 2006-2007. RIGHT:
http://www.seashepherd.org/whales, Paul Taggart/World Picture News

“I have always said that we would do everything we can short of hurting
people to end illegal whaling in the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary,” says
Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd’s founder and president.

To that end, Sea Shepherds toss rotten butter bombs (non-injurious butyric
acid), children’s craft methyl cellulose, and dye mixes onto Japanese ship
decks — making it impossible to filet whales in the slimy mess.

They ram illegal ships that have “Research” scrawled across their hulls.
Japan exploits a loophole in the International Whaling Commission’s 1986
rule that forbids commercial whaling, but permits killing whales for
“scientific research.” Sushi isn’t science, but Japan doesn’t care.

LEFT PHOTO: Japanese whale ship Kaiko Maru. Credit: Eric Cheng / Sea Shepherd
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-081226-1.html LEFT PHOTO:
Japanese Yushin Maru No 2. harpoons a minke whale. Reuters.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/whale-watch/interference-saves-434-whales-from-the-harpoon/2008/04/14/1208025090972.html

If Sea Shepherd keeps kill ships on the run, they can’t slaughter whales.
It’s a month’s long waiting game, as the crew navigates fog, ice drifts and
snowstorms in search of Japanese vessels. The cinematography conveys their
tedium, as the ship bears down around them.

In the end, it’s all about the whales. Operation Leviathan saves 434 of
Japan’s intended quota of 985 — leaving the killers to gripe about taking
only 551 minke and zero fin whales. During Operation Musashi 2008-2009, Sea
Shepherds on the Steve Irwin trail the Japanese fleet over 2,000 miles and
dismantle their operations for several months.

Whales are already vulnerable to chemical pollution, seismic and naval
sonar, entrapment in nets, ship strikes, habitat loss and other hazards.
Whales are slow breeders with a high infant death rate.

Whale hunts are profoundly inhumane. Harpoons explode inside their bodies,
shredding internal organs. It can take up to a half or full hour for a whale
to die. Some, tied to the side of ships, suffocate as they thrash in vain.

The world needs to see this and stop it. The world begins with you.

VITAL LINKS
TAKE ACTION – WRITE NOW!
http://www.seashepherd.org/whales/what-you-can-do.html

Rattle The Cage Productions
http://www.rattlethecage.org/news.htm

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
http://www.seashepherd.org

Whale Wars, On Animal Planet
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/

At the October 2008 Woodstock International Film Festival, Tim Gorski
accepted “Best Cinematography” award for Edge, directed by Dan Stone. As
both filmmaker and crew member on the 2006-2007 Operation Leviathan
campaign, Tim fixes his lens on infinite sea and ice. He rides freezing
waters on small “Delta boats” to catch close-ups.

LEFT PHOTO: Crew members butcher a Minke Whale on board a whaling ship.
http://www.vivid.ro/index.php/issue/85/page/conservation/tstamp/1173945900
RIGHT PHOTO: This is a minke whale, alive and free.
http://www.whalecenter.org/album/minkebreach04.htm

Follow Kinship Circle’s Blog - http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com



ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
info@kinshipcircle.org or kinshipcircle@accessus.net
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

YOUR SUPPORT LETS US WORK FOR ANIMALS!
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate.
Demand An End To The Killing.


3/4/09, OTTAWA (AFP) — Canadian Senator Mac Harb introduced a private
members bill that would end the commercial seal slaughter in Canada… The
bill failed to gain any support from the start…and was immediately dropped
from the senate’s agenda. Canadian senator makes futile bid to ban seal hunt
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNi6EJF6WPOSqGpBc2pKmXbwzYtQ

===========================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end.
===========================================================

*   COPY/PASTE EMAIL BLOCKS INTO BCC: LINE OF YOUR EMAIL
*   TYPE YOUR OWN EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE TO: LINE

CANDADIAN OFFICALS
webmaster@canadianembassy.org, atnta-td@international.gc.ca,
bostn@international.gc.ca, bfalo@international.gc.ca,
chcgo@international.gc.ca, dalas-td@international.gc.ca,
denvr-g@international.gc.ca, dtrot@international.gc.ca,
hston-td@international.gc.ca, lngls@international.gc.ca,
miami-td@international.gc.ca, mnpls-td@international.gc.ca,
cngny@international.gc.ca, sanjo@international.gc.ca,
sndgo-td@international.gc.ca, sfran@international.gc.ca,
seatl@international.gc.ca, ross.hornby@international.gc.ca,
danielle.cassivi@international.gc.ca,
jean.saint-jacques@international.gc.ca, canada@un.int,
prmny@international.gc.ca, harbm@sen.parl.gc.ca, kinsen@sen.parl.gc.ca,
losier@sen.parl.gc.ca, lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca, Milliken.P@parl.gc.ca,
Scheer.A@parl.gc.ca, Hill.J@parl.gc.ca

RUSSIAN OFFICIALS
webmaster@gov.ru, admin@mnr.gov.ru, admin@cbi-mpr.ru, kukosh@mnr.gov.ru,
tveritinov@mnr.gov.ru, rusfishatt@starpower.net, dip@mid.ru, info@gov.mcx.ru

EUROPEAN UNION OFFICIALS
Cabinet-Borg@ec.europa.eu, ip-PECH@europarl.europa.eu,
leonor.ribeiro-da-silva@ec.europa.eu, eurobarometer@ec.europa.eu,
public@eu2009.cz, info@efsa.europa.eu

CANADIANS ONLY – WRITE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS:
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Lists/Members.aspx
MEMBERS OF THE SENATE:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/compilations/senate.aspx?Menu=Senate

***Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

===========================================================
FOR A FORMATTED SAMPLE LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL:
info@kinshipcircle.org — Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email
or print letter to fax or mail.
===========================================================

Honorable Government Officials:

I am dismayed by the recent dismissal of a bill to end Canada’s commercial
harp seal hunt. Senator Mac Harb’s amendment to the Fisheries Act sought to
ban seal slaughter in Canadian waters, with immunity for aboriginal peoples.

Senator Harb told the press that “in the face of disappearing markets for
seal products and overwhelming international opposition, it is time for
Canada to recognize that we can’t resuscitate this dying industry.” The bill
was deleted from the senate’s agenda without debate.

Please use your influence as a spokesperson for Canadians and citizens of
the world to advocate an end to this contentious hunt. I urge you to revive
Senator Harb’s bill — and finally accept that most Americans, Europeans,
and even Canadians oppose the word’s largest marine mammal massacre.

The Harb Seal Bill coincides with a declining seal market. Belgium, the
Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, the United States and Mexico already
prohibit seal products. On March 2, 2009, IMCO (Internal Market and Consumer
Protection) MEPs voted 25-7 to bar seal items from import/export through the
European Union. By April 1 the full Parliament will vote on the EU’s pending
trade ban on all non-aboriginal seal goods.

It’s hard to defend the annual clubbing or shooting of over a quarter
million seals, 98% of whom range from 2 weeks to 3 months in age. The March
2009 hunt off Canada’s east coast promises no change. Sealers ambush
whelping grounds to gun down, bludgeon, kick, and thrash pups with hakapiks.
The take in 2008 was over 217,000 seals, with 99.8% under 3 months old.

Hunters commonly hook seals without verifying unconsciousness or death.
Photos depict sealers dragging alert animals with boathooks. A team of
impartial veterinarians once concluded 42% of examined seals were still
awake when skinned.

I’ve copied my comments to EU and Russian officials to let them know I back
all legislation that bans commercial sealing around the world. Please
support passage of the Harb Seal Bill. It’s time.

Thank you,

===========================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION
===========================================================

CANADIAN EMBASSIES ABROAD
Embassy of Canada in Washington DC, USA
The Honourable Michael Wilson Canadian Ambassador, United States of America
501 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; Washington, D.C. 20001
ph: 202-682-1740; fax: 202-682-7619, 202-682-7726
email: webmaster@canadianembassy.org
Canadian Consulates in USA: atnta-td@international.gc.ca,
bostn@international.gc.ca, bfalo@international.gc.ca,
chcgo@international.gc.ca, dalas-td@international.gc.ca,
denvr-g@international.gc.ca, dtrot@international.gc.ca,
hston-td@international.gc.ca, lngls@international.gc.ca,
miami-td@international.gc.ca, mnpls-td@international.gc.ca,
cngny@international.gc.ca, sanjo@international.gc.ca,
sndgo-td@international.gc.ca, sfran@international.gc.ca,
seatl@international.gc.ca

Mission of Canada to the European Union, The Honourable Ross Hornby
Avenue de Tervuren 2; 1040 Brussels, Belgium
ph: +32 0(2) 741 0681, +32 0(2) 741 0660
fax: +32 0(2) 741 0623, +32 0(2) 741 0629
email: ross.hornby@international.gc.ca,
danielle.cassivi@international.gc.ca, jean.saint-jacques@international.gc.ca

Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations
One Dag Hammarskjoeld Plaza
885 Second Avenue, 14th Floor; New York, NY 10017
ph: (1) 212-848-1100; fax: (1) 212-848-1195, -1192, -1128
email: canada@un.int, prmny@international.gc.ca

FIND CANADIAN EMBASSY FOR YOUR COUNTRY, IF NOT LISTED ABOVE:
http://www.international.gc.ca/ciw-cdm/embassies-ambassades.aspx?lang=eng

PARLIAMENT OF CANADA, http://www2.parl.gc.ca
Senator Mac Harb
The Senate of Canada, Parliament Buildings; Ottawa, Ontario; Canada K1A 0A4
ph: 613-996-2379; fax: 613-996-2318; email: harbm@sen.parl.gc.ca

Noel A. Kinsella, Speaker of the Senate
ph: 613-992-4416; fax: 613-992-9772; email: kinsen@sen.parl.gc.ca

Rose-Marie Losier-Cool, Speaker pro tempore
ph: 613-947-8011; fax: 613-947-8013; email: losier@sen.parl.gc.ca

Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate
ph: 613-943-0756; fax: 613-943-1493; email: lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca

Peter Andrew Stewart Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons
House of Commons; Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6
ph: 613-996-1955; fax: 613-996-1958; email: Milliken.P@parl.gc.ca

Andrew Scheer, Deputy Speaker & Chairman of Committees of Whole of the House
of Commons —  ph: 613-992-4593; fax: 613-996-3120; Scheer.A@parl.gc.ca

Jay D. Hill, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons
ph: 613-947-4524; fax: 613-947-4527; email: Hill.J@parl.gc.ca

CANADIANS ONLY – WRITE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS:
MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Lists/Members.aspx
MEMBERS OF THE SENATE:
http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/compilations/senate.aspx?Menu=Senate

RUSSIAN OFFICIALS
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
web mail: http://premier.gov.ru/eng/mail/step2.html
(maximum 5,000 characters; shorten sample letter)

Dmitry Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation
Kremlin, Moscow, RUSSIA; email: webmaster@gov.ru

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation
The Honorable Minister Yuri Petrovich Trutnev
4/6 Bolshaya Gruzinskaya Street; Moscow 123812, RUSSIA
ph: +7 (095) 254-4800; fax: +7 (095) 254-6610, 254-4310
email: admin@mnr.gov.ru, admin@cbi-mpr.ru, kukosh@mnr.gov.ru, tveritinov@mnr.gov.ru

Russian State Fisheries Committee
Mr. Vladimir Shevlyakov, Attache on Fisheries with the Embassy of the
Russian Federation in USA; 1609 Decature Street, NW; Washington, DC 20011
ph: 202-726-3838; fax: 202-726-0090; email: rusfishatt@starpower.net

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov
email: dip@mid.ru

Russian Ministry of Agriculture
email: info@gov.mcx.ru

EUROPEAN UNION, http://europa.eu
Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries
Commissioner Joe Borg
European Commission; B-1049 Brussels
email: Cabinet-Borg@ec.europa.eu
European Parliament Committee on Fisheries: ip-PECH@europarl.europa.eu

Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
1049 Brussels, Belgium
Spokesperson: leonor.ribeiro-da-silva@ec.europa.eu
web mail: http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/contact/mail/index_en.htm

-   European Commission, public opinion: eurobarometer@ec.europa.eu
-   Czech Presidency of the EU Council: public@eu2009.cz
-   European Food And Safety Authority: info@efsa.europa.eu

CONTACT GUIDE TO ALL EUROPEAN UNION AGENCIES:
http://europa.eu/geninfo/mailbox/inst_en.htm

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

End the Seal Hunt: Pass the Harb Seal Bill!
http://www.stopthesealhunt.com/site/c.ihKPIWPCIqE/b.3958845/k.CFC9/Stop_the_Seal_Hunt.htm

Canadian senator makes futile bid to ban seal hunt
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jNi6EJF6WPOSqGpBc2pKmXbwzYtQ

Can You Help Fund Kinship Circle’s Investigative Research?
All tax-deductible donations are deeply appreciated.

*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
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Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

SUBSCRIBE:
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Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts
SEND: Address / Phone / Email for placement in geographic disaster zone

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

Can you help fund Kinship Circle’s investigative research?
Kinship Circle composes action campaigns that bring results. Supporters like
you take public outcry to the decision-making tables. Our past campaigns and
future goals require extensive research, investigation and materials.

GOAL: $10,000
Any amount you can donate helps. We are deeply grateful for your support!

AMONG MANY VICTORIES FOR ANIMALS, KC CAMPAIGNS HAVE HELPED:
*   Expose a pet-killing dogcatcher and prompt his firing and subsequent
investigation. “Thanks to Kinship Circle’s help and publicity,” our source
writes, “We WON for the humane treatment of animals in our small town!”

*   Hurricane Gustav: Send volunteers to New Orleans to evacuate pets with their people.
*   Hurricane Ike: Coordinate volunteers to care for stranded animals.
*   Iowa Floods 2008: Rescue dogs, cats and even a few pigs displaced in the floods.

*   Network for funds and transport to ferry 8 sheep from a California
research lab to their 1,000-acre refuge at The Kindness Ranch.

*   Persuade medical schools to drop live animal labs: New York Medical
College, Washington University School Of Medicine, Saint Louis University,
University of Rochester, University of Illinois…

*   Give voice to Michael Vick’s dogs, who were spared, and push for maximum
penalties in federal and state cases.

*   Influence Congresspersons to support the Animal Fighting Prohibition
Enforcement Law, which passed in 2007!

*   Lead to the cancellation of Camarillo, CA July 4th fireworks near the
Ventura County Animal Shelter, which traumatized animals.

*   Sway POM Wonderful pomegranate juice to cease all animal testing.

*   Craft letter campaigns and press materials for Senator Fontenot’s office
to pass the Louisiana Pet Evacuation Bill in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Cathy Wells, Sen. Fontenot’s aide at the time, writes: “We all know if it
weren’t for Kinship Circle’s campaigns to legislators, this bill would not
have had the success it did…”

Just a few months ago, Kinship Circle helped send Christopher Barnett to
jail for filing his dog Lucas’ teeth down to the bloody gumline. “Thanks to
Kinship Circle for notifying the wider animal advocate community to write,
email, fax or call principal contacts,” Emilie Bottiggi writes.

Your tax-deductible donation lets us address more animal cruelty issues in
action campaigns, published articles, educational materials. A research aide
allows us to coordinate in disasters, when time is of essence for animals.

Think how much more we could accomplish with one Investigative Research
Aide! Please help us fund the research arm of Kinship Circle. Your
tax-deductible donation to Kinship Circle goes directly to work for animals.

*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS • EDUCATION • ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.
No goods or services are received in exchange for donations.

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/TensionUnderTheBigTop.pdf

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about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

3/13/09: Unchain Tina, Jewel And Queenie


LEFT: Tina and Jewel with Cole Bros. Circus. RIGHT: Queenie gives rides.

===========================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
===========================================================

USDA-APHIS-AC
Chester A. Gipson, D.V.M., Deputy Administrator
4700 River Road, Unit 84
Riverdale, MD 20737-1234
ph: 301-734-7833; fax: 301-734-4978, 301-734-4993
email: ace@aphis.usda.gov, Chester.A.Gipson@usda.gov

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20250
Secretary of Agriculture: AgSec@usda.gov

===========================================================
FOR A FORMATTED SAMPLE LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL:
kinshipcircle@accessus.net – Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an
email or print letter to fax or mail.
===========================================================

Dear Dr. Gipson and Secretary Vilsack:

You are likely aware of the 3/7/09 incident involving circus elephants in
Indianapolis, Indiana. One elephant head butted another into a scaffold as
people waited in line for elephant rides with the Murat Shrine Circus. The
metal structure caved in. An adult and 12 children were injured.

It could have been worse. From 1990 to 2008, captive elephant incidents in
the U.S. have led to 13 human deaths and 120 human injuries.

Shockingly, the Murat Shrine Circus resumed elephant rides at intermission.
The elephants under Will Davenport’s direction for the Murat Shrine Circus
included Tina, Jewel and Queenie. The three have shown aggression in the
past. Moreover, the USDA has continually cited the Davenport family for
inhumane treatment and lack of veterinary care to elephants.

When will the USDA finally seize Tina, Jewel and Queenie to retire them to a
sanctuary? Please facilitate their reprieve from chains and bullhooks — and
protect the public from captive elephant rampages. In addition, I urge you
to revoke Will Davenport’s USDA exhibitor license.

Davenport was ordered out the City of Los Angeles in April 2008, due to his
history of animal cruelty. In 2007 Tina and Jewel were so underweight, the
USDA took them off the travel circuit. Presently, the USDA is investigating
the Davenport family for violations of the Animal Welfare Act. U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service is looking into their alleged breach of the federal
Endangered Species Act.

Tina, Jewel and Queenie have suffered extreme physical and psychological
stress while leased from circus to circus over the years. In 2007, Tina and
Jewel were photographed on a nearly shade-less cement slab engulfed in
debris. Underweight and without access to water, they rocked back and forth.

I strongly encourage the USDA to clamp down on alleged animal abusers like
Will Davenport. Please also remove Tina, Jewel and Queenie from travel,
shows or rides. After suspect Tuberculosis test results on Jewel and
numerous wounds congruent with ankus abuse — it is well past time to
authorize their release to an accredited sanctuary.

I sincerely hope this administration breathes new life into the “animal
care” arm of USDA-APHIS.

Thank you,

===========================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
===========================================================

Urge the USDA to Revoke the License of Notorious Elephant Abuser
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/usda_elephants
Elephant knocks over stairs at circus
http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/local/region_1/Platform_collapse_injures_circus_goers_20090307
Please Help These 3 Elephants – Tina, Jewel, and Queenie
https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=430

Download Free Fact Sheets For Tabling & Events:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/ZooMom.pdf

PLEASE HELP US Print & Circulate Fact Sheets Nationwide:
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

UPDATE: Permanent Downer Ban – Loophole Closed!

Cheap Meat – Working in a Slaughterhouse: http://tinyurl.com/yul2lw

3/14/09, Obama bans downer cows from food supply
READ NEWS ARTICLE: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29691788/

A LONG TIME COMING: The first letter-writing campaign Kinship Circle issued
a decade ago asked legislators to pass the Downed Animal Protection Act –
to ban slaughter of cows, pigs, sheep and all “livestock” too sick and
crippled to stand upright. A federal law STILL does not exist.

In 2003 the USDA authorized a downer ban in response to a Washington state
dairy cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). But by 2007, Big Meat
convinced Bush regulators to dilute USDA’s administrative rule. Collapsed
cows with orthopedic (as opposed to central nervous system) injuries like
broken legs or ripped tendons were kept alive to make hamburgers.

Many mad cows and beef recalls later, USDA’s ban remained wishy-washy. In
2007/2008, HSUS went undercover at the Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co. in
Chino, Calif. For the first time, mainstream eaters saw electric prods shock
the heads, necks, spines and rectums of animals crumpled on concrete. They
saw eyes blink as organs failed. They saw crushed bones and torn ligaments
dragged over pavement. They heard cows scream (who knew?) as forklifts
tossed their giant bodies like rag dolls. They even saw concentrated water
jets fired into the cows’ noses and throats. http://tinyurl.com/yul2lw

USDA recalled 143,383,823 pounds of Hallmark-tainted beef. Legislators cried
“protect our food…ban downers!” Yet at a 2/28/08 hearing to assess
inspection blunders, then Secretary of Agriculture Edward Schafer asked a
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee to strike down a ban on
slaughter of downer cows. Apparently it was still “okay” for diseased cows
to occasionally enter the food supply.

…Which brings us to the present: Without much fanfare, the Obama admin
just permanently banned the slaughter of cows who can’t move on their own.

WHY WE CARE: Yes, sick cows make sick food — from mad cow disease to E.
coli or Salmonella. But Kinship Circle already advocates a plant-based diet.
We care because no dying animal should be rammed upright with tractors and
forklifts…hauled, shocked and pounded…so meat makers can eke about $30
out of her tortured body.

Obama’s signature solidifies the ban and closes the loophole that left
certain downers unprotected. Now, maybe, we can get Congress to pass that
Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act.

**With the close of the 110th Congress (2007-2008), the 111th Session
(2009-2010) will likely initiate some version of this longstanding bill to
safeguard downed animals. When it does, Kinship Circle will be close behind
with action campaigns. ALSO, check here:
http://www.nodowners.org/intro_dapa.htm
http://www.govtrack.us/
http://www.washingtonwatch.com

A half million downers stagger toward kill floors each year, JAVMA predicts.
Downer cows are primarily the end result of industrialized dairy operations.
By the time they reach stockyards, they cannot stand or walk. Once down,
they’re kicked, rammed, shocked, dragged, water-hosed and rolled. Anything
to prop them up for inspection. Anything to make a few bucks. Cheap meat, it
seems, comes with a hefty price tag: Utter inhumanity.

HSUS undercover video, Hallmark Meatpacking Company: http://tinyurl.com/yul2lw

================================================================
Download Free Fact Sheets For Tabling & Events:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/DownedOnTheFarmPHOTOS.pdf
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/HortonHearsACow.pdf

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KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/
KINSHIP CIRCLE is a 501c3 public charity. Donations are tax-deductible.

SUBSCRIBE:
Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: info@kinshipcircle.org
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

3/20/09: End Live Labs At New Jersey Med School

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
=============================================================

William Owen Jr., M.D., President
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
65 Bergen St., Room 1535
University Heights
Newark, NJ 07107-3007
ph: 973-972-4400; email: wfowenmd@umdnj.edu

=============================================================
FOR A FORMATTED SAMPLE LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL:
kinshipcircle@accessus.net – Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an
email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Dear William Owen Jr., M.D,

The University of Michigan Health System recently chose to use only
simulated models for Advanced Trauma and Life Support (ATLS) courses. I
strongly urge University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), to
join U-M Medical school — along with more than 90% of U.S. and Canadian
facilities that benefit from human-focused simulators alone.

I am surprised University Hospital in Newark, UMDNJ’s teaching hospital,
still relies upon old-fashioned animal experiments. Emergency medical
training is better served by relevant and humane non-animal systems. Please
replace the maiming and killing of pigs with Simulab’s TraumaMan, among the
most commonly used surgical simulators worldwide.

TraumaMan’s anatomical body facilitates practice of lifesaving skills and
reduces trainee dropout rates. The American College of Surgeons endorses
TraumaMan System, SimMan, human cadavers and other synthetic models.

I encourage you to assess sophisticated patient simulators for ATLS courses.
UMDNJ is one of the only U.S. teaching labs that still mutilates and
discards live pigs. These living creatures undergo confinement, transport,
isolation and preparation, experiments and slaughter.

Overall, animal-free research cuts costs and improves proficiency. A timely
New England Journal of Medicine article highlights the “very detailed
feedback and…more subtle measurement of trainee performance” gained from
virtual reality simulators. The article summarizes: Inanimate models are
“safe, reproducible, portable, readily available, and…cost-effective.”

Please update UMDNJ trauma-management training with methods more relevant
to human anatomy and surgery. Killing live pigs is no longer viable, given
the accessibility of capable and equivalent non-animal technologies.

Thank you,

=============================================================
Win! University Of Michigan To Use Simulators Only

SOURCE: 2/26/09, Trauma training course will use simulators only
FULL STORY: http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1057

SUMMARY: Your letters, calls, emails and faxes made an impact. Six weeks
after Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) alerted us to
cruel and old-fashioned live dog labs for University of Michigan’s trauma
training courses, UM publicly announced a switch to simulator usage only.
Nonanimal research tools mean no one suffers. No one dies. Woof! Oink!

ANN ARBOR, Mich — After careful study, the University of Michigan Health
System has decided to use only simulated models for the Advanced Trauma and
Life Support courses conducted at the U-M Medical School. Media contact:
Margarita Bauza, mbauza@med.umich.edu, 734-764-2220

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
1/19/09: Unnecessary – Live Dogs Cut Open To Train Med Students
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1795&seriesfirst=true

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================

Help End the Use of Live Pigs for Trauma Training at the University of
Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/anexp/UMDNJ.html
Ryan Merkley, Manager of Humane Education Program, PCRM
rmerkley@pcrm.org
Home of TraumaMan System
http://www.simulab.com/home-traumaman-system
HumaneTraumaTraining.org
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/205698

People need to know what really happens to animals.
HELP US Print & Circulate Our Fact Sheets Nationwide:
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/YouPaidForIt.pdf
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/MODSacrificOneWontSaveOther.pdf

Download Free Fact Sheets For Tabling, Letter Writing…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/
-   High resolution photos + timely information, stats, studies (updated yearly)
-   Uncommonly effective literature for an influential argument on the animals’ behalf

KINSHIP CIRCLE
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Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters + companion animal alerts

*DISCLAIMER: The information in these alerts is verified with the original
source. Kinship Circle does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of
the information or for the consequences of its use. Nothing in this email is
intended to encourage illegal action in whatever country you are reading it
in. Kinship Circle does not engage in, nor support, any form of harassment
or unlawful activity. Nothing in this alert serves to promote such conduct.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Get animal news and the means to act, right in your email box! If you care
about animals, don’t wait another second. http://www.KinshipCircle.org

3/20/09: Get Great Apes Out Of Laboratories

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
=============================================================

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    http://www.Congress.org
*    http://www.vote-smart.org/
*    http://www.house.gov
*    http://www.senate.gov
*    Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

The Honorable Representative [YOUR REP'S NAME HERE]
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20510

The Honorable Senators [YOUR SENATORS' NAMES HERE]
The U.S. Senate, U.S. Capitol Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee validity of email addresses. During
campaigns, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. Emails
from government, corporate, or institute websites may be incorrect.

=============================================================
FOR A FORMATTED SAMPLE LETTER (WORD DOC), EMAIL:
kinshipcircle@accessus.net – Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an
email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Dear Representative and Senators:

The Great Ape Protection Act, HR 1326, is back on the legislative schedule.
Please support this bill to ban experimentation on great apes.

I respectfully ask my Representative to cosponsor HR 1326, which was
referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. I encourage my
Senators to endorse a companion bill that also terminates federal funding
for usage, breeding, and transport of great apes in invasive research.

The Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA) stipulates permanent retirement of all
federally controlled great apes — chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas,
orangutans, and gibbons — who have undergone invasive experiments. Austria,
the United Kingdom, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Japan already
forbid or restrict research on great apes. The United States should too.

Old-fashioned animal experiments often prove inapplicable to human health.
For example, researchers recognize chimpanzees do not contract human AIDS or
develop its clinical symptoms. Nonetheless, chimps are isolated for decades,
just to see what might happen if infected with human HIV.

Taxpayers have subsidized physiological, biomedical and behavioral research
on great apes since the 1950s. These redundant studies have failed to
produce tangible data for AIDS, Alzheimer’s, stroke, cancer, and other
diseases. Given the accessibility of equivalent non-animal technologies, any
facility that still uses primates is a disgrace.

In laboratories, electrodes are lodged in prim