We moved back home!

Please bookmark our action alert center and make your voice heard for animals: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library

For breaking news and action, please join our email list:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/email

6/21/10 WE ARE SEARCHING FOR A BOAT…
For Our All Eyes On The Gulf Expedition In Oil Spill States

The truth about the BP oil spill lies in Gulf waters. We are grateful to locals who ferry Kinship Circle/WA2S.org teams in their boats from Florida to Louisiana. But, to follow oiled wildlife leads, we NEED OUR OWN BOAT:

DO YOU HAVE (OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS):

• A boat at least 30 feet long
• A boat with a cabin to sleep 4-6 people

ANYONE WITH A BOAT, OR LEADS TO A BOAT, CONTACT:
Michelle Way, michelle.way@wa2s.org
World Animal Awareness Society, http://www.WA2S.org

OR DONATE NOW:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Oiled birds like this pelican, transform from reddish brown to their natural white and tan shades via a series of gentle cleanings. As part of our training, AEOTG team members visit Fort Jackson Rescue Center where the IBRRC Bird Cleaning Operation is underway.

957 Dead Birds…And Counting
6/21/10: USFWS STATS FOR BP OIL-AFFECTED ANIMALS

• DEAD BIRDS: 957 * oiled but alive: 724 * cleaned/released: 97
• DEAD MAMMALS: 47 * oiled but alive: 4 * cleaned/released: 1
• DEAD SEA TURTLES: 387 * oiled but alive: 117 * cleaned/released: 3

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig now spews an estimated 100,000 barrels, or 4.2 million gallons daily, into Gulf waters. Kinship Circle — in partnership with World Animal Awareness Society for the All Eyes On The Gulf (AEOTG) expedition — is armed with camera lenses and notepads in oil-affected states. Our disaster responders act as “spotters” to alert Unified Command to suffering animals and facilitate their capture and care.

As we watch the tragedy unfold…in LA, AL, FL, MS…we realize how much YOU, the public, are not being told. For birds, turtles, dolphins, whales, fishes and other mammals — the disaster has barely begun.

LT: Birds are frightened and disoriented when they arrive at Fort Jackson Rescue Center. RT: 6/13/10, Long Beach, Mississippi: Kinship Circle Team #1 photographs dead fish floating in oily waters.

LT: Kinship Circle’s Rachel Laskowski undergoes documentary film training in Louisiana with Tom McPhee, executive director of World Animal Awareness Society. RT: Kinship Circle’s Rachel and Sister Michael Marie phone in from the water while recording oil affected wildlife.

SEE OUR GOOGLE MAP WITH VIDEOS. CLICK ON “EVENTS” BUTTON:
http://www.wa2s.org

DONATE NOW:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill
OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: BP Gulf Oil Spill

FUNDING IS NEEDED FOR:

• RV/motor home for mobile command center
• 30-ft boat with cabin for daily water excursions
• Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer squads covering 5 states
• Hazmat/Tyvek suits, respirators, rubber boots
• Deployment of volunteer teams through August (or longer)
• Public messaging and media outreach
• Computers/communications overhead and equipment
• AND MORE…

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

6/12/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
With All Eyes On The Gulf Oil Spill – Kinship Circle Is There

KINSHIP CIRCLE DEPLOYS TO THE GULF OIL SPILL
June 12, 2010 — Venice, Louisiana: Kinship Circle has gone where few other animal organizations have been: Into the trenches of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. We are there right now, in an investigative capacity to document oil-affected animals and alert Unified Command where they are. Animal rescue groups — other than specialized organizations authorized under Unified Command — currently do not have access into restricted zones. But select press and documentarians do.

KINSHIP CIRCLE AND AEOTG GULF TEAM #1, from lt to rt:
(back row) Documentary filmmaker Tom McPhee and his son Kevin; (front row) Kinship Circle IC Bonnie Morrison, Tania Velasco and Rachel Laskowski; Plaquemines Parish coastal director P.J. Hahn; Kinship Circle’s Cheri Deatsch and Sister Michael Marie; AEOTG’s Jon Shurtz
All photos © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle, Gulf Coast 2010

Kinship Circle was asked to “embed” with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Tom McPhee for his All Eyes On The Gulf (AEOTG) expedition. Our disaster responders are on the ground to focus camera lenses and notepads on contaminated parts of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. AEOTG is a scientific tour to collect visual records. It’s also a window to the truth. As part of AEOTG’s crew of filmmakers and photojournalists, Kinship Circle may deploy teams through August, as funds permit.

Tom McPhee’s organization, World Animal Awareness Society, is approved under Unified Command (BP, Coast Guard, fed/state officials) to access affected areas. All team members wear photo ID badges.

Brown Pelicans await cleaning in a holding pen at IBRRC (International Bird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center), where Kinship Circle and WA2S team members trained. Photo © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle

WHERE ARE THE ANIMALS?
On 6/10/10 U.S. Fish and Wildlife reported that more than 400 oiled birds were taken to Fort Jackson Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Buras, Louisiana in a span of several days — over five times as many than in the last six weeks combined. Where are the photos and clips? According to CNN, BP is attempting to block reporters from photographing animals altogether.

Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director P.J. Hahn lifts an oil-covered pelican at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay 6/5/10. AP/Gerald Herbert

A FILMMAKER’S VISION
Tom McPhee’s All Eyes On The Gulf is a portal to the “human/animal intersection” in this disaster. Team members undergo two-day training before they journey to oil damaged regions across five states. Volunteers gather visual evidence from ground, water and air levels. They act as “spotters” to give Unified Area Command location coordinates for suffering animals and facilitate their capture and care. Detailed data collection procedures are used and volunteers are prepped for encounters with oil distressed animals.

A rescued and rehabilitated Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is released off the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas. The species is threatened by the oil slick because it only nests in the western Gulf of Mexico. msnbc.msn.com

Help Save Lives By Supporting All Eyes On The Gulf
As evidenced by Kinship Circle’s aid in Chile’s 8.8 quake and tsunami — disaster response is expensive. We’re rarely involved in two catastrophic missions at the same time. But as animals are treated for wounds and disease in Chile…victims of BP’s oil spill await aid in the U.S.

Photo © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle

OIL SPILL RESPONSE FUNDING IS NEEDED FOR:

• RV/motor home for an All Eyes On The Gulf mobile command center
• Hazmat/Tyvek suits, respirators, rubber boots
• Deployment of volunteer teams through August (or longer)
• Public messaging and media outreach
• Computers/communications overhead and equipment
• Fuel, food, lodging, tents
• AND MORE…

DONATE NOW:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill
OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers, supplies and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. Kinship Circle works in agreement with government agencies or other NGOs to deploy teams of trained and credentialed animal responders for assessment, search and rescue, and emergency sheltering aid. We also report disaster news to inform the public about ways they can support animal aid efforts.

LEARN MORE ABOUT KINSHIP CIRCLE
KINSHIP CIRCLE: http://www.KinshipCircle.org
ANIMAL DISASTER VICTIMS: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters
ACTION ALERT CENTER: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
CHILE DISASTER AID: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile

World Animal Awareness Society
Core mission: To focus a lens on human-animal interactions and to share this information with the world. World Animal Awareness Society is documenting the Gulf oil spill for historical, educational and research purposes. Visual data will be archived indefinitely and distributed via WA2S.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL EYES ON THE GULF
WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY: http://www.wa2s.iorg
SEE GOOGLE MAP WITH VIDEOS OF WHERE WE ARE. CLICK ON “EVENTS” BUTTON

*   YOUTUBE / All Eyes on the Gulf Expedition Day 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGVxY9df0bU
*   YOUTUBE / WA2S Gulf Oil Spill Promo
link to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmt4mYLrQbU

PRESS RELEASE: http://prlog.org/10732195
WA2S FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/World-Animal-Awareness-Society-WA2SOrg/251128676541?ref=ts

——————————————————————–

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

KINSHIP CIRCLE
The Forgotten Disaster?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_sy17OaFY

Please watch our video and post/publicize it any way you can:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_sy17OaFY

U.S. donors have largely overlooked this disaster.  Chilean veterinarians and volunteers are “losing faith.”

Kinship Circle has poured money into deployments, but had no major grants or sustained funding to support months of work in Chile. Socorro Animal Chile (SACH) — the amazing coalition of Chilean animal groups/veterinarians we work with — don’t have the veterinary supplies to go on.

PLEASE WATCH AND POST THIS VIDEO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_sy17OaFY

TO DONATE TO CHILE ANIMAL RELIEF:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

Kinship Circle Chile Animal Relief
7380 Kingsbury Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63130

**  CHILE PHOTO LOG: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-april-photolog.html
**  FIELD NOTES: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html
**  CHILE HOME: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile
** THE FORGOTTEN DISASTER? (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE_sy17OaFY

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

VICTORIES * SETBACKS * PROGRESS
Kinship Circle Updates: Jan-May 2010
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html

1. WIN! No Horse Slaughter In Missouri, For Now
2. WIN! First Ever Statewide Ban On Devocalization
3. Abused Elephant Queenie Ends Up In San Antonio Zoo
4. Brindi’s Life Is Spared, But She Can’t Go Home Yet
5. Karley’s Killer Gets 90 Days Weekend Jail Time
6. BLM Roundups Leave At Least 91 Wild Horses Dead
7. Gun, Drug Charges Cut – Burning Of Phoenix Case
8. NASA Monkey Radiation Experiments Under Fire
9. Toxic Pet Food Company Owners Are Sentenced
10. Dogs Deserve Better Founder Is Charged Again
11. Kinship Circle In ANIMAL PEOPLE NEWS Cover Feature

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

1. WIN! No Horse Slaughter In Missouri, For Now
SOURCE: Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, CPRPets@aol.com

5/14/10, SUMMARY: YOUR VOICE — along with support from rational Missouri legislators — proved stronger than the pro-slaughter extremists. Against a backdrop of strong public protest, the Missouri Congressional session closed with language to legalize horse slaughter rejected. Thanks to all who wrote, faxed, emailed, called and mailed on behalf of horses…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor1

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

2. WIN! First Ever Statewide Ban On Devocalization
SOURCE: Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, CPRPets@aol.com

4/22/10, SUMMARY: “Dear Kinship Circle — On April 22, 2010 Gov. Deval Patrick signed Logan’s Law, making Massachusetts the first state in the nation with an effective law banning the cruel practice of canine and feline devocalization — cutting vocal cords to suppress the voice.

Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets couldn’t have done it without Kinship Circle. The Coalition is an all-volunteer, unfunded advocacy network with statewide reach; but passing legislation against opposition from the AKC and state veterinary association required far greater numbers.
The powerhouse animal welfare organizations in Massachusetts refused to help. Luckily for animals, Kinship Circle stepped up. You rallied your Massachusetts members at every stage of the 15-month legislative process. Whenever you were asked to put the word out, you unhesitatingly did. Animal lovers in Massachusetts are very grateful to Kinship Circle for embracing this principle, and for working with the Coalition to put landmark humane legislation on the books. Thank you, Brenda and Kinship Circle.”

Sincerely, Sandra Finder, Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor3

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

3. Abused Elephant Queenie Ends Up In San Antonio Zoo
SOURCE: Queenie’s Placement at San Antonio Zoo Enrages Groups That Worked to Free Her
http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/queenies-placement-at-san-an
tonio-zoo-enrages-groups-that-worked-to-free-her/

4/22/10, SUMMARY: Queenie is finally rescued from abusive owner Wilbur Davenport — but winds up dumped in the San Antonio Zoo? In summer 2009, USDA confiscated two of Davenpor’ts three elephants. Tina and Jewel went to the San Diego Zoo, while Queenie stayed behind, tied to tree. After pressure for Queenie’s release, USDA filed charges against Davenport in February. By April 2010, USDA and Davenport agreed to transfer Queenie to the Texas zoo — notorious for it outdated habitat, cramped and unnatural setting…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor4

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

4. Brindi’s Life Is Spared, But She Can’t Go Home Yet
SOURCE: BRINDI IS SAFE: N.S. court spares life of Brindi the dog, but sets conditions
http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/cp-article.aspx?cp-documentid=24094165

4/20/10, SUMMARY: Francesca Rogier spent the last two years of her life saving her mutt Brindi from euthanasia at the hands of the Halifax pound that still has her dog. Justice Alanna Murphy spared Brindi’s life, but it’s not clear when Brindi and Rogier will be reunited… The city won’t appeal the verdict. Rogier had argued that her dog was not usually aggressive but attacked a neighborhood dog who had fought with Brindi previously…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor5

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

5. Karley’s Killer Gets 90 Days Weekend Jail Time
SOURCE: Ex Firefighter Sentenced in Dog Beating Case
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/ex-firefighter-sentenced-in-dog-beating-case-20100402

4/2/10, SUMMARY: Glynn Demon Johnson, 55, a retired Los Angeles County assistant fire chief, beat Karley — a neighbor’s 6-month-old puppy — so badly that she had to be euthanized. He was sentenced to 90 days weekend jail time and 3 years probation. Johnson could have received a maximum 4 years in state prison for his conviction of felony animal cruelty… Neighbor Skaggs testified that Karley showed no signs of aggression. He said Johnson grabbed the top and bottom portions of the dog’s mouth and pulled, as if trying to snap Karley’s jaws. Skaggs said he tried to intervene, but Johnson ignored him, slamming a rock into Karley’s head 10 to 15 times…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor6

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

6. BLM Roundups Leave At Least 91 Wild Horses Dead
SOURCE: The numbers just don’t add up for the captive Calico mustangs
http://www.examiner.com/x-37163-Equine-Advocacy-Examiner~y2010m4d8-The-numbe
rs-just-dont-add-up-for-the-captive-Calico-mustangs?cid=examiner-email

APRIL 2010, SUMMARY: It appears that BLM rounded up more than 1922 mustangs from late December until early February this year. The Gather Daily Updates list total deaths as 76. That’s wrong. At least 91 horses have died, including a newborn foal who perished shortly after birth on 1/18/10. He wasn’t “gathered” as an individual, but was carried into the Fallon feedlot in utero… Using the BLM’s own daily reports, I can count 90 live wild horses who have died since the roundup began…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor7

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

7. Gun, Drug Charges Cut – Burning Of Phoenix Case
SOURCE: Gun, drug charges dropped but teens still face charges in burning of dog
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-md.johnson25mar25,0,6528508.story

3/25/10, SUMMARY: Baltimore prosecutors dropped gun and drug charges against teen twins Tremayne and Travers Johnson, 18… They still face animal cruelty and mutilation charges in a separate case accusing them of setting fire to a pit bull puppy, who rescue workers later named Phoenix. The puppy, who was doused in gasoline and set aflame, had to be euthanized… Upcoming Court Dates: Wednesday, Jun 30, 2010 – Trial

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor2

================================================================
8. NASA Monkey Radiation Experiments Under Fire
SOURCE: NASA monkey radiation experiment facing animal-cruelty accusations
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/85421-nasa-moneky-experiment-facing-animal-cruelty-charges

3/8/10, SUMMARY: NASA’s Brookhaven National Laboratory comes under intense scrutiny following complaints that its forthcoming $1.75 million radiation experiment on monkeys violates a score of animal-rights laws. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed an official complaint against NASA, which approved a grant last year to understand the effects of long-term radiation exposure on the human body in space… In February 2010, Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and seven other House members called on NASA to cancel the grant because deep-space travel is still years away…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor8

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

9. Toxic Pet Food Company Owners Are Sentenced
SOURCE: Chemnutra Owners Sentenced for Melamine-Tainted Pet Food
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/02/chinese_formula22.html

2/6/10, SUMMARY: U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Maughmer sentenced Sally Qing Miller, 43, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, 57, to three years probation for distributing a melamine-tainted ingredient that triggered a mass pet food recall in 2007 and caused the deaths and illnesses of thousands of dog and cats nationwide. They were also ordered to each pay a $5,000 fine. The Miller’s company, Chemnutra, Inc., must pay a $25,000 fine…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor9

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

10. Dogs Deserve Better Founder Is Charged Again
SOURCE: Dog advocate charged after providing straw to dogs chained in
freezing temps, http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/thaynetrespassing.html

2/6/10, SUMMARY: Altoona, PA — Dog advocate Tamira Ci Thayne, founder and
CEO of Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit working solely on behalf of chained and penned dogs, was charged with Summary Defiant Trespass. Under Pennsylvania law, a person commits defiant trespass if he/she stays on property AFTER being told to leave. Thayne’s first-day volunteer will testify in court that: 1. Although Thayne made a good-faith attempt to speak to the caretaker before taking action on behalf of the dogs, no one answered the door, and 2. No one EVER asked them to leave the property on 1/3/10…

READ ENTIRE UPDATE ONLINE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-may_2010.html#anchor10

================================================================
11. Quake, Tsunami, Fires – Overlooked By U.S. Donors?
EXCERPTS FROM ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 2010:
Kinship Circle & Chilean coalition help in earthquake aftermath
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org

By Merritt Clifton — While U.S. animal rescuers watched and waited for the Deepwater Horizon oil slicks to drift ashore and wreak havoc, Kinship Circle founder Brenda Shoss tried to alert the world to a little noticed humane crisis in Chile — including a growing risk that dogs might be massacred in the tent cities housing much of the displaced population of Talquahano.

Aftershocks from the February 27, 2010 Chilean earthquake and tsunami continued into May. The initial earthquake measured 8.8 on the Richter scale, among the strongest ever recorded. The entire capital city of Santiago was moved 11 inches to the west…

The earthquake, aftershocks, and tsunami caused ongoing fires and oil spills. Half a million houses were damaged or destroyed, displacing about two million people. Tens of thousands remain displaced, with their animals, nearly three months later… But Kinship Circle’s work in Chile has barely been noticed by U.S donors.

“We’ve had a lot of publicity on the Chilean side,” Shoss told ANIMAL PEOPLE, “but have struggled tremendously to raise funds in the U.S. because Chile is sandwiched between Haiti, the oil spill, and recent floods. We’ve been traveling with Socorro Animal Chile (SACH) staff and veterinarians to 30 tent camps since the quake and tsunami. We need money for continued food and veterinary supplies and will be deploying through at June or longer.”

SACH vets and Kinship Circle personnel — including veterinarians Dr. Dan Meakin and Dr. Madi Graham, Incident Command Officer Traci Dawson and Translator/Animal Aid Maureen Valentine — averted a dog massacre near Talquahano on May 7. But, they expected that the risk would recur.

Earlier reports from Kinship Circle team members Cheri Deatsch and Sister Michael Marie described treating between 100 or more injured animals per day, struggling with a lack of resources. Field clinics often consisted of just “a door-sized board laid atop two sawhorses” to improvise an examination table, Deatsch wrote. Dogs and cats arrived in wheelbarrows, bird cages, and sugar sacks…

TO DONATE TO CHILE ANIMAL RELIEF:
Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Fund
7380 Kingsbury Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63130

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation


FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

5/15/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES
WIN! No Horse Slaughter Plants In Missouri, For Now

Missouri Rep. Jim Viebrock wanted to kill horses. So he proposed House Bill 1747 to sidestep a federal ban on U.S. horse slaughter. Kinship Circle issued a 3/21/10 letter campaign urging MO House Reps to reject legislation to legalize horse processing plants in Missouri. From there, it got weird.

Some MO Reps harassed Kinship Circle to the extent a police report was filed. And the House seemingly passed its bill as revenge against animal advocates. Then, Rep Viebrock covertly attached horse slaughter provisions to unrelated Senate Bill 795. He thought no one would notice?

But in the end YOUR VOICE — along with support from rational Missouri legislators — proved stronger than the pro-slaughter extremists.

Against a backdrop of strong public protest from around the world, the Missouri Congressional session closed yesterday with language to legalize horse slaughter rejected. Thanks to all who wrote, faxed, emailed, called and mailed on behalf of horses. Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle

MISSOURIANS: Thank State Senators And Reps In Your District
http://www.senate.mo.gov/llookup/leg_lookup.aspx
* Express your gratitude that provisions to legalize horse slaughter in Missouri were rejected.
* Tell them that their stance on animal protection issues will effect your future voting decisions.

Weird Odyssey: How Missouri Tried & Failed to Revive U.S. Horse Slaughter

5/15/10 – MISSOURI SESSION ENDS WITH HORSE SLAUGHTER A DEAD ISSUE
2010 MO Legislature / PASSED – SB795 AGRICULTURE: Increases some regulations
relating to agriculture, including rules concerning large carnivores, but does not create mechanism to allow horse slaughter plants in Missouri.

5/11/10 – S.B. 795 STUCK IN COMMITTEE
S.B. 795 is in conference committee because Missouri’s Senate cannot agree on the House Committee Substitute that passed the House with amendments — including: pro-horse slaughter provisions.

5/7/10 – HORSE SLAUGHTER PROVISIONS STILL HIDDEN IN S.B. 795
Original horse kill bill 1747 — that was covertly attached to S.B. 795 (an unrelated bill) — is NOT REMOVED from S.B. 795, as formerly believed.

5/2/10 – SOME REPS RENEW HARASSMENT OF KINSHIP CIRCLE
MO House Reps debate the House Committee Substitute version of S.B. 795. Animal Law Coalition and R.A.G.E. ask their members to send comments opposing inclusion of horse slaughter language in S.B. 795. Although Kinship Circle itself has issued no alert on horse slaughter since 3/21/10, some Reps bounce hundreds of unread emails (from members of these other groups) to Kinship Circle’s computer — from May 1 to the present!

4/30/10 – IT DOESN’T GET MUCH SLEAZIER THAN THIS
Chair of the Missouri Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee, Sen. Dan Clemens, states “there will be no further legislative progress on H.B. 1747.” But Rep James Viebrock has already attached provisions to legalize horse slaughter to an unrelated bill. S.B. 795, with horse slaughter attached, passes the House Agriculture Committee.

4/6/10: HARASSMENT OF KINSHIP CIRCLE MAKES FRONT-PAGE NEWS
St. Louis Post Dispatch runs a front page story about Missouri House Representatives tampering with public information and harassing Kinship Circle: State Legislators Target Activist. Post also runs an editorial against killing horses and hounding activists, Squirrelly about animals in the Frog Kingdom. An Associated Press version runs in Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CBS News, Yahoo News, and more papers nationwide.

In an attempt to silence our opposition to horse slaughter…
– Some Reps forward 2,000+ unread emails to Kinship Circle’s server.

– Rep. Casey Guernsey, R-Bethany memorably tells our members: “It’s so fun to piss you wackos off. You’re lucky I even acknowledge your existence. It’s so much fun to taunt people like you — ha! Tell me, is it truly liberating to be so incredibly clueless?”

– In a call to Kinship Circle’s line, from CALLER ID: Missouri State 573-522-0000, a male voice screams a tribal war chant…and hangs up.

– In another call a man sings “A Horse Is A Horse,” from the movie Mr. Ed.

– In a 10:00pm call, a creepy male voice drones “Brenda, Brenda, Brenda…neigh… Brenda…neigh…” in reference to Kinship Circle’s Brenda Shoss. This call leads her to file a police report.

– Other calls from unidentified Reps begin with a menacing “Hey Brenda…” In one call: “There aren’t but three people here [the MO House] who care for you or your organization… Your group has guaranteed passage of this bill…[because of] frickin’ emails from everyone in the world!”

CONTRIBUTING SOURCE FOR TIMELINE:
Animal Law Coalition, Laura Allen
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter

Chile’s Earthquake And Tsunami: The Forgotten Disaster

An evacuee camp in Talquahano, Chile wants to kill all its companion animals. People who lost everything in an 8.8 earthquake and tsunami can’t even feed themselves. They don’t want to watch their animals starve to death. Kinship Circle and SACH intervened with food and veterinary aid. But without more funding, we can’t possibly meet the needs of 30 tent camps along Chile’s coast…  Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle

We need funding to treat animals and distribute food.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

**  CHILE PHOTO LOG: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-april-photolog.html
**  FIELD NOTES: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html
**  CHILE HOME: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile


http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

5/13/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
ACO Kills Bella, As The Scared Dog Runs From Him

SEND YOUR COMMENTS EITHER WAY:

1. AUTO LETTER: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1897&seriesfirst=true
2. – OR — Copy/paste emails/sample letter below into your own email

When Bella (black pit) and Jaxson broke through their fenced backyard, the ACO brought in to catch them shot Bella dead. Witnesses say Bella showed no aggression at all, only fear. No charges have been filed. On footage taken by Bella’s guardian Jeff Daniels via his cell phone, Deputy ACO Austin says he never saw Bella act aggressive, and that he shot her because she wasn’t worth his time: http://www.youtube.com/user/tjdaniels24#p/a/f/0/uWXzyZqIT7g

=============================================================
SAMPLE LETTER – CONTACT INFO AFTER SAMPLE LETTER
=============================================================

Dear Officials Of Cabarrus County, NC and the City of Concord, NC:

On 4/29/10, Sheriff’s Deputy Animal Control Officer Sean Austin shot Bella, one of two pit bulls who escaped from a fenced yard. Something is wrong when an ACO guns down a family dog as she flees between two homes. The scenario grows more problematic if that officer says the dog displayed no aggression.

When Bella and Jaxson got loose, witnesses claim the dogs ran into the yard of a neighbor who called Concord Police. Officers at the scene caught Jaxson, but Bella proved skittish.

All witnesses agree — in written and oral testimony — that Bella’s behavior indicated fear, not aggression. Jeff Daniels later asked Deputy Austin why he killed Bella and videotaped Austin’s response on his phone: “I’m not sitting here for three hours when I got calls in.”

Bella inconvenienced Deputy Austin, so he shot her?

I trust that an internal investigation is well underway. I urge swift punitive action, including suspension from the department. Deputy Austin violated the North Carolina General Statues, Cabarrus County Animal Control Ordinance, and City of Concord Code of Ordinances. Animals are still legally defined as property. When Deputy Austin shot his firearm in the city, he took away the Daniels’ “property” without due process of law. When he killed Bella rather than seize her, he denied their right to “redeem the animal.”

Deputy Austin’s behavior warrants charges and penalties. At the very least, the unprovoked killing denotes misconduct within the sheriff’s department.

Bella never endangered adults or children. But even if she had, why were no warning shots, batons, or other deterrents tried first? Please equip law enforcers with the knowledge to neutralize animals perceived as aggressive — without resorting to lethal force.

I encourage the sheriff’s office to learn skills to distinguish anxiety, fear, and protective canine behaviors (i.e., barking, growling) from genuinely hostile behavior. Ordinarily an experienced animal control officer can make this distinction, but Deputy Austin failed on all counts.

Deputy Austin discharged a firearm in close proximity of children. He killed a family pet with no history of aggression. His lack of judgment demands your utmost attention. Please inform me of progress in this disturbing case.

Sincerely,

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADDRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION / Cabarrus County, NC Officials
=============================================================

EMAIL ADDRESSES ONLY
dbriley@cabarruscounty.us, pjpatterson@co.cabarrus.nc.us,
dwtaylor@cabarruscounty.us, pdhunt@cabarruscounty.us, info@roxann4da.com,
rwcarruth@cabarruscounty.us, gmynatt@cabarruscounty.us,
efpoole@cabarruscounty.us, coyprivette@windstream.net,
jwhite@cabarruscounty.us

COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION
Sheriff’s Office of Cabarrus County
Sheriff D. Brad Riley
30 Corban Avenue SE / Concord NC, 28025
704-920-3000; dbriley@cabarruscounty.us, pjpatterson@co.cabarrus.nc.us

Sheriff’s Department Animal Control Division, Lt. David Taylor
704-920-3288; dwtaylor@cabarruscounty.us
Chief Deputy Hunt
704-920-3002; pdhunt@cabarruscounty.us

Roxann Vaneekhoven, District Attorney
District Attorney’s Prosecutorial District #19A
Cabarrus County Courthouse
PO Box 70 / Concord, NC 28026
ph: 704-786-6171; fax: 704-795-2359
info@roxann4da.com (this may not be her current address)

CABARRUS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS:
Robert W. (Bob) Carruth (R)
186 Scenic Drive / Concord, N.C. 28025
704-706-9638; rwcarruth@cabarruscounty.us

Grace Mynatt (R)
1980 NC Hwy 73 E / Concord, NC 28025
704-788-1252; gmynatt@cabarruscounty.us

Elizabeth (Liz) Poole (R), Vice-Chairman
PO Box 1363 / Concord, NC 28026
704-782-4723; efpoole@cabarruscounty.us

Coy C. Privette (R)
557 Coopers Ridge Drive / Kannapolis, N.C. 28083
704-920-0180; coyprivette@windstream.net

H. Jay White Sr. (R)
5601 Meadow Bluff Ct NW / Concord, N.C. 28027
jwhite@cabarruscounty.us

Chile’s Earthquake And Tsunami: The Forgotten Disaster


LT PHOTO: This kitten, rescued from a quake-torn part of Chile, undergoes exam with SACH and Kinship Circle. RT: Kinship Circle IC, Traci Dawson (Team 3), stabilizes this dog as Chilean vet Chiry performs a procedure.

An evacuee camp in Talquahano, Chile wants to kill all its companion animals. People who lost everything in an 8.8 earthquake and tsunami can’t even feed themselves. They don’t want to watch their animals starve to death. Kinship Circle and SACH intervened with food and veterinary aid. But without more funding, we can’t possibly meet the needs of 30 tent camps along Chile’s coast…  Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle

We need funding to treat animals and distribute food.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

**  CHILE PHOTO LOG: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-april-photolog.html
**  FIELD NOTES: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html
**  CHILE HOME: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile


http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”  +  Send to: info@kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

Scott Taylor, scott@sterling-gaming.com
A friend of Jeff Daniels — whose beloved Bella was killed by Deputy ACO Sean C. Austin in Concord, NC — who contacted Kinship Circle about this case.

VIDEO: Officer Shoots, Kills Dog
http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/local/92833669.html

VIDEO: Bella And Jaxson “Kill” Two Kids With Kindness
http://www.youtube.com/user/tjdaniels24#p/a/u/0/gVSAeXNfZsg

VIDEO: Dog on the loose shot and killed by animal control
http://www.wcnc.com/news/Pit-Bull-killed-in-Cabarrus-County-Neighborhood-92832959.html

Pit bull shot and killed outside owner’s home
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/04/30/1407884/pit-bull-shot-and-killed-outside.html

Animal Control Officer Unlawfully Executes Family Pet in Neighborhood
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=186448

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 ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
5/5/10: Kill Baby Kill – BP Oil Spill Closes In On Gulf Coast


Members of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research and International Bird Research Center hydrate a Northern Gannet bird, who was covered in oil.

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Kill Baby Kill: Some BP Bullet Points
2. Present Animal Response In Gulf Oil Spill
3. Tubul’s Story: Help Us Save More Like Him

===================================================================
1. Kill Baby Kill: Some BP Bullet Points


A dead fish is seen on the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Getty Image

BP OIL SPILL IN GULF / DISASTER OVERVIEW
–  5/5/10: Unified command activated for West Coast of Florida: Reps from  BP, U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are meeting to plan multi-agency response. They’ve also met with over 30 NGO environmental groups: Tampa  Bay Watch, Save our Seabirds, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sierra Club, etc. — in preparation for the worst case.

–  5/4/10: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the oil slick seems to move toward Alabama and Florida coasts, as well as the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana’s southern tip. http://www.noaawatch.gov

–  5/4/10: U.S. Air Force prepares C-130s for spill response. Members of the 910th Airlift Wing are in Mississippi to help with oil spill clean up.

–  5/4/10: BP spokesperson Bill Salvin reports that three four-story, 70-ton “containment domes” will be lowered over leaks — to trap oil and help pump it to the surface. Other attempts such as a shutoff valve and floating booms have mostly failed — in part due to rough winds and seas.

–  5/3/10: Oil spews at a rate of roughly 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day from three sections of piping. Birds and other animals are vulnerable because they are in reproducing cycles. Young animals may become oiled and parents may plunge into dark waters in search of food. There could be lasting repercussions for fragile wetlands along the Mississippi River.

–  4/22/10: BP’s oil rig collapses into the gulf, after an explosion on 4/20/10. Oil seeps out and BP, while aligned with government agencies and private contractors, cannot stop the flow of crude from the well.

–  4/20/10: A BP (British Petroleum) oil rig explodes. BP, operator of Deepwater Horizon oil rig situated 5,000 feet below the surface in Gulf waters, accepts responsibility for the disaster.

===================================================================
2. Present Animal Response In Gulf Oil Spill


LT: A dead sea turtle on a Pass Christian, MS beach. At least 20 sea turtles were found dead along a 30-mile stretch from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis. RT: Many endangered turtles dying on Texas Gulf Coast. Salt Lake Tribune

Kinship Circle
We are watching the animal response to the BP oil spill. Presently, U.S. government, oil companies, and specialized oil decontamination/wildlife agencies are deployed. Some NGOs have volunteers on standby, but no one should self deploy to this high-security zone without invitation from the unified command (governing agency). KINSHIP CIRCLE IS NOT RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS AT THIS TIME.

LT: A least tern checks her eggs on a Gulfport, Mississippi beach. Environmentalists fear that the oil slick will destroy this generation of birds that nest along the Gulf coast beaches during migration. AP

RT: A dead pelican is seen on Chandeleur Island, Louisiana (5/3).  Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican, could come to symbolize the affects of the damage done by the oil spill. Their nesting season, which has
just begun, lies in the direct path of the spill. Getty Image

Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana
http://www.crcl.org/coalitionprograms/oilspillrecovery.html

REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER:
https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/316/personalopt1.asp?formid=oilspill
CRCL is joining with our partners at the local, state and federal level to begin registering volunteers to assist with spill recovery efforts.

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
6160 Perkins Road, Suite# 225 / Baton Rouge, La 70808
office: 225-767-4181; toll-free: 888-522-6278; fax: 225-768-8193
email: coalition@crcl.org

If you encounter oiled wildlife, call: 1-800-557-1401
Do not touch or disturb oiled wildlife, for your safety and theirs.

We do not know the extent of impact to birds, wildlife, and habitat at this time. National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana are building a standby volunteer list.

Volunteer Louisiana (Statewide Hub)
http://www.louisianaserve.org/1800Vol/Homepage/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=30619

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Volunteers not yet needed. Sign up to be updated as needs arise:
http://www.1-800-volunteer.org:80/1800Vol/Homepage/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=30619

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Volunteer Louisiana (Statewide Hub)
jpace@crt.state.la.us
Louisiana Serve Commission
263 Third Street, Ste. 610 / Baton Rouge, LA  70801
225-342-2038 * http://www.crt.state.la.us/laserve


The Independent: Wildlife rescue teams ready for US oil spill victims.
photo: Creative Commons

International Bird Rescue Research Center (BRRC)
http://www.ibrrc.org/gulf-spill-2010.html#volunteer

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
No call for volunteers.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Northern California (Main office)
San  Francisco Oiled Wildlife Care & Education Center (SFBOCEC)
4369 Cordelia Road / Fairfield, CA 94534
707-207-0380; no_cal_center@ibrrc.org

Bird rescue specialists from International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) are on site in Louisiana and Alabama preparing rescue centers to clean seabirds caught in the Gulf coast oil spill. IBBRC is working in partnership with Tri-state Bird Rescue & Research to prep rehab facilities in Fort Jackson, Louisiana and Theodore, Alabama.

Tri-State Bird Rescue And Research
http://www.tristatebird.org/

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Tri-State has been asked to oversee wildlife rehabilitation response along the gulf coast and is working closely with many collaborating organizations. All response efforts are coordinated by the Unified Command on-site.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
110 Possum Hollow Road / Newark, Delaware, 19711
302-737-9543; web form: http://www.tristatebird.org/contact


A dolphin swims through polluted waters of Drum Bay, Louisiana. There are as many as 5,000 dolphins between Mississippi and Louisiana coasts and the oil rig, many of whom are in their reproductive season. Getty Images http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/birds-oil-coated-gulf-spill_n_558665.html

Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: 866-448-5816

CONTACT INFORMATION:
985-902-5231; deepwaterhorizonresponse@hotmail.com
Submit alternative response technology, services or products: 281-366-5511
Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: 281-366-5511
Report oiled wildlife: 866-557-1401

Nine staging areas have been set up to protect vital shoreline in all potentially affected Gulf Coast states (Biloxi, MS, Pensacola, FL, Pascagoula, MS, Dauphin Island, AL, Port Sulphur, LA, Shell Beach, LA, Slidell, LA, Port Fourchon, LA, Venice, LA).

===================================================================
3. Tubul Came Into This World On A Crash And A Wave…


The floppy-eared puppy was born just days before an 8.8 earthquake and tsunami swept over Chile’s coastal towns. We don’t know how he escaped waters that made 5 to 6 feet rings around buildings. We don’t know where he hid as structures collapsed. We do know the pup dubbed Francisco de Tubul did it alone. Somehow this tiny dog — crippled, starving — stayed alive…

TUBUL’S STORY: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html

Your support gives animals like Tubul a second chance:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

Please help. We need funds to buy vet supplies in Chile.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

**  CHILE PHOTO LOG: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-april-photolog.html
**  FIELD NOTES: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html
**  CHILE HOME: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

5/3/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
Crush Videos Are Illegal Cruelty – Not Protected Free Speech

SEND YOUR COMMENTS EITHER WAY:

1. BY AUTO LETTER: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1896&seriesfirst=true
2. – OR — Copy/paste emails/sample letter below into your own email

Crush fetish videos use rabbits and other small animals such as kittens, puppies, mice, hamsters… Videos/photos show women in heels piercing and crushing animals to death. A new bill enforces a law against crush videos.

H.R.5092: To amend section 48 (relating to depiction of animal cruelty) of title 18, United States Code, and for other purposes. Latest Major Action: 4/21/10 Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.

=============================================================
SAMPLE LETTER – CONTACT INFO AFTER SAMPLE LETTER
=============================================================

Dear Representatives, Senators, and House Judiciary Committee Members:

A 4/20/10 U.S. Supreme Court ruling facilitates animal torture in “Crush” fetish videos. In light of this U.S. vs. Stevens ruling, it is imperative that legislators back the Crush Act Amendment, H.R. 5092. The 1999 Crush Act
had prohibited creation, sale and possession of supplies depicting acts of animal cruelty. However, the new edict focuses on “depiction” rather than actual abuse. It deems the 1999 rule unconstitutional and vague.

A Missouri man was already acquitted under this U.S. vs. Stevens ruling. He’d posted videos of himself mutilating deer by driving over them repeatedly. But his depiction of this savage act was protected as free speech. Please help enforce a ban on portrayals of animal cruelty — a ban that recognizes the physical cruelty required to produce such images. Without clear legal language, crush videos, animal fighting films and more ghastly exposes will flourish.

Nearly 100 legislators support Rep. Elton Gallegly’s (R-CA) Crush Act Amendment. If you are a cosponsor, I thank you. If not, I urge you to get behind H.R. 5092. I encourage House Judiciary members to move H.R. 5092 from committee to the floor for a vote. I also ask the Senate to follow with prompt authorship and sponsorship of a bill like H.R. 5092.

Crush fetish videos show a woman’s high-heeled feet stomping small animals such as rodents, puppies and kittens. This is nothing short of an “animal snuff film.” Defenseless creatures are killed for entertainment. They suffer unbearably while crushed and dismembered.

H.R. 5092 would bypass the Court’s decision to invalidate the Crush Act. It would still ban the sale/circulation of animals shown crushed, drowned, stabbed or burned (where these activities are Illegal).

I am counting on our elected officials to take a no-tolerance stance on violent cruelty. Please prevent a rebirth of the crush video industry with swift passage of the Crush Act Amendment H.R. 5092.

Sincerely,

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

1) ABOUT EMAILS
U.S. Congress members no longer post their emails. All use web forms. Most prefer not to fill out many web forms, so we researched past documents for 2009/2010 emails of House Judiciary Members, where the Crush Act Amendment currently is. The emails below did NOT bounce when tested. However, we have no control over emails that may not work.

2) AMERICANS, EMAIL-CALL-FAX YOUR OWN REP + SENATORS
To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
http://www.Congress.org
http://www.senate.gov
http://www.house.gov

3) EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE:
John.Conyers@mail.house.gov, cynthia.martin@mail.house.gov, rinia.shelby@mail.house.gov, Howard.Berman@mail.house.gov, ca28ima.pub@mail.house.gov, julia.massimino@mail.house.gov, deanne.samuels@mail.house.gov, Rick.Boucher@mail.house.gov, laura.vaught@mail.house.gov, elizabeth.hogan@mail.house.gov, Jerrold.Nadler@mail.house.gov, amy.rutkin@mail.house.gov, siegel@mail.house.gov, joni.ivey@mail.house.gov, randi.petty@mail.house.gov, Danielle.Owen@mail.house.gov, Keith.Kelly@mail.house.gov, erin.dominguez@mail.house.gov, angela.master@mail.house.gov, william.delahunt@mail.house.gov, mark.forest@mail.house.gov, Katie.washburn@mail.house.gov, Steve.Cohen@mail.house.gov, marilyn.dillihay@mail.house.gov, craig.dulniak@mail.house.gov, ebony.simpson@mail.house.gov, eduardo.hilera@mail.house.gov, Mike.Quigley@mail.house.gov, sean.obrien@mail.house.gov, monica.foskett@mail.house.gov, Judy.Chu@mail.house.gov, Amelia.Wang@mail.house.gov, lisa.strumwasser@mail.house.gov, Rebecca.Dreilinger@mail.house.gov, jennice.fuentes@mail.house.gov, ana.rasmussen@mail.house.gov, bill.murat@mail.house.gov, leo.munoz@mail.house.gov, jayneann.wolsey@mail.house.gov, Anthony.Weiner@mail.house.gov, weiner@mail.house.gov, marie.ternes@mail.house.gov, Beth.Chrusciel@mail.house.gov

timothy.bergreen@mail.house.gov, hampden.macbeth@mail.house.gov, adrienne.elrod@mail.house.gov, meghan.johnson@mail.house.gov, tracie.pough@mail.house.gov, kate.houghton@mail.house.gov, jill.allenmurray@mail.house.gov, kaii.torrence@mail.house.gov, Andrea.Loving@mail.house.gov, Tom.Schreibel@mail.house.gov, todd.washam@mail.house.gov, Michael.Lenn@mail.house.gov, John.Mautz@mail.house.gov, Marianne.Balch@mail.house.gov, Kenneth.steinhardt@mail.house.gov, Bob.Goodlatte@mail.house.gov, Shelley.Husband@mail.house.gov, Jessica.Orsulak@mail.house.gov, Branden.Ritchie@mail.house.gov, Marilyn.Erbes@mail.house.gov, Sandra.wiseman@mail.house.gov, darrell@mail.house.gov, Mary.Pritschau@mail.house.gov, Jason.Scism@mail.house.gov, Randy.Forbes@mail.house.gov, Dee.Gilmore@mail.house.gov, Steve.King@mail.house.gov, imaia05h@mail.house.gov, Lisa.Teschler@mail.house.gov, Jacki.Pick@mail.house.gov,  Louie.Gohmert@mail.house.gov, Michael.Tomberlin@mail.house.gov, patricia.slezak@mail.house.gov, scott.lively@mail.house.gov, Evans@mail.house.gov, heather.ramsey@mail.house.gov, UT03JCIMA@mail.house.gov, Karilyn.Henshaw@mail.house.gov, nicole.dinis@mail.house.gov, juan.barnett@mail.house.gov. Michael.Cravens@mail.house.gov

4) FULL ADDRESSES + WEB FORMS: HOUSE JUDICIARY MEMBERS
-   For name/title, address, phone/fax, web forms, go to:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1896&seriesfirst=true

-   OR, Request full contact information of House Judiciary Committee from:
info@kinshipcircle.org

He came into this world on a crash and a wave…

The floppy-eared puppy was born just days before an 8.8 earthquake and tsunami swept over Chile’s coastal towns. We don’t know how he escaped waters that made 5 to 6 feet rings around buildings. We don’t know where he hid as structures collapsed. We do know the pup dubbed Francisco de Tubul did it alone. Somehow this tiny dog — crippled, starving — stayed alive…

TUBUL’S STORY: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html

Please help. We need funds to buy vet supplies in Chile…
Your support gives animals like Tubul a second change.

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

**  CHILE PHOTO LOG: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-april-photolog.html
**  FIELD NOTES: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html
••  CHILE HOME: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

USA: Make Sale of Crush Videos Illegal Again!
http://www2.aspca.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=69424.0
Videos of Animals Crushed by Women in High Heels Are Protected Free Speech?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103×531413
Crush Act Amendment
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h5092ih.txt.pdf

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.

4/26/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
Come On Canada – The Seal Slaughter Needs To Stop

SEND YOUR COMMENTS EITHER WAY:

1. BY AUTO LETTER: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1895&seriesfirst=true
2. – OR — Copy/paste emails & sample letter below into an email from your own address

With seal goods banned in every major market but China, Canada can no longer economically justify their annual seal hunt. So why does it still take place?

=============================================================
SAMPLE LETTER – CONTACT INFO FOLLOWS SAMPLE LETTER
=============================================================

Honorable Prime Minister Harper, Canadian Senators and Ambassadors:

Canada’s annual seal hunt faces so many setbacks, it doesn’t make economic sense to prolong it.

Seal fur prices continue to plummet since the European Union outlawed seal product trade across 27 nations. The U.S, Mexico, and Croatia ban seal items. Russia has further reduced the commercial market with a shutdown of
its own hunt last year. An ongoing global boycott of Canadian seafood only worsens chances for a “comeback” of this controversial industry.

This year, record amounts of thawing ice along Canada’s east coast weakened birthing grounds for harp seals — causing mothers to abort pups in water or fall through fragile ice. Seal pups dyed by the thousands, yet the Canadian government actually upped the 2010 kill quota by 50,000.

I urge Canadian officials to purchase sealing licenses and sponsor economic options for your citizens. Economists predict that a buyout would cost less than subsidizing the hunt itself. In one survey, half of responding sealers back a federal buyout. Stopping the hunt could save Canadians $6.9 million (or more) yearly, according to a Marine Policy journal report.

From an ethical standpoint, cancellation of the world’s largest marine mammal slaughter is long overdue. Some 72% of Canadians support a ban on killing pups and 81% do not care if the hunt ends altogether.

In fact, most of the world condemns Canada’s hunt, where 98% of seals butchered range from 2 weeks to 3 months in age. Well-publicized documentation shows seals shot, bludgeoned, kicked and thrashed with razor-sharp hakapiks. Photographic images from the 2010 hunt reveal a pup shot in the face and struggling to flee amid pools of his own blood. As the world bears witness to these horrible acts of cruelty, year after year, government claims about “humane slaughter” ring hollow.

Senator Mac Harb has reintroduced his bill to ban seal slaughter in Canadian waters. I ask officials to support Senator Harb’s legislation. It’s time to end a violent industry with little financial relevance. Please make a responsible decision to permanently stop the seal hunt.

Sincerely,

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

IF AN EMAIL ADDRESS DOESN’T WORK, IT COULD BE BECAUSE:

• The website contains inaccurate, outdated information
• The recipient has disabled his/her email
• The recipient’s mailbox is full (try later)

EVERY SINGLE EMAIL IN THIS ALERT:
pm@pm.gc.ca, andrer@sen.parl.gc.ca, anguswd@sen.parl.gc.ca, bakerg@sen.parl.gc.ca, gautht@sen.parl.gc.ca, brazep@sen.parl.gc.ca, brownb@sen.parl.gc.ca, callbc@sen.parl.gc.ca, campbel@sen.parl.gc.ca, carigc@sen.parl.gc.ca, carsts@sen.parl.gc.ca, champa@sen.parl.gc.ca, chapum@sen.parl.gc.ca, cochre@sen.parl.gc.ca, comeag@sen.parl.gc.ca, coolsa@sen.parl.gc.ca, cordyj@sen.parl.gc.ca, cowanj@sen.parl.gc.ca, dallar@sen.parl.gc.ca, dawsod@sen.parl.gc.ca, dayja@sen.parl.gc.ca

debanp@sen.parl.gc.ca, tessil@sen.parl.gc.ca, dininc@sen.parl.gc.ca, pdowne@sen.parl.gc.ca, mikeduffy@sen.parl.gc.ca, dyckli@sen.parl.gc.ca, eatonn@sen.parl.gc.ca, egglea@sen.parl.gc.ca, fairbj@sen.parl.gc.ca, finled@sen.parl.gc.ca, fortis@sen.parl.gc.ca, foxf@sen.parl.gc.ca, frasej@sen.parl.gc.ca, fruml@sen.parl.gc.ca, fureyg@sen.parl.gc.ca, greens@sen.parl.gc.ca, harbm@sen.parl.gc.ca, hervic@sen.parl.gc.ca, lacomd@sen.parl.gc.ca, hublee@sen.parl.gc.ca, jaffem@sen.parl.gc.ca, johnsj@sen.parl.gc.ca,
joyals@sen.parl.gc.ca, kennyco@sen.parl.gc.ca, kinsen@sen.parl.gc.ca, langd@sen.parl.gc.ca, charrf@sen.parl.gc.ca

lavigr@sen.parl.gc.ca, lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca, losier@sen.parl.gc.ca, smithc@sen.parl.gc.ca, mahovf@sen.parl.gc.ca, mannif@sen.parl.gc.ca, martin@sen.parl.gc.ca, massip@sen.parl.gc.ca, mccoye@sen.parl.gc.ca, meighen@sen.parl.gc.ca, mercet@sen.parl.gc.ca, merchp@sen.parl.gc.ca, mitchg@sen.parl.gc.ca, mocklp@sen.parl.gc.ca, moorew@sen.parl.gc.ca, munsoj@sen.parl.gc.ca, murral@sen.parl.gc.ca, mcgeed@sen.parl.gc.ca, neufer@sen.parl.gc.ca, nolinp@sen.parl.gc.ca, ogilvk@sen.parl.gc.ca, olived@sen.parl.gc.ca, patted@sen.parl.gc.ca, pepinl@sen.parl.gc.ca, russem@sen.parl.gc.ca

lachah@sen.parl.gc.ca, plettd@sen.parl.gc.ca, poulim@sen.parl.gc.ca, poyv@sen.parl.gc.ca, rainen@sen.parl.gc.ca, ringup@sen.parl.gc.ca, rivarm@sen.parl.gc.ca, jcrivest@sen.parl.gc.ca, rompkw@sen.parl.gc.ca, kfl@sen.parl.gc.ca, seidmj@sen.parl.gc.ca, sibnic@sen.parl.gc.ca, smithd@sen.parl.gc.ca, stgerg@sen.parl.gc.ca, stewac@sen.parl.gc.ca, stollp@sen.parl.gc.ca, stratt@sen.parl.gc.ca, tardic@sen.parl.gc.ca, tkachd@sen.parl.gc.ca, wallaj@sen.parl.gc.ca, wallinp@sen.parl.gc.ca, wattc@sen.parl.gc.ca, zimmer@sen.parl.gc.ca, webmaster@canadianembassy.org

FULL ADDRESSES:
Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street / Ottawa K1A 0A2
fax: 613-941-6900; email: pm@pm.gc.ca

The Senate of Canada
Parliament Buildings
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1A 0A4

CANADIANS ONLY – WRITE YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN PARLIAMENT
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

CANADIAN EMBASSIES ABROAD
Embassy of Canada in Washington DC, USA
The Honourable Gary Doer, Canadian Ambassador, United States of America
501 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW / Washington, D.C. 20001
ph: 202-682-1740; fax: 202-682-7726
email: webmaster@canadianembassy.org

IF YOU ARE NOT A U.S. CITIZIN, FIND CANADIAN EMBASSY FOR YOUR COUNTRY:
http://www.international.gc.ca/ciw-cdm/embassies-ambassades.aspx?lang=eng

****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.

And thousands more like him…

While Chile’s 8.8 magnitude quake, aftershocks and tsunamis may have fallen from news headlines — the road to rebuilding is long and animal victims desperately need aid. Kinship Circle teams are in Chile right now, working with Chilean veterinarians in stricken communities. But we can’t keep our responders there or secure vet equipment without more funding.

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

Seriously Canada, Seals Are Dying And You Won’t Cancel The Hunt?
http://www.humanesociety.org/seriouslycanada/
Stop Canada’s Cruel Seal Hunt
http://action.humanesociety.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=11281.0&dlv_id=13745
Melting Out from Under Them
http://www.hsicanada.ca/wildlife/seals/seal_hunt_2010/melting_ice_031010.html

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.

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:
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

2/6/09: 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:
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

2/9/09: 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

*   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.

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
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: 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

================================================================
Check Out Kinship Circle’s New Cafe.Press Store
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:
http://www.cafepress.com/KinshipCircle

KINSHIP CIRCLE’S MAIN STORE (more message-wear):
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store



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

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

2/23/09: 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

Check Out Our New Cafe.Press Store!
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/
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

*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.

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

Check Out Our New Cafe.Press Store!
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
*   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/

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

*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

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

3/13/09: 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

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

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
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.

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: 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: 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 primates’ brains and spinal cords.
Seizures and infections are artificially induced. Toxic substances are
injected. Babies are forcibly separated from “breeding” monkeys. In a world
defined by metal bars and cement floors, animals display aberrant behaviors
such as repetitive banging, spitting, and feces smearing.

Renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has shown that primates form social
unions and experience complex emotions. It is time to retire these sentient
creatures and keep pace with worldwide use of non-animal modalities. I urge
my elected officials to advocate passage of the Great Ape Protection Act.

Thank you,

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

Federal: Bill Would Liberate Great Apes from Laboratory Cages
http://www.navs.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=7751

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/VivisectiLessonFutilityPH.pdf
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/DyingForKibble.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
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

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY / PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST
3/20/09: Stop Horse Slaughter Blitz At State/Federal Levels

LT PHOTO: Foals at slaughter. RT PHOTO: Horse injured on the way to
slaughter. Promoting The Humane And Responsible Treatment of Horses,
http://www.equineadvocates.com/slaughter5.htm

===========================================================
BACKGROUND + FEDERAL & STATE ACTIONS TO TAKE
===========================================================

Those in favor of horse slaughter for human consumption claim U.S. slaughter
plants are better regulated than kill floors in Mexico and Canada. Opponents
of a horse slaughter ban contend abandonment/starvation of horses (because
caretakers can’t finance their care) is far worse than slaughter. This line
of reasoning overlooks:

-   Americans don’t eat horsemeat and the majority oppose killing horses for meat.
-   Horses aren’t bred for meat and thus not checked for disease, pathogens prior to slaughter.
-   Animal abandonment is illegal. Offenders should be charged, not permitted to profit from killing horses.
-   Cow and pig slaughter methods used on horses are inhumane for these long-necked animals.

There are too many horses due to overbreeding in industries such as Premarin
and Prempro (HRT drugs from mare’s urine); carriage horses; riding stables,
etc. Rather than study feasibility of new slaughterhouses, proponents ought
to question: “Why are so many animals sent to slaughter, starved or abandoned
by owners who refuse to take responsibility for their horses’ humane care?”
http://www.navs.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=7757

State Bills Related To Horse Slaughter
To read a state bill, go here:
http://www.navs.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=7757

SUPPORT New Jersey A551: Referred to Assembly Agriculture & Natural
Resources Committee 1-8. Bans horse slaughter; horseflesh for consumption.

SUPPORT New York A3736: Referred to Committee on Agriculture 1-28. Prohibits
slaughter of horses for human consumption.

SUPPORT Arkansas SCR 11: Read twice by Senate and referred to Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development 3-5 Urges horse
owners to take responsibility for the humane treatment and care of horses
during this time of economic crisis.

OPPOSE Arizona SCM 1001: Senate first reading 1-29. Urges Congress to oppose
a federal ban on horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Arkansas HCR 1004: Passed House 1-29, read twice by Senate and
referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Forestry & Economic Development
1-29. Requests congressional support of horse processing facilities.

OPPOSE Idaho HJM5: 3rd reading in House 3-12. Urges Congress to oppose
federal legislation that interferes with a state’s ability to direct the
transport or processing of horses.

OPPOSE Illinois HB 583: Placed on House calendar for second reading and
short debate 2-25. Repeals the state ban on the slaughter of horses.

OPPOSE Illinois HR 160: In House, referred to Rules Committee 3-10. Urges
Congress to oppose federal legislation to ban the slaughter of horses and
the transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Iowa SR 16: Resolution filed, referred to Rules & Administration 3-9.
Urges Congress to oppose federal legislation to ban the slaughter of horses
and the transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Kansas HCR 5004: Adopted as amended by Agriculture and Natural
Resources 2-17. Resolution urges US Congress to oppose federal legislation
to ban the slaughter of horses and the transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Minnesota SF 133: Senate refers to Agriculture and Veterans 1-22.
Resolution urging Congress to oppose federal legislation banning the
slaughter of horses and the transport of horses to slaughter.

OPPOSE Minnesota HF 840: House first reading, referred to Agriculture, Rural
Economies & Veteran Affairs 2-16. Resolution urges Congress to oppose
a federal ban on horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Missouri HCR 19: House pass 3-11. Urges Congress to oppose a federal
legislation to ban horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Missouri SCR 8: Reported to House 3-5. Urges Congress to oppose a
federal ban on horse slaughter and transport of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Montana HB 418: Passed 2-18, now in Senate, hearing 3-5. Authorizes
investor owned horse slaughter plants.

OPPOSE North Dakota SCR 4021: Passed Senate. Urges Congress to recognize the
need for regulated horse processing facilities in the United States.

OPPOSE North Dakota HB 1496: Introduced 1-19, passed 2-18. Lets Department
of Commerce conduct equine processing facility feasibility study.

OPPOSE South Carolina SCR 480: Senate referred to Committee on Agriculture
and Natural Resources 2-25. Urges Congress to oppose federal legislation
interfering with a state’s ability to direct transport/processing of horses.

OPPOSE South Dakota SCR 2: Senate adopted 2-3-09, House of Representatives
Concurred in Resolution, Passed 2-5-09. Urges reinstatement and funding of a
federal inspection program for horse slaughter and euthanasia facilities.

OPPOSE South Dakota SCR 4: Passed Senate 2-19, passed House 2-23. Supports
transport of horses out of the state and country.

OPPOSE South Dakota SCR 10: Senate Adopt Resolution, Passed 3-10. Supports
efforts in other states to address need for equine slaughter/processing in U.S.

OPPOSE South Dakota SB 114: Senate appropriations deferred, passed 2-5.
Provides for study of feasibility of horse slaughter plant in South Dakota.

OPPOSE Tennessee HB 1361: Referred to Agriculture 2-19. Eliminates packaging
and labeling requirements for horsemeat.

OPPOSE Utah HJR 7: Passed House. Urges Congress to oppose federal
legislation to ban horse slaughter and the export of horses for slaughter.

OPPOSE Wyoming HJR 8: Signed into law. Urges Congress to oppose federal
legislation that would interfere with a state’s authority to direct the
transport or processing of horses.

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

1. Below is a sample letter about the FEDERAL (NATIONAL) Prevention of
Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503). You may use letter as written to send
to your Representative and Senators in Congress, in Washington D.C.

2. There are also many STATE BILLS to facilitate horse slaughter. Take a
minute to see if YOUR STATE is listed above. Modify the sample letter to
include the name of the state bill and your argument against it.

–  You have CONGRESSIONAL officials who represent you in Washington DC.
These are your FEDERAL LEGISLATORS.

–  You also have STATE officials who represent you in your state’s capitol.
These are your STATE LEGISLATORS.

FIND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOUR FEDERAL & STATE LEGISLATORS HERE:
*    http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/?lvl=L
*    http://www.votesmart.org/

=============================================================
THIS SAMPLE LETTER IS ABOUT FEDERAL BILL H.R. 503
If writing about a STATE BILL: You must modify letter to include STATE
BILL’S NAME and why you oppose/support it. SEE STATE BILLS ABOVE.
=============================================================

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 is very important to me.

Thank you,

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

Proponents of Horse Slaughter Flood State Legislative Agendas
http://www.navs.org/site/News2?news_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=7757
Promoting The Humane And Responsible Treatment of Horses
http://www.equineadvocates.com/slaughter5.html
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

*   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  /  Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals
PART 1: JAN – MAR 2009 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES

PART 1: KC UPDATES / JAN – MAR 2009
1.  Win! No More Fur For Urban Outfitters
2.  Canadian Seal Hunt Began Monday, 3/23/09
3.  Win! Jamaica Says NO To Greyhound Racing
4.  Partial Seal Hunt Ban Is Passed In Russia
5.  Closing Arguments Heard In Ringling Abuse Trial
6.  Obama Bans Downer Cows, Closes Longtime Loophole
7.  EU Ban On Cosmetics Animal Testing Goes Live!
8.  Wolves Lose: Secretary Salazar Takes Away Protection
9.  Obama Fixes Endangered Species Act, Post-Bush
10. BLM Says Pickens Horse Sanctuary Won’t Work
11. Win! University Of Michigan To Use Simulators Only
12. Jailed Dogfighter Michael Vick Goes Home In May?
13. Drill-Baby-Drill Rewind
14. Nepal Orders Ban On Export Of Rhesus Monkeys
15. U.S. House Passes Primate “Pet” Bill

================================================================
1. Win! No More Fur For Urban Outfitters
SOURCE: 3/24/09, VICTORY! Urban Outfitters Goes Fur-Free
http://blog.peta2.com/2009/03/victory_urban_outfitters_is_no.html

SUMMARY: Urban Outfitters just announced that it has become fur-free! By
making this commitment, Urban Outfitters joins Zappos, Juicy Couture, Polo
Ralph Lauren, Gap, Forever 21, and dozens of other companies and designers
that have made the compassionate decision to go fur-free.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
12/18/04: ‘Tis The Season To Buy Fur?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1268&seriesfirst=true
2/20/02: Urban Outfitters Sells Fur

================================================================
2. Canadian Seal Hunt Began Monday, 3/23/09
SOURCE: 3/23/09, Canada begins seal hunt, under shadow of a ban
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-canada-seals24-2009mar24,0,4932581.story


SUMMARY: Canada’s annual seal hunt started 3/23/09, under pressure from a
possible European Union ban on imported seal products. The world’s largest
marine mammal hunt was called “inherently inhumane” this month by a European
Parliament committee that endorsed the bill to ban the import of seal
products to the 27-member union. Animal rights groups say the hunt is cruel
and difficult to monitor and ravages the seal population.

Canada allows hunters in this year’s seal hunt to kill 338,200
Animals — 55,000 seals more than in 2008, the fisheries minister said.
http://silverscorpio.com/canadas-government-sets-quota-for-annual-seal-hunt/

TAKE ACTION:
3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate. Demand End To Killing.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1811&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
3. Win! Jamaica Says NO To Greyhound Racing
SOURCE: 3/19/09, Jamaica Rejects Dog Racing!
http://www.grey2kusa.org/eNEWS/G2K-031909Email.html

SUMMARY: The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, has written to inform
us that greyhound racing will not be authorized in his country. Thanks to
everyone who sent a letter or email on behalf of the greyhounds! A proposal
to legalize dog racing in South Africa is still under consideration. We’ll
meet with government officials later this month to voice our concerns…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
FRIENDS OF KINSHIP CIRCLE, Jamaica Wants Greyhound Races
http://friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/greyhounds-fur-rodeo-shock-cats-skinned/

================================================================
4. Partial Seal Hunt Ban Is Passed In Russia
SOURCE: 3/18/09, Russia Bans Hunt For Harp Seals Less Than One Year of Age
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29755181/

SUMMARY: Yuriy Trutnev, Russia’s Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology
announced a complete ban on hunting of all harp seals less than one year of
age in the White Sea. This confirmation comes after an announcement last
month that Russia would ban killing of whitecoat harp seals (unmoulted pups
less than 2 months) and adults in the White Sea — and places Russia far
ahead of Canada in terms of government response to public opinion…

LET PEOPLE KNOW… DOWNLOAD THIS FACT SHEET:

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

================================================================
5. Closing Arguments Heard In Ringling Abuse Trial
SOURCE: 3/18/09, Closing arguments set for elephant abuse trial
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/03/18/elephant.abuse.trial/


LT: Ringling elephants, Los Angeles Times. RT: nypost.com

SUMMARY: In 2000 American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
Fund for Animals, Animal Welfare Institute, and former Ringling “barn man”
Tom Rider file a lawsuit against Ringling Bros. Circus (world’s biggest
animal act with over $100 million in revenue annually) under the Endangered
Species Act for its cruelty to Asian elephants.

2/4/09 – 3/18/09, Ringling trial from onset to closing arguments:
Plaintiffs argue that bullhooks, chaining elephants up to 20 hours, and
other practices violate Endangered Species Act’s ban on “harming harassing
or wounding” an endangered animal… No immediate ruling is expected from
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, who hears the case without a jury.

FOLLOW TRIAL UPDATES:
http://awionline.org/legal_affairs/ringling_bros/trial_updates.htm

THE FACTS DON’T LIE. DOWNLOAD THIS:

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

================================================================
6. Obama Bans Downer Cows, Closes Loophole
SOURCE: 3/14/09, Obama bans ‘downer’ cows from food supply
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29691788/


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

SUMMARY: The Obama administration permanently banned the slaughter of cows
too sick or weak to stand on their own… [Last year’s beef] recall raised
concerns about treatment of cattle…after an investigator for Humane
Society of the U.S. videotaped workers abusing downer cows to force them to
slaughter. Obama’s signature solidifies USDA’s ban and closes a loophole
that left certain downers unprotected. This is an administrative rule, NOT A
LAW. Now, maybe we can get Congress to pass the Downed Animal and Food
Safety Protection Act. The 111th Congressional Session (2009-2010) will
likely reintroduce this longstanding bill to safeguard downed animals.

TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH. DOWNLOAD THESE FACT SHEETS:

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

================================================================
7. EU Ban On Cosmetics Animal Testing Goes Live!
SOURCE: 3/11/09, European Union ban on cosmetic testing on animals begins
http://www.buav.org/news.php?p=506&more=1

SUMMARY: March 11, 2009 marks the banning of cosmetics testing on animals
within the European Union… The 7th amendment to the Cosmetics Directive
means it becomes illegal to:

* Test cosmetic ingredients on animals anywhere in the EU, irrespective of
whether there is a non-animal alternative method available (testing on the
products themselves is already banned).

* Sell or import into the EU cosmetics ingredients or products where they
have been animal-tested after 3/11/09, with the exception of certain type
tests which have an extended deadline until 3/11/13.

FIGHT WITH THE FACTS. DOWNLOAD THIS:

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

================================================================
8. Wolves Lose: Sec. Salazar Takes Away Protection
SOURCE: 3/6/09, Gray Wolves To Be Removed From Endangered Species List
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/06/gray-wolves-to-be-removed_n_172589.html

Photo: National Geographic, Joel Sartore

SUMMARY: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he’d uphold the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service’s decision to remove gray wolves from the federal
endangered list in the Northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes. Wolves
would remain a federally protected species in Wyoming… But management will
be turned over to state agencies in Montana, Idaho and parts of Washington,
Oregon and Utah…Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Salazar said he had concluded that dropping the wolf from the list was
justified by its strong comeback in the two regions, which together have a
population of nearly 5,600 wolves. Sen. Barbara Boxer, the Calif. Democrat
who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, promised to
investigate whether Salazar’s decision is consistent with the Endangered
Species Act… Environmental groups immediately pledged a lawsuit over the
estimated 1,600 wolves in the Northern Rockies…

Idaho and Montana already have plans for public hunts… Idaho Gov. C.L.
Butch Otter repeated his desire to get the first available wolf hunting tag.
“The fish and game population is really counting on a robust population of
trophy animals to maintain that part of our economy,” he said.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
1/22/09: Obama’s Freeze May Give Gray Wolves Reprieve
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/help-abolish-lethal-wildlife-services-during-obamas-freeze/
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 KC DIGEST: Animals Would Like President-Elect Barack Obama To Know…
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

================================================================
9. Obama Fixes Endangered Species Act, Post-Bush
SOURCE: 3/3/09, Obama Restores Endangered Species Act Provision
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/03/03-5

SUMMARY: When Bush modified a longstanding Endangered Species Act policy in
December 2008, Kinship Circle supporters flooded Congress and the White
House with comments. Letters asked for reinstatement of the rule that
requires agencies to seek independent review by Fish and Wildlife Service or
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — BEFORE initiating any
project — to determine if their actions might harm vulnerable species.
President Obama restored this rule. Kinship Circle welcomes another reversal
of Bush era anti-animal tactics. Environmentalists and scientists agree that
the Bush change would have hurt threatened species nationwide.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
2/9/09: Fix The Endangered Species Act That Bush Broke
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1799&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
10. BLM Says Pickens Horse Sanctuary Won’t Work
SOURCE: 3/2/09, BLM says Pickens deal for wild horses flawed
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ha-UPFbGyJaJKzRa8XALfWli1gJwD96M67H80

Wild horses gathered from the Fox & Lake Herd Management Area in near
Empire, Nev., wait in a pen. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27738672/

TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY:
http://capwiz.com/madeleinepickens/issues/alert/?alertid=12943361&type=AN

SUMMARY: An offer from the wife of Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens to
establish a sanctuary for 30,000 wild horses is “problematic” and not viable
as proposed, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said. Nonetheless, the BLM
is willing to continue talks with Madeleine Pickens, Nevada state director
Ron Wenker told the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board.

Pickens last fall proposed establishing 1 million acres, or 1,500 square
miles, as a wild horse sanctuary after BLM said it was considering
euthanasia to stem escalating costs of keeping animals gathered from the
open range in long-term holding facilities. About 33,000 wild horses roam in
10 Western states, about half in Nevada. The horses and burros are managed
by the BLM and protected under a 1971 law enacted by Congress.

Those [who] are too old or considered unadoptable are sent to long-term
holding facilities, where they can live for decades. There are now about as
many animals in long-term care as remain in the wild.

Wenker said there are two problems with Pickens’ offer. One is the $500 per
head, per year — or $15 million annually for 30,000 horses — she was
asking to take the animals off the government’s hands. Pickens told The
Associated Press the stipend would used to finance a nonprofit foundation
that would care for the animals.

The other problem with Pickens’ proposal, Wenker said, is that government
land Pickens has considered for the sanctuary is ineligible because federal
law restricts horses to areas where they existed when the Free Roaming
Horses and Burros Act was enacted… The BLM has said it would not implement
killing healthy wild horses this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30…

TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY:
http://capwiz.com/madeleinepickens/issues/alert/?alertid=12943361&type=AN

RELATED STORES:
Madeleine Pickens, http://madeleinepickens.com/

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
Sept-Dec 2008 UPDATES: Hero’s Plan To Save Wild Horses Moves Forward
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/updates/
11/18/08: Update & Action – Doomed Wild Horses Have A Hero?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2007.html#anchor16
7/10/08: BLM Wants To Kill Wild Horses
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1749&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
11. Win! University Of Michigan To Use Simulators Only
SOURCE: 2/26/09, Trauma training course will use simulators only
http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1057

SUMMARY: Letters, calls, emails and faxes make an impact. Six weeks after
Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) alerts us to cruel and
old-fashioned dog labs for University of Michigan’s trauma training courses,
UM publicly announces it will “use only simulated models for the Advanced
Trauma and Life Support courses conducted at the U-M Medical School.”
Nonanimal research tools mean no one suffers. No one dies. Woof! Oink!

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

================================================================
12. Jailed Dogfighter Michael Vick Goes Home In May?
SOURCE: 2/26/09, Vick Approved For Home Confinement
http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/nflnewsfeed/2009/02/vick-reportedly-approved-for-home-confinement.html

SUMMARY: Michael Vick has been approved for release to home confinement,
possibly as soon as May 21… The NFL quarterback is serving a 23-month
federal prison sentence in Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting
operation at his home in Virginia. Vick would be on electronic monitoring
and permitted to leave home only for activities approved by his probation
officer. Vick had been scheduled for prison release in July. He remains on
suspension by the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell has to rule on Vick’s
eligibility to play before Vick can resume his NFL career. Vick remains
under contract to the Atlanta Falcons but the team intends to trade him…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
Sept-Dec 2008 UPDATES: Michael Vick: Early Release & Back To NFL?
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/updates/
April-June 2008 UPDATES: Vick Dogfight Referee Jailed + Leo Has His Day
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor2
1/30/08: Vick’s Dogs Speak
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/08-01-30.html#3
Jan-Mar 2008 UPDATES: The Dogs That Vick Hurt
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor26
Sept-Dec 2007 UPDATES: Vick’s Dogs…You Helped Save Their Lives
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_oct-dec_2007.html
10/29/07: KC DIGEST – Ensure Vick’s Dogs Are Spared, As Promised
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_10.html#anchor9
8/28/07: Salvation For Vick’s Dogs?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter.asp?LetterID=1676&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
13. Drill-Baby-Drill Rewind
SOURCE: 2/26/09, Bush Oil-Shale Leases Canceled by Salazar
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/25/AR2009022503784.html

SUMMARY: In his second reversal of a Bush administration decision, Interior
Secretary Ken Salazar said he is scrapping leases for oil-shale development
on federal land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Salazar rescinded a lease
offer made last month for research, development and demonstration projects
that could have led to oil-shale exploration on 1.9 million acres in the
three states. Salazar also halted the leasing of oil and gas drilling
parcels near national parks in Utah.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
December 2008, BUSH EXIT STRATEGY:
The Rush To Ruin Everything — For Animals & Environment

================================================================
14. Nepal Orders Ban On Export Of Rhesus Monkeys
SOURCE: 2/25/09, Nepalese Government Orders End To Export Of Monkeys
http://www.gatewaytohell.net/news/2009/february/25_02_NP.html

SUMMARY: W.A.R. (WIN ANIMAL RIGHTS), centcom@war-online.org – Regarding
political situation in Nepal: We’ve concluded that a combination of Nepalese
Parliamentary democracy and the forthcoming Supreme Court action should be
sufficient to ensure monkeys are released and monkey farming is ended in
Nepal. Thanks to your efforts, no monkey has been exported from Nepal…
Thus, we call for an end to direct protests against the Nepalese government
at their embassies and consulates… If there is even the slightest hint
that monkey farming continues, we’ll call for immediate protests…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
12/29/08: Cambodia Monkeys – Stolen From Trees, Sold To Research
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1791&seriesfirst=true
6/24/08: Nepal’s Monkeys Sold To Animal Experimenters
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1746&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
15. U.S. House Passes Primate “Pet” Bill
SOURCE: 2/24/09, House okays Captive Primate Safety Act after chimp attack
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/02/captive-prima-1.html

SUMMARY: On 2/23/09, Kinship Circle issued an alert, “Wired To Be Wild”
asking Reps to cosponsor H.R. 80 and Senators to introduce companion
legislation. We also blogged about Travis, the “pet” chimp shot dead on
2/16/09 after attacking his guardian’s friend in Stamford, CT. The U.S.
House of Representative approved the Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80)
with a majority vote of 323-95 (wow)!

LT: Chimps like this little guy are wild animals who naturally mature with
aggressive tendencies. RT: Travis: knifed, beaten, shot and killed after
attacking a visitor at the home where he lived as a “pet.” MyFOX NY

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
2/24/09: Breaking News – House Passes Primate “Pet” Bill
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/breaking-house-passes-primate-pet-bill-write-to-senators/
2/23/09: Wired To Be Wild – Primates Aren’t Pets
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1802&seriesfirst=true
BLOG: Travis once worked in show biz, commercials mostly…
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/02/23/wired-to-be-wild/

=================================================================
Help Fund Kinship Circle’s Investigative Research…
Your tax-deductible donation lets us address more animal cruelty issues in
action campaigns, published articles, educational materials. Your support
allows us to coordinate in disasters, when time is of essence 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.

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

*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  /  Victories * Setbacks * Progress For Animals
PART 2: JAN – MAR 2009 / KINSHIP CIRCLE UPDATES

PART 2: KC UPDATES / JAN – MAR 2009
16. Model Calif. Spay/Neuter Bill Reintroduced In 2009
17. First Charges Under Animal Terrorism Law?
18. CA: Big Meat Wins Right To Abuse Downed Animals
19. Peanut’s Case Moves Forward – Slowly
20. Grey Seals Spared In Canada’s “Other Hunt”
21. Iowa Pig Abuse Case Is Delayed
22. Jail For Man Who Filed Off Dog’s Teeth
23. FDA Okays Goats As Drug Machines
24. Michigan Pound Renews R & R Research, 6 Months
25. L.A. Zoo Keeps Billy & Bigger Elephant Display
26. UK’s “SHAC 7” Go To Jail. Deja Vu?
27. AETA-like Bill Is Squashed In South Dakota
28. Obama Appoints A True Animal Advocate
29. Palin’s Alaska To Block Protection For Whales
30. Kinship Circle & Others Against Killing Wildlife
31. European Cat/Dog Fur Ban Is Now In Force

================================================================
16. Model Calif. Spay/Neuter Bill Reintroduced In 2009
SOURCE: 2/24/09, California’s SB 250 / The Pet Responsibility Act
http://www.yesonsb250.com/sb250-home.php

SUMMARY: Each year, over $250 million is spent housing and euthanizing
homeless dogs and cats in California. About 1 million dogs and cats enter
California’s shelters annually and over half are killed… SB 250 provides a
fiscally responsible step towards reducing pet overpopulation in California.
The bill requires that dogs be spayed or neutered unless their guardian
obtains an unaltered dog license when they license their animal. SB 250 also
requires that roaming cats be spayed and neutered by their guardian…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
2/27/08: Los Angeles: Spay-Neuter Proposal Becomes Law
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_jan-mar_2008.html#anchor10
6/6/07: Healthy Pets Act Passes State Assembly
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_april-june_2007.html#anchor6
4/24/07: Make Model Mandatory Spay/Neuter Law Reality
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/digest/2007_04.html#anchor1
4/12/07: Support Landmark CA Law For Mandatory Spay/Neuter
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/gulfcoast/newsletters/07-04-14.html#7

================================================================
17. First Charges Under Animal Terrorism Law?
SOURCE: 2/20/09, BREAKING NEWS: Four arrested in animal rights attacks
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/02/20/18572450.php

SUMMARY: A terrorism task force arrested animal-rights protesters suspected
of threatening researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. Federal and
local authorities arrested Maryam Khajavi, 20, Joseph Buddenberg, 25,
Adriana Stumpo, 23, and Nathan Pope, 26. They were charged under the federal
Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

Crimes arrested activists are accused of:
10/21/07: 20 protesters demonstrated outside a UC Berkeley professor’s home
in El Cerrito… They trespassed on his front yard, chanted slogans and
called him a murderer because of his use of animals in research.
1/27/08: Demos, including chalking, outside homes of several UC researchers.
2/20/08: 5 protesters tried to enter Westside home of a UC Santa Cruz
researcher during a child’s birthday party…
7/29/08: Fliers were left at Caffe Pergolesi in Santa Cruz with names,
addresses and phone numbers of several UCSC scientists…

Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: Whomever uses or causes to be used any
facility of interstate commerce for the purpose of damaging or interfering
with the operations of an animal enterprise, and in connection with such
purpose intentionally places a person in reasonable fear of fear of death or
serious bodily injury to that person or an immediate family member, or
conspires or attempts to do so, by a course of conduct involving threats,
acts of vandalism, property damage, criminal trespass, harassment or
intimidation, shall be imprisoned for not more than five years.

RELATED STORIES:
FBI Arrests 4 Activists as “Terrorists” for Chalking Slogans, Leafleting and Protesting
http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/aeta-arrests/1070/
FBI arrests animal-rights protesters accused of UC harassment
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_11750989
Federal Authorities Arrest Peaceful Protesters
http://www.animalliberationpressoffice.org

================================================================
18. CA: Big Meat Wins Right To Abuse Downed Animals
SOURCE: 2/20/09, Calif. Court Lets Meat Industry Use Sick, Disabled Animals
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/ca_court_allows_do
wned_animals_in_food_supply_022009.html

PHOTO: Farm Sanctuary

SUMMARY: A Fresno, Calif. federal judge grants a National Meat Association
(NMA) and American Meat Institute (AMI) request to let sick, disabled
animals into the food supply — overturning an amended Calif. law (1/1/09)
in response to an HSUS investigation that exposed horrific abuse of downer
cows at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Co. in Chino, CA. The 2009 ruling strikes
down a Calif. amendment that had banned transport/marketing of downers and
let prosecutors file criminal charges against violators.

TIME TO TELL THE TRUTH. DOWNLOAD THIS FACT SHEET:

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

================================================================
19. Peanut’s Case Moves Forward – Slowly
SOURCE: 2/18/09, Angella M, angella@lavalink.com.au

PHOTO: http://www.rescuedwithlove.org/crueltycaseinmackay.htm

SUMMARY: 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…
Videophone images show 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. Cunniffe and Blake display the amputated body parts…

Trent Cuncliffe’s case may be referred to Mental Health Court, where it
could take up to 1 year to determine if he was of sound mind at the time of
the offenses. He has been held in Mackay Base Hospital’s psychiatric ward.
Jonathan Blake’s court case was remanded until 5/29/09. He is detained in
Capricornia Correctional Centre. BOTTOM LINE: Both men are still in custody.
Neither have entered pleas. Case is in limbo until May. Kinship Circle will
do it’s best to alert you to further action.

CHECK FOR UPDATES:
Rescued With Love, Inc.
http://www.rescuedwithlove.org/crueltycaseinmackay.htm

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
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

================================================================
20. Grey Seals Spared In Canada’s “Other Hunt”
SOURCE: 2/13/09, Grey seal nursery spared from Canadian hunt
https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=30985205

SUMMARY: Is the global boycott of Canadian seafood costing the trade more
than killing baby seals brings in? Is the demand for seal products drying up
as fast as you can say “European Union ban?” Rebecca Aldworth, Director of
Wildlife Issues for Humane Society of the U.S., thinks so:

“I’ve just returned from Hay Island, Nova Scotia, where the annual hunt for
grey seals was scheduled to start. There, instead of sealers beating
defenseless pups to death with wooden bats, I stood amidst protective,
nurturing mothers and their babies. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans
and the Nova Scotia government had authorized another grey seal kill. But
processing plants told seal hunters that they would not buy the skins of the
baby grey seals, and the sealers stayed home…The grey seal pups are likely
safe for now — but the harp seals will be killed by the hundreds of
thousands. Still, there is hope for harp seals too…”

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
8/5/08: The Other Canadian Seal Hunt – Grey Seals Of Nova Scotia
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1755&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
21. Iowa Pig Abuse Case Is Delayed
SOURCE: 2/12/09, Trial Delayed in Iowa Hog Abuse Case
http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/39500182.html


PHOTOS: http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/iowa_pigfarm_gallery.asp

SUMMARY: Trial will be delayed for at least one person accused of abusing
hogs at a Greene County farm in western Iowa. Shelly Mauch was slated to
stand trial on (2/12/09) for animal cruelty, but County Attorney Nick
Martino says it will be delayed until at least next month (March 2009).
Mauch was one of six people arrested October 2008 after PETA released an
undercover video that showed pig abuse at a MowMar Farms. Four others are
scheduled for trial on Feb. 24, but Martino expects those to be delayed too.
Shawn Lyons, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty earlier this month.
Minnesota-based MowMar has said that it no longer employs the workers.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
10/26/08: Penalize Pig Torturers At Iowa Farm
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1770&seriesfirst=true
9/17/08: Hormel’s Pigs: Slammed, Cut, Spray-painted
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1759&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
22. Jail For Man Who Filed Off Dog’s Teeth
SOURCE: 2/10/09, Emilie Bottiggi, ebottiggi@aol.com

SUMMARY: In January 2009, Christopher Barnett. of McMinnville TN was
convicted of Class A Misdemeanor Animal Abuse. Barnett was accused/convicted
in a jury trial of filing Siberian Husky Lucas’ teeth down to the gums. His
penalties for Class A Misdemeanor Animal Abuse include:

*   75 days jail (similar cases get 48 hours; 11 months/29 days possible)
*   100 hours of public (community) service

• Mandatory anger management class
• $5,071.50 restitution

for care of Lucas to Humane Society of Warren County

*   Restriction of no future ownership of domestic animals, with the
exception of horses, as Mr. Barnett is a farrier by training and occupation
*   Surrender of Mr. Barnett’s Boxer to the Humane Society (the Boxer has
been in the custody of the Humane Society since the seizure of Lucas).

Lucas underwent multiple surgeries at Sparta Road Veterinary Clinic and
recovered last year. Seven unsalvageable teeth were extracted and 16 root
canals performed, relieving Lucas’ pain and allowing him to eat. The Warren
County Humane Society oversaw Lucas’ adoption into a new family.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
1/21/09: Man Who Filed Dog’s Teeth To Gumline Belongs In Jail
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1796&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
23. FDA Okays Goats As Drug Machines
SOURCE: 2/6/09, F.D.A. Approves Drug From Gene-Altered Goats
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/business/07goatdrug.html?_r=2&ref=science

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug produced
by livestock given a human gene. The drug, meant to prevent fatal blood
clots in people with a rare condition, is a human protein extracted from the
milk of genetically engineered goats. The FDA also approved the goats used
to make the drug, the first such animals cleared under guidelines to
regulate the use of transgenic animals in the nation’s drug and food supply.
Made by a company called GTC Biotherapeutics, the human anticlotting protein
is produced by a herd of 200 bioengineered goats living under carefully
controlled conditions on a farm in central Massachusetts…

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
7/11/08: Franken-Goats? Say No To Animals As Drug Machines
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1750&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
24. Michigan Pound Renews R & R Research, 6 Months
SOURCE: 1/29/09, Montcalm County Renews Animal Contract
http://www.poocini.com/report/archives/1145

SUMMARY: Michigan’s Montcalm County has been the site of a fierce debate
over animal research and the Montcalm County government. For over 30 years,
Montcalm County has maintained a contract with R & R Research to give
unadopted animals from the county’s animal shelter to the company… R & R
Research obtains animals through a process called “pound seizure.” The
relationship has been a target of animal advocates for years, with the
contract being a frequent target of opposition… In response, the County
crafted a “compromise” solution where the contract would be renewed for six
months and a Concerned Citizens Coalition would investigate the relationship
and report back to the Board of Commissioners.

RELATED STORIES:
3/11/09: Montcalm County Animal “Shelter” Cruelty Exposed
http://www.michanimalnews.com/Montcalm_Animal_Control.html

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
1/7/09: Misery For Profit At Michigan Pound
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1793&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
25. L.A. Zoo Keeps Billy & Bigger Elephant Display
SOURCE: 1/29/09, Los Angeles won’t send its pachyderm packing
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-elephant29-2009jan29,0,7632245.story

SUMMARY: Los Angeles City Council voted 11 to 4 to complete a $42-million
Pachyderm Forest exhibit at L.A. Zoo…and keep its solitary Asian bull
elephant, Billy. Opponents argued that zoo elephants should be retired to
sanctuaries that mimic a wild preserve… A dozen zoos have already gotten
out of the elephant-keeping business… “This isn’t over,” said Catherine
Doyle, an elephant-welfare advocate. “We had experts from around the world
saying elephants don’t belong in zoos.” The zoo plans to bring in more Asian
elephants, an endangered species, for an ambitious breeding program.

KNOW YOUR ARGUMENT. DOWNLOAD THIS FACT SHEET:

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
1/9/09: Last Chance To Close L.A. Elephant Display & Free Billy
FRIENDS OF KINSHIP CIRCLE ALERT
12/1/08: Last Chance To Free Billy and End Suffering for Elephants at L.A. Zoo
FRIENDS OF KINSHIP CIRCLE ALERT, http://friendsofkinshipcircle.wordpress.com

================================================================
26. UK’s “SHAC 7” Go To Jail. Deja Vu?
SOURCE: 1/21/09, Animal rights campaigners jailed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7837064.stm

SUMMARY: Seven activists associated with SHAC-UK were arrested and jailed
for protest activities against Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) in
Cambridgeshire. They were found guilty of “conspiracy to blackmail and
banned from traveling to targeted companies in the UK and Europe that supply
or have secondary links with HLS:
-   Heather Nicholson, 41, SHAC-UK co-founder: 11 years in jail
-   Gregg, 41, and Natasha, 39, Avery, SHAC-UK co-founders: 9 years jail each
-   Gavin Medd-Hall, 45: 8 years jail
-   Daniel Wadham, 21: 5 years jail
-   Gerrah Selby, 20: 4 years jail
-   Daniel Amos, 22: 4 years jail
-   Trevor Holmes, 51: cleared jail

UPDATE ON SHAC-USA PRISONERS:

Recap of the Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty “Terrorism” Appeal in
Philadelphia — http://www.greenisthenewred.com/blog/
UPDATES: http://www.shac7.com/updates.htm

Oral arguments in the SHAC 7 appeal were heard 1/6/09. It will be many
months before a decision is handed down… alfsg@lists.rbgi.net writes –
Judges seem to be bothered by a conflict of the Animal Enterprise Protection
Act with the First Amendment. Although that may not bring immediate relief
to prisoners still incarcerated, it may have consequences in the long run
for the enforceability of Animal Enterprise Protection Act and similar laws.

SHAC-USA PRISONERS — Kevin Kjonaas, 72 months; Lauren Gazzola, 52 months;
Jacob Conroy, 48 months; Josh Harper, 36 months; Andrew Stepanian, 36 months
(released 12/8/08); Darius Fullmer, 12 months + 1 day (released 9/29/07)

WHO ARE THE REAL TERRORISTS? DOWNLOAD THE FACTS:

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
Bear Witness: Inside Huntingdon Life Sciences, 2005
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/HLS2005Report.pdf
Inside/Out: Diary Of Madness
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store/#books
Move Over Al Quaeda! Animal Activists Top FBI Most Wanted
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/MoveAlQuaeda.pdf
Mommy’s A WHAT?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/MommysAWhat.pdf

================================================================
27. AETA-like Bill Is Squashed In South Dakota
SOURCE: 1/21/09, Committee kills bill protecting animal researchers
http://tinyurl.com/d2jcqg

SUMMARY: A measure that sought to give university researchers extra
protection from terrorist acts by animal-rights extremists was rejected. A
South Dakota State Affairs Committee voted 11-2 to kill the bill after panel
members said current law already makes it a crime to commit all the acts
covered in the measure. Some said the measure also went too far in closing
state government records and could have made it a crime for a newspaper to
publish a story about a research project…

================================================================
28. Obama Appoints A True Animal Advocate
SOURCE: 1/17/09, Cass Sunstein’s The Rights of Animals: A Short Primer
http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-therights.html

SUMMARY: Harvard University Law School professor Cass Sunstein, Obama’s
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, doesn’t eat animals. “We ought
to ban hunting,” he’s said. And: “Animals should be permitted to bring suit,
with human beings as their representatives.” Could Sunstein’s appointment
eliminate or lessen hunting, animal research, zoos, aquariums and animal
circuses? We’re rooting for you Cass!

RELATED STORIES:
Is There a Vegan In the White House? PETA, Rejoice!
http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/01/19/is-there-a-vegan-in-the-white-house-peta-rejoice/

================================================================
29. Palin’s Alaska To Block Protection For Whales
SOURCE: 1/14/09, Alaska seeks to block U.S. protections for belugas
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE50D7L820090114

SUMMARY: ANCHORAGE (Reuters) — Five months after suing to keep polar bears
off the U.S. threatened species list, Alaska’s government said it plans to
block federal protections for a struggling population of beluga whales in
Cook Inlet, a mature oil-producing basin. Former vice presidential hopeful
Gov. Sarah Palin said the energy-rich state believes the Endangered Species
Act protections for belugas announced in October by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration are unwarranted.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
9/27/08: Palin’s Pro-Death Platform On Animals
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1762&seriesfirst=true

================================================================
30. Kinship Circle & Others Against Killing Wildlife
SOURCE: 1/2/09, More Than 100 Organizations Say Federal Lethal Control of
Bears, Cougars, Coyotes, Wolves Is Cruel and Unnecessary
http://www.bigwildlife.org/releases_contents.php?id=40

In January, Big Wildlife coordinated a letter — signed by 115 conservation,
animal protection, ranching, and faith-based organizations — to Agriculture
Secretary Tom Vilsack urging [Obama admin] to end the federal government’s
systematic killing of wildlife…wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, prairie
dogs. Each year the Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services kills
millions of wild animals, primarily on behalf of agribusiness.

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
1/22/09: Letter To Abolish Lethal Wildlife Services
http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/help-abolish-lethal-wildlife-services-during-obamas-freeze/

================================================================
31. European Cat/Dog Fur Ban Is Now In Force
SOURCE: 1/1/09, Ban on imports, exports and trade in cat and dog fur
http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/welfare/midday_express.pdf

SUMMARY: Several years ago, Humane Society International asked Kinship
Circle to create a global letter campaign to European Commissioners. We
advocated enactment of a Written Declaration in the European Parliament to
ban import/export, sale and production of cat/dog fur skins in Europe. A
total ban passed and became active 1/1/09! A loophole that let commerce in
companion-animal furs not “specifically” killed for fur is closed.

RELATED STORIES:
China under focus as EU bans trade in dog and cat furs
http://www.neurope.eu/articles/91240.php
EUROPE BANS CAT AND DOG FUR TRADE
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/latestnews/view/63792/Europe-bans-cat-and-dog-fur-trade/

SPREAD THE TRUTH! DOWNLOAD THIS FACT SHEET NOW:

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

================================================================
Help us raise $5,000 to print/circulate Fact Sheets
All tax-deductible donations are deeply appreciated!

*   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.

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

• 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

3/29/09: Demand Whale Conservation Over Killing


LT: Minke whale. Juergen Freund. OCEANS. Ribbon Reefs, Great Barrier Reef,
Australia. RT: A Bryde’s whale lies on the deck of a Japanese whaling
vessel. The species is listed as “Data Deficient” on the IUCN Red List and
current population numbers are not known. (Institute for Cetacean Research)

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

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 mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
THERE IS NO PUBLIC EMAIL ADDRESS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA.
Please take the time to fax or snail-mail comments to him.

The International Whaling Commission
The Red House, 135 Station Road
Impington, Cambridge
Cambridgeshire CB24 9NP, UK
ph: +44 (0) 1223 233 971; fax: +44 (0) 1223 232 876
email: secretariat@iwcoffice.org, iwcjournal@iwcoffice.org, webmaster@iwcoffice.org

Nick J. Rahall II, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman
Committee on Natural Resources
1324 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
ph: 202-225-6065; fax: 202-225-1931
web mail: http://www.rahall.house.gov/?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9

Otto J. Wolff, Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20230
ph: 202-482-2000; email: owolff@doc.gov, webmaster@doc.gov

Nancy Sutley, Chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
722 Jackson Place, NW
Washington, DC 20503
ph: 202-395-5750; fax: 202-456-6546
Jon Carson, Chief Of Staff for Nancy Sutley: jcarson@ceq.eop.gov
Horst Greczmiel, CEQ Associate Director, NEPA: horst_greczmiel@ceq.eop.gov
Edward Boling, General Counsel: eboling@ceq.eop.gov

Ms. Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
ph: 202-647-4000; fax: 202-647-2283
web mail: http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php
presidential campaign email (no guarantee): questions@friendsofhillary.com

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

Marine Mammal Commission
4340 East-West Highway, Suite 700
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
ph: 301-504-0087; fax: 301-504-0099
email: mmc@mmc.gov, tragen@mmc.gov, bgisiner@mmc.gov, pthomas@mmc.gov

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows.
=============================================================

OFFICIALS (FROM ABOVE) WITH EMAIL ADDRESSES:
secretariat@iwcoffice.org, iwcjournal@iwcoffice.org,
webmaster@iwcoffice.org,  owolff@doc.gov, webmaster@doc.gov,
jcarson@ceq.eop.gov, horst_greczmiel@ceq.eop.gov, eboling@ceq.eop.gov,
questions@friendsofhillary.com, jane.lubchenco@noaa.gov, mmc@mmc.gov,
tragen@mmc.gov, bgisiner@mmc.gov, pthomas@mmc.gov

OFFICIALS WITH WEB MAIL ONLY:
President Barack Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Nick J. Rahall II, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman
http://www.rahall.house.gov/?sectionid=9&sectiontree=9

Ms. Hilary Clinton, Secretary of State
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php

=============================================================
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.
=============================================================

Dear Mr. President and Honorable Government Officials:

The United States once played a vital part in protecting whales and their
oceanic habitat. As a nonpartisan voice for the International Whaling
Commission (IWC), it helped shape decades of sound conservation.

That’s about to change if U.S. IWC Commissioner Dr. William Hogarth
successfully removes a key safeguard for these giant marine mammals.

Whales are already vulnerable to pollution, global warming, sonar, drilling,
fishnet entrapment, ship strikes, habitat loss and more human hazards. Yet
Dr. Hogarth wants to dilute the IWC’s moratorium on commercial whaling.

Granted, the commercial ban has been difficult to enforce. Japan, Iceland
and Norway have long exploited an IWC exemption for “scientific whaling.”
There is no rationale for butchering whales to analyze migration, age,
ecology or behavior. Eminent scientists and legal authorities rebuke
“scientific whaling” as pointless. In fact, science-based slaughter is a
veil for commerce in whale meat.

Dr. Hogarth further undercuts whale preservation with his proposal to accept
some commercial whaling and allow it in coastal waters. I encourage you to
appoint the Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) as the U.S. IWC Commissioner and oppose strategies that endorse
Special Permit catches or “Coastal Whaling.” I hope you will uphold IWC
regulations and discount any type whaling presently forbidden under them.

The U.S. ought to use its clout to halt whaling from Japan, Iceland and
Norway — not appease them with watered down rules. Japan, in particular,
has continually defied international treaty obligations and hunted
endangered whales. Moreover, whale hunts are profoundly inhumane. Harpoons
explode inside their bodies. It can take a half to full hour for a whale to
die. Some, tied to the side of ships, suffocate as they thrash in vain.

Please revitalize America’s leadership in the IWC with a U.S. Commissioner
who facilitates conservation instead of killing.

Thank you,

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

Urge Obama to Stop Plan to Slaughter Whales
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/705737795?z00m=19747563
Whaling Commission Political Deal Could Overturn Moratorium
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2009/2009-03-13-03.asp
U.S. Plan to Expand Whaling Released
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/media_center/press_releases/02_02_2009_52206.php
Legislator wants USF dean off whaling commission
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/article973344.ece
Letter To President Obama For Coalition Of Animal Organizations
http://www.acsonline.org/issues/whaling/Ltr0901WhalesNeedUs.html

==============================================================
We need $5,000 to print 40+ different Fact Sheets…
Triumph lies in the truth. Will you help us expose it?

*   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 produces more than 60 different Fact Sheets.
Download any — FREE — for tabling, letter-writing, presentations…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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

4/6/09: Egg Farm Abusers Ought To Rot In Jail


An undercover investigator with Mercy for Animals took this photo at the
farm.  http://www.sunjournal.com/index.php?t=4&storyid=310580&priority=1

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

Office of the Franklin County District Attorney
Norman R. Croteau, Esq., District Attorney
Andrew Robinson, Assistant District Attorney
Prosecutorial District III, Franklin County Courthouse
140 Main Street; Farmington, ME 04938-1800
ph: 207-778-5890, 207- 778-6614
fax: 207-779-0892, 207-778-5899
Julie Magoon, Franklin County Clerk: jmagoon@franklincountyme.com
Leanne E Pinkham, Farmington Town Clerk: townclk@farmington-maine.org
Frederick Hardy, Commissioner: fphardy@gwi.net
Gary McGrane, Commissioner: gary.mcgrane@umit.maine.edu

Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources
Commissioner’s Office; Deering Bldg. – AMHI Complex
28 State House Station; Augusta, ME 04333-0028
ph: 207-287-3419; fax: 207-287-7548
Commissioner Seth H. Bradstreet: agriculture.commissioner@maine.gov
Deputy Commissioner Edwub R, Porter: ned.r.porter@maine.gov
Randy Mraz, TEFAP Coordinator: randy.mraz@maine.gov

Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources
Division of Animal Health and Industry
28 State House Station Deering Bldg – AMHI Complex
Augusta, ME 04333-0028
Dr. Don Hoenig, DVM, State Veterinarian: 207-287-3701;
Donald.E.Hoenig@maine.gov

Maine Department of Agriculture / Animal Welfare Program
Norma J. Worley, Director: norma.j.worley@maine.gov,
animal.welfare@maine.gov

Maine Department of Agriculture / Animal Welfare Advisory Council
Gary Balducci, Farming: wwa@gwi.net
Meris Bickford, Animal Expertise Attorney: MerisBickfordMSSPA@roadrunner.com
Christina Perkins, Animal Advocacy Group: cperkins22@roadrunner.com
Sharon Secovich, Public Interest: SSecovich_awac@roadrunner.com

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows.
=============================================================

OFFICIALS (FROM ABOVE) FOR WHOM EMAILS WERE FOUND:
jmagoon@franklincountyme.com, townclk@farmington-maine.org, fphardy@gwi.net,
gary.mcgrane@umit.maine.edu, agriculture.commissioner@maine.gov,
ned.r.porter@maine.gov, randy.mraz@maine.gov, Donald.E.Hoenig@maine.gov,
norma.j.worley@maine.gov, animal.welfare@maine.gov, wwa@gwi.net,
MerisBickfordMSSPA@roadrunner.com, cperkins22@roadrunner.com,
SSecovich_awac@roadrunner.com

***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.

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

Dear Franklin County District Attorney and Maine Department of Agriculture:

I thank the Maine Department of Agriculture for its prompt investigation of
Quality Egg of New England LLC in response to allegations of extreme animal
cruelty. I respectfully ask the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office
to file criminal charges against Quality Egg in Turner, Maine.

I understand the organization Mercy for Animals (MFA) filed a complaint with
the Animal Welfare Program of Maine’s Agriculture Department. The complaint
cites potentially illegal activities documented by MFA’s undercover
investigator from 12/16/08 to 2/1/09 at the former Decoster Egg Farm.

MFA videotapes show egg-producing hens caged alongside decaying carcasses.
Employees and supervisors swing birds in circles to snap their necks, but
often cause prolonged pain rather than instantaneous death. Workers and
managers toss live hens in garbage cans where they are gradually smashed
beneath the weight of other dead birds.

Hens — some with shattered bones, open sores and untreated infections –
are mashed four to six per wire cage. Enclosures are so small, they can’t
flutter a wing or extend a leg, let alone peck, perch or express any natural
behavior. Apparently, birds get stuck in cage wire or underneath feeding
trays with no way to reach food and water. Some are so entangled their faces
or other body parts are crushed against conveyer belts. Management and staff
kick hens into manure trenches where birds either suffocate in liquid feces
or slowly succumb to disease, injury or starvation.

Clearly, these images depict violations of Maine’s anti-cruelty laws. Both
the company and workers shown brutalizing hens should face animal cruelty
charges. Please proceed with their arrest and prosecution. I encourage you
to seek maximum penalties under the law.

Domestic fowl are not machines on an assembly line. They share the same
neurophysiologic makeup as mammals and possess a complex nervous system that
enables them to feel fear and distress.

I urge Maine officials to initiate a no-tolerance policy for abuse within
the livestock industry. Egg production does not justify blatant cruelty.

Thank you,

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

Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle, Investigative Research
pawsitivedirections@yahoo.com
The Rotten Truth: Egg Industry Cruelty Revealed
http://www.mercyforanimals.org/maine-eggs
State executes search warrant at Turner egg farmer
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/310580-3/LewistonAuburn/State_executes_search_warrant_at_Turner_egg_farmer/
Maine egg farm is accused of mistreating it hens – Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-me-eggfarmprobe,0,586505.story
Allegations of animal abuse at Maine farm
http://www.necn.com/Boston/New-England/2009/04/02/Allegations-of-animal-abuse-at/1238715716.html

==============================================================
We need $5,000 to print 40+ different Fact Sheets…
Triumph lies in the truth. Will you help us expose it?

*   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 produces more than 60 different Fact Sheets.
Download any — FREE — for tabling, letter-writing, presentations…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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

NEWSFLASH: Obamas Get Pup From Texas Breeder
We’re disappointed that President Obama opted for a Portuguese water dog
from a Texas breeder. After many rescue groups lobbied him to make the
humane choice, he did the exact opposite…showing support for breeders and
ultimately the puppy mill to pet store chain. Moreover, another shelter dog
just inched closer to death. If you feel the President let down dogs and his
animal advocacy constituents — mail, fax, phone or web-mail comments to:

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

REFERENCES (leave comments by news stories and Google for more):
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/12/obamas-new-dog-bo-a-gift-_n_185930.html
http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/04/barack-obama-do.html
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2009/04/obama_dog_bo_2.html
http://www.tmz.com/2009/04/11/white-house-obama-family-dog/

==============================================================
4/12/09: War Hero’s Dog Brutally Killed


PHOTO COLLAGE: Dasy as pup in Marcus Luttrell‘s photo. Former Navy SEAL
Luttrell wrote “Lone Survivor,” about his Afghanistan ordeal in Operation
Red Wing. A yellow lab, not Dasy. Luttrell, shown at a book signing.
SOURCES: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6365427.html
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2007/06/navy_sealbook_070618w/
http://www.sodahead.com/blog/55125/i-would-like-to-share-this-story-from-the-glen-beck-show/

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

Honorable David P. Weeks, Walker County Criminal District Attorney
1036 Eleventh Street; Huntsville, TX 77320
ph: 936-435-2441; fax: 936-435-2449
email: dweeks@co.walker.tx.us, wccda@lcc.net

Walker County Court House
1100 University Ave.; Huntsville, TX  77340
ph: 936-436-4910, 936-436-4912; fax: 936-436-4914
email: stennant@co.walker.tx.us, spegoda@co.walker.tx.us

James D. Patton, Walker County Clerk
Walker County Courthouse; P.O. Box 210; Huntsville, Texas 77342-0210
ph: 936-436-4922; email: jpatton@co.walker.tx.us

Robyn Flowers, Walker County District Clerk
12th Judicial District – County Court at Law – 278th Judicial District
Walker County Courthouse; 1100 University Ave., #209; Huntsville, Texas 77340
ph: 936-436-4972; fax: 936-436-4973; email: rflowers@co.walker.tx.us

Walker County Commissioners
Sonja Tennant: 936-436-4912; stennant@co.walker.tx.us
B. J. Gaines, Jr.: 936-295-3641; stennant@co.walker.tx.us
Robert Autery: 936-295-6963; fax: 936-294-0761; robpct2@yahoo.com
Bobby Warren: 936-295-7984; fax: 936-730-1528; bwarren@co.walker.tx.us
Tim Paulsel: 936-344-6558; fax: 936-344-0701; tpaulsel@co.walker.tx.us

Walker County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Clint R. McRae
717 FM 2821 W, Suite 500; Huntsville, TX 77320
ph: 936-435-2400; fax: 936-435-2440
email: cmcrae@co.walker.tx.us, sheriff@co.walker.tx.us

Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy, Operations Bureau Captain, Lieutenant,
Detectives: bdavis@co.walker.tx.us, lmcdugle@co.walker.tx.us,
cperkins@co.walker.tx.us, ppetty@co.walker.tx.us, scole@co.walker.tx.us,
rringo@co.walker.tx.us, jjames@co.walker.tx.us

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCK: Sample letter follows.
=============================================================

CONTACTS (FROM ABOVE) FOR WHOM EMAILS WERE FOUND:
dweeks@co.walker.tx.us, wccda@lcc.net, spegoda@co.walker.tx.us,
jpatton@co.walker.tx.us, rflowers@co.walker.tx.us, stennant@co.walker.tx.us,
robpct2@yahoo.com, bwarren@co.walker.tx.us, tpaulsel@co.walker.tx.us,
cmcrae@co.walker.tx.us, sheriff@co.walker.tx.us, bdavis@co.walker.tx.us,
lmcdugle@co.walker.tx.us, cperkins@co.walker.tx.us, ppetty@co.walker.tx.us,
scole@co.walker.tx.us, rringo@co.walker.tx.us, jjames@co.walker.tx.us

***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.

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

Criminal District Attorney David Weeks and Officials of Walker County, TX:

The murder of war hero Marcus Luttrell’s 4-year-old yellow Labrador Dasy
resonates worldwide. Like Luttrell, most people treat companion animals as
family members who happen to have fur. Like Luttrell, we’d want their
killers prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

But for Luttrell — the sole survivor of a Navy SEAL team ambushed by
Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2005 — the loss is unbearable. Dasy, a
therapy dog, was Luttrell’s link back to the living world.

Please seek maximum penalties under Texas law for Michael John Edmonds II,
21, and Alfonzo Hernandez, 24, both charged with felony cruelty to
nonlivestock animals in Dasy’s shooting on April 1, 2009.

As you know, Luttrell responded to gunshots at his Walker County home.
Finding nothing amiss, he raced outside to find bloody paw prints and Dasy’s
body in a ditch. “I could tell she tried to get away,” Luttrell told
interviewers. He chased Dasy’s killers in his pickup across three counties.
He alerted a 911 operator and finally made a citizen’s arrest near Onalaska.

Texas animal cruelty law allows for up to 2 years in prison and a $10,000
fine. It also permits mandatory counseling. Please advocate extensive
incarceration and rehabilitation for Edmonds and Hernandez. The men should
also be barred from possessing, working or living with animals.

In fact, five other area dog killings may lead back to Edmonds and
Hernandez, according to Texas Ranger Steven Jeter. Repeat animal attacks
suggest a predatory style that is indicative of “organized and premeditated
violence against others,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood, an ASPCA animal
behaviorist who often consults with cruelty investigators and law enforcers.

Criminologists view the intensity of vicious behavior — regardless of the
victim’s identity — as a precursor to future violence. The FBI identifies
animal abuse as an early stage along the violence continuum. Indeed, men
prosecuted for animal cruelty are five times as likely to be arrested for
other violent crimes, as published in Utah State University professor Frank
Ascione’s extensive research.

Please punish these unrepentant killers to the fullest degree. That is the
only real justice for Marcus Luttrell and his beloved Dasy.

Thank you,

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

Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle, Investigative Research
pawsitivedirections@yahoo.com
Survivor of war loses dog to random violence
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6365427.html
War hero’s dog murdered / video
http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6753738
War hero’s therapy dog shot and killed / 3 Videos & 911 Call
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=113438&provider=top&catid=188
USEFUL LINK: U.S. Cruelty Laws By State – Misdemeanor Vs. Felony
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_laws.php

==============================================================
Please help us print and distribute the truth…
Kinship Circle produces 60+ different Fact Sheets

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

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


Download any — FREE — for tabling, letter-writing, presentations…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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

4/20/09: Stop The Military’s War On Innocents


LT PHOTO: Military researchers have dressed live pigs in body armor and
strapped them into Humvee simulators that were then blown up with explosives
to study the link between roadside bomb blasts and brain injury. (Charlie
Neibergall / AP file). http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/09-4
RT PHOTO: Tell the military to end trauma testing on animals,
http://pinkdogink.com/blog/tell-the-military-to-end-military-trauma-testing-on-animals

“No animal model can adequately duplicate the anatomy and physiology of
injuries inflicted upon the human body in war.” Michael P. Murphy, MD,
Indiana University School of Medicine associate professor of surgery,
Operation Iraqi Freedom (2004, 2007), medical general counsel for Iraq War
Veterans Org. http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/end_trauma_training

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter + Complete contact information follow
=============================================================

CONTACTS FOR WHOM EMAILS WERE FOUND:
OTSGWebPublisher@amedd.army.mil, webmasterFSHTX@conus.army.mil,
samh.cms@conus.army.mil, charles.engel@amedd.army.mil,
Kelly.murray1@amedd.army.mil, ERMC-PAO@amedd.army.mil,
WRAMCPublicAffairs@amedd.army.mil, mamcpao@amedd.army.mil,
TAMCPublicAffairsOffice@haw.tamc.amedd.army.mil, bill.bowman@amedd.army.mil

WRMC.Webmaster@amedd.army.mil, hsrrb@amedd.army.mil, acuro@amedd.army.mil,
usamrmcwebmaster@amedd.army.mil, webmaster.usaisr@amedd.army.mil,
mricd.pao@apg.amedd.army.mil, USAMRIIDweb@amedd.army.mil,
wrair.publicaffairs@amedd.army.mil, Resources@DCoEOutreach.Org

CONTACTS WITH WEB MAIL FORMS ONLY:
Army Medical Department Center & School
http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/contactus.aspx#
Great Plains Regional Medical Command
http://www.gprmc.amedd.army.mil/
Dr. S. Ward Casscells, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
http://www.health.mil/ContactUs.aspx

EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT ELECTED OFFICIALS IN CONGRESS
To find contact info for your Rep and two Senators, try:
*    http://www.Congress.org
*    http://www.house.gov
*    http://www.senate.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.

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

Dear Representative, Senators, U.S. Army Medical Department / Military
Health System, and Department of Defense:

I am concerned about the U.S. military’s continued use of animal
experiments. Chemical, biological and conventional warfare studies that rely
upon animal models are outdated and excessively cruel. Yet every year the
Department of Defense wounds and kills hundreds of thousands of primates,
dogs, pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, cats, and other animals.

In particular, animal tests to prepare combat medics for battlefield
injuries waste time and money that could be spent on training within
civilian trauma centers or simulator exercises. Instead, the military
exhausts taxpayer dollars to amputate goats’ legs, gun down and bomb pigs,
and inject monkeys with toxins to mimic nerve gas strikes.

More than 90% of U.S. and Canadian teaching facilities use simulators only
for Advanced Trauma and Life Support (ATLS) courses. Students learn
emergency care equally, if not better, with human-focused applications. The
American College of Surgeons endorses Simulab’s TraumaMan, SimMan, human
cadavers and other synthetic models.

I strongly urge my elected officials, the DoD, and all medical/heath Army
personnel to advocate animal-free instruction. I especially urge my Senators
and Rep to ask Dr. S. Ward Casscells, Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Health Affairs, to modernize military medical practices. Replacing
old-fashioned animal tests with more efficient and human-centric teaching
tools benefits both animals and humans.

Dogs, pigs and other species are not people. Soldiers who learn about combat
trauma and casualty management via non-human subjects deal with inconsistent
variables. Incision pressure differs between species. Shape, angle, and
texture of internal organs are also vastly incongruous. Why teach skills
that don’t apply directly to human beings?

Please prioritize animal-free medical training in the military.

Thank you,

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

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    http://www.Congress.org
*    http://www.house.gov
*    http://www.senate.gov

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

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

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services
1155 Defense Pentagon; Washington, DC 20301-1155
Public Affairs: 703-601-2554 x108; email: information@whs.mil

U.S. ARMY MEDICAL CONTACTS
Dr. S. Ward Casscells, M.D., Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
Military Health System; The Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20301-1200
general comments: http://www.health.mil/ContactUs.aspx

U.S. Army Medical Department, Office of the Surgeon General
Public Affairs Officer: 210-221-6213
email: OTSGWebPublisher@amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) Headquarters
Fort Sam Houston Public Affairs Office
1212 Stanley Road, Bldg 124; Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-5004
ph: 210-221-1151; fax: 210-221-1198
webmaster: webmasterFSHTX@conus.army.mil
Customer Service Officer: samh.cms@conus.army.mil

Charles C. Engel, Jr., MD, LTC, MC, USA Chief, Deployment Health Clinic Ctr:
charles.engel@amedd.army.mil

Chief, Clinical Services Division, MEDCOM Health Policy and Services:
Kelly.murray1@amedd.army.mil

ARMY REGIONAL MEDICAL COMMANDS
Europe Regional Medical Command: ERMC-PAO@amedd.army.mil

Great Plains Regional Medical Command
2410 Stanley Rd., Building 1029; Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6230
ph: 210-295-2355 DSN  421-2355
web form: http://www.gprmc.amedd.army.mil/

North Atlantic Regional Medical Command
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Community Relations
6900 Georgia Ave. NW; Washington, D.C. 20307-5001
Public Affairs: WRAMCPublicAffairs@amedd.army.mil

Pacific Regional Medical Command
Tripler Public Affairs Office, ATTN: MCHK-IO
1 Jarrett White Road; Honolulu, Hawaii 96859-5000
ph: 808-433-5785; fax: 808-433-6558
Public Affairs: TAMCPublicAffairsOffice@haw.tamc.amedd.army.mil

Southeast Regional Medical Command
Commander, Eisenhower Army Medical Center
ATTN: Public Affairs Officer, Ms. Jennifer M. Chipman
300 Hospital Road; Fort Gordon, GA 30905-5650
submit a question: bill.bowman@amedd.army.mil

Western Regional Medical Command
Madigan Army Medical Center
Public Affairs Office, ATTN: MCHJ-PAO
9040 Fitzsimmon; Tacoma, WA  98431-1100
ph: 253-968-1901, DSN: 782-1901; fax: 253-968-3270
Public Affairs: mamcpao@amedd.army.mil
website feedback: WRMC.Webmaster@amedd.army.mil

OTHER MAJOR SUBORDINATE COMMANDS
Army Medical Department Center & School
web form: http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/contactus.aspx#

U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command (USAMRMC)
MCMR-XX; 504 Scott Street; Fort Detrick MD 21702-5012
Office of Research Protection: hsrrb@amedd.army.mil
Chief, Animal Care and Use Review Office: acuro@amedd.army.mil
webmaster: usamrmcwebmaster@amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR):
webmaster.usaisr@amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD) Public
Affairs Officer: mricd.pao@apg.amedd.army.mil

U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID):
USAMRIIDweb@amedd.army.mil

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) Public Affairs Officer:
wrair.publicaffairs@amedd.army.mil

Defense Centers of Excellence For Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain
Injury: Resources@DCoEOutreach.Org

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

Stop Cruel and Unnecessary Animal Experiments and Live Animal Labs
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/index.html#action
Military Live Animal Use
http://pcrm.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=29541.0&dlv_id=34663
Military Used Pigs in Blasts to Test Armor
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/09-4



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

SUBSCRIBE:
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.

NEW WAY TO SEND COMMENTS!
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
Recent sample-letter alerts in Kinship Circle’s Letter Library now contain
an “EMAIL THIS LETTER” feature. Just click and an addressed, ready-to-go
message opens in the email software on your computer. All you do is sign and
send. This feature is always below the sample letter, on our website.

4/25/09: Don’t Stain 2010 Olympics With The Blood Of Seals


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

Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee
Mr. John Furlong, CEO, Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic
and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC)
#400 – 3585 Graveley Street
Vancouver, BC; V5K 5J5, Canada
ph: 1-778-328-2010, 1-877-408-2010; fax: 1-778-328-2011
email: info@vancouver2010.com

Canadian Olympic Committee (COC)
Mr. Michael A. Chambers, President
CORPORATE OFFICE – TORONTO
21 St.Clair Avenue E., Suite 900
Toronto, ON; Canada, M4T 1L9
ph: 416-962-0262; fax: 416-967-4902
email: webmaster@olympic.ca

Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean
Governor General of Canada
Rideau Hall, 1 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0A1
ph: 613-993-8200, 1-800-465-6890; fax: 613-998-8760
email: info@gg.ca

Mayor Gregor Robertson
Vancouver City Hall
453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y1V4
ph: 604-873-7621; fax: 604-873-7685
email: gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca, info@votevision.ca

Vancouver City Council
Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5Y1V4
fax: 604-873-7750
Councillor Suzanne Anton: clranton@vancouver.ca
Councillor David Cadman: clrcadman@vancouver.ca
Councillor George Chow: clrchow@vancouver.ca
Councillor Heather Deal: clrdeal@vancouver.ca
Councillor Kerry Jang: clrjang@vancouver.ca
Councillor Raymond Louie: clrlouie@vancouver.ca
Councillor Geoff Meggs: clrmeggs@vancouver.ca
Councillor Andrea Reimer: clrreimer@vancouver.ca
Councillor Tim Stevenson: clrstevenson@vancouver.ca
Councillor Ellen Woodsworth: clrwoodsworth@vancouver.ca

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister, 80 Wellington Street
Ottawa K1A 0A2
fax: 613-941-6900; email: pm@pm.gc.ca

===========================================================
EMAIL BLOCK: All emails found for this alert
===========================================================

CONTACTS (FROM ABOVE) FOR WHOM EMAILS WERE FOUND:
info@vancouver2010.com, webmaster@olympic.ca, info@gg.ca,
gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca, info@votevision.ca, clranton@vancouver.ca,
clrcadman@vancouver.ca, clrchow@vancouver.ca, clrdeal@vancouver.ca,
clrjang@vancouver.ca, clrlouie@vancouver.ca, clrmeggs@vancouver.ca,
clrreimer@vancouver.ca, clrstevenson@vancouver.ca,
clrwoodsworth@vancouver.ca, pm@pm.gc.ca

***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.

===========================================================
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.
===========================================================

Honourable Canadian Officials and 2010 Olympic Organizers:

A spotlight shines on Canada as it readies to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Unfortunately, the Games also shed light on the world’s largest marine
mammal massacre. I urge government officials and 2010 Olympic organizers to
publicly oppose the commercial harp seal hunt.

You have an opportunity to show responsible stewardship of Canada’s wildlife
and environment. Please use your influential status to help end the annual
slaughter of some 300,000 seals off Canada’s East Coast.

To butcher seals, 98% of whom range from 2 weeks to 3 months in age, sealers
ambush ice nurseries. They gun down, bludgeon, kick, and thrash pups with
razor-sharp hakapiks. The 2009 kill quota allows for 338,200 seals.

You don’t need to be an “animal lover” to know this yearly onslaught is
wrong. In fact Canadian Senator Mac Harb introduced a bill to ban seal
slaughter in Canadian waters. The Harb Seal Bill is a first-ever attempt to
recognize global disapproval of a dead-end industry. Belgium, the
Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, the United States and Mexico already
prohibit seal products. The European Union’s pending trade ban on all
non-aboriginal seal goods is progressing through European Parliament.

Images of sealers dragging alert animals with boathooks tarnish the
character of the Vancouver Games. Hunters commonly hook seals without
verifying unconsciousness or death. A team of impartial veterinarians once
concluded 42% of examined seals were still awake when skinned.

A hunt with little financial relevance shouldn’t be allowed to damage
Canada’s reputation. In Newfoundland, where 90% of sealers reside,
seal-related revenue constitutes a small percentage of the economy. Sealers
fish year-round. Killing seals generates a minute portion of their incomes.

As all eyes focus on Vancouver and Canada, please advocate an end to the
non-sustainable and ethically indefensible harp seal hunt.

Thank you,

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

Urge the Olympic Committee to Help End the Canadian Seal Slaughter
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/seal_hunt_09/xieksn32rjtjt7bm?



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.

*   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: 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.

NEW WAY TO SEND AN EMAIL TO VOICE YOUR OPINION TO DECISION MAKERS!  QUICK, EASY, AND MORE IMPACTFUL SINCE IT COMES FROM YOUR EMAIL DIRECTLY!
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
Recent sample-letter alerts in Kinship Circle’s Letter Library now contain
an “EMAIL THIS LETTER” feature. Just click and an addressed, ready-to-go
message opens in the email software on your computer. All you do is sign and
send. This feature is always below the sample letter, on our website.

4/29/09: Coke & Rodeos – Official Soft Drink Of Cruelty?

The Coca-Cola Company denies sponsoring rodeo, but this photo tells the
truth. http://www.CokeCruelty.com

Does The Coca-Cola Company sponsor rodeos? Coca-Cola cares about the welfare
of animals and supports their proper treatment. That is why the Company and
our U.S. bottling partners will not sponsor attractions that feature animals
unless the event organizers have policies and procedures in place to support
the humane treatment of animals and provide ready access to quality
veterinary care to protect the animals’ health and safety.
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/faq/sponsorships.html

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

Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO
The Coca-Cola Company
P.O. Box 1734; Atlanta, GA 30301
ph: 800-438-2653 (GET-COKE)
web form: http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/cokefeedback/index.html
Coca-Cola’s Corporate Responsibility Review: crreview@na.ko.com

The Coca-Cola Company Customer Service
coca-cola.support@na.ko.com

Coca-Cola Company Board of Directors
c/o Office of the Secretary
The Coca-Cola Company
P.O. Box 1734; Atlanta, Georgia 30301

Industry and Consumer Affairs, The Coca-Cola Company
DUN 500; P.O. Box 1734; Atlanta, GA 30301

EthicsLine, for The Coca-Cola Company’s Ethics & Compliance Office
Coca-Cola Company’s Code of Business Conduct, Workplace Rights Policy or
other ethics and compliance matters.
ph: 1-866-790-5579
Strategic Security KO Operations Center in the U.S.: koc@na.ko.com

===========================================================
EMAIL BLOCK: All emails found for this alert
===========================================================

CONTACTS (FROM ABOVE) FOR WHOM EMAILS WERE FOUND:
crreview@na.ko.com, coca-cola.support@na.ko.com, koc@na.ko.com

***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.

===========================================================
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.
===========================================================

Dear Coca-Cola Company:

I admire Coca-Cola’s involvement in areas such as environment, civic action,
and scholarship programs. That’s all the more reason I’m confused by the
company’s lax ethics on animal welfare.

Specifically, your statement about rodeo sponsorship claims Coca-Cola
Company and its U.S. bottling partners “will not sponsor events or
attractions that feature animals unless event organizers have policies and
procedures in place to support humane treatment and provide…quality
veterinary care to protect the animals’ health and safety.”

Animals in rodeos do not receive “humane treatment” or “quality veterinary
care.” In fact, rodeo handlers bully animals with electric prods, straps,
spurs and tail twisting. On-site veterinarians (if present) cannot intervene
once a deliberately agitated animal is released into the ring.

“Without torture, there can be no rodeo,” says Peggy W. Larson, DVM, MS, JD,
a former bareback bronco rider who explains that horses and bulls buck
wildly only because they are in pain from rigid flank straps and spurring.

Why are Coca-Cola banners — apparently arranged between your bottling
partners and rodeo organizers — prominently displayed at the Cheyenne
Frontier Days Rodeo? Coca-Cola’s logo has popped up in rodeos throughout
North America. At the 2005 Cheyenne, Wyoming rodeo, blood from a horse’s
hoof wound was even spattered around a Coca-Cola sign beside an entry chute.

Since actions speak more convincingly than words, I urge Coca-Cola to cut
all ties to the rodeo. Please ask your bottlers to ensure banners and other
materials are removed from rodeo events.

Rodeo organizers allege compliance with animal welfare rules, but documented
images tell a different story. A scared calf flees into the ring at high
speed so the “cowboy” can neck-choke him into the ground. He typically
body-slams the young animal again for theatrical effect.

In bucking events, the horses’ intestines and groins are cinched so tightly
they lurch in response to pain. Animals who won’t buck may be shocked with
electric prods. Many careen into fences, posts or chutes.

Animal welfare groups worldwide denounce rodeo’s trail of busted bones,
cracked skulls and severed spines. Please ask your bottlers — and any other
entities related to Coca-Cola — to comply with the company’s claim to “care
about the welfare of animals.”

Sincerely,

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

Coca Cola Sponsors The Rodeo
http://www.CokeCruelty.com
VIDEO: Coca Cola Animal Cruelty
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGw1ZQCPwzs
Coca-Cola’s History of Lying About Rodeo
http://www.sharkonline.org/?P=0000000913
Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK)
contactshark@gmail.com

Please Help Kinship Circle Continue To Exist
*   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.

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

FAST WAY TO SEND COMMENTS!
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
Go to a recent sample-letter alert in Kinship Circle’s Letter Library (above
link). Click on EMAIL THIS LETTER beneath the sample letter. A ready-to-send
message opens in the email software on your computer. Just sign and send.

5/1/09: Profit From Misery
Dogs And Cats Sold To Research


Every year, hundreds of animals in shelters become victims of pound seizure,
as they are purchased by class B dealers who then sell them at an enormous
profit to research and education facilities, where they are used in invasive
and painful experimental procedures. Such was the case with Cruella, a
shepherd cross found in Carson City, Michigan, wearing a purple collar…
READ CRUELLA’S STORY: http://www.dyingtolearn.org/cruella.html

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

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
*    http://www.Congress.org
*    http://www.house.gov
*    http://www.senate.gov

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

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

***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.

===========================================================
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.
===========================================================

Dear Representative and Senators:

Congress can help save thousands of companion animals like Bo Obama (or like
your own furry family members) by proposing legislation that outlaws the
sale of random source animals to biomedical research, product testing and
education. Your swift action can spare cats and dogs from invasive
surgeries, toxic dosing, pain, loneliness and death inside a laboratory.

Controversial class B dealers buy animals from shelters (pound seizure),
free-to-good-home ads, and other “random sources” for lucrative sale to
research facilities. Some employ “bunchers” to steal dogs from yards and
cars. Any shelter that engages in pound seizure with a Class B dealer has
forsaken its role as a refuge for lost or surrendered animals.

I respectfully ask you to introduce legislation that ends the sale and
shipment of “pets” to research centers nationwide. In a recent study from
AnimaLearn, a nonprofit working with teachers and students to achieve
quality humane science education, 52% of reviewed universities utilize dogs
and cats in life science, veterinary, and medical instruction.

This is astonishingly irresponsible, given strides in in-vitro cell
technology, computer automation, and innovations such as the simulated
immune system Modular Immune In Vitro Construct (MIMIC). Old-fashioned
animal research keeps the U.S. out of sync with global progress.

Researchers at Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
elsewhere have begun to replace animals with complex microtissues made from
cultured cells. Brown’s Jeffrey R. Morgan, medical science and engineering
professor, led a team that layered cells 3-dimensionally to copy live human
organs. This human-centric model not only yields data more relevant to
people, but also cuts costs to confine, feed, dissect and discard animals.

Random source Class B dealers are notoriously inhumane, yet our laws let
them profit from the misery of gentle animals. Congress not only has the
power to shut them down, but to also restrict the publicly despised practice
of pound seizure. I strongly urge you to advocate legislation that protects
companion animals by banning class B dealers and pound seizure.

Thank you,

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

Dying To Learn: Supply Line of Dogs and Cats in Higher Education
http://www.dyingtolearn.org/
The American Anti-Vivisection Society
aavs@aavs.org
Victim of Pound Seizure: Meet Cruella (E6993)
http://www.dyingtolearn.org/cruella.html

Please Help Kinship Circle Continue To Exist
*   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.

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

UPDATE: Canadian Sealers Lose Biggest Client – EUROPE!
SOURCE: 5/5/09, EU seal ban a ‘black day for Atlantic Canada’: Industry
FULL STORY: http://www.canada.com/news/Parliament+votes+seal+imports/1564814/story.html

FOLKS — THIS IS BIG NEWS. They did it. The European Parliament passed
legislation to ban seal items from import/export throughout the European
Union. Today, they “voted overwhelmingly in favour of a ban across 27
nations.” Yep, the Canadian sealers just lost their biggest client: Europe!

“It’s a black day for Atlantic Canada for this ban to go ahead,” said Robert
Courtney, president of the North of Smokey Fishermen’s Association in Nova
Scotia. “It’s really going to have an impact because it’s not just sealers
who will be affected, but fishermen, too. We didn’t think they would do it.”

Ah, but they did. And while it may be a black day for the killers — what a
glorious day for the seals! Please take one moment to let this sink in. Our
fight is far from over…but we’re closing in. Brenda Shoss, Kinship Circle

PS: IF YOU HAVEN’T TAKEN ACTION ON THESE ALERTS, DO THEM NOW
4/25/09: Don’t Stain 2010 Olympics With The Blood Of Seals
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1822&seriesfirst=true
3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate. Demand End To Killing.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1811&seriesfirst=true
Ottawa authorized the slaughter of 338,000 seals this year.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iCqFPWJDXvUBwTji6WKK_wRKH10w

The European Parliament voted 550-49 in Strasbourg, France, ending a long
battle to shut off a key market for Canada’s sealing industry.

“It was a landslide victory,” said Rebecca Aldworth, director of the Humane
Society International Canada. She said jubilant parliamentarians who
supported the law held up photographs and stuffed seal toys before the
electronic vote. “We’re absolutely thrilled. This is a historic moment in
the campaign to stop commercial seal hunts around the world…”  FULL STORY:
http://www.canada.com/news/Parliament+votes+seal+imports/1564814/story.html



PLEASE HELP US Print & Circulate Educational Literature
*   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 REFERENCES:
4/25/09: Don’t Stain 2010 Olympics With The Blood Of Seals
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1822&seriesfirst=true
3/7/09: Canada Seal Bill Dropped, No Debate. Demand End To Killing.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1811&seriesfirst=true
Sept-Dec 2008 UPDATES: Netherlands Ban Products Made Of Cape Fur Seals
not yet on Kinship Circle website * http://kinshipcircle.wordpress.com/updates/
Aug-Oct 2008 UPDATES: EU Proposes Total Ban On Some Seal Goods
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_aug-oct_2008.html#anchor22
April-June 2008 UPDATES: Canada’s Seal Hunt Ends With Lower Kill Numbers
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_apr-jun_2008.html#anchor21

KINSHIP CIRCLE / ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID
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

5/15/09: Shot In The Dark – Australia’s Kangaroo Massacre


LT PHOTO: Just outside the area where they are to be killed, remaining
kangaroos wait, trapped and exhausted… http://www.kangaroolives.com
RT: Marsupials found in Australian Capital Territory, (c) Ray Drew 2007,
raydrew@raydrew.net, http://www.kangaroolives.com/kangaroos.htm

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

Hey, this is one heck of a BIG contact list!
Still, its size doesn’t compare to the millions of kangaroos slaughtered
annually in Australia. Sure, clicking on a petition is easier… But we ask
you to take a bit more time to copy each email block into a TO: or BCC: line
of your email — to personally send comments. The impact is so much BIGGER.

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL OFFICIALS
Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au, ruth.dewsbury@environment.gov.au,
ciu@environment.gov.au, kerry.smith@deh.gov.au,
peter.cochrane@environment.gov.au, bruce.leaver@environment.gov.au,
info@environment.nsw.gov.au, kangaroo.management@environment.nsw.gov.au,
kiaa@bigpond.net.au, public.affairsus@dfat.gov.au

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL OFFICIALS — BY TERRITORY
macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au,
David.Llewellyn@dpiw.tas.gov.au, wildlife.enq@dpiw.tas.gov.au,
alison.anderson@nt.gov.au, environment@act.gov.au, terry.wall@epa.qld.gov.au

NEW SOUTH WALES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > NEW SOUTH WALES
Tony.Abbott.MP@aph.gov.au, A.Albanese.MP@aph.gov.au,
Bob.Baldwin.MP@aph.gov.au, Sharon.Bird.MP@aph.gov.au,
Bronwyn.Bishop.MP@aph.gov.au, Chris.Bowen.MP@aph.gov.au,
David.Bradbury.MP@aph.gov.au, Tony.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au,
Jason.Clare.MP@aph.gov.au, John.Cobb.MP@aph.gov.au,
Greg.Combet.MP@aph.gov.au, Mark.Coulton.MP@aph.gov.au,
Bob.Debus.MP@aph.gov.au, Justine.Elliot.MP@aph.gov.au,
Pat.Farmer.MP@aph.gov.au, Laurie.Ferguson.MP@aph.gov.au,
J.Fitzgibbon.MP@aph.gov.au, Joanna.Gash.MP@aph.gov.au,
Jennie.George.MP@aph.gov.au, Sharon.Grierson.MP@aph.gov.au,
Jill.Hall.MP@aph.gov.au, Luke.Hartsuyker.MP@aph.gov.au,
Alex.Hawke.MP@aph.gov.au, Chris.Hayes.MP@aph.gov.au, J.Hockey.MP@aph.gov.au,
Kay.Hull.MP@aph.gov.au, Julia.Irwin.MP@aph.gov.au, Mike.Kelly.MP@aph.gov.au,
Sussan.Ley.MP@aph.gov.au, Louise.Markus.MP@aph.gov.au,
R.McClelland.MP@aph.gov.au, Maxine.McKew.MP@aph.gov.au,
D.Melham.MP@aph.gov.au, scott.morrison.mp@aph.gov.au,
John.Murphy.MP@aph.gov.au, Belinda.Neal.MP@aph.gov.au,
B.Nelson.MP@aph.gov.au, Robert.OakeshottMP@aph.gov.au,
Julie.Owens.MP@aph.gov.au, Tanya.Plibersek.MP@aph.gov.au,
Rogerpricemp@aph.gov.au, philip.ruddock.MP@aph.gov.au,
Janelle.Saffin.MP@aph.gov.au, Alby.Schultz.MP@aph.gov.au,
Craig.Thomson.MP@aph.gov.au, Malcolm.Turnbull.MP@aph.gov.au,
Danna.Vale.MP@aph.gov.au, Tony.Windsor.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > NEW SOUTH WALES
senator.arbib@aph.gov.au, senator.cameron@aph.gov.au,
senator.coonan@aph.gov.au, senator.faulkner@aph.gov.au,
senator.fierravanti-wells@aph.gov.au, senator.forshaw@aph.gov.au,
senator.heffernan@aph.gov.au, senator.hutchins@aph.gov.au,
senator.nash@aph.gov.au, senator.payne@aph.gov.au,
senator.stephens@aph.gov.au, senator.williams@aph.gov.au

TASMANIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > TASMANIA
D.Adams.MP@aph.gov.au, Jodie.Campbell.MP@aph.gov.au,
Julie.Collins.MP@aph.gov.au, Duncan.Kerr.MP@aph.gov.au,
Sid.Sidebottom.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > TASMANIA
senator.abetz@aph.gov.au, senator.barnett@aph.gov.au,
senator.bilyk@aph.gov.au, senator.carol.brown@aph.gov.au,
senator.bushby@aph.gov.au, senator.colbeck@aph.gov.au,
senator.milne@aph.gov.au, senator.obrien@aph.gov.au,
senator.parry@aph.gov.au, senator.polley@aph.gov.au,
senator.sherry@aph.gov.au

NORTHERN TERRITORY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > NORTHERN TERRITORY
Damian.Hale.MP@aph.gov.au, Warren.Snowdon.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > NORTHERN TERRITORY
senator.crossin@aph.gov.au, senator.scullion@aph.gov.au

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Annette.Ellis.MP@aph.gov.au, Bob.McMullan.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
senator.humphries@aph.gov.au, senator.lundy@aph.gov.au

QUEENSLAND
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > QUEENSLAND
Arch.Bevis.MP@aph.gov.au, James.Bidgood.MP@aph.gov.au,
Steven.Ciobo.MP@aph.gov.au, Yvette.D’Ath.MP@aph.gov.au,
Peter.Dutton.MP@aph.gov.au, Craig.Emerson.MP@aph.gov.au,
Michael.Johnson.MP@aph.gov.au, Bob.Katter.MP@aph.gov.au,
Andrew.Laming.MP@aph.gov.au, Peter.Lindsay.MP@aph.gov.au,
Kirsten.Livermore.MP@aph.gov.au, Ian.Macfarlane.MP@aph.gov.au,
Margaret.May.MP@aph.gov.au, Shayne.Neumann.MP@aph.gov.au,
P.Neville.MP@aph.gov.au, Graham.Perrett.MP@aph.gov.au,
Brett.Raguse.MP@aph.gov.au, Bonner.eo@aph.gov.au,
Bernie.Ripoll.MP@aph.gov.au, Stuart.Robert.MP@aph.gov.au,
Bruce.Scott.MP@aph.gov.au, Peter.Slipper.MP@aph.gov.au,
Alex.Somlyay.MP@aph.gov.au, Jon.Sullivan.MP@aph.gov.au,
Wayne.Swan.MP@aph.gov.au, Chris.Trevor.MP@aph.gov.au, W.Truss.MP@aph.gov.au,
Jim.Turnour.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > QUEENSLAND
senator.boswell@aph.gov.au, senator.sue.boyce@aph.gov.au,
senator.brandis@aph.gov.au, senator.furner@aph.gov.au,
senator.hogg@aph.gov.au, senator.joyce@aph.gov.au,
senator.ludwig@aph.gov.au, senator.ian.macdonald@aph.gov.au,
senator.mason@aph.gov.au, senator.mclucas@aph.gov.au,
senator.moore@aph.gov.au, senator.trood@aph.gov.au

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Julie.Bishop.MP@aph.gov.au, Gary.Gray.MP@aph.gov.au,
Barry.Haase.MP@aph.gov.au, Steve.Irons.MP@aph.gov.au,
Sharryn.Jackson.MP@aph.gov.au, Dennis.Jensen.MP@aph.gov.au,
Michael.Keenan.MP@aph.gov.au, Nola.Marino.MP@aph.gov.au,
J.Moylan.MP@aph.gov.au, Mparke.MP@aph.gov.au, Don.Randall.MP@aph.gov.au,
Luke.Simpkins.MP@aph.gov.au, Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au,
W.Tuckey.MP@aph.gov.au, Mal.Washer.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS> WESTERN AUSTRALIA
senator.adams@aph.gov.au, senator.back@aph.gov.au,
senator.bishop@aph.gov.au, senator.cash@aph.gov.au,
senator.cormann@aph.gov.au, senator.eggleston@aph.gov.au,
senator.evans@aph.gov.au, senator.johnston@aph.gov.au,
senator.ludlam@aph.gov.au, senator.pratt@aph.gov.au,
senator.siewert@aph.gov.au, senator.sterle@aph.gov.au

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Mark.Butler.MP@aph.gov.au, Nick.Champion.MP@aph.gov.au,
Kate.Ellis.MP@aph.gov.au, Steve.Georganas.MP@aph.gov.au,
C.Pyne.MP@aph.gov.au, Rowan.Ramsey.MP@aph.gov.au,
Amanda.Rishworth.MP@aph.gov.au, P.Secker@aph.gov.au,
Andrew.Southcott.MP@aph.gov.au, Tony.Zappia.MP@aph.gov.au,
Jamie.Briggs.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > SOUTH AUSTRALIA
senator.bernardi@aph.gov.au, senator.birmingham@aph.gov.au,
senator.farrell@aph.gov.au, senator.ferguson@aph.gov.au,
senator.fisher@aph.gov.au,  senator.hanson-young@aph.gov.au,
senator.hurley@aph.gov.au, senator.mcewen@aph.gov.au,
senator.minchin@aph.gov.au, senator.wong@aph.gov.au,
senator.wortley@aph.gov.au, senator.xenophon@aph.gov.au

VICTORIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES > VICTORIA
Kevin.Andrews.MP@aph.gov.au, Fran.Bailey.MP@aph.gov.au,
B.Billson.MP@aph.gov.au, Russell.Broadbent.MP@aph.gov.au,
Anna.Burke.MP@aph.gov.au, Anthony.Byrne.MP@aph.gov.au, higgins@aph.gov.au,
S.Crean.MP@aph.gov.au, Michael.Danby.MP@aph.gov.au,
Mark.Dreyfus.MP@aph.gov.au, Martin.Ferguson.MP@aph.gov.au,
J.Forrest.MP@aph.gov.au, P.Georgiou.MP@aph.gov.au,
Steve.Gibbons.MP@aph.gov.au, Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au,
Alan.Griffin.MP@aph.gov.au, David.Hawker.MP@aph.gov.au,
Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au, Harry.Jenkins.MP@aph.gov.au,
Catherine.King.MP@aph.gov.au, JMacklin.MP@aph.gov.au,
Richard.Marles.MP@aph.gov.au, Darren.Chester.MP@aph.gov.au,
Sophie.Mirabella.MP@aph.gov.au, Brendan.O’Connor.MP@aph.gov.au,
Chris.Pearce.MP@aph.gov.au, Andrew.Robb.MP@aph.gov.au,
Nicola.Roxon.MP@aph.gov.au, Bill.Shorten.MP@aph.gov.au,
Tony.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au, S.Stone.MP@aph.gov.au, Mike.Symon.MP@aph.gov.au,
Lindsay.Tanner.MP@aph.gov.au, Kelvin.Thomson.MP@aph.gov.au,
Maria.Vamvakinou.MP@aph.gov.au, Jason.Wood.MP@aph.gov.au

SENATORS > VICTORIA
senator.carr@aph.gov.au, senator.collins@aph.gov.au,
senator.conroy@aph.gov.au, senator.feeney@aph.gov.au,
senator.fielding@aph.gov.au, senator.fifield@aph.gov.au,
senator.kroger@aph.gov.au, senator.marshall@aph.gov.au,
senator.mcgauran@aph.gov.au, senator.ronaldson@aph.gov.au,
senator.ryan@aph.gov.au, senator.troeth@aph.gov.au

OFFICIALS WITH WEB FORMS:
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister:
http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm

The Hon. Peter Garrett, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts:
http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memfeedback.asp?id=HV4

AUSTRALIAN EMBASSIES IN COUNTRIES OTHER THAN THE USA:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/missions

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Australia:

Australia’s assault on its national icon is disgraceful. In May 2009, the
Department of Defense began to gun down 7,000 kangaroos on its vast Majura
military base in Canberra, ACT. By 5/14/09, with 3500 already dead, a
court-issued injunction temporarily stopped the massacre.

Wildlife culls are permitted to take up to 10,000 kangaroos per night. Where
is the Australian government’s moral compass? Please stop authorized culls
and commercial kills. I urge officials to respect and accommodate indigenous
wildlife with more national parks, nature reserves, and protected land
corridors for animals to get there.

In Australia, the internationally beloved kangaroo has become an article of
trade — to buy and sell by way of violent death. A 4/23/09 Daily Telegraph
report says “tens of thousands of joeys will be decapitated, shot or clubbed
to death” under government orders to open commercial shoots across a
generous swath of New South Wales.

The National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and
Wallabies advises that babies found in a slain mother’s pouch be decapitated
with a sharp blade; clubbed with a metal pipe; or slammed against a firm
object. Older joeys are bludgeoned or shot at point blank range.

Hunters spotlight kangaroos in the outback at night. They aim for their
brains, but often miss and leave kangaroos with gaping head and mouth
wounds. Along with nearly four million kangaroos commercially killed each
year, hundreds of thousands of joeys die hideously.

I respectfully ask the government to phase out its consumptive use of
kangaroos and consider eco-tourism instead. Plainly stated, Australia’s
largest known slaughter of land wildlife is sickening.

Thank you,

=============================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION + NAMES/TITLES
=============================================================

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
The Hon Kevin Rudd MP, Prime Minister
PO Box 6022; House of Representatives
Parliament House; Canberra ACT 2600
ph: (02) 6277 7700; fax: (02) 6273 4100
web form: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm

The Hon. Peter Garrett AM MP
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
PO Box 6022, Parliament House; Canberra ACT 2600
ph: 02-6277-7640; fax: 02-6273-6101; email: Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au
web form: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memfeedback.asp?id=HV4

Ruth Dewsbury, Public Affairs: ruth.dewsbury@environment.gov.au,
ciu@environment.gov.au

Kerry Smith, Assistant Secretary, Wildlife Division
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787; Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
ph: +61 02-6274 1224; fax: +61 02-6274 1600
email: kerry.smith@deh.gov.au

Peter Cochrane, Director of National Parks
Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787; Canberra ACT 2601
ph: 02-6274 2221; fax 02-6274 2349; email: peter.cochrane@environment.gov.au
Bruce Leaver, First Assistant Secretary: bruce.leaver@environment.gov.au

Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW
PO Box A290; Sydney South NSW 1232, Australia
ph: 02-9995-5000; fax: 02-9995 5999; email: info@environment.nsw.gov.au

NSW National Parks And Wildlife Services / NPWS Kangaroo Management Unit
PO Box 2111; Dubbo NSW 2830
fax: 02-6884-8675; email: kangaroo.management@environment.nsw.gov.au

MORE AUSTRALIAN OFFICIALS: http://www.directory.gov.au
INCLUDES: Government Departments and Agencies; Commonwealth Parliament;
Governor General; Courts and Judges

INDUSTRY
Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia
PO Box 447; Woden ACT, AUSTRALIA 2606
ph: (03) 6326 8639; fax: (03) 6326 2790; email: kiaa@bigpond.net.au

REPRESENTATION ABROAD
Australian Embassy, United States of America
Mr. Dennis J. Richardson AO, Ambassador to United States of America
1601 Massachusetts Avenue; Washington DC NW 20036-2273
ph: +1-202-797-3000; fax: +1-202-797-3331; public.affairsus@dfat.gov.au

FIND AUSTRALIAN EMBASSIES IN OTHER COUNTRIES:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/missions

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL OFFICIALS — BY TERRITORY
NEW SOUTH WALES
The Hon. Ian Macdonald
Level 33 Governor Macquarie Tower
1 Farrer Place; Sydney NSW 2000
ph: (02) 9228 3344; fax: (02) 9228 3452
email: macdonald.office@macdonald.minister.nsw.gov.au

TASMANIA TERRITORY
The Honorable David Llewellyn, Minister for Primary Industries and Water
Department of Primary Industries and Water
GPO Box 44 Hobart; Tasmania, Australia 7001
ph: 6233 6454; fax: 6233 2272; email: David.Llewellyn@dpiw.tas.gov.au
Wildlife Management: wildlife.enq@dpiw.tas.gov.au

NORTHERN TERRITORY
The Honorable Alison Anderson, Minister for Natural Resources, Environment
and Heritage; Minister for Parks and Wildlife
GPO Box 3146; Darwin NT 0801
ph: +61 (08) 8901 4132; fax: +61 (08) 8901 4134
email: alison.anderson@nt.gov.au

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
David Papps, Chief Executive; Penny Farnsworth, Executive Director
Department of the Environment, Climate Change, Energy and Water
GPO Box 158; Canberra City ACT 2601
ph: 13 22 81; fax: (02) 6207 6084; email: environment@act.gov.au

QUEENSLAND
Department of Environment and Resource Management
Mr John Bradley, Director-General
GPO Box 24254; Brisbane, QLD, 4001
Scott Spencer, Associate Director-General: scott.spencer@nrw.qld.gov.au
Terry Wall Associate Director-General: terry.wall@epa.qld.gov.au

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Department of Environment and Conservation
The Atrium – Director General and Environmental Services Divisions
168 St Georges Terrace PERTH; Locked Bag 104; Bentley Delivery Centre 6983
ph: (08) 6467 5000; fax: (08) 6467 5572

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

Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle, Investigative Research
pawsitivedirections@yahoo.com
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF KANGAROOS
http://www.kangaroolives.com/
Stop Kangaroo Killing
http://www.stopkangarookilling.org/
Kangaroo Shooting
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/kangaroo_shooting.php
Joeys being killed after NSW opened up to commercial kangaroo shooting
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25373251-1242,00.html

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

SUBSCRIBE:
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.

QUICK WAY TO SEND COMMENTS!
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
Click on EMAIL THIS LETTER underneath recent sample letters in Kinship
Circle’s Letter Library (above link). A ready-to-send message opens in the
email software on your computer. Just sign and hit send.

5/19/09: Trophy Hunters To Prey On Delisted Wolves


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. Then Obama froze and
seemingly overturned this decision. In round 3, new Interior Secretary Ken
Salazar once again stripped wolves of their protected status.
Photo: National Geographic, Joel Sartore

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

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, exsec@ios.doi.gov, webteam@ios.doi.gov

Dr. Rowan W. Gould, Acting Director
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: Rowan_Gould@fws.gov, contact@fws.gov

ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE, to cut/paste in TO: or BCC: line of your email:
feedback@ios.doi.gov, exsec@ios.doi.gov, webteam@ios.doi.gov,
Rowan_Gould@fws.gov, contact@fws.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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Secretary Salazar and Acting Director Gould:

I applaud the Obama administration for reviewing many Bush-era rules that
harm environment and wildlife. Unfortunately, science-based progress froze
when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar okayed the removal of gray wolves from
the Endangered Species list in the Northern Rockies and western Great Lakes.

For more than 1,000 wolves between Greater Yellowstone and Glacier National
Park, this means open season. In fact, Idaho Gov. C.L. Butch Otter told
reporters his state is “really counting on a robust population of trophy
animals” to gun down.

With breeding season in full swing since April, pregnant females and pups
are among those caught in the crossfire. Please don’t relinquish wolf
management to Montana, Idaho and parts of Washington, Oregon and Utah, along
with Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Wolves are key to thriving ecosystems. When the Bush/Cheney administration
delisted them, a federal judge reinstated all safeguards. Once again,
wildlife/environment groups are in court to challenge this ill-advised
decision. We cannot stand by as the largest wolf slaughter in the lower 48
United States unfolds.

Less than a year ago, 11 conservation groups argued (and won) that wolf
populations had not rebounded. Wolf numbers still don’t add up to biological
recovery status. Yellowstone populations have dropped 27% in the last year.
Moreover, delisting wolves does not consider their long-term survival.

At the very least, I urge suspension of this reckless plan until it
undergoes the type of scientific scrutiny the Obama administration
advocates.

Thank you,

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

Natural Resources Defense Council
http://www.nrdconline.org
Gray Wolves To Be Removed From Endangered Species List
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/06/gray-wolves-to-be-removed_n_172589.html
Salazar Approves Removing Gray Wolves From Endangered Species List
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/03/06/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4849589.shtml
Interior Secretary Announces Wolf Delisting; Conservation Groups Will
Challenge Removal of Essential Federal Protections
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/wolf_delisting_announced_030609.html

We Can’t Work For Animals Without You!
*   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.

SUBSCRIBE:
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
SUBSCRIBE NOW: info@kinshipcircle.org

Dear Kinship Circle,
I rarely insert personal opinion. But the introduction of horse-drawn
carriages in University City’s Delmar Loop is literally around the corner
from Kinship Circle’s office. I urge EVERYONE worldwide to send comments –
via email, fax, snail-mail and/or phone. Let’s stop cruelty before it
starts. Please feel free to forward any responses to: info@kinshipcircle.org

5/24/09: Horse-Drawn Buggies In Kinship Circle’s
Backyard? No Way!


Delmar Boulevard in University City, MO: Carriage rides May 15 and 16,
sponsored by The Melting Pot restaurant, were a test to gauge the viability
of offering the rides throughout the summer… (Photo by Sid Hastings/For
the P-D) POST COMMENT: Will Carriage Rides Fly In University City Loop?
http://www.wopular.com/will-carriage-rides-fly-university-city-loop

THIS IS WHAT HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES REALLY LOOK LIKE:

BLINDERS: AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY exposes truth behind the tradition of
NYC’s horse-drawn carriage industry. http://www.blindersthemovie.com

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================
*    TO SEND: COPY/PASTE EMAIL BLOCKS IN BCC: LINE OF YOUR EMAIL
*    TYPE YOUR OWN EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE TO: LINE

UNIVERSITY CITY MANAGER & OTHER OFFICIALS
dtownson@ucitymo.org, jfeier@ucitymo.org, peastman@ucitymo.org,
jwatson@ucitymo.org, jmulliganjr@aol.com, dberry@ucitymo.org,
etate@ucitymo.org, mlindmark@ucitymo.org, agutierrez@ucitymo.org,
vlusher@ucitymo.org, fhill@ucitymo.org, ariganti@ucitymo.org

UNIVERSITY CITY MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
adams@ucitymo.org, rgwagner7052@yahoo.com, crow@cttlaw.net,
lmglickert@yahoo.com, lricci@ucitymo.org, qforlifeasj@att.net,
pricebyron@hotmail.com

BUSINESSES IN THE DELMAR LOOP**
SOURCE: http://visittheloop.com/visit-the-loop
Kinship Circle is not responsible for outdated or incorrect information.
**Below are businesses with publicly found email addresses. There are MANY
MORE businesses with fax numbers and snail-mail addresses (only) under
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION at end of this alert.

APPAREL/BOUTIQUES
askparker@soleandblues.com, corporate@headznthreadz.com, info@BigShark.com,
customerservice@loricoulter.com, info@macrosun.com, info@pitayaonline.com,
loopstore@savviwedding.com, info@tag-stl.com, laney@tag-stl.com,
jenna@tag-stl.com, terri@tag-stl.com, tantrumstl@gmail.com

BOOKS/MUSIC
gomusicstl@gmail.com, info@vintagevinyl.com,
customerservice@vintagevinyl.com

GALLERIES/ART
edwruder@sbcglobal.net, registrar@craftalliance.org,
gallery@craftalliance.org, boo.mcloughlin@craftalliance.org,
loopfaces@gmail.com, hansman@wustl.edu

LEASING/REAL ESTATE
burlesa@aol.com, bbouchein@savoyproperties.com,
mdenckhoff@savoyproperties.com, grg1945@msn.com,
catherinevernette@charter.net

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
info@cocastl.org, sriven@cocastl.org, pageantinfo@thepageant.com

RESTAURANTS
eybtreatsmh@sbcglobal.net, becca@blueberryhill.com, info@BoostersCafe.com,
Customerfeedback@brandtscafe.com, reservations@eclipsestlouis.com,
theowners@fitzsrootbeer.com, info@modailounge.com, pamscsd@sbcglobal.net,
info@restaurantPi.com, john@racanellis.com, msottile@racanelliscucina.com,
pim@racanellis.com, marketing@racanellis.com

SALONS/TATTOOS
info@dzinehairart.us, customerservice@dzinehairart.us,
info@ironagetattoo.com

SERVICES/ORGANIZATIONS
Kiku_obata@kikuobata.com, kflynn@kikuobata.com, moenviron@moenviron.org,
klogansmith@moenviron.org, dsherburne@moenviron.org,
enoble@moenviron.org, jreyes@moonrisehotel.com, hlunt@moonrisehotel.com,
info@standrews1.com, ariganti@ucitymo.org

SPECIALTY/FURNITURE
info@goodworksfurniture4u.com, HSBTobacconist@gmail.com,
knit@knittycouture.com, info@plowsharing.org, lori@thesilver-lady.com,
customerservice@sunshinedaydream.com

CONTACTS WITH WEB COMMENT FORMS:
DELMAR LOOP SPECIAL BUSINESS DISTRICT:
http://visittheloop.com/contact/
BLUES:
http://www.soleandblues.com/contacts/
HEADZ N THREADZ:
http://www.headznthreadz.com/contactus.asp
TANTRUM:
http://www.tantrumstl.com/Contact_Us.html
SUBTERRANEAN BOOKS:
http://subbooks.com/blog/?page_id=237
REGIONAL ARTS COMMISSION:
http://www.art-stl.com/rac/contact.cfm?redirect=/index.cfm
COCA (CENTER OF CREATIVE ARTS):
http://www.cocastl.org/subpage.cfm?vSection=about&vPage=contact
609:
http://www.609u.com/index2.php?Section=Restaurant&Page=5
ECLIPSE RESTAURANT AND TERRACE BAR:
http://www.eclipsestlouis.com/contact.asp
THE MELTING POT:
http://www.meltingpot.com/contact.aspx?n=768890
http://www.meltingpot.com/locations.aspx
NOODLES & CO.:
http://www.noodles.com/home/feedback.aspx?showhtml=true
PIN-UP BOWL:
http://www.pinupbowl.com/pages/contact.html
INTEGRITY CORPORATION:
http://integritystl.com/index.php/contact
PRINCETON REVIEW:
http://www.princetonreview.com/contact.aspx
RIVERFRONT TIMES:
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=38329
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=38330
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=527313
CITY SPROUTS:
http://www.citysprouts.com/store/contactus.asp
H.S.B. TOBACCONIST:
http://www.hsbtobacconist.com/contactus.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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Loop Businesses And Officials Of University City, Missouri:

“Edgy” and “hip” commonly describe the Delmar Loop in St. Louis. Animal
abuse is neither edgy nor hip. Yet the Loop’s trendy art co-ops, wine bars
and boutiques may come to symbolize just that — if horse-drawn carriages
parade down congested Delmar Boulevard.

I implore University City officials and business owners to reject inherently
cruel and dangerous horse-drawn carriages. The notion that a sweaty horse
trudging through traffic will draw tourists to shops, restaurants and bars
is ridiculous. You’re more likely to acquire protesters if horse-pulled
rides become a Loop regular.

Some 50 Hansom cab accidents in New York City alone have injured or
endangered both people and horses. In the city synonymous with horse-pulled
cabs, NYC Council Members have introduced a bill (Int. No. 658) to ban them.
I urge University City Council Members to do the same.

Horses are not designed to haul carriages through streets clogged with
bikers, walkers, cars, busses and emergency vehicles. “The potential for
injury is enormous and represents an extreme liability risk for the city as
the licensing agent,” says equine expert Holly Cheever, DVM.

A spooked horse may charge into a vehicle, as occurred on Central Park South
in 2007. A passing motorcyclist, Tony Zappetti, claims the carriage careened
sideways into his bike and that Bud, the wounded 12-year-old gelding,
collapsed in pools of blood. Another collision broke a 71-year-old
bicyclist’s hip. Before that, a horse called Spotty hit a car at full
gallop. His hind legs twisted over the roof and his head smashed into the
street. Spotty died. The driver’s critical injuries left him in a coma.

These incidents are but a sampling of hundreds more nationwide. People For
The Ethical Treatment Of Animals and Coalition To Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages*
can offer more documentation.

Why would Loop business owners consider horse-drawn carriages while cities
worldwide seek to ban them? Cities in Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, New
Mexico, New Jersey, South Carolina, England, France, China and Canada –
including Las Vegas, Reno, Santa Fe, Biloxi, London, Paris, Beijing, Toronto
– have already vetoed horse carriage operations.

Horses endure fatigue, dehydration, chronic hoof conditions and lameness as
they lug bulky cabs over unyielding pavement in extreme heat or cold.
Exhaust fumes lead to respiratory ailments and the animals frequently live
in cramped stables with barely enough room to move.

Please count me among the many St. Louisans and tourists who support an
outright ban on horse-pulled carriages. I respectfully ask Mayor Adams to
assert his authority to prohibit them in University City. The possibility of
horse-drawn buggies in the Loop presents a great opportunity for City
Council Members to introduce a bill to ban them. Hopefully, Loop businesses
will abandon this foolish and inhumane idea.

Thank you,
<SIGN YOUR FIRST & LAST NAME>
<YOUR FULL ADDRESS>
<YOUR COUNTRY>

*Coalition To Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
A standing committee of the Coalition for NYC Animals, Inc.
P.O. Box 20247; Park West Station; New York, NY 10025
Coalition@banhdc.org; Media Inquiries: mediabanhdc@gmail.com
www.banhdc.org

*People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals
501 Front St.; Norfolk, VA 23510
757-622-7382; www.peta.org
Media Inquiries: 757-622-7382, extension 8284; MediaInfo@peta.org

=============================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION + NAMES/TITLES
=============================================================

UNIVERSITY CITY MANAGER & OTHER OFFICIALS
City of University City, Missouri
6801 Delmar Boulevard; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-862-6767; email: dtownson@ucitymo.org

Julie Feier, City Manager: 314-505-8534; jfeier@ucitymo.org
Petree Eastman, Assistant City Manager: 314-505-8535; peastman@ucitymo.org
Janet Watson, Deputy City Manager/Finance Director:
314-505-8537; jwatson@ucitymo.org
John Mulligan, Jr., City Attorney: 314-725-1135; jmulliganjr@aol.com
Dee Berry, Business Manager: 314-505-8623; dberry@ucitymo.org
Errol Tate, Project Manager: 314-505-8571; etate@ucitymo.org
Megan Lindmark, Project Manager: 314-505-8565; mlindmark@ucitymo.org
Angelica Gutierrez, Project Manager: 314-505-8568; agutierrez@ucitymo.org
Vic Lusher, Project Manager: 314-505-8562; vlusher@ucitymo.org
Frank Hill, Zoning Administrator – Manager, Current Planning:
314-505-8501; fhill@ucitymo.org
Andrea Riganti, Manager, Long Range Planning:
314-505-8516; ariganti@ucitymo.org

UNIVERSITY CITY MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
Mayor Joseph Adams
924 Wild Cherry Lane; University City, MO 63130-2724
ph: 314-862-7877; email: jadams@ucitymo.org

Robert Wagner, Councilmember 1st Ward
7052 Kingsbury; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-725-1544; email: rgwagner7052@yahoo.com

Terry Crow, Councilmember 1st Ward
7025 Maryland; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-918-0045 x2; email: crow@cttlaw.net

L. Michael Glickert, Councilmember 2nd Ward
7706 Amherst; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-863-1812; email: lmglickert@yahoo.com

Lynn Ricci, Councilmember 2nd Ward
7833 Gannon; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-725-9090; email: lricci@ucitymo.org

Arthur Sharpe, Jr., Councilmember 3rd Ward
7131 Willow Tree; St. Louis, MO 63130
ph: 314-721-5954; email: qforlifeasj@att.net

Byron Price, Councilmember 3rd Ward
1520 78th St.; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-726-2953; email: pricebyron@hotmail.com

UNIVERSITY CITY – LOOP BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS
Dept. of Community Development
6801 Delmar Boulevard; University City, MO 63130
ph: 314-505-8500; fax: 314-862-3168
email: ariganti@ucitymo.org

Delmar@170 Business District
Brendan Bradley, President: 314-432-2905
Dave Rosenboom, Vice President: 314-997-2308

BUSINESSES IN THE DELMAR LOOP
SOURCE: http://visittheloop.com/visit-the-loop
Kinship Circle is not responsible for outdated or incorrect information.
Snail-mail, fax or electronically (where available) send comments to Delmar
Loop BUSINESSES. If they sense any losses due to horse-drawn carriages
outside their stores, they’ll be more prone to speak against them.

APPAREL/BOUTIQUES
Alice’s Vintage Clothing & Accessories – 314-361-4006
6178 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Blues – 314-863-2121
6301 Delmar; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-863-1610; email: askparker@soleandblues.com
web form: http://www.soleandblues.com/contacts/

Club Denim – 314-725-7773
6635 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Diversity Gallery – 314-721-3361
6150 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Fifi’s – 314-773-2234
6172 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Footlocker – 314-862-4039
6317 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Gabby’s Fashion Jewelry & Accessories – 314-721-1066
6140 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

G’sell – 314-863-4735
6277 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Hats-N-Stuff – 314-727-5255
6604 Delmar; University City, MO 63130

Headz n Threadz – 314-863-2695
6662C Delmar Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63130
email: corporate@headznthreadz.com
web form: http://www.headznthreadz.com/contactus.asp

Little Shark Athletic Company – 314-862-1818
6176 Delmar Blvd; St. Louis MO, 63112
email: info@BigShark.com

Lori Coulter Truemeasure – 314-727-9879
6138-A Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63112
fax: 314-727-9802; email: customerservice@loricoulter.com

Macrosun International – 314-726-0222
6273 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@macrosun.com

Pitaya – 314-725-2233
6632 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@pitayaonline.com

R. Sole – 314-721-7653
6662-A Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Rag-O-Rama – 314-725-2760
6388 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Savvi Formalwear – 314-725-2150
6185 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63112
Loop Store and Warehouse, Manager Jim Austin
fax: 314-721-4983; email: loopstore@savviwedding.com

tag (timeless authentic garments) – 314-721-1370
6314 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-721-3756; email: info@tag-stl.com, laney@tag-stl.com,
jenna@tag-stl.com, terri@tag-stl.com

Tantrum – 314-783-0527
6635 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: tantrumstl@gmail.com
web form: http://www.tantrumstl.com/Contact_Us.html

Ziezo – 314-725-9602
6394 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

BOOKS/MUSIC
Go Music – 314-721-3944
6378 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-721-4376; email: gomusicstl@gmail.com

Star Clipper – 314-725-9110
6392 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Subterranean Books – 314-862-6100
6275 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
web form: http://subbooks.com/blog/?page_id=237

Vintage Vinyl – 314-721-4096
6610 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@vintagevinyl.com, customerservice@vintagevinyl.com

GALLERIES/ART
African American Cultural Center
6160 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Componere Gallery Of Art & Fashion – 314-721-1181
6509 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: edwruder@sbcglobal.net

Craft Alliance – 314-725-1177
6640 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-725-2068; email: registrar@craftalliance.org, gallery@craftalliance.org
executive director: boo.mcloughlin@craftalliance.org

Faces In The Loop – 314-863-1400
6265 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: loopfaces@gmail.com, hansman@wustl.edu

Gallery Framing – 314-727-6333
6509 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Regional Arts Commission – 314-863-5811
6128 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63112
fax: 314-863-6932
web form: http://www.art-stl.com/rac/contact.cfm?redirect=/index.cfm

St. Louis Walk Of Fame – 314-727-STAR
6504 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
Joe Edwards, founder

LEASING/REAL ESTATE
Market in The Loop and 6392 Delmar in The Loop – 314-991-3300
Dan Wald: burlesa@aol.com

Loop Real Estate Company – 314-727-0110
6504 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Fordyce Properties LLC
Bartley Bouchein: bbouchein@savoyproperties.com
Michael Denckhoff: mdenckhoff@savoyproperties.com

Pars Realty – 314-226-8886
569 Melville, Ste. 205; University City, MO 63130
email: grg1945@msn.com

St. Louis County Realty Co. – 314-567-9944
727 Craig Rd., Ste. 100; St Louis, MO 63141

The Byron Company – 314-725-5757
6050 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63112
fax: 314.725.5256

Loop Center – 314-863-1895
11902 Lackland Road; St. Louis, MO 63146
Neal or Josh Shapiro

Delmar Garden Apartments – 314-727-6264
608 Kingsland Avenue; University City, MO 63130
Catherine Vermette: catherinevernette@charter.net

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
The 560 Music Center Of Washington University – 314-935-6518
560 Trinity Blvd; University City, MO 63130

COCA (Center Of Creative Arts) – 314-725-6555
524 Trinity Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@cocastl.org; executive director: sriven@cocastl.org
web form: http://www.cocastl.org/subpage.cfm?vSection=about&vPage=contact

The Pageant – 314-726-6161
6161 Delmar Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63112
email: pageantinfo@thepageant.com

Tivoli Theatre – 314-995-6270
6350 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

RESTAURANTS
609 – 314-721-9168
609 Eastgate Ave; University City, MO 63130
web form: http://www.609u.com/index2.php?Section=Restaurant&Page=5

Al-Tarboush Deli – 314-725-1944
602 Westgate Ave; University City, MO 63130

Ben & Jerry’s – 314-721-8887
6380 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-991-0075; email: eybtreatsmh@sbcglobal.net

Blueberry Hill – 314-727-4444
6504 Delmar in The Loop; St. Louis, MO 63130
private parties: becca@blueberryhill.com
Joe Edwards, owner

Booster’s Cafe – 314-721-4499
567 Melville Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@BoostersCafe.com

Brandt’s Cafe – 314-727-3663
6525 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-727-6439; email: Customerfeedback@brandtscafe.com
Owners Adam Brandt, Rick Fessler, Jay Brandt

Chinese Noodle Cafe – 314-725-9889
6138 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63112
Peggy Hou, owner

Chipotle Mexican Grill – 314-678-3200
6318 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-863-6830

Cicero’s Restaurant & Entertainment Plex – 314-862-0009
6691 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Cold Stone Creamery – 314-863-5595
6662-B Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Culture Cafe – 314-721-3361
6152 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

The Delmar Restaurant & Lounge – 314-725-6565
6235 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130-4814

Eclipse Restaurant And Terrace Bar – 314-726-2222
6177 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: reservations@eclipsestlouis.com
web form: http://www.eclipsestlouis.com/contact.asp

El Maguey – 314-726-1005
6333 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Fitz’s American Grill & Bottling Works – 314-726-9555
6605 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-862-6253; email: theowners@fitzsrootbeer.com

Gyros House – 314-721-5638
571 Melville; University City, MO 63130

Jimmy John’s Sandwich Shop – 314-862-6565
6681 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Layal Cafe & Hookah Bar – 314-725-1661
6227 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

The Loop Subway – 314-726-6940
6633 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Market In The Loop – 314-725-1346
6655 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

The Melting Pot – 314-725-4141
6683 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-725-3695; Michael Hobbs, owner
corporate web form: http://www.meltingpot.com/contact.aspx?n=768890
University City, Missouri web form: http://www.meltingpot.com/locations.aspx

Meshuggah Cafe – 314-726-5662
6269 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Miss Saigon – 314-863-4949
6101 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Modai Sushi/Lounge – 314-725-8330
6100 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-725-8301; email: info@modailounge.com

Noodles & Co. – 314-721-1819
6310 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-721-2225
web form: http://www.noodles.com/home/feedback.aspx?showhtml=true

Pam’s Chicago Style Dogs & More – 314-721-7267
6016 Delmar Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63112
fax: 314-721-7268; email: pamscsd@sbcglobal.net

Pi – 314-727-6633
6144 Delmar Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63112
fax: 314-727-6655; email: info@restaurantPi.com

Pin-Up Bowl – 314-727-5555
6191 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
web form: http://www.pinupbowl.com/pages/contact.html

Qdoba Mexican Grill – 314-862-3320
6625 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Racanelli’s Cucina – 314-727-8880
6655 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: john@racanellis.com, msottile@racanelliscucina.com,
pim@racanellis.com, marketing@racanellis.com

Riddle’s Penultimate Cafe & Wine Bar – 314-725-6985
6307 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

St. Louis Bread Company – 314-721-7995
6630 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

St. Louis Bubble Tea – 314-862-2890
6677 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

St. Louis Pizza Haus – 314-862-4287
6602 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Seki’s Japanese Restaurant – 314-726-6477
6335 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Selam Ethiopian Restaurant – 314-726-7996
549 Rosedale; University City, MO 63112

Smoothie King – 314-862-9700
6600 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Starbucks Coffee Company – 314-862-2664
6621 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Thai Cafe – 314-862-6868
6170 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Thai Country Cafe – 314-862-0787
6221 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Thai Gai Yang Cafe – 314-862-4400
6250 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Thai Pizza Company – 314-862-4429
608 Eastgate Ave; University City, MO 63130

Twisted Olive – 314-862-2141
6608-A Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

U City Grill – 314-721-3073
6696 Enright; University City, MO 63130

Wong’s Wok – 314-726-0976
565 Melville; University City, MO 63130

Yan-Wu Chop Suey – 314-727-1917
6036 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

SALONS/TATTOOS
Diversity Gallery – 314-721-3361
6152 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

D-zine Hair And Art Studio – 314-727-0708
6679 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-727-1121; email: info@dzinehairart.us,
customerservice@dzinehairart.us

House Of Ink – 314-721-2460
6606-A Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Iron Age Tattoo – 314-725-1499
6309 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@ironagetattoo.com

SERVICES/ORGANIZATIONS
180o Personal Training – 314-229-2465
565A Melville; University City, MO 63130

Attorneys Tonya McAlpine-Morris – 314-429-4529
6150-A Delmar #210; University City, MO 63130

Carl Safe Design Consultants – 314-725-6525
516 Westgate Ave; University City, MO 63130

Commerce Bank – 314-746-3541
6630 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Ghasedi & Umlauf, Attorneys At Law – 314-863-2200
569 Melville #210 Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Integrity Corporation – 314-727-3600
6104-A Delmar Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63117
web form: http://integritystl.com/index.php/contact/

Kiku Obata & Company – 314-361-3110
6161 Delmar Blvd, Suite 200; St. Louis, MO 63112-1203
fax: 314-361-4716; Kiku Obata, President: Kiku_obata@kikuobata.com
Kevin Flynn, AIA, Vice President: kflynn@kikuobata.com

Missouri Coalition for the Environment – 314-727-0600
6267 Delmar Blvd, Suite 2E; St. Louis, MO 63130
fax: 314-727-1665; email: moenviron@moenviron.org
Kathleen Logan Smith, Executive Director: klogansmith@moenviron.org
Dan Sherburne, Research Director: dsherburne@moenviron.org
Erin Noble, Outreach and Development Director: enoble@moenviron.org

Moonrise Hotel – 314-721-1111
6177 Delmar Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63112
fax: 314-721-1222; General Manager, Joe Reyes: jreyes@moonrisehotel.com
Director of Sales & Marketing, Harry Lunt: hlunt@moonrisehotel.com

Princeton Review – 314-862-7540
6358 Delmar #400; University City, MO 63130
web form: http://www.princetonreview.com/contact.aspx

Riverfront Times – 314-754-5966
6358 Delmar Blvd., Ste. 200; St. Louis, MO 63130-4719
Editor Tom Finkel: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=38329
Managing Editor Ellis Conklin: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=38330
Web Editor Nick Lucchesi: http://www.riverfronttimes.com/feedback/EmailAnEmployee?to=527313

St. Andrews Resources For Seniors – 314-726-0111
6633 Delmar #300; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-726-5719; email: info@standrews1.com

St. Louis Design Alliance – 314-863-1313
6014 Delmar Blvd; Saint Louis, MO 63112
fax: 314-863-1393

Schwartz, Herman & Davidson – 314-862-0200
621 N. Skinker Blvd; St. Louis, MO 63130

University City Public Library – 314-727-3150
6701 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: reference@ucpl.lib.mo.us

SPECIALTY/FURNITURE
Blooms In The Loop Florist & Gifts – 314-725-8080
6346 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

City Sprouts – 314-726-9611
6354 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
fax: 314-726-9611; web form: http://www.citysprouts.com/store/contactus.asp

Game Crazy – 314-721-2925
6662-D Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Good Works – 314-726-2233
6323 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@goodworksfurniture4u.com

H.S.B. Tobacconist – 314-721-1483
6362 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: HSBTobacconist@gmail.com
web form: http://www.hsbtobacconist.com/contactus.htm

Knitty Couture – 314-727-6500
6148 Delmar Blvd; Saint Louis, MO, 63112
fax: 314-727-6501; email: knit@knittycouture.com

Phoenix Rising – 314-862-0609
6331 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Pizazz – 314-863-7709
6254 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

Plowsharing Crafts – 314-863-3723
6271 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: info@plowsharing.org

Safehaven Locksmith Company – 314-727-4840
6368 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

The Silver Lady – 314-727-0704
6364 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: lori@thesilver-lady.com

Sunshine Daydream – 314-727-9043
6608 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130
email: customerservice@sunshinedaydream.com

T-Mobile – 314-727-6486
6662-E Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

TNT Design – 314-863-8860
6163 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

U.S. Cellular – 314-726-4575
6623 Delmar Blvd; University City, MO 63130

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

Will carriage rides fly in University City Loop?
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/29841929A67E5AA8862575BB007907C4?OpenDocument

POST COMMENT: Will Carriage Rides Fly In University City Loop?
http://www.wopular.com/will-carriage-rides-fly-university-city-loop

COALITION TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES
http://www.banhdc.org

We Can’t Work For Animals Without You!
*   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.

SUBSCRIBE:
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

QUICK WAY TO SEND COMMENTS!
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
Click on EMAIL THIS LETTER underneath recent sample letters in Kinship
Circle’s Letter Library (above link). A ready-to-send message opens in the
email software on your computer. Just sign and hit send.

5/29/09: Bullfight Bust Uncovers Cruelty In Los Angeles


This image, from Ban Blood Sports website shows a bleeding bull gasping for
breath near end of a bullfight. Photo: ADDA. http://www.banbloodsports.com

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

Steve Cooley, District Attorney
County of Los Angeles
210 West Temple Street, Room 18-709
Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-974-3512, 213-974-3501
fax: 213-974-1484, 213-687-8525
email: webmail@da.lacounty.gov
web form: http://da.lacounty.gov/feedback.htm#feedback

Mayor Sally Zuniga Flowers and City Council Members
City of Artesia
18747 Clarkdale Ave; Artesia, CA 90701
ph: 562-865-6262; fax: 562-865-6240
Sally Zuniga Flowers, Mayor: sflowers@cityofartesia.us
Tony Lima, Mayor Pro Tem: tlima@cityofartesia.us
Victor Manalo, Council Member: vmanalo@cityofartesia.us
John C. Martins , Council Member: jmartins@cityofartesia.us
Larry R. Nelson, Council Member: lnelson@cityofartesia.us
Maria Dadian, City Manager: mdadian@cityofartesia.us
Justine Menzel, Deputy City Manager: jmenzel@cityofartesia.us

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE):
webmail@da.lacounty.gov, sflowers@cityofartesia.us, tlima@cityofartesia.us,
vmanalo@cityofartesia.us, jmartins@cityofartesia.us,
lnelson@cityofartesia.us, mdadian@cityofartesia.us, jmenzel@cityofartesia.us

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 D.A. Cooley, City of Artesia Mayor, Council Members and Officials:

I urge the Los Angeles County District Attorney to investigate a bullfight
that occurred 5/23/09, at the Festa da Bola in Artesia, CA. An on-site
Humane Officer with Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) observed the use of
wooden poles spiked with sharp nails. The officer saw fighters stab and
antagonize bulls with these jagged weapons. One bull, allegedly impaled with
as many as 8 sticks, left the ring with visible blood and puncture wounds.

After stopping the fight, the ACI officer seized more than 30 nail-embedded
sticks. He informed the bullfight sponsors that stabbing a bull violates
California anti-cruelty statutes.

According to California Penal Code, Part 1., Title 14. S 597. Cruelty to
animals: “Every person who maliciously and intentionally maims, mutilates,
tortures, or wounds a living animal…is guilty of an offense punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison, or by a fine of not more than $20,000, or
by both the fine and imprisonment.”

Please seek maximum penalties under California law for this bullfight
company, and individuals therein, that knowingly tormented and maimed
animals. This company should not retain legitimate means to operate and its
employees ought to be barred from possessing or working with animals.

The City of Artesia now has an opportunity to illegalize bullfights. I
respectfully ask the Mayor and City Council Members to ban these inherently
cruel spectacles, performed solely for “entertainment.”

As you know, studies show that violence against animals is a precursor to
violence against humans — particularly vulnerable victims such as children,
women or the elderly. Animal cruelty investigations often uncover domestic
violence or other forms of aggression, P. Arkow notes in “Breaking the
cycles of violence: A guide to multi-disciplinary interventions.”

Please establish a zero-tolerance policy for all acts of animal cruelty.
Violence is violence, regardless of the victim’s identity.

Thank you,

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

ACI, Animal Cruelty Investigations, info@acinvestigations.org
http://www.acinvestigations.org
International Movement Against Bullfights
http://www.iwab.org/intro.html
Anti-Cruelty Statutes For California
http://www.leapnonprofit.org/anticruelty%20calif.htm
U.S. Cruelty Laws By State – Misdemeanor Vs. Felony
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/cruelty_laws.php

We Can’t Work For Animals Without You!
*   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.

FOR BREAKING NEWS – SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE (state which list):
1.  Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

2.  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.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE – 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

6/11/09: A Kitten’s Last Screams From An Oven


Cheyenne Cherry tossed her ex-roommate’s kitty, Tiger Lily (above), into the
stove, then left so she didn’t have to hear the cat’s anguished cries.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/05/2009-06-05_evil_teen_who_tossed_cat_in_the_oven.html

Cheyenne Cherry is currently scheduled to appear in court on July 15, 2009.

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows
=============================================================
***We highly recommend you snail-mail or fax to those contacts without
working or publicly available email addresses.

Robert T. Johnson, Bronx District Attorney
The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, NY 10451
ph: 718-590-2000, 718-590-2312; fax: 718-590-2198
email: angueirl@bronxda.nyc.gov

Steven Reed, Director of Public Information
The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, NY 10451
ph: 718-590-2235, 718-590-2234

Joe McCormack, Assistant District Attorney
Bronx County District Attorney’s Office
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, New York 10451
ph: 718-590-2000, 718-590-2026; fax: 718-781-1129
email: mccormaj@bronxda.nyc.gov

Nancy Borko, Senior Assistant District Attorney
Bronx District Attorney’s Office
215 East 161st Street; Bronx, NY 10451-3511
ph: 718-838-7114

Maria T. Rivero, Administrative Assistant District Attorney:
riverom@bronxda.nyc.gov

Anthony Girese, Counsel to the District Attorney
Bronx County District Attorney’s Office
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, New York 10451
ph: 718-590-2175; fax: 718-992-0545
email: giresea@bronxda.nyc.gov

ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE, to cut/paste in TO or BCC line of your email:
angueirl@bronxda.nyc.gov, mccormaj@bronxda.nyc.gov, giresea@bronxda.nyc.gov,
riverom@bronxda.nyc.gov

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

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

The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney:

Thank you for recognizing public concern in the case of Tiger Lily, a kitten
scorched alive inside an oven on May 6, 2009. I understand Cheyenne Cherry,
17, is charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty, burglary, arson,
criminal trespass, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

I respectfully ask for your utmost deliberation in the investigation of
Cherry and her accomplice, who allegedly broke into ex-roommate Valerie
Hernandez’s home and trapped Tiger Lily inside an activated stove.
Apparently, they ransacked the apartment and raised the stove’s heat before
fleeing with stolen items. The girls never heard Tiger Lily’s last screams
and scratches against the oven door.

Please seek maximum adult incarceration of two years for felony animal
cruelty. Cherry also faces possible jail terms of 15 years for second-degree
burglary, one year for arson, and four years for criminal mischief. I urge
you to hold both teens accountable. Both require psychological evaluation
and therapy. Both should be barred from possessing or working with animals.

At the very least, they ought to be interned in a juvenile detention hall
until age 18 (if applicable). Then, reassessment of the girls’ personality
traits can determine if adult imprisonment is necessary.

Adolescents who commit brutal crimes against humans usually begin with
animals. Columbine shooter Eric Harris, 18, smashed mice with a crowbar and
set them on fire. Washington D.C. serial killer Lee Boyd Malvo killed stray
cats with a slingshot. Kip Kinkle blew up a cow and burned a live cat. He
then shot 25 classmates and murdered his parents in Springfield, Oregon.
After Luke Woodham, 16, mortally stabbed his mother and shot nine others, he
confessed to bludgeoning his dog with baseball bats and setting her on fire.

These murderers, like Cherry, were able to torture and kill without remorse.
Indeed, the intentional burning of an animal is a “particularly significant
predictor of violent and even homicidal behavior,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood
of ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent consultant for cruelty
investigators, law enforcers and mental health professionals.

Cherry “thought we would play a joke on Valerie.”  But she and her friend
are not guilty of warped humor or bad choices. Roasting a defenseless kitten
is the calculated action of a sociopath and a predator.

Thank you for prosecuting Cherry and her accomplice to the fullest degree
allowed by law.

Sincerely,

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

Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle Investigative Research Aide
pawsitivedirections@yahoo.com
BRONX LOVE SPAT SPURS SICKENING KITTEN SLAY
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06052009/news/regionalnews/bronx/bronx_love_spat_spurs_sickening_kitten_s_172665.htm
Bronx teen confesses to roasting kitten
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/06/05/2009-06-05_evil_teen_who_tossed_cat_in_the_oven.html
Petition to have Cheyenne Cherry tried as Adult
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/332/petition-to-have-cheyenne-cherry-tried-as-adult

===============================================================
Humane Educators Use Kinship Circle Literature…
A teacher in Tampa. A humane educator who travels the country. Kinship
Circle educational literature is reaching students… But not fast enough!

HELP RAISE $5,000 TO PRINT MORE KINSHIP CIRCLE FACT SHEETS:
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Download any Fact Sheet, FREE, to print for tabling, media, presentations…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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 TO KINSHIP CIRCLE – 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.

SUBSCRIBE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE – 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

6/13/09: Killing Phoenix – Youths Set Pit Bull On Fire


Her kidneys failing, veterinarians euthanized the extensively burned,
year-old dog. Photo: Baltimore Sun

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter follows. Full contact info at end of alert.
=============================================================
*    TO SEND: COPY/PASTE EMAIL BLOCKS IN BCC: LINE OF YOUR EMAIL
*    TYPE YOUR OWN EMAIL ADDRESS IN THE TO: LINE

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office & Baltimore Police Department
mail@stattorney.org, kmorton@stattorney.org, mburns@stattorney.org,
cjones@stattorney.org, frederick.bealefeld@baltimorepolice.org,
anthony.guglielmi@baltimorepolice.org, garnell.green@baltimorepolice.org,
dean.palmere@baltimorepolice.org

Mayor Sheila Dixon & Baltimore City Council
mayor@baltimorecity.gov, CouncilPresident@baltimorecity.gov,
James.Kraft@baltimorecity.gov, Nicholas.D’Adamo@baltimorecity.gov,
Robert.Curran@baltimorecity.gov, Bill.Henry@baltimorecity.gov,
Rochelle.Spector@baltimorecity.gov, Sharon.Middleton@baltimorecity.gov,
Belinda.Conaway@baltimorecity.gov, Helen.Holton@baltimorecity.gov,
Agnes.Welch@baltimorecity.gov, Edward.Reisinger@baltimorecity.gov,
William.Cole@baltimorecity.gov, Bernard.Young@baltimorecity.gov,
Warren.Branch@baltimorecity.gov, MaryPat.Clarke@baltimorecity.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.

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

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office, Police Department, Mayor Sheila
Dixon and The City Council:

Thank you for accepting my comments about the West Baltimore twin brothers,
17, accused of soaking a pit bull terrier named Phoenix in gasoline before
setting her afire. Police officer Syreeta Teel, who spotted the one-year-old
pup in the Sandtown Winchester neighborhood, heroically draped her
sweatshirt over Phoenix and pounded out the flames.

I am aware this 5/27/09 incident has drawn more public outcry than some
human victim crimes. Officials are concerned about misconstrued priorities.

With all due respect, they have missed the point: This case IS about humans.
It is about adolescents so desensitized to suffering, they will kill again.

I call upon police and prosecutors to fully investigate this calculated act
of violence. If the suspects are tied to a dogfighting ring, as Commissioner
Bealefeld has suggested due to puncture wounds seen on Phoenix, please
charge them under animal fighting laws as well as aggravated cruelty to
animals. I urge you to prosecute them as adults subject to felony cruelty
laws that carry up to three years in prison, a $5,000 fine, and mandatory
counseling. Both youths should be barred from contact with animals.

As you know, burns over 95% of the dog’s swollen, charred body overwhelmed
her immune system. Still, Phoenix wagged her tail as her kidneys failed. She
was euthanized in loving hands, perhaps the only she’d ever known.

Phoenix “rose from the ashes” long enough to reveal where violence begins –
especially for young males who later commit brutal crimes against people.
Columbine shooter Eric Harris, 18, smashed mice with a crowbar and set them
on fire. Washington D.C. serial killer Lee Boyd Malvo killed stray cats with
a slingshot. As a teen, Jason Massey slaughtered 37 cats, 29 dogs and six
cows; at 20 he decapitated and disemboweled a girl, 13, and shot a boy, 14.

Lighting an animal on fire is a “particularly significant predictor of
violent and even homicidal behavior,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood of ASPCA
Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent consultant for cruelty
investigators, law enforcers and mental health professionals.

In closing, I urge Mayor Dixon and the City Council to address violence at
its roots through: Creation of an animal abuse task force with citizen
representation; empowerment of animal control officers under the police
department; and prosecution in all animal abuse and fighting cases.

Thank you for punishing those responsible for the killing of Phoenix to the
fullest degree allowed by law.

Sincerely,

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

The Honorable Patricia C. Jessamy, Baltimore City State’s Attorney
208 Clarence Mitchell Jr. Courthouse; 110 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
ph: 410-396-4987; fax: 410-539-5215
email: mail@stattorney.org, info@stattorney.org
Kimberly B. Morton, Esq., Deputy State’s Attorney: kmorton@stattorney.org
Communications, Margaret Burns, Chief: mburns@stattorney.org
Investigations, Cynthia H. Jones, Esq., Deputy State’s Attorney: cjones@stattorney.org

Joseph Sviatko, Public Information Officer
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office
208 Mitchell Courthouse; 110 North Calvert Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21202
office: 443-984-1122; cell: 410-90-3248

Baltimore Police Department
c/o 242 W. 29th St.; Baltimore, MD 21211-2908
web form: http://www.baltimorepolice.org/contact-us/send-us-an-email
Frederick H. Bealefeld, III, Commissioner: frederick.bealefeld@baltimorepolice.org
Anthony J. Guglielmi, Public Affairs Director: anthony.guglielmi@baltimorepolice.org
Western District, Maj. Garnell Green, Commander: garnell.green@baltimorepolice.org
Violent Crime Impact Division, Col. Dean M. Palmere, Chief: dean.palmere@baltimorepolice.org

Mayor Sheila Dixon
City Hall, Room 250 100 N. Holliday Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21202
ph: 410-396-3835; fax 410-576-9425
email: mayor@baltimorecity.gov

Baltimore City Council, Office of the President
City Hall, 100 N. Holliday Street, Suite 400; Baltimore, Maryland 21202
President, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake: 410-396-4804; fax: 410-539-0647
email: CouncilPresident@baltimorecity.gov

District 1, James B. Kraft: 410-396-4821; fax: 410-347-0547
James.Kraft@baltimorecity.gov

District 2, Nicholas D’Adamo, Jr: 410-396-4808; fax: 410-396-4414
Nicholas.D’Adamo@baltimorecity.gov

District 3, Robert Curran: 410-396-4812; fax: 410-396-8621
Robert.Curran@baltimorecity.gov

District 4, Bill Henry: 410-396-4830; fax: 410-659-1792
Bill.Henry@baltimorecity.gov

District 5, Rochelle “Rikki” Spector: 410-396-4819; fax: 410-396-6800
Rochelle.Spector@baltimorecity.gov

District 6, Sharon Green Middleton: 410-396-4832; fax: 410-244-5343
Sharon.Middleton@baltimorecity.gov

District 7, Belinda Conaway: 410-396-4810; fax: 410-347-0537
Belinda.Conaway@baltimorecity.gov

District 8, Helen Holton: 410-396-4818; fax: 410-396-4828
Helen.Holton@baltimorecity.gov

District 9, Agnes Welch: 410-396-4815; fax: 410-545-3857
Agnes.Welch@baltimorecity.gov

District 10, Edward Reisinger Council Vice-President: 410-396-4822;
fax: 410-545-7353; Edward.Reisinger@baltimorecity.gov

District 11, William H. Cole IV: 410-396-4816; fax: 410-545-7464
William.Cole@baltimorecity.gov

District 12, Bernard “Jack” Young: 410-396-4811; fax: 410-396-1594
Bernard.Young@baltimorecity.gov

District 13, Warren Branch: 410-396-4829; fax: 410-347-0534
Warren.Branch@baltimorecity.gov

District 14, Mary Pat Clarke: 410-396-4814; fax: 410-545-7585
MaryPat.Clarke@baltimorecity.gov

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

Terri Kelley, Kinship Circle Investigative Research Aide
pawsitivedirections@yahoo.com
Group urges adult charges in pit bull case
http://www.ohmidog.com/2009/06/11/recycled-love-urges-charge-as-adults/
Burned dog may be linked to dogfighting, police say
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-dog0609,0,3239096.story
City police charge 2 juveniles with setting dog afire
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-dog-fire0608,0,4649930.story
Officer hailed for coming to dog’s aid
‘You were her hero,’ Teel told, for smothering flames on gas-soaked pit bull
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.officer06jun06,0,3041168.story
Kidneys failing, burned pit bull is euthanized
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.phoenix.01jun01,0,7970430.story
PETITION: End Baltimore Animal Abuse
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/baltimoreanimalabuse/?e

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

Humane Educators Use Kinship Circle Literature…
A teacher in Tampa. A humane educator who travels the country. Kinship
Circle educational literature is reaching students… But not fast enough!

HELP RAISE $5,000 TO PRINT MORE KINSHIP CIRCLE FACT SHEETS:
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Download any Fact Sheet, FREE, to print for tabling, media, presentations…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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 TO KINSHIP CIRCLE – 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.

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

6/14/09: NYC To Gas 2,000 Canada Geese, June-July 2009


New York City is contracting with the USDA to kill Canada geese from about
40 parks, wastewater treatment plants, and city properties within five miles
of JFK and LaGuardia Airports. Articles dated 6/12/09 say roundups are to
begin within a week — which means Monday, 6/15/09. Killing occurs through
July. PHOTO: http://birdsbybaranoff.com/images/1770-canada-geese-c11x14.jpg

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter + Protest info + Full contact info at end
=============================================================
*   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!

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG
web form only: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

USDA-APHIS-WS STATE DIRECTOR, PORT AUTHORITY NY & NJ
allen.l.gosser@aphis.usda.gov, martin.s.lowney@aphis.usda.gov,
InspectorGeneral@panynj.gov

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
avella@council.nyc.ny.us, baez@council.nyc.ny.us, brewer@council.nyc.ny.us,
comrie@council.nyc.ny.us, ecrowley@council.nyc.gov,
deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us, dickens@council.nyc.gov,
emdilan@council.nyc.ny.us, mathieu.eugene@council.nyc.gov,
felder@council.nyc.gov, jferreras@council.nyc.gov, LFidler@council.nyc.gov,
foster@council.nyc.ny.us, garodnick@council.nyc.ny.us,
jgennaro@council.nyc.gov, vgentile@council.nyc.gov, agerson@council.nyc.gov,
gioia@council.nyc.ny.us, gonzalez@council.nyc.ny.us,
Ignizio@council.nyc.ny.us, rjackson@council.nyc.gov, ljames@council.nyc.gov,
katz@council.nyc.ny.us, okoppell@council.nyc.gov, lappin@council.nyc.gov,
liu@council.nyc.gov, mviverito@council.nyc.gov, martinez@council.nyc.ny.us,
darlene.mealy@council.nyc.gov, rmendez@council.nyc.gov,
kmitchell@council.nyc.gov, nelson@council.nyc.ny.us,
palma@council.nyc.ny.us, recchia@council.nyc.ny.us,
rivera@council.nyc.ny.us, jsanders@council.nyc.gov,
seabrook@council.nyc.ny.us, sears@council.nyc.ny.us,
vacca@council.nyc.ny.us, avann@council.nyc.gov, weprin@council.nyc.ny.us,
twhite@council.nyc.gov, yassky@council.nyc.ny.us

CONTACTS WITH WEB COMMENT FORMS ONLY
**Mayor Bloomberg [300 word limit]: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
**Speaker, Christine C. Quinn: http://council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml
Maria del Carmen Arroyo: http://council.nyc.gov/d17/html/members/home.shtml
James S. Oddo: http://council.nyc.gov/d50/html/members/home.shtml
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey: http://www.teb.com/feedback.php

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Mayor Bloomberg, Port Authority of NY & NJ, and USDA-APHIS Wildlife
Services State Director:

I am shocked New York City intends to gas up to 2,000 Canada geese this
summer. Please implement non-violent ways to safeguard people from airplane
collisions with birds. I hope public outrage will convince you to cancel
this misguided initiative.

Certainly the recently formed NYC Wildlife Hazard Management Steering
Committee to Promote Aviation Safety within the Metropolitan Area can devise
a better solution than mass killing. I urge Mayor Bloomberg, the Port
Authority of New York & New Jersey, and the USDA-APHIS-WS State Director to
employ non-lethal management of Canada geese. A sweeping eradication shows
no long-term commitment to reduce flock growth.

When geese are destroyed — without modifying landscapes and waterways that
attracted them in the first place — replacement geese soon fill the void.

There are seven GeesePeace chapters in New York alone. All specialize in
population stabilization and site aversion. GeesePeace relies on integrated
strategies that are long lasting. They demonstrate how to recruit and train
community volunteers to find nests, addle/oil eggs, use repellents and other
applications on a scale that solves conflicts with “resident” Canada geese.

It is particularly inhumane to ambush geese when molting and flightless. Yet
that is how goslings and adults will be trapped on municipal properties
surrounding Kennedy and LaGuardia airports.

Communities nationwide have successfully used non-violent tactics to
significantly reduce flock growth. I am counting on airport biologists,
elected officials, and the Port Authority to ramp up bird-radar and scare
tactic programs at airports — but leave the killing out of it.

Thank you,

=============================================================
NYC PROTEST OF CANADIAN GEESE SLAUGHTER: Tuesday, 6/16/09
=============================================================

WHERE: Port Authority Headquarters – 225 Park Avenue South (between 18th and 19th St.)

WHEN: Tuesday, June 16 * 12 noon to 2PM

WHO: Various animal rights groups and activists including Friends of Animals

INFORMATION FROM: Elizabeth Forel – elizforel@gmail.com
(Please do NOT contact Kinship Circle about the live protest in NYC).

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

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall; New York, NY 10007
ph: 311 (or 212-788-3000 outside NYC); fax: 212-312-0700
web form [300 word limit]: http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

USDA-APHIS, Wildlife Services State Director
1930 Route 9; Castleton, NY 12033
ph: 518-477-4837; fax: 518-477-4899
Allen Gosser: allen.l.gosser@aphis.usda.gov
Martin Lowney: martin.s.lowney@aphis.usda.gov

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
225 Park Avenue South; New York, NY 10003
ph: 212-435-7000; InspectorGeneral@panynj.gov
web form: http://www.teb.com/feedback.php

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS WITH EMAIL:
**SEE EMAIL BLOCKS ABOVE SAMPLE LETTER**

COMPLETE CONTACT INFO FOR NYC CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS:
http://council.nyc.gov/html/members/members.shtml

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

Mayor Bloomberg, Port Authority, USDA State Director Lowney: Canada Geese Mitigation
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115×198764
NYC To Gas 2,000 Geese In Bid To Protect Aircraft
http://wcbstv.com/local/bird.strike.prevention.2.1041000.html
GeesePeace
http://www.geesepeace.org/
PETITION – STOP NY’s GOOSE-GASSING PLAN!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-nys-goose-gassing-plan
City Planning Massive Goose Genocide
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/06/city_planning_massive_goose_ge.html?imw=Y&f=most-emailed-24h5
Queens Crap Blog – Bloomberg OK with Sending Geese to gas chamber
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2009/06/bloomberg-ok-with-sending-geese-to-gas.html

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

Humane Educators Use Kinship Circle Literature…
A teacher in Tampa. A humane educator who travels the country. Kinship
Circle educational literature is reaching students… But not fast enough!

HELP RAISE $5,000 TO PRINT MORE KINSHIP CIRCLE FACT SHEETS:
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Download any Fact Sheet, FREE, to print for tabling, media, presentations…
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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 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.

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

6/18/09: Undue Justice – Stu On Death Row,
4 Years And Counting


PHOTOS LT-RT: Stu at Thanksgiving, 2008 after 3+ years in custody. Stu with
former Animal Services Board Commissioner Marie Atake, who famously resigned
in 2007, frustrated in her attempts to increase Department integrity and
professionalism. Stu, on day he was impounded by L.A. Animal Services, 2005.
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Playing-political-games-with-a-dogs-life

Kinship Circle does not usually cover complex dog custody cases. Stu’s story
is different. His person, Jeff de la Rosa, is a Kinship Circle supporter.
We’ve watched Stu grow old in “jail” since he was wrongfully impounded in
2005. Please read the sample letter below, and an account of Stu’s ordeal
after that. Stu still faces death. As always, the decision to act is yours.

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCKS: Sample letter + Complete contact information at end
=============================================================
*   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!

LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE &
BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES COMMISSIONERS
Rocky.Delgadillo@lacity.org, Laurie.Rittenberg@lacity.org,
Todd.Leung@lacity.org, Dov.Lesel@lacity.org, tariqkhero@gmail.com,
ninekitties@aol.com, ireneponce@earthlink.net, secundar@unitedtalent.com,
ajq1trq2@aol.com, Jim.Bickhart@lacity.org, Ani.Commission@lacity.org

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE & CITY OFFICIALS
councilmember.weiss@lacity.org, weiss@lacity.org,
Councilmember.Parks@lacity.org, Bernard.Parks.Jr@lacity.org,
councilmember.smith@lacity.org, Dennis.Zine@lacity.org,
councilmember.reyes@lacity.org, ed.reyes@lacity.org,
David.Hersch@lacity.org, Mike.Hernandez@lacity.org,
Moniquea.Roberson@lacity.org, jose.gardea@lacity.org,
rebecca.valdez@lacity.org, guadalupe.duran.medina@lacity.org,
lisa.flores@lacity.org, tony.perez@lacity.org, monica.valencia@lacity.org,
mayor@lacity.org

CONTACT WITH NO EMAIL AVAILABLE:
[incoming] City Attorney Elect Carmen Trutanich
180 East Ocean Blvd.; Long Beach, CA 90802
ph: 562-216-4444; fax: 562-216-4445

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 City of Los Angeles Officials,

I trust all letter recipients are familiar with Stu, a rescued dog who lived
an uneventful five years with Jeff de la Rosa, before de la Rosa entrusted
his dogs to an assistant while away for a family emergency.

Under that pet sitter’s care, in August 2005, Stu atypically clashed with
another household dog and wound up with a torn ear. It is accepted knowledge
that injured animals may react defensively. As the pet sitter slipped a
harness over Stu’s hurt ear, the scared dog bit her twice on the arm.

“A couple of puncture wounds,” Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year
veteran of L.A. Country Animal Control, would later state. Still, a full
month after the incident, the assistant served de la Rosa with a lawsuit and
Stu was seized from a locked, backyard kennel. Thus began Stu’s
incarceration under L.A. Animal Services (LAAS) and a bureaucratic battle so
absurd, Stu’s story has gained worldwide notoriety.

What is the point of keeping this now elderly dog on death row? Dr. Richard
Polsky, a co-creator of City criteria for gauging dangerous dogs, and Bobby
Dorofshar of New Leash on Life, also a City advisor and one-time member of
its Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee — have testified that Stu poses no
threat of aggression to humans. Their conclusion stems from assessment of
Stu’s pre- and post-incident behavior, plus comprehension of how the
victim’s actions may have triggered the bites. Dorofshar sheltered Stu at
his own facility for many months, during which time he came to know the dog.

The City Attorney should call off his resistance to de la Rosa’s appeal and
close the books on this case. Please stop shuffling Stu through a
bureaucratic thicket and let the dog live his final years with de la Rosa.

After four years of wrongful internment in LAAS facilities, just one fair
and merciful outcome remains: Stu needs to go home. Yesterday.

Sincerely,

=============================================================
PLAYING POLITICAL GAMES WITH A DOG’S LIFE
=============================================================

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Playing-political-games-with-a-dogs-life

A detailed article (link above) gives an accurate picture of Stu and Jeff de
la Rosa’s ordeal. Kinship Circle re-phrases it for simplicity and length:

Stu lived uneventfully with Jeff and two other dogs for five years, before
Jeff had to leave him with a sitter in Aug. 2005, due to a family emergency.
He entrusted his dogs to an assistant who knew them. While away Stu
atypically clashed with another of Jeff’s dogs and wound up with a torn ear.

The pet sitter tried to slip a harness over Stu’s wounded ear, to bring him
to the vet. Injured animals often act uncharacteristically defensive. Such
was the case with Stu: The scared dog bit the assistant twice on her arm.

The assistant did not file a report with police or L.A. Animal Services
(LAAS). She told Jeff she “didn’t want to get Stu in trouble.”

Yet three weeks later, Jeff was slapped with a lawsuit. Ten days after that,
Stu was seized (without warning) from Jeff’s locked outdoor kennel. Jeff
rushed to Animal Services, but staff denied Stu’s release, citing a bite
report received one full month after its occurrence. Thus began Stu’s
incarceration, a battle of bureaucratic power plays so embarrassingly
absurd, Stu’s story is notorious worldwide.

With the assistant now dramatizing her account (Stu “dragged her back and
forth across the floor”), lawyers asked for six million dollars in damages.
Meanwhile LAAS ruled in its initial hearing to revoke the dog’s license. The
verdict would have let Jeff relocate Stu outside Los Angeles or move
himself. The verdict would have let Stu live.

Instead, LAAS ignored the Hearing Examiner’s recommendations (defying LAAS
rules) and a Captain Helen Brakemeier memoed then-General Manager Guerdon
Stuckey: “After reviewing the [Hearing Examiner's] report, I disagree…and
think that the dog should be deemed dangerous.” Brakemeier never mentioned
evaluating Stu herself or what authorized her to override the original
verdict. Still, Stuckey sided with Brakemeier to sentence Stu to death.

Ironically, Mayor Villaraigosa fired Stuckey days later for the GM’s
inability to bring euthanasia numbers down. Jeff only found out about
Brakemeier’s inappropriate role in Stu’s fate after securing all public
records in the case, in an attempt to save his dog.

Fast forward four years and Stu is still trapped in a bureaucratic thicket.
He’s aged inside City facilities as Jeff fights a relentless legal battle.
Esteemed dog behaviorists — such as Dr. Richard Polsky, a co-creator of
City criteria for gauging dangerous dogs, and Bobby Dorofshar of New Leash
on Life, another City advisor and one-time member of its Spay/Neuter
Advisory Committee — have testified that Stu poses no threat of aggression
to humans. Their common conclusion stems from assessment of Stu’s pre- and
post-incident behavior, along with comprehension of how the victim’s actions
may have triggered the bites. Dorofshar even sheltered Stu at his own
facility for many months, during which time he came to know the dog.

Animal Services and the City Attorney’s office remain dead-set on killing
Stu. Are they peeved over the negative publicity? Just before the forced
resignation of previous General Manager Ed Boks, the City Council admonished
him for blogging against Jeff (and other LAAS critics) on the City’s time.

Animal Services Commission, created to monitor LAAS, even advocated for
Stu’s life. Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year L.A. County Animal
Control veteran, motioned the City Attorney to call off his resistance to
Jeff’s appeal. Quincey proposed the case go back to Superior Court to drop
Stu’s sentence because evidence shows a denial of due process. But
Commissioner Quincey’s motion has vanished from the Commission’s agenda and
a 6/8/09 meeting before Stu’s Appeals Court case was cancelled as well.

No one seems to know who’s in charge — Animal Services Commission or Animal
Services Department — of meeting agendas. It is clear, however, that Stu’s
case is shuffled so that Commissioner Quincey’s motion goes unheard.

Quincey intends to bring up Stu’s case at the June 22 meeting whether it’s
scheduled or not. “I think it’s gone too far,” he told reporter Kate
Woodviolet for LA Pet Rescue Examiner. “I have a lot of Animal Control
experience. I saw the pictures [of the human victim's injuries], there were
a couple of small puncture wounds — and the dog was injured when it
happened. On that one bite Stu gets the ultimate penalty? That’s like
getting the electric chair for a misdemeanor!”

At this point, there is but one fair and merciful outcome left: Stu needs to
go home. Yesterday.

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

[incoming] City Attorney Elect Carmen Trutanich
180 East Ocean Blvd.; Long Beach, CA 90802
ph: 562-216-4444; fax: 562-216-4445; (no email available)

[outgoing] City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo
800 City Hall East; 200 North Main Street; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-978-8100; fax: 213-978-8312
email: Rocky.Delgadillo@lacity.org

Ms. Laurie Rittenberg and Mr. Todd Leung
Office of the City Attorney
200 N Main Street; City Hall East, 9th floor; Los Angeles CA 90012
fax: 213-978-2250; email: Laurie.Rittenberg@lacity.org,
Todd.Leung@lacity.org, Dov.Lesel@lacity.org

BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES COMMISSIONERS
President Tariq Khero: tariqkhero@gmail.com
Vice President Kathy Riordan: ninekitties@aol.com
Commissioner Irene Ponce: ireneponce@earthlink.net
Commissioner Ruthanne Secunda: secundar@unitedtalent.com
Commisioner Archie Quincey: ajq1trq2@aol.com
*(Mayoral aide assigned to Dept.) Jim Bickhart: Jim.Bickhart@lacity.org
Ani.Commission@lacity.org

PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
Councilmember Jack Weiss, Chair, Council District 5
200 N. Spring Street, Room 440; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7005; fax: 213-978-2250
email: councilmember.weiss@lacity.org, weiss@lacity.org

Councilmember Bernard C. Parks (former police chief), Council District 8
200 N. Spring Street, Rm. 460; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph 213-473-7008; fax: 213-485-7683
email: Councilmember.Parks@lacity.org, Bernard.Parks.Jr@lacity.org

Councilmember Greig Smith, Council District 12
200 North Spring St., Rm 405; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7012; fax: (213) 473-6925
email: councilmember.smith@lacity.org

Councilmember Dennis Zine, Council District 3
200 N. Spring Street, Rm.450; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7003; fax: 213-485-8988
email: Dennis.Zine@lacity.org

Councilmember Ed Reyes, Council District 1
200 N. Spring Street, Room 410; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-473-7001; fax: 213-485-8907
email: councilmember.reyes@lacity.org, ed.reyes@lacity.org

David Hersch, Public Safety Deputy: David.Hersch@lacity.org
Mike Hernandez, Assistant Chief of Staff: Mike.Hernandez@lacity.org
Moniquea Roberson, Executive Assistant / Administrative Manager:
Moniquea.Roberson@lacity.org

Jose A. Gardea, Chief of Staff: jose.gardea@lacity.org
Rebecca Valdez, Chief Planning Deputy: rebecca.valdez@lacity.org
Guadalupe Duran-Medina, Planning Deputy: guadalupe.duran.medina@lacity.org
Lisa Flores, Executive Assistant/Scheduler: lisa.flores@lacity.org
Tony Perez, Communications Director: tony.perez@lacity.org
Monica Valencia, Press Deputy: monica.valencia@lacity.org

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Hall
200 North Spring Street, RM 303; Los Angeles, CA 90012
ph: 213-978-0600; fax: 213-978-0750
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: mayor@lacity.org
Jim Bickhart, Mayor’s Office: Jim.Bickhart@lacity.org

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

Playing political games with a dog’s life
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Playing-political-games-with-a-dogs-life
Proposed [impossible] settlement in Stu’s case
http://sites.google.com/site/savestuletters/timeline/6-8-09Delarosaltrresettlement.pdf?
Jeff de la Rosa, Stu’s dad
stu.911@gmail.com

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.

6/26/09 BLOG: Seriously Off Topic – The Day The 70s Died
By Brenda  Shoss


Farrah  Fawcett, 1947-2009 * Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

Readers of a certain age will mark June 25, 2009 as the day the 1970s died.
Within 48 hours, we lost an Angel and an Icon. Farrah  Fawcett succumbed to
cancer and Michael Jackson ended in cardiac  arrest.

My profound sense of loss embarrasses me. I’ve got the Jackson  Five on TV
and Farrah on computer. My youth sits in my lap…like some  creature
released from a dream.

If you’re a 35+ female, you’ve  feathered your hair Farrah style. You can
deny it, but your blow dryer  remembers. If you’re a guy in that demographic,
Farrah’s red-swimsuit  poster beamed from your bedroom wall. Touseled mane
and come-hither smile,  she was our Marilyn Monroe — only leaner and more
athletic. Who can  forget the Charlie’s Angel star zooming after the bad guys
with perfect  hair?

Like Monroe, a certain fragility belied the sex symbol. We wanted  Farrah to
transcend cheesiness and she did, nabbing an Emmy for her role  in “The
Burning Bed” as a victim of domestic violence. Today there’s buzz  about a
posthumous nomination for “Farrah’s Story,” a documentary about  her cancer
and alternative treatments.

When I was a counselor at  Camp Taum Sauk in the late 1970s, the guys
nicknamed me “Farrah Fawcett  Minor.” It was a hair thing. Winged and blonde,
I felt a tinge of her  it-girl status (albeit at a camp in the Ozarks). I’m
not sure where to  file this feeling, but I will miss Farrah Fawcett.

Why am I crying?
Farrah and Michael shared a loneliness that comes with  mass celebrity, but
no star lived more remotely — more weirdly — than  Michael Jackson. From
grade-school singing sensation to breakout pop idol,  Michael’s genius
coincided with self-destruction.

About the time  Michael belted “ABC, as easy as 1,2,3…do rei me…baby you
and me girl,”  I had a crush on Scott Anderson in Mrs. Renken’s second grade
class at  Craig School. Michael sang about each life passage, but somehow
missed  those passages himself. The day I gave Scott Anderson my entire box
of  pretzels in the name of love, Michael Jackson was in rehearsal.

A  ferociously determined father pushed him to the brink, even beating young
Michael, the singer confided in adult interviews. In his chart-topper  ”Ben,”
a sad boy seemed to emerge: “Ben, the two of us need look no more.  We both
found what we were looking for. With a friend to call my own. I’ll  never be
alone…” Ben was a rat, the ultimate reject among animals. But  when Michael
sang to him, we believed in their bond.

Neverland  Ranch — Michael’s lavish 2,800-acre amusement park home in Santa
Barbara  County, California — was the obvious fantasy of a man robbed of his
childhood. I don’t know if alleged transgressions happened there.  Foolishly
or not, I want to believe in his innocence.

Michael urged  us to dance. And dance we did, to I Want You Back, Thriller,
Beat It,  Black or White, Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean…

When his  heart stopped Thursday afternoon in his Holmby Hills, CA home, I
began to  cry. Later, my husband and I Googled every Michael Jackson song we
could  recall and belted familiar words. Our 8-year-old son became an instant
fan  and danced with us late into the night. It struck me: The man who
struggled to find his own family brought such happiness to mine.

He  loved in broad strokes, singing for humanity, world hunger…and even the
animals. In Michael’s lesser known “Earth Song,” he sings: “What about
animals? We’ve turned kingdoms to dust.” We see monkeys watch a bulldozer
trample their jungle. A poached, dead elephant. A hunter’s club against a
seal’s head. A dolphin trapped in a giant trawler net…

Halfway  into the song, Michael “rewinds” images of animal and human
violence. The  fallen elephant stands, his tusks restored. Seals flourish on
the ice  floes. The dolphin swims free. Chopped trees rise from the forest
floor.  Hope returns to human faces.

As his world crumbled, Michael clung to a  child-like faith in his own
restoration. But he never made it back. I am  surprised by my own corniness.
I can’t help it. Today I am crying for  Michael Jackson.

Earth Song, by Michael  Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8muMo0fw_M
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xetes_michael-jackson-earth-song_animals

“I  remember writing Earth Song when I was in Austria…and I was feeling so
much pain and so much suffering of the plight of the Planet Earth… I  think
nature is trying so hard to compensate for man’s mismanagement of  the
Earth… This is my chance to pretty much let people hear the voice of  the
planet. And this is Earth Song.”

Earth Song is Jackson’s  biggest hit in the UK, selling 1,038,821 copies. The
single sold over  three million copies worldwide.

What about sunrise
What  about rain
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain..  .
What about killing fields
Is there a time
What about all the  things
That you said was yours and mine…
Did you ever stop to  notice
All the blood we’ve shed before
Did you ever stop to  notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores?

What have we done to the  world
Look what we’ve done
What about all the peace
That you pledge  your only son…
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What  about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine…
Did you ever  stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to  notice
The crying Earth the weeping shores

I used to dream
I used  to glance beyond the stars
Now I don’t know where we are
Although I know  we’ve drifted far

Hey, what about yesterday
(What about  us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The heavens are  falling down
(What about us)
I can’t even breathe
(What  about us)
What about the bleeding Earth
(What about  us)
Can’t we feel its wounds
(What about us)
What about  nature’s worth
It’s our planet’s womb
(What about us)

What  about animals
We’ve turned kingdoms to dust
What about elephants
Have  we lost their trust
What about crying whales
We’re ravaging the  seas
What about forest trails
Burnt despite our pleas

What about  the holy land
Torn apart by creed
What about the common man
Can’t we  set him free
What about children dying
Can’t you hear them cry
Where  did we go wrong
Someone tell me why
What about babies
What about the  days
What about all their joy
What about the man
What about the  crying man
What about Abraham
What about death again
Do we give a  damn
###

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

Subscribe Now ˆ 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

7/2/09: Outlaw Dog-Cat Killing Squads In China

Blood in the streets of Hanzhong: 6/16/09 (Reuters) — The Chinese City of
Hanzhong, in the northern province of Shaanxi, has killed 36,000 stray and
pet dogs in a bid to wipe out rabies…as the country considers a draft law
recognizing animal rights and making such a cull illegal.

THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA OFFICIALS:
info@cppcc.gov.cn, info@china.org.cn, webmaster@china.org.cn,
wandi@china.org.cn, english@npc.gov.cn, webmaster@agri.gov.cn,
sjz@ccnt.gov.cn, webmaster@mfa.gov.cn, manage@moh.gov.cn,
chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn, chinamission_un@fmprc.gov.cn,
ChinaMissionUN@Gmail.com

PROVINCE & CITY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:
nyt02@163.net, wstj3@shaanxi.gov.cn, wzh@shaanxiwj.cn, tszx@hanzhong.gov.cn,
web@hanzhong.gov.cn, master@heihe.gov.cn, hhjwxx@public.ba.hl.cn,
webmaster@hlj.gov.cn

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 The People’s Republic Of China,

I am pleased legal experts are drafting China’s first animal welfare law. If
enacted, this law might have stopped the recent massacre in Hanzhong City,
Shaanxi Province that wiped out some 36,000 dogs. Please prioritize this
legislation and include a provision to outlaw dog and cat culls.

Citizens worldwide denounce mass death sweeps as a form of disease
containment. Killing squads comb streets with poles and sticks to violently
beat any dog they encounter. The public is outraged by accounts of animals
poisoned, clubbed, buried alive, and electrocuted.

A strong anti-cruelty law ought to jail and fine those who neglect, abuse,
or kill animals. Dog and cat culls, along with the brutalization of “pets”
to make food or medicine, certainly qualify as abuse and killing.

The law should also focus on population control and responsible
guardianship. The best system to curb stray populations combines
sterilization with required identification (tags and computer chip
implants). And, as other civilized nations have learned, the only proven way
to prohibit rabies in dogs is mandatory vaccination.

I urge federal and municipal agencies to devise a long-term rabies
prevention and inoculation program. Random slaughter doesn’t fix animal
overpopulation or disease. In fact, the sudden removal of tens of thousands
of dogs can actually trigger relocation of dogs from nearby areas. When new
dogs move in, they may bring new diseases with them. The cycle of
transmission simply renews itself.

Evidence indicates the Chinese people strongly oppose mass kills. When the
city of Heihe, Heilongjiang province, banned dogs and authorized a cull,
public backlash prompted officials to rescind the order.

The bloodshed not only hurts animals, but also violates the rights of your
citizens to care for their own dogs and cats. Please back animal welfare
legislation that criminalizes abuse and fosters a culture of responsible
guardianship, nonviolent disease prevention, and humane management.

Thank you,

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

THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA OFFICIALS:
His Excellency, Hu Jintao, President of the People’s Republic of China
9 Xihuang-Chenggen Beijie
Beijing 100032, China
email: info@cppcc.gov.cn, info@china.org.cn

His Excellency Mr. Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council
Guowuyuan 9 Xihuangchenggenbeijie
Beijingshi 100032
People’s Republic of China
fax: 86-10-6-512-5810

China Internet Information Center
[the authorized government portal site to China]
6th Floor, Building B, 89 Xi Sanhuan Bei Lu
Beijing 100089, China
ph: 86-10-8882 8258; fax: 86-10-8882 8331
email: webmaster@china.org.cn, wandi@china.org.cn
web mail: http://service.china.org.cn/link/wcm/comments_e

National People’s Congress (NPC) of People’s Republic of China
No. 23, Xijiaominxiang, Xicheng District, Beijing 100805
People’s Republic of China
email: english@npc.gov.cn

Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China
Minister Du Qinglin
No.11 Nongzhanguan Nanli, Chaoyang District
Beijing, China (100026)
ph: (86-10) 6419-3366; fax: (86-10) 6419-2468
email: webmaster@agri.gov.cn

Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China
Minister Sun Jiazheng
\No.10 Chaoyanf Men Beidajie, Dongchen District
Beijing, China (100020)
ph: (86-10) 6555-1432; fax: (86-10) 6555-1433
email: sjz@ccnt.gov.cn

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
Minister Li Zhaoxing
No. 2, Chaoyangmen Nandajie
Beijing, China (100701)
ph: (86-10) 6596-1114; email: webmaster@mfa.gov.cn

Ministry of Health of the People’s Republic of China
Minister Wu Yi
No.1 Xizhimenwai Nanlu, Xicheng District
Beijing, China (100044)
ph: (86-10) 6879-4049; fax: (86-10) 6831-3669
email: manage@moh.gov.cn

ALL CHINESE MINISTRIES: http://www.mac.doc.gov/china/Ministries.html

PROVINCE & CITY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:
-   Department of Agriculture of Shaanxi Province, Animal Husbandry and
-   Veterinary Bureau: nyt02@163.net
-   Health Department of Shaanxi Province: wstj3@shaanxi.gov.cn
-   Shaanxi Provincial Health Authority: wzh@shaanxiwj.cn
-   People’s Government of Hangzhong City: tszx@hanzhong.gov.cn,
web@hanzhong.gov.cn
-   The People’s Government of Heihe City, Heilongjiang Province:
master@heihe.gov.cn, hhjwxx@public.ba.hl.cn
-   People’s Government of Heilongjiang Province: webmaster@hlj.gov.cn

CHINESE EMBASSY IN UNITED STATES
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Embassy of the People’s Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Ave. NW; Washington DC 20008
ph: 1+ 202-328-2500; fax: 1+ 202-232-7855
email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn

FOR CHINESE EMBASSIES STATIONED IN OTHER COUNTRIES, TRY:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/embassy_list.htm
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/wjb/zwjg/2490/default.htm

Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations
350 East 35th Street; New York, NY 10016
ph: 212-655-6100; fax: 212-634-762
email: chinamission_un@fmprc.gov.cn, ChinaMissionUN@Gmail.com

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

China plans first animal welfare law
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/16/china-plans-animal-welfare-law
China eliminating all dogs in Hanzhong city
http://www.actasia.org/index/index.php?page=dog-cull
China city kills 36,000 dogs after rabies deaths
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSPEK35560
Every dog has its day as Heihe orders canine cull
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-05/23/content_7934736.htm
(IN CHINESE) Photos from the killings – graphic
http://chengshifei.blog.sohu.com/117618704.html

===============================================================
Please Help Fund Our Research & Educational Materials

*   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

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
7/4/09: Seven Dogs Perish, Trapped Inside Hot Van


Jersey, an Akita above with handler Mary Wild, 24, died from heatstroke
inside a hot van. Seven dogs succumbed to heat-related death. Three golden
retrievers, a Dalmation, a Siberian Husky, and a Malamute were confined in
Wild’s cargo van where it reached 120 degrees. Cinder, a Siberian Husky,
survived and has returned home. PHOTO: stltoday.com

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

Forrest K. Wegge, Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney
Jefferson County Courthouse
300 Main Street; Hillsboro, MO 63050
ph: 636-797-5321; fax: 636-797-5065
email: fwegge@jeffcomo.org

Public Administrator
Jefferson County Courthouse
300 Main Street; Hillsboro, MO 63050
ph: 636-797-5385; fax: 636-797-6043

Circuit Clerk
Jefferson County Courthouse
300 Main Street; Hillsboro, MO 63050
ph: 636-797-5443; fax: 636-797-5073
email: Howard.Wagner@courts.mo.gov

Sheriff Oliver “Glenn” Boyer
Justice Center, 400 Main Street
Hillsboro, MO 63050
ph: 636-797-5000; fax: 636-797-6451
email: GBoyer@jeffcomo.org

ALL EMAILS IN THIS ALERT:
fwegge@jeffcomo.org, bking@jeffcomo.org, Howard.Wagner@courts.mo.gov,
GBoyer@jeffcomo.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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Jefferson County Authorities:

Thank you for your prompt inquiry into the death of seven “show dogs” left
in Mary Wild’s overheated van in Arnold, MO. Please book Wild on animal
neglect charges under Missouri Revised Statutes, Chapter 578.009: “A person
is guilty of animal neglect when he…fails to provide adequate care…which
results in substantial harm to the animal.”

If Wild is found to have “intentionally or recklessly caused injury or
suffering to an animal,” please upgrade neglect charges to animal abuse.

Wild was hired to supervise and transport eight dogs to and from an Iowa dog
show the weekend of 6/20/09. At the very least, she neglected to provide
heat relief in the a.m. hours of June 22. She kept all eight dogs in her
cargo van where temperatures soared to 120 degrees. The dogs succumbed to
slow death, likely heatstroke, while Wild slept comfortably indoors.

This tragedy was no accident. Rather than move the dogs into a ventilated,
cool area, Wild let them roast in portable kennels inside the van. If it’s
too hot to unload dogs, as Wild later told police, than it’s too hot NOT to.

I urge you to seek maximum penalties under Missouri law. As you know, animal
neglect is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment and/or fine, and persons
found guilty can be ordered to reimburse veterinary and carcass disposal
costs. In light of the multiple deaths, Wild ought to incur full punition
and be barred from possessing or working with animals.

Animals feel the excruciating pain of heatstroke no differently than humans.
Any person who traps them inside a vehicle in the sweltering heat should not
care for animals. Seven beautiful dogs were very much alive until Mary
Wild’s selfish act of cruelty killed them.

Thank you,

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

Prosecutor to weigh case soon in deaths of 7 show dogs
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/BE68A9D708F5CE8F862575E1005BB061?OpenDocument
Seven show dogs die after handler leaves them in hot van
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/191EDA28F711396D862575DF005870EC?OpenDocument
Missouri Animal Cruelty Laws
http://law.justia.com/missouri/codes/t38/5780000009.html

===============================================================
Humane Educators Use Kinship Circle Literature…
A teacher in Tampa. A humane educator who travels the country. Kinship
Circle educational literature is reaching students… But not fast enough!

HELP RAISE $5,000 TO PRINT MORE KINSHIP CIRCLE FACT SHEETS:
*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Download any Fact Sheet, FREE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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 TO KINSHIP CIRCLE – 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.

7/5/09: UPDATE – Stu Dies July 23. Stop Them.
Act Before 7/13/09.


Kinship Circle’s 6/18 Stu alert asked you to flood Los Angeles offices with
pleas for the dog’s life. Now, a 6/23/09 court decision leaves Stu with a
July 23 execution date – despite testimony from acclaimed animal experts
that Stu poses no threat to humans.

To save Stu, Jeff de la Rosa wants you to know:
(It’s tangled. Kinship Circle didn’t write the politics! We just want to save Stu.)

1. LOS ANGELES BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES must hold a special meeting BEFORE
July 13, 2009 (which is their next regular meeting). The Board president or
three Commissioners are empowered to schedule this special meeting — but NO
ONE HAS CALLED FOR IT. It’s purpose would be to discuss a Board
recommendation, in writing, to spare Stu and send him home. The Board’s
letter would then go to the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor.

2. By the Board’s 7/13 meeting, Commissioners must vote to send the Stu
recommendation to L.A. CITY COUNCIL. Then, either full Council or a Public
Safety Committee will address Stu’s fate. Next, the CITY ATTORNEY would
advise City Council on its legal powers to save Stu and send him home. Wait,
there’s even more red tape: The Board of Animal Services must also vote on a
60-day suspension of the order to kill Stu.

3. The MAYOR decides Stu’s fate, if City Council votes to make a Stu
recommendation to the mayor.

YOUR JOB:
Email or preferably FAX your demand that the Board call and hold a special
meeting before 7/13/09.

1.  FAX L.A. BOARD OF ANIMAL SERVICES: 213-482-9511
ON YOUR FAX COVER SHEET: Direct the Board Secretary to forward your fax to
all Board members immediately.

2.  FAX BOARD PRESIDENT TARIQ KHERO at his office: 310-392-9029
(Nasatir, Hirsch, Podberesky & Genego, PLC)

3.  CALL TARIQ KHERO at his office: 310-854-4170

4.  EMAIL ALL ANIMAL SERVICES BOARDMEMBERS AND REQUEST A REPLY:
tariqkhero@gmail.com, ninekitties@aol.com, ireneponce@earthlink.net,
secundar@unitedtalent.com, ajq1trq2@aol.com

5.  CC JEFF ON YOUR EMAILS: stu.911@gmail.com

6.  FLOOD ANIMAL SERVICES WITH CALLS: 213-482-9506, 9501, 9505, 9504
Demand the Board hold a special meeting before 7/13/09 to discuss a written
recommendation to spare Stu and send him home.

SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS:
Please make some words your own. You do NOT need to use every point.

–  I respectfully demand that L.A. Board of Animal Services hold a special
meeting BEFORE 7/13/09, to form a written recommendation to spare Stu and
send him home.

–  Please do not allow Stu’s execution. The bite incident occurred when a
pet-sitter tried to harness him after he’d sustained a torn ear in an
atypical scuffle with another household dog. It is accepted knowledge that
injured animals may react defensively.

–  Commissioner Archie Quincey, a 30-year veteran of L.A. Country Animal
Control, later described the bites as “a couple of puncture wounds.”

–  Stu was wrongfully seized from a locked kennel in Jeff de la Rosa’s
backyard in Aug. 2005. After that, L.A. Animal Services mismanaged the case,
resulting in two years of court proceedings. During this time documents and
attempts to reveal the truth about Stu were inexplicably blocked.

–  Dr. Richard Polsky, a co-creator of City criteria for gauging dangerous
dogs, and Bobby Dorofshar of New Leash on Life, also a City advisor and
one-time member of its Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee — have testified that
Stu poses no threat to humans and is not considered dangerous.

–  Conclusions that Stu is non-aggressive stem from expert assessment of
Stu’s pre- and post-incident behavior, plus comprehension of how the
victim’s actions may have triggered the bites.

–  Please let a now elderly dog, who aged from 6 to 10 while impounded,
live his final days at home with Jeff de la Rosa. Stu’s life depends upon
the Board’s move to hold a special meeting BEFORE 7/13/09. People worldwide
hope you take this step to save Stu’s life.

=============================================================
A DOG’S LIFE, TIED UP IN RED TAPE
=============================================================

PART #1: Playing political games with a dog’s life
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Playing-political-games-with-a-dogs-life

PART #2: Appeals Court rules against Stu – could allow Animal Services to kill senior dog
http://www.examiner.com/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d23-Appeals-Court-rules-against-Stu–could-allow-Animal-Services-to-kill-senior-dog

Jeff de la Rosa’s Boardwatch Blog / STU DIES July 23, 2009! Mark your calendar:
http://laanimalservicesboardwatch.blogspot.com/2009/06/stu-dies-july-23-2009-mark-your.html

6/18/09: Undue Justice – Stu On Death Row, 4 Years And Counting
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1842&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.

7/10/09: Put Namibia’s Baby Seal Slaughter Out Of Business

When Namibia gained independence in 1990, it issued rights and quotas to two
sealing concession holders to club 930,000 seals. Since then, harvesters
have filled just 60% of their annual quota, causing the government to lose
the 40% revenue gleaned from each dead pup… Namibia’s sealing trade has
rights until 2019 to kill a million seals.

This year’s Cape Fur Seal slaughter was to begin 7/1/09, but then
temporarily suspended to negotiate the possible $14 million sellout of
Namibia’s seal trade to Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-South Africa.

READ MORE:
Namibia Seal Cull NOT Started, Hang-in There Baby Seals, Help Coming
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/namibia-seal-cull-not-started/
Cruelest Seal Cull in the World
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/namibian-seal-slaughter/

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


Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA, http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/

Yavuz Group Australia
Hatem Yavuz
4/43 A Ethel St. Seaforth N.S.W.
Sydney, Australia
61-2-9948 5366; fax: 61-2-9948 5377
email: hatemyavuz@superonline.com

Yavuz Group Turkey
Hatem Yavuz
Organize Deri Sanayi Boelgesi 11 Yol B-1 Parsel
Tuzla, Istanbul
ph: +90 (216) 394 27 20-21; fax: +90 (216) 394 27 22
email: info@yavuzgrup.com

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Hatem Yavuz of Australia,

Sometimes a business needs to look beyond projected revenue, to consider
moral implications. Citizens worldwide overwhelmingly oppose Namibia’s
annual seal massacre, yet Hatem Yavuz — the sole purchaser of Cape Fur Seal
skins — apparently supports it. Association with a seal cull that has
surpassed Canada in scope and cruelty generates negative publicity.

Brutalized seals are so young, mother’s milk gushes from their knife wounds.
Utter terror may cause pups to regurgitate milk even before they are
clubbed. After several blows with a wooden club, pups presumed dead are
“bled out” with a knife. Some remain conscious till partially skinned.

I respectfully ask you to boycott Cape Fur Seal pelts and thereby thwart the
only hunt that permits clubbing of nursing pups. Seal fur jackets and
medicinal oils are ethically indefensible. I am confident a businessman with
your acumen can tap other lucrative resources that don’t invest in this
bloody trade.

The sealskin market is shriveling amid an economic slump and passage of a
European Union ban on all non-aboriginal seal goods. Belgium, the
Netherlands, Slovenia, Croatia, South Africa, the U.S. and Mexico already
prohibit seal products. Cape fur seal imports were specifically banned
across the EU in 2009. Yavuz Group, an exclusive buyer of baby pelts in
2008, seems to be the primary incentive for an otherwise dead-end industry.

Namibia’s seal population has endured massive depletion due to starvation.
Thus, claims from the Ministry of Fisheries that bludgeoning and slashing
nursing pups is crucial to population control ring false. The cull itself
excludes breeding seals. Moreover, natural cycles within ecosystems level
populations. South Africa, for example, has observed no rise in seal numbers
since ending its commercial cull in 1990.

Please heed global disapproval and end your endorsement of seal slaughter. I
urge you to publicly pledge to stop buying Namibian Cape Fur Seal pelts.

Thank you,

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

Namibian seal hunt to go on, 90,000 to be clubbed
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090706/ap_on_re_af/af_namibia_seal_hunt
Namibia: Seal Cull NOT Started, Hang-in There Baby Seals, Help Coming
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/namibia-seal-cull-not-started/
Aussie Company Supports Cruel Seal Cull
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/take_action/namibian-seal-slaughter/
Please Help Stop the Seal Fur Trade.
http://antifursocietyinternational.org/n_seals/seals.html
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/
The Noises of Seal Fur Protestors – by Hatem Yavuz
http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=5038

=============================================================
Please Help Fund Our Research & Educational Materials

*   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

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.

7/13/09- UPDATE: A Chance For Stu!
FULL STORY: Board of Animal Services moves to amend L.A. Code to free Stu!
http://laanimalservicesboardwatch.blogspot.com/2009/07/board-of-animal-services-commissioners.html

Dear Kinship Circle Supporters:
We’ve followed Stu’s saga since 2005. Today, the fate of this wrongfully
impounded, non-dangerous dog hinged upon the Los Angeles Board of Animal
Services Commissioners (7/13/09) meeting.

If Stu hadn’t made it on today’s agenda, his euthanasia date would have
remained 7/23/09 — as circulated in our last alert: 7/5/09: Stu Dies July
23. Stop Them. Single-custody dog cases are not ordinarily the type issues
covered in KC alerts. Stu is different. His case is so glaringly unjust.

On 6/18/09 we asked you to flood Los Angeles offices with pleas for Stu’s
Life. You did. On 7/5/09 we urged you flood ‘em again in order to repeal
Stu’s 7/23/09 execution date — despite testimony from acclaimed animal
experts that Stu poses no threat to humans. You did.

Bottom line: As of today, there is no euthanasia date for Stu. Politics run
thick so we can’t claim victory yet. But, things look good for Stu!

“We Win! I Think… Much mention was made of full email boxes and messages
from people all over the world!” Jeff de la Rosa


EDITED FOR LENGTH
Jeff de la Rosa, stu.911@gmail.com — 7/13/09: The Board convened at about
10:30 and immediately began discussion of Item 3A regarding Stu… The Board
took Public Comment from a large group of concerned citizens, some who
traveled from as far as southern Orange County to support Stu. The Board
requested that no action to “euthanize” Stu be taken at this time. At 11:05
the Board withdrew to consult with Assistant City Attorney Laurie
Rittenberg, the supervising attorney on Stu’s court cases.

The Board did not return until past 12:30 p.m. at which time, Commissioner
Riordan introduced a motion that the Board make recommendations to L.A. City
Council to amend the Los Angeles Municipal Code section covering “dangerous”
Dogs… Commissioner Riordan stressed that the amendment be retroactive to
cover Stu’s case…and it passed 4-0…

WHAT THIS MEANS: At a subsequent public meeting (presumably July 27, 2009),
the Board will actually make a recommendation to City Council to amend the
code in order to give the Board the power to reverse a general manager’s
decision AFTER the appeal had been finalized. I take this to mean that the
Board, once empowered by the code change, intends to remove the “dangerous”
designation from Stu which would allow the Board to send him home under
reasonable terms and conditions for his care and control.

I’m a little frazzled by the whole thing because it doesn’t seem real. I’m
encouraged, but I will believe it when I see it. This could take months or
weeks or the Council could refuse to the amend the code…

NOTE: If any of you have called the Department and have comments about
conversations you have had regarding the case that you’d like to share with
Kate Woodviolet (Kate wrote the 2 Examiner.com pieces that launched this
newest surge public support), please contact her woodviolet9@hotmail.com

##############

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT JEFF DE LA ROSA: stu.911@gmail.com

=============================================================
A DOG’S LIFE, TIED UP IN RED TAPE
=============================================================

7/13/09, Board of Animal Services Commissioners moves to amend L.A. Code to free Stu!
http://laanimalservicesboardwatch.blogspot.com/2009/07/board-of-animal-services-commissioners.html

PART #1: Playing political games with a dog’s life
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Playing-political-games-with-a-dogs-life

PART #2: Appeals Court rules against Stu – could allow Animal Services to kill senior dog
http://www.examiner.com/x-1779-LA-Pet-Rescue-Examiner~y2009m6d23-Appeals-Court-rules-against-Stu–could-allow-Animal-Services-to-kill-senior-dog

6/18/09: Undue Justice – Stu On Death Row, 4 Years And Counting
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1842&seriesfirst=true

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

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.

UPDATE: 7/15/09 – Kitten Cooker Laughs Her Way To Jail


Cheyenne Cherry tossed her ex-roommate’s kitty, Tiger Lily (above), into the
stove, then left so she didn’t have to hear the cat’s anguished cries.
Photos from nydailynews.com.

Cherry Sentence: 1 Year Jail + No Animals For 3 Years
FULL STORY: Teen Cheyenne Cherry taunts animal activists after guilty plea for killing kitten in oven
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/07/15/2009-07-15_cheyenne_cherry_taunts_animal_activists_after_getting_plea_deal_killing_kitten_i.html

OFFENDER: Cheyenne Cherry

PLEA: Guilty on animal cruelty and attempted burglary in 5/6/09 killing at
former roommate’s apartment. Cherry and a 14-year-old friend ransacked
Valerie Hernandez’s apartment and trapped her kitten, Tiger Lilly, inside an
activated oven where the animal roasted alive. In court 7/15/09, Cherry
admitted to Judge Margaret Clancy that the younger girl put the cat in the
oven — and “I didn’t let the cat out.”

PENALTY: Plea bargain results in one-year jail sentence. Under the
agreement, Cherry pleaded guilty to two charges in a six-count indictment.
She waived her right to appeal and agreed not to keep a pet for the next
three years. Cherry faces formal sentencing July 31, 2009.

The second girl faces trial in Family Court because of her age. Prosecutor
Jennifer Troiano said Cherry was granted a plea deal because her cohort was
“more culpable” for the crimes.

7/15/09: A heartless kitty killer hissed angrily at animal rights activists,
grinning widely as she took credit for stuffing the helpless pet into a
500-degree oven. “It’s dead, bitch!” snapped an unrepentant Cheyenne Cherry,
sticking her tongue out after a plea bargain that will put her behind bars
for a year in the May 6 killing of tiny Tiger Lily….  REST OF STORY:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/07/15/2009-07-15_cheyenne_cherry_taunts_animal_activists_after_getting_plea_deal_killing_kitten_i.html

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES
6/11/09: A Kitten’s Last Screams From An Oven
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1837&seriesfirst=true

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

Help Fund Kinship Circle Research & Educational Materials

*   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

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.

7/21/09: Cruelty For Sale At Live Animal Markets


LT PHOTO: 4/8/09, A chicken manages to dislodge her head from a tiny cage
packed with other birds. RT PHOTO: This vendor (Chase Benton) was stuffing 8 partridges at a time into one bag. SOURCE + MORE PHOTOS: http://www.lgbtcompassion.org/livemarkets/photos-cc.htm

=============================================================
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!

jeffrey.a.ross@sfgov.org, erica.derryck@sfgov.org,
districtattorney@sfgov.org, ACC@sfgov.org, kat.brown@sfgov.org,
rebecca.katz@sfgov.org, richard.lee@sfdph.org, mitch.katz@sfdph.org,
health.commission.dph@sfdph.org, hocfarmersmarket@gmail.com,
amy.brown@sfgov.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.

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

TO: San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris; Commission of Animal
Control & Welfare; Department of Animal Care and Control; San Francisco
Department of Public Health; Market Managers

Please accept my comments regarding San Francisco’s live animal vendors. I
am dismayed the District Attorney has failed to prosecute merchants
functioning in violation of state law. I understand a poultry exemption,
listed exclusively under California Penal Code section 597.3, is cited as
justification to do nothing — even as birds are routinely confined without
water or shade, squashed upside-down in closed bags, thrown to the ground
from trucks, and crushed inside filing-drawer size cages.

California Penal Code sections 597(a), 597(b), 597a, and 597t outlaw cruelty
to all animals. I hope the District Attorney’s office prosecutes violators
and seeks maximum penalties as defined by complete law.

I respectfully urge the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare to direct
Animal Care and Control and the DA to uphold cruelty laws. Additionally,
please ensure enforcement of the California Food and Agriculture Code.
Section 26602 requires those transporting poultry to bring proper records or
face arrest without warrant. Why doesn’t this Code apply to consumers who
move live birds on public transit or inside car trunks for use in slaughter,
religious sacrifice, or animal fighting?

I call upon the Department of Public Health to investigate live animal
markets from a human safety perspective. Animals are ferried into
restaurants, buses, rapid transit trains, and shared dwellings — often kept
alive to be “fresh-killed” prior to meal preparation. Please impose
regulations such as San Francisco’s Health Code 050: “No live bird or fowl
shall be kept or allowed in a food facility.”

Lastly, I ask market management itself to consider the potential for
personal liability in cases that involve illegal actions by their vendors.
Unethical and law-breaking vendors should be banned from markets.

Cruelty is cruelty. Wrenching animals by their feet or wings is cruel.
Audible cries of distress from animals indicate suffering. California law
599b identifies “animal” as “all dumb animals” and California Penal Code
597(b) specifies that “every person who causes any animal…to be tortured,
tormented, deprived of necessary sustenance, drink, or shelter…is for
every such offence, guilty of a crime.”

San Francisco’s live animal markets are disgraceful, but city officials have
an opportunity to set a humane precedent. Thank you for your prompt
attention to this disturbing matter.

Sincerely,

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

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris
Criminal Division, Hall of Justice
850 Bryant Street, Room 322; San Francisco, CA 94103
email: jeffrey.a.ross@sfgov.org, erica.derryck@sfgov.org,
districtattorney@sfgov.org

Commission of Animal Control and Welfare
Attn: Commission of Animal Control & Welfare
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 362
San Francisco, CA 94102
ph: 415-554-6074

Department of Animal Care and Control
1200 15th Street; San Francisco, CA 94103
ph: 415-554-6364; fax 415-557-9950
email: ACC@sfgov.org, kat.brown@sfgov.org, rebecca.katz@sfgov.org

San Francisco Department of Public Health
1390 Market St., Suite 210; San Francisco, CA 94102
ph: 415-252-3800; fax: 415-252-3875
email: richard.lee@sfdph.org, mitch.katz@sfdph.org,
health.commission.dph@sfdph.org

MARKET MANAGEMENT:
U.N. Plaza (Civic Center)
Christine Adams, Manager
The Heart of the City Farmers Market Community Advisory Board
1182 Market St. #412; San Francisco, CA 94102
ph: 415-558-9455; email: hocfarmersmarket@gmail.com

Amy Brown, Director of Real Estate
Real Estate Division City and County of San Francisco
25 Van Ness Ave., Ste. 400; San Francisco, CA 94102
email: amy.brown@sfgov.org

Alemany Blvd.
Reverend Rance Whiteside
Good Hope Baptist Church
551 Nevada St.; San Francisco, CA 94110
ph: 415-824-9662

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

Live Chickens Sold in Sealed Bags by San Francisco Markets
http://upc-online.org/livemarkets/090624sf_markets_live_chickens.html
Animal Abuse at San Francisco Farmers’ Markets
http://www.lgbtcompassion.org/livemarkets/livemarkets.htm
California Penal Code: Animal Welfare Provisions
http://www.anapsid.org/pettrade/penalcode.html

=============================================================
Please Help Fund Our Research & Educational Materials

*   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

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.

7/28/09: Puerto Rico – New Source For Primate Suffering?

=============================================================
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!

municipiodeguayama@hotmail.com, PedroPierluisi@mail.house.gov,
laura.maristany@mail.house.gov, rosemarie.vizcarrondo@mail.house.gov,
eduardo.hilera@mail.house.gov, TNolla@fortaleza.gobierno.pr,
ECruz@fortaleza.gobierno.pr

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Puerto Rican Officials:

I am dismayed to learn about a proposed primate breeding center in Guayama
City. I understand Bioculture, a Mauritius-based primate supply firm,
intends to ship long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in for research.

I kindly ask officials to acknowledge global concern about breeding and
import of monkeys for use in experimentation. Please suspend construction of
Bioculture’s facility in Puerto Rico. I encourage you to protect wildlife
rather than exploit it.

Moreover, it does not serve human health to facilitate old-fashioned animal
research. 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.

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.

Primate experiments have failed to yield tangible data for AIDS,
Alzheimer’s, stroke, cancer, and other diseases. Still, electrodes are
lodged in the brains of monkeys. Seizures and infections are induced.
Poisons are pumped through tubes, needles or inhaling devices. Babies are
forcibly separated from mothers. Animals slowly go insane in a barren world
of concrete and metal. Then they are killed.

As you may know, in-vitro cell technology, computer automation and other
innovations are gradually rendering animal research obsolete. For example,
researchers at Brown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and
elsewhere use complex microtissues made from cultured cells. Brown’s Jeffrey
R. Morgan, medical science and engineering professor, led a team that
layered cells 3-dimensionally to replicate live human organs.

I urge Puerto Rico’s leadership to keep pace with evolving standards. Please
don’t sully your image abroad by becoming a key source for primate
suffering.

Thank you,

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

Hon. Glorimari Jaime, Mayor of Guayama
Municipio Autonomo de Guayama
Oficina de Plan de Orden Territorial
P.O. Box 360; Guayama, PR 00785-0360
email: municipiodeguayama@hotmail.com

Rep. Pedro Pierluisi, Representative (District 1)
1218 Longworth HOB; Washington, DC 20515
fax: 202-225-2154; email: PedroPierluisi@mail.house.gov

Laura Maristany, Public Affairs Liaison: laura.maristany@mail.house.gov
Rosemarie Vizcarrondo, Puerto Rico District Office Director:
rosemarie.vizcarrondo@mail.house.gov
Eduardo Hilera, Legislative Correspondent: eduardo.hilera@mail.house.gov

Hon. Luis Fortuno, Governor of Puerto Rico
La Fortaleza; P.O. Box 9020082; San Juan, PR 00902-0082
ph: 787-721-7000; fax: 787-721-5072

Tere Nolla, Aide to the Governor: TNolla@fortaleza.gobierno.pr
Evelyn Cruz, Personal Executive Admin Assistant: ECruz@fortaleza.gobierno.pr

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

Help Stop the Building of a Primate Breeding Facility in the City of Guayama
http://pcrm.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=33121.0&dlv_id=38282
Support international campaign to stop the building of a primate breeding facility
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/anexp/guayama.html
Puerto Rican primate facility
http://www.buav.org/takeactionnow/puertoricanprimatefacility

=============================================================
Help Us Print/Distribute Our Educational Literature
DONATE NOW: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation


60+ DIFFERENT FACT SHEETS – EACH IS DOWNLOADABLE & FREE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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.

7/30/09 BLOG: Welcome Back Michael Vick?
By Brenda Shoss


PHOTOS 1 & 2: Michael Vick, Jason Hirschfeld/Associated Press.
PHOTOS 3 & 4: Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips, Helber/AP.
PHOTO 5: Former Vick dog Leo is now a therapy dog who comforts cancer
patients, MSNBC.com. www.examiner.com

On July 20, 2009, Michael Vick completed a 23-month sentence for crimes
associated with a dogfighting ring. In the legal sense, he “served his time”
for “conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful
activities and conspiracy to sponsor a dog in an animal fighting
enterprise.” Michael Vick repaid his debt to society.

But Vick did not merely fight dogs. He murdered them — slowly, viciously.
When dogs lost their “game” Vick himself, or with his Bad Newz Kennels
cohorts, drowned, strangled, hung, shot and electrocuted dogs.

Think about that: How much brute strength is required to plunge a muscular
pit bull’s head inside a five-gallon bucket of water until he drowns?
Imagine the sheer power of this aggressive dog. Vick, Purnell Peace, and
Quanis Phillips held the thrashing animal’s head underwater until his last
breath. How long did it take to kill this way…five, ten or more minutes?

Sometimes a dog was slammed against the ground until dead. Only a torture
lover could hoist a heavy animal — biting and kicking — into the air and
bludgeon him over and over.

Vick was consulted to kill another dog “by wetting the dog down with water
and electrocuting the animal.” Now that one takes some thought. No simple
gun shot to the head here. Nope, this was a premeditated plan to illicit
agony. I wonder if any “wet down” dogs enjoyed the cool water, just before
an electrical jolt induced massive heart attack?

On occasion, Vick, Peace and Phillips noosed dogs in the woods on Vick’s
property. Those who survived strangulation (how many hours did they hang
from a tree, choking?) were pulled down and submerged in water until dead.

A Second Chance For [some] Vick-tims: http://www.badrap.org/rescue/vick/

Michael Vick now repents. He’s not only paid his dues, but he’s also formed
a partnership with the Humane Society of the United States. In theory, the
reformed dog fighter will help HSUS stamp out fight rings among youths who
idolize the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback.

Apparently National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell feels the
love too. About a week after his release, Goodell green-lighted Vick’s NFL
reinstatement <http://www.clickorlando.com/tu/5IAtzPR1U.html>. That means
Michael Vick could be back, on a field near you, as early as October 2009.

Goodell wrote to Vick: “I accept that you are sincere when you say that you
want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a
positive role model for others. I am prepared to offer you that opportunity.
Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands.”

Maybe Michael Vick could “turn his life around” if he’d only sponsored dogs
in an animal fighting enterprise. But Vick isn’t guilty of poor decisions.
His moral ambiguity didn’t send him on a string of bad choices.

Sadistic torture is the calculated action of a predator. Hand him a
microphone. Sign him to the team. Still, you can’t fix sociopath.


BEST FRIENDS SANCTUARY: Lucas doesn’t look like a top-fighting dog. He wags his tail and gives kisses to anyone who greets him. But the deep scars on  his face are permanent reminders of his violent past.  Lucas will live the remainder of his natural life at Best Friends Sanctuary where he is loved and adored.

=============================================================
Got A Gripe With Michael Vick’s Return To The NFL?
Express your concerns to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell

Commissioner Roger Goodell
National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017
ph: 212-450-2000; fax: 212-681-7599

=============================================================
Please Help Fund Kinship Circle Research & Education

*   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

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
8/1/09: Stop Live Cat Labs At St. Louis Children’s Hospital


Internationally syndicated and animal-friendly cartoonist Dan Piraro created
a comic for PETA in his own characteristic style that highlights the
inadequacy of using live animals to teach medical professionals how to treat
human infants. http://www.peta.org/pdfs/dan_piraro_comic.jpg

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

EMAIL BLOCK – ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES FOUND FOR THIS ALERT:
cdunagan@bjc.org, Gunn_J@kids.wustl.edu, shapirol@msnotes.wustl.edu

FULL CONTACT INFORMATION:
William “Clay” Claiborne Dunagan, MD, MS
Vice President, Center for Health Care Quality and Effectiveness
BJC Healthcare, Mail Stop 90-66-500
4444 Forest Park Ave., Suite 500; St. Louis, MO 63108-2212
ph: 314-286-2170; fax: 314-286-2123
email: cdunagan@bjc.org

Joseph Gunn, MD, Medical Director, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Emergency Medicine, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
1 Childrens Place; St Louis, MO 63110-1002
ph: 314-454-6111, 314-454-2341; fax: 314-454-4345
email: Gunn_J@kids.wustl.edu

Larry Shapiro, M.D., Executive Vice Chancellor for Medical Affairs And Dean
Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8106
660 S. Euclid Avenue; St. Louis, MO 63110
ph: 314-362-6827
email: shapirol@msnotes.wustl.edu

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Dr. Dunagan, Dr. Gunn, and Dean Shapiro:

I am surprised St. Louis Children’s Hospital still relies upon live animal
labs for its Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) curriculum. I
respectfully urge you to replace the use of cats in intubation drills with
synthetic models such as sophisticated simulators and manikins.

PALS course sponsor, the American Heart Association (AHA), doesn’t require
or promote animal use. Nonetheless, cats undergo multiple exercises in which
plastic tubes are pushed through their windpipes. Students are encouraged to
learn from their mistakes. But in this case, the “mistakes” are live cats
who can bleed, swell and scar. Their lungs may collapse and improperly
routed tubes can kill them.

Most PALS facilities nationwide now use human-focused models alone.
Simulators yield data relevant to pediatric treatment because size and
location of internal organs resemble human anatomy more precisely.
Simulators also let trainees repeat procedures as often as necessary.

Animal-free learning tools cut overhead to confine, feed and destroy cats. 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 drop live animal exercises for the PALS course and any other airway
instruction. Medical training is better served by applicable and humane
non-animal technologies.

Thank you,

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

Ian Smith, M.A., Research Associate, Laboratory Investigations Division
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: IanS@peta.org

Help Cats Used In Training at St. Louis Children’s Hospital
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1686

=============================================================
Please Help Fund Our Research & Educational Materials
Thank You!  http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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.

8/4/09: Target – HLS Top Customers AstraZeneca & GlaxoSmithKline


THIS IS HUNTINGDON LIFE SCIENCES. 7 investigations have exposed such abuse
as HLS techs who push naso-gastric tubes into dogs’ lungs, drowning them in
toxic materials. A tech punches a screaming 4-month-old beagle in the face.
During a supposedly post-mortem dissection, a worker slices into the chest
of a convulsing monkey… Animals seen dangling from slings or cowering in
cages are left to seize, vomit and collapse with no vet care.

SCIENCE? “The best guess for the correlation of adverse reactions in man and
animal toxicity data is somewhere between 5% and 25%” Animal Toxicity
Studies: Their Relevance to Man, Lumley & Walker (eds) (Quay, 1989), 57-67

=============================================================
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!

AstraZeneca
david.brennan@astrazeneca.com, simon.lowth@astrazeneca.com,
tony.zook@AstraZeneca.com, bruno.angelici@AstraZeneca.com,
david.smith@AstraZeneca.com, jan.lundberg@AstraZeneca.com,
lynn.tetrault@AstraZeneca.com, peter.bonfield@AstraZeneca.com

GlaxoSmithKline
Andrew.Witty@gsk.com, Julian.Heslop@gsk.com, Moncef.Slaoui@gsk.com,
David.Pulman@gsk.com, Marc.Dunoyer@gsk.com, Chris.Viehbacher@gsk.com,
John.Clarke@gsk.com, Simon.M.Bicknell@gsk.com, Daniel.Phelan@gsk.com,
Claire.x.Thomas@gsk.com

***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.

=============================================================
GET 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 Sir/Madam,

I am concerned about the welfare of animals used in the development of your
products. I understand that both AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline severed
ties with Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS) after an investigation exposed
routine animal abuse inside the research facility.

Your good faith in Huntingdon’s promise to “clean up its act” led you to
renew your contract. Sadly, abuse remains the norm at HLS. As recently as
2008, a published report about primate trafficking across South America and
Asia described wild-caught monkeys squashed in cages for 30-hour treks to
Huntingdon Life Sciences in Cambridgeshire.

Inside the primate unit, an undercover worker recorded animals in filthy
cages who “went crazy,” gnawing fingers and toes to the bone. One primate
was tube fed after self-inflicted wounds left her face in shreds. The
investigator counted 217 monkeys killed in just five studies for customers
such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca.

I respectfully ask you to re-join the global list of customers, suppliers
and financiers who dropped HLS after learning about the lab’s habitual
abuse, falsification of test data, sloppy protocol, and employee misconduct.

Evidence from seven investigations over 12 years has exposed Huntingdon for
multiple breaches of the U.S. Animal Welfare Act, the arrest of workers on
animal cruelty charges, more than 520 infringements of Good Laboratory
Practice in England, and a $50,000 payoff to the U.S. Agriculture Department
for misstated records and animal welfare violations.

In 2005, two former HLS workers testified that animals were insufficiently
anesthetized before invasive procedures, such as extraction of bone marrow
from the chest bone. Workers transferred blood into the wrong tubes. One
“would go in and out about five times with the same needle, not hitting the
vein,” the past employee maintained. “I saw co-workers grab [dogs] by the
scruff, shout and swear at them, swing them by the scruff and slap them.”

Many labs now meet testing criterion with non-animal methods that yield data
more relevant to human health and safety. HLS, on the other hand, abuses
animals for invalid and redundant experiments.

I urge you to permanently terminate all business with Huntingdon Life
Sciences. Thank you for your valuable time and consideration.

Sincerely,

=============================================================
FULL CONTACT INFORMATION. Sample letter follows.
=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION FROM: info@shac.net

AstraZeneca
- David Brennan, Chief Executive Officer: david.brennan@astrazeneca.com
- Simon Lowth, Chief Financial Officer: simon.lowth@astrazeneca.com
- Tony Zook, Executive Vice President North America: tony.zook@AstraZeneca.com
- Bruno Angelici, Executive Vice President, Europe and ROW: bruno.angelici@AstraZeneca.com
- David Smith, Executive Vice-President, Operations: david.smith@AstraZeneca.com
- Jan Lundberg, Executive Vice-President Discovery Research: jan.lundberg@AstraZeneca.com
- Lynn Tetrault, Executive Vice-President Human Resources: lynn.tetrault@AstraZeneca.com
- Senior Non-Executive Director: peter.bonfield@AstraZeneca.com

ASTRAZENECA WORLDWIDE LOCATIONS-ADDRESSES
http://www.astrazeneca.com/about-us/addresses/

AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP (U.S. Headquarters)
P.O. Box 15437; Wilmington, DE 19850-5437
ph: +1 302 886 3000, +1 302 886 2972

GlaxoSmithKline
- Andrew Witty, CEO, Board of Directors: Andrew.Witty@gsk.com
- Julian Heslop, Chief Financial Officer, Board of Directors: Julian.Heslop@gsk.com
- Moncef Slaoui, Chairman of Research & Development, Board of Directors: Moncef.Slaoui@gsk.com
- David Pulman, President of Global Manufacturing and Supply: David.Pulman@gsk.com
- Marc Dunoyer, President of Asia Pacific/Japan: Marc.Dunoyer@gsk.com
- President of North American Pharmaceuticals, Board of Directors: Chris.Viehbacher@gsk.com
- John Clarke, President of Consumer Healthcare: John.Clarke@gsk.com
- Simon Bicknell, SVP, Company Secretary & Compliance Officer: Simon.M.Bicknell@gsk.com
- Dan Phelan, Chief of Staff: Daniel.Phelan@gsk.com
- Claire Thomas, SVP, Human Resources: Claire.x.Thomas@gsk.com

GSK WORLDWIDE LOCATIONS/ADDRESSES:
http://www.gsk.com/worldwide.htm

GlaxoSmithKline U.S. Corporate Headquarters
5 Moore Drive; Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
US corporate switchboard: +1 888-825-5249
US Customer Response Center: +1 888-825-5249

Glaxo Wellcome UK Ltd.
Stockley Park West, Uxbridge; Middlesex, UB11 1BT
ph: 020 8990 9000, 0800 221441
fax: 020 8990 4321, 020 8990 4328

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

HLS Top Targets
http://www.shac.net/action/top_targets/toptargets.html
ADI report and 2008 video footage shot inside HLS
http://www.savetheprimates.com/primateban/news/
Save The Primates, Documentary from ADI and NAVS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fg-uetBwGho
HUNTINGDON LIFE SCIENCES EXPOSED
http://www.shac.net/HLS/exposed.html
All Global HLS Targets
http://www.shac.net/action/customers/clients/index.html

=============================================================
Help Us Print/Distribute Our Educational Literature
DONATE NOW: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation


LEFT – http://www.kinshipcircle.org/store/#books
RIGHT – http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/WhoIsHuntingdonLifeScienc.pdf

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.

UPDATE: 8/13/09
18 Months Juvenile Jail For Girl, 14, Who Helped Roast Kitten
KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY posts quarterly UPDATES NEWSLETTERS. We occasionally
send solo updates like this one, when it’s a case that touched and infuriated many.


MySpace Photo, Tiger Lily

FULL STORY: Juvenile jail for NYC girl who roasted kitten
http://www.newsday.com/juvenile-jail-for-nyc-girl-who-roasted-kitten-1.1361720

OFFENDER: The 14-year-old accomplice of Cheyenne Cherry is unnamed in the
press because she is a juvenile in Family Court. Cherry, 17, is expected to
get a year in jail when sentenced on 9/2/09.

PLEA: Guilty to burglary and animal cruelty after killing a kitten in a
500-degree oven during an attempted burglary 5/6/09. Cherry and the
14-year-old friend ransacked Valerie Hernandez’s apartment and trapped her
kitten, Tiger Lilly, inside an activated oven. In court 7/15/09, Cherry
admitted to Judge Margaret Clancy that the younger girl put the cat in the
oven — where the animal cried and scratched before dying.

PENALTY: The New York City Law Department says the girl will spend 18 months
in juvenile jail for the May 6 death of the kitten, Tiger Lily.

KINSHIP CIRCLE RELATED CAMPAIGN
6/11/09: A Kitten’s Last Screams From An Oven
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1837&seriesfirst=true

===============================================================
Help Us Print/Distribute Our Educational Literature
DONATE NOW: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation


DOWNLOAD ANY OF 60+ FACT SHEETS FREE, to print for tabling, media,
presentations…  http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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.

8/14/09 BLOG: Michael Vick In The Land Of Second Chances
By Brenda Shoss


Michael Vick, right, and Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach Andy Reid during a
news conference today in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Eagles gave Vick a
one-year deal with an option for a second year. (Matt Rourke / Associated
Press / August 14, 2009)

“Michael Vick acknowledges having done ‘some terrible things,’” even as he
signs to play for the Philadelphia Eagles.

In the land of Second Chances, Michael Vick is living large after
negotiating the Eagles’ one-year deal with a second-year option. Oozing
regret, he promises to “be part of the solution and not the problem.” Does
his remorseful cup runneth over, or does he merely have a good publicist?

I have never heard Michael Vick talk much about the dogs. Or what went
through his head as he helped drown, hang, electrocute and bludgeon them. Is
he “sorry” about the dog gasping for air while drowned? I wonder if he
regrets a dog’s last look just before electrocution.

I would like to know exactly WHAT he is sorry for: Violently torturing
individuals who happen to be dogs OR getting caught? Does he repent for the
lives he stole OR the interruption of his promising career? Does he ask
forgiveness for forcing dogs into fatal fights OR for the shame and
embarrassment he caused family and fans?

A news story concludes: “Vick, who said he has no more pets, said he planned
to actively work in the community and the humane society to prove he can
help more animals than he’s hurt.”

Vick had pets? Well, maybe the ones he allegedly dog-napped to use as bait
for the fighters. Here’s the thing: You can spin it, forget it, turn it
inside-out and backwards — but, Michael Vick is still a predator. The day
he sobs uncontrollably over just one dog…let alone the many hurt at Bad
Newz Kennels…I may believe he is capable of empathy. When he is diagnosed
with Post Traumatic Animal Abuse Syndrome, suffering night sweats and
flashbacks, I may believe he is capable of compassion.

Until then, I see a sociopath dressed in repentant clothing.

REFERENCES:
7/30/09: Welcome Back Michael Vick?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/updates/updates_vick-09-30-07.html
Michael Vick acknowledges having done ‘some terrible things’
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-michael-vick15-2009aug15,0,2447823.story
Michael Vick signs two-year deal with the Eagles
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-vick-eagles14-2009aug14,0,647279.story

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

Plan To Boycott The Eagles Or Just Want To Comment?
WEB COMMENT FORM:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/fanzone/contactus.asp

EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION (dealmakers and decision-makers):
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/FrontOffice.html

CORPORATE SPONSORS FOR PHILADELPHIA EAGLES:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/corporatepartners.html

**KINSHIP CIRCLE WILL NOT TARGET CORPORATE SPONSORS IN AN ALERT**
We have done more than 20 Michael Vick alerts. His legal punishment phase is
over. We do not want to exhaust more limited time in letter campaigns about
Michael Vick. However, don’t let us stop you! Eagles’ corporate sponsors are
listed at link above. Find each one’s website and look for “Contact Us,”
“Feedback,” or similar links to locate their contact information.

=============================================================
Please Help Fund Kinship Circle Research & Education
DONATE: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation


60+ DIFFERENT FACT SHEETS – EACH IS DOWNLOADABLE & FREE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/

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.

8/18/09: Put Petland Out Of The Bunny Business & Jail Killer
**There are 2 separate sample letters in this alert**


Before its removal from Facebook, the caption under this photo read, “A
normal day at Petland.” Former Akron, Ohio employee Elizabeth Carlisle is
charged with two counts of animal cruelty for drowning two wounded rabbits.

8/18/09 UPDATE: Carlisle pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor animal
cruelty charges in Akron Municipal Court. Her pretrial hearing before Judge
Stephen Fallis is 9/3/09. http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/53494117.html

=============================================================
#1. SAMPLE LETTER: TO PETLAND USA
GET A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Petland USA
Ed Kunzelman, Founder and Chair
Frank Difatta, President
250 Riverside St.; Chillicothe, OH 45601
ph: 740-775-2464, 800-221-5935; fax: 740-775-2575
Petland marketing and communication: elizabeth.kunzelman@petland.com,
lacey.clever@petland.com

Dear Mr. Kunzelman and Mr. Diffata,

I understand Petland closed its Akron, Ohio outlet after employee Elizabeth
Carlisle bragged about drowning two rabbits on her Facebook page. I implore
you to take one more step: Please end rabbit sales at all Petland stores.

As you are aware, Carlisle not only drowned rabbits, but also dangled their
dead bodies on either side of her grinning face for an Internet photo. In
Facebook comments, Carlisle says she posed for her manager’s camera
“swearing at [the rabbits] to just hurry up and die…”

Do workers like Carlisle represent Petland’s euthanasia policy and overall
mission “to make a difference” in the communities it serves? Carlisle claims
the rabbits had been “attacking and eating each other.” On Facebook she
describes wounds such as a missing eye, broken jaw and lower-body paralysis.
Where were other employees as these injuries occurred over a span of time?

If the rabbits had been responsibly tended to in the first place, this
merciless killing might not have happened.

Animal health and safety seem problematic for Petland, despite statements
about “the best health care practices [for] the pets in our care.” Petland
ought to focus exclusively on pet supplies and counseling, while promoting
the adoption of homeless animals in cooperation with local rescue groups.

As a minimum effort — considering the negligence and cruelty in these
killings — Petland should terminate rabbit sales at all stores. Thank you
for your valuable time and consideration.

Sincerely,

=============================================================
#2. SAMPLE LETTER: TO AKRON PROSECUTOR
GET A FORMATTED LETTER (WORD DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
Easily modify letter. Copy/paste it into an email or print letter to fax or mail.
=============================================================

Holland & Muirden Attorneys at Law
J. Jeffrey Holland
1343  Sharon-Copley Rd
P.O. Box 345
Sharon Center, Ohio 44274
ph: 330-239-4480, 866-684-7336; fax: 330-239-6224
email: jjholland@hmlawohio.com

Dear Mr. Holland,

I understand former Petland employee Elizabeth Carlisle faces two counts of
animal cruelty after she bragged about drowning two rabbits on Facebook.

I respectfully ask for your thorough prosecution in this case, and hope that
you’ll advocate jail time if Carlisle is convicted. Please also seek to
prohibit Carlisle from owning or working with animals. Any animals still in
her custody ought to be confiscated now.

Carlisle not only drowned rabbits, but also dangled their dead bodies on
either side of her grinning face for an Internet photo. This bizarre
behavior warrants mandatory psychological counseling as well. In Facebook
comments, Carlisle says she posed for her manager’s camera “swearing at [the
rabbits] to just hurry up and die…”

Criminologists view the intensity of vicious behavior — regardless of the
victim’s identity — as a precursor to future violence. Offenders often
“practice” on animals before evolving to crimes against humans.

Indeed, documentation of animal abuse via photographs or web comments
suggests the perpetrator derives pleasure from violent acts — “a serious
indicator that violence will be repeated and/or escalated,” says Dr. Randall
Lockwood of ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent consultant for
cruelty investigators, law enforcers and mental health professionals.

The pet industry typically disregards cruelty in stores. Though complaints
are filed about the brutal mistreatment and disposal of sick or “surplus”
animals — legal action rarely occurs. Animal care costs are cited as reason
to fatally drown, freeze, smash or starve animals.

Please let the pet trade know that animal abuse is not tolerated wherever it
takes place. Thank you for your utmost deliberation in this case.

Sincerely,

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

Accused rabbit abuser faces protesters, pleads not guilty
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/53494117.html
Liz Carlisle will be arraigned Monday on cruelty charges in rabbit drowning case
http://www.cleveland.com/crime/index.ssf/2009/08/post_20.html
Petland Employee Who Drowned Rabbits Should Serve Time if Convicted, Says PETA
http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=13424
Ask Petland to End Rabbit Sales After Employee Rabbit Killings
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2385
Akron Petland closes and employee faces cruelty charges…
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/akron_petland_closes_employee_1.html

Wear Your Compassion – 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

***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.

*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

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.

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***
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 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.

9/15/09: 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


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.

9/27/09: 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.

9/29/09: 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.

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.

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.

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.

**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.

November 2009: Kinship Circle Digest

HERE ARE YOU TOP 10 ALERTS. READY, SET, ACT!

1. Go to any link below and click EMAIL THIS LETTER, beneath the sample letter.
2. A ready-to-send message opens in the email software on your computer.
3. Sign (personalize letter if you have time) and hit send.
   

1. MAKE SURE TEXAS TECH ENDS LIVE CAT LABS FOR GOOD
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1871&seriesfirst=true
For two decades, Tech University Health Science Center (TTUHSC) trainees
have driven plastic tubes down cats’ windpipes, causing them to bleed or
swell. Constant intubation can lead to collapsed lungs or death…

2. TIME SENSITIVE! NEW TRIAL: 11/24/09
NO JUSTICE FOR 7 DOGS WHO DIED INSIDE HOT VAN?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1844&seriesfirst=true

AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE SENT THIS UPDATE TO US:
From: note@note2email.com / Date: Fri, 20 Nov 2009
Nov. 24 is new trial date for Mary Wild, charged with killing 7 dogs in an
overheated van. This trial has been postponed several times and has dropped
off the press radar. Several sources recently confirmed that Mary Wild [the
dog handler who left 8 dogs overnight in a scorching van; all died but one]
will attend the Kankankee, IL dog shows Nov 28-29. This is AFTER her trial,
so does she expect to be let off free? Or does she know the trial will be
postponed again? I hope this case does not disappear into oblivion… Many
people are appalled at what happened but are afraid too speak out for fear
of retribution from the Wild family. Signed: A concerned dog lover

3. RELEASE CANCUN TIGERS FROM MISERY
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1861&seriesfirst=true
In 2004, Hurricane Wilma ravaged Cancun, Mexico shops, including Pepe’s
Restaurant. When owner Gil Jose Juarez (Pepe) fled, he left his exotic wild
cats trapped in the rubble…later to live with feces, filth, rotten food…

4. MUTILATED SHARKS ARE THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN FIN SOUP
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1856&seriesfirst=true
Until fishermen stop severing fins and dumping mutilated sharks at sea, many
species remain vulnerable to extinction. An estimated 73 million sharks are
killed annually — most sold for shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy…

5. SAVE GRAY WOLVES SO WE CAN SLAUGHTER THEM?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1854&seriesfirst=true
Montana opened fire on 9/15/09. Idaho’s race to kill its wolves began
9/1/09. Where is the intelligent strategy to sustain the very wolves that
Americans salvaged from near extinction?

6. ASK ASTRA ZENECA & GLAXOSMITHKLINE TO DROP HLS
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1850&seriesfirst=true
Seven undercover investigations have exposed horrific HLS abuse: Technicians
push naso-gastric tubes into dogs’ lungs, drowning them. Animals dangling
from slings or cowering in cages are left to seize, vomit and collapse…

7. SHOT IN THE DARK – AUSTRALIA’S KANGAROO MASSACRE
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1828&seriesfirst=true
Australia’s wildlife culls are permitted to take up to 10,000 kangaroos per
night. Babies found in a slain mother’s pouch may be decapitated with a
sharp blade. Older joeys are bludgeoned or shot at point blank range…

8. STOP THE MILITARY’S WAR ON INNOCENTS
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1821&seriesfirst=true
Every year the U.S. Department of Defense wounds and kills hundreds of
thousands of animals — exhausting taxpayer dollars to amputate goats’ legs,
bomb pigs, and inject monkeys with toxins to mimic nerve gas strikes…

9. TWO DOGS SHOT AT POINT BLANK RANGE IN NEW YORK
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1867&seriesfirst=true
Robert Bushnell confessed to police on 9/30/09 that he killed Amy Tubbs’ two
dogs. He fired two bullets into Rocky, a 5-year-old Alaskan malamute, and a
single bullet into Mocha, a 7-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever…

10. GET SERIAL CAT KILLER OFF NEW YORK STREETS
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1865&seriesfirst=true
Sean Lynde killed girlfriend Rachael Strate’s four cats. In October 2008, he
allegedly poisoned Cleo, whose body was found with a mouthful of detergent
behind a dryer. He bludgeoned Zoe so severely, a vet euthanized her…

HELP MAKE OUR VOICE STRONGER…

WITH A YEAR-END MATCHING GIFT!
Generous supporters have set-up a Gift Fund. Your donation — postmarked by
Dec. 31, 2009 — will be matched from this fund!

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle
Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

YOUR YEAR-END DONATION WILL HELP US:
*    Hire staff to research animal cruelty cases.
*    Develop and print our powerful educational literature.
*    Employ coordinators, who are vital to our animal disaster aid work.

Thank you for believing in Kinship Circle’s work for animals!

KINSHIP CIRCLE: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal advocacy organization with no
paid staff, that relies upon tax-deductible contributions to operate.

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

Kingship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / Saint Louis, MO 63130
-   Nonprofit Certificate of Incorporation, Missouri – Charter: N00071626 / Certification: 7789294
-   Federal 501(c)(3) registered with the IRS – Public Charity Status: 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
-   Sales Tax Exempt Status (from sales and use tax on purchases and sales – charitable)

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

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.

11/21/09: Nepal’s Killing Fields

Stop Mass Animal Sacrifice 11/24-25
The Gadhimai occurs NOVEMBER 24-25, 2009. If you can’t write by then, STILL
SEND COMMENTS. This event recurs every 5 years and should be outlawed.

As many as half a million animals like this Nepalese rooster, buffalo and
goat are knifed to death for the Gadhimai Jatra — a festival to commemorate
the Hindu goddess of power in Bara, Nepal.

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

Rt. Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Madhav Kumar Nepal
Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Singh Durbar / P.O. Box: 23312 / Kathmandu, Nepal
ph: 977-1-4211000; email: info@opmcm.gov.np

Mr. Sharat Singh Bhandari, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
Ministry of  Tourism  & Civil Aviation
Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal
fax: 977 1 4211758; email: info@tourism.gov.np, tourismnp@gmail.com

Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations
820 Second Avenue, Suite 17B / New York, NY 10017
ph: 212-370-3988/3989; fax: 212-953-2038
email: nepal@un.int

Embassy of the Kingdom of Nepal In USA
2131 Leroy Place, N.W. / Washington D.C., 20008
ph: 1-202-667 4550; fax: 1-202-667 5534
email: nepali@erols.com, lumbini@erols.com

TO LOOK UP NEPAL EMBASSIES & CONSULATES IN OTHER COUNTRIES, TRY:
http://www.kotan.org/tibet/embassies_nepal.html
http://www.immi.gov.np/location.php

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE)
info@opmcm.gov.np, info@tourism.gov.np, tourismnp@gmail.com, nepal@un.int,
nepali@erols.com, lumbini@erols.com

***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 Prime Minister and Officials of Nepal:

Animal cruelty cannot hide behind religion or tradition in the 21st Century.
Yet on November 24-25, 2009 the Gadhimai Jatra festival in Bara, Nepal
justifies the massacre of hundreds of thousands of pigs, chickens, rats,
goats, and pigeons as “sacrifice” to the Hindu goddess of power, Gadhimai.

This semi-annual bloodbath alienates potential tourists, like myself, who
object to a society that condones the senseless brutalization of animals.
Furthermore, it desensitizes your own children, teaching them to ignore
suffering and celebrate violence.

Please ban blood festivals. I urge the Nepalese government to enforce
stronger animal protection laws that shield animals from all forms of abuse,
including grotesque rituals such as the Gadhimai Fair.

As you know, the two-day contest involves men armed with knives who vie to
slaughter the most animals. Contestants are awarded a fee for each kill.
Death does not come quickly. Based on the “panchhbali” (five offerings),
competitors slit the throats of five different species. Buffalo take so long
to die that sword-bearing men cut them apart, starting with their back legs.

I’m shocked that Nepalese officials not only allow this festival, but also
pay to confine thousands of buffalo before it begins. Religious leaders have
proposed fruits and vegetables in place of animal sacrifice. I respectfully
ask you to embrace this nonviolent alternative and/or do everything within
your power to permanently cancel the Gadhimai festival.

Different cultures may not understand each other’s customs, but all rational
humans comprehend cruelty. The world recognizes the Gadhimai Jatra as
outright animal torture. It’s time that Nepal’s government does too.

Sincerely,

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

Ask Nepal to prevent animal cruelty during the Gadhimai Jatra festival
http://www.hsus.org/hsi/confronting_cruelty/animal_cruelty_around_the_world/gadhimai_festival_112009.html
‘The mass sacrifice of animals is barbaric’
http://www.guardianweekly.co.uk/?page=editorial&id=1352&catID=9
Stop world’s largest animal killing fair in Nepal
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/66745.htm
Campaign to stop animal sacrifice in Nepal
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/campaign-to-stop-animal-sacrifice-in-nepal
PHOTO SOURCES: Rooster – Judith Picciotto/Citizen Image; Buffalo – (c) ogimogi/flickr
http://tanfouk.livejournal.com; Goat – http://www.animalrightsnepal.org

IF YOU CAN SPARE EVEN $20 (OR MORE)…


PLEASE HELP LAUNCH OUR MATCHING GIFT DRIVE!
We haven’t heard from many of you, but hope we will. Generous supporters
have set-up a Gift Fund. Your donation — postmarked by Dec. 31, 2009 –
will be matched from this fund!

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle
Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

YOUR YEAR-END DONATION WILL HELP US:
*    Hire staff to research animal cruelty cases.
*    Develop and print our powerful educational literature.
*    Employ coordinators, who are vital to our animal disaster aid work.

Thank you for believing in Kinship Circle’s work for animals!

KINSHIP CIRCLE: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal advocacy organization with no
paid staff, that relies upon tax-deductible contributions to operate.

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

Kingship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / Saint Louis, MO 63130
-   Nonprofit Certificate of Incorporation, Missouri – Charter: N00071626 / Certification: 7789294
-   Federal 501(c)(3) registered with the IRS – Public Charity Status: 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
-   Sales Tax Exempt Status (from sales and use tax on purchases and sales – charitable)

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.

11/17/09: Ask Texas Tech To End Cat Labs For Good

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

Mary Croyle, Managing Director, Communications and Marketing
3601 4th Street Stop 6235 / Lubbock, TX 79430-0002
ph: 806-743-2143 ext. 227 * email: mary.croyle@ttuhsc.edu

Danette Baker, Associate Director, Communications and Marketing
3601 4th Street Stop 6235 / Lubbock, TX 79430
ph: 806-743-2143 * email: danette.baker@ttuhsc.edu

John Charles Baldwin, M.D.
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE — HSC
3601 4th Street Stop 6258 / Lubbock, TX 79430
ph: 806-743-2900, 806-743-2370 * email: john.baldwin@ttuhsc.edu

Steven Lee Berk, Academic Dean
Texas Tech University / 3601 4th Street, Stop 6207 / Lubbock, TX 79430
ph: 806-743-3000 ext. 4106 * email: steven.berk@ttuhsc.edu

Kent Hance, Chancellor
Texas Tech University / Lubbock, TX 79409
ph: 806-742-0012 * email: kent.hance@ttu.edu

Professor James E. Heavner
Anesthesiology Department LBK GENL
3601 4th Street Stop 8182 / Lubbock, TX 79430
ph: 806-743-2916 ext. 258 * email: james.heavner@ttuhsc.edu

Professor Rial Dewitt Rolfe
Vice President, Academic Services LBK
3601 4th Street Stop 6298 / Lubbock, TX 79430
ph: 806-743-2905 * email: rial.rolfe@ttuhsc.edu

Texas Tech University, Animal Care Services
Box 43132 / Lubbock, TX 79409
ph: 806-742-3722 ext. 286 * IACUC coordinator: iacuc@ttu.edu

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FOUND FOR THIS ALERT)
Copy/paste in TO or BCC line of your email:
mary.croyle@ttuhsc.edu, danette.baker@ttuhsc.edu, john.baldwin@ttuhsc.edu,
steven.berk@ttuhsc.edu, ent.hance@ttu.edu, james.heavner@ttuhsc.edu,
rial.rolfe@ttuhsc.edu, iacuc@ttu.edu

***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 Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center:

I understand that after two decades, Tech University Health Science Center
(TTUHSC) has not purchased cats for research from Odessa, Texas Animal
Control this year. I hope TTUHSC has joined over 90% of U.S. and Canadian
facilities that use simulated models for medical training courses.

I am surprised that TTUHSC relies upon old-fashioned animal experiments in
the first place. Please permanently replace animal labs with synthetic
models like simulators and manikins.

Though human-focused tools yield data more relevant to people, TTUHSC
courses have featured a drill in which students drive plastic tubes down
cats’ windpipes, causing them to bleed or swell. Constant intubation can
scar throat tissue and lead to collapsed lungs or death.

Cats have also undergone a procedure that pumps air into their chest
cavities. Trainees try to extract the surplus air via an inserted needle.

Animal-free learning methods cut overhead to confine, feed and destroy cats.
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 concludes: Inanimate
models are “safe, reproducible, readily available, and cost-effective.”

Moreover, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart
Association — the agencies that sponsor most pediatric life-support courses
nationwide — don’t promote animal use. They advocate synthetic models that
give students an accurate depiction of human, not feline, anatomy.

Please let me know if TTUHSC has, in fact, replaced live cat use in medical
training with superior and humane non-animal technologies.

Thank you,

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

Has Texas Tech Quietly Stopped Killing Cats?
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2695
Live Cats Used in Cruel Training Courses at Texas Tech
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2081
Public records show Texas Tech uses live cats in medical training
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/05/public-records-show-texas-tech-uses-live-cats-in-medical-training/

KINSHIP CIRCLE KICKS OFF ITS COMPASSION CAMPAIGN…

With A Year-End Matching Gift Drive To Build Our Base!
Generous supporters have set-up a Gift Fund. Your donation — postmarked by
Dec. 31, 2009 — will be matched from this fund!

Give securely online — and it will be matched:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

Or mail your tax-deductible donation to:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

YOUR YEAR-END TAX DEDUCTIBE DONATION WILL HELP US:
*    Hire staff to research animal cruelty cases.
*    Develop and distribute our powerful educational literature.
*    Employ coordinators, who are crucial to our animal disaster aid work.

A small “swat team” of volunteers have run Kinship Circle for 10 years on a
nearly nonexistent budget. We’re now at a pivotal point of growth and
influence. We do not want to let animals down, because we lack the resources
to respond. Thank you for believing in Kinship Circle’s work for animals!

ACTION * 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.

11/28/09: Killing Phoenix Update
Twins Indicted, Arraignment 12/9/09
ARRAIGNMENT SCHEDULED:
December 9, 2009 before the Honorable David W. Young


UPDATE: Remember Phoenix, the one-year-old pit bull terrier soaked in
gasoline and set afire? Police officer Syreeta Teel spotted her flailing in
the streets and heroically pounded out the flames with her sweatshirt.
Phoenix “rose from the ashes” long enough to be loved by her rescuers, but
was ultimately euthanized when extensive burns caused her kidneys to fail.

Now, her killers, twin brothers Tremayne and Travers Johnson, 17, have been
indicted and face arraignment DEC. 9, 2009. Indictment is not a guilty
verdict. They are still “innocent” until proven guilty. PHOTO: Baltimore Sun

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

Honorable David W. Young
227 Courthouse East
111 N. Calvert Street / Baltimore, MD 21202
ph: 410-396-5076, 410-396-5077; fax 410-545-7316
**NO PUBLIC EMAIL ADDRESS FOUND**

Honorable Patricia C. Jessamy, Baltimore City State’s Attorney
208 Clarence Mitchell Jr. Courthouse
110 North Calvert Street / Baltimore, Maryland 21202
ph: 410-396-4987; fax: 410-539-5215
email: mail@stattorney.org, info@stattorney.org
Kimberly B. Morton, Esq., Deputy State’s Attorney:
kmorton@stattorney.org
Communications, Margaret Burns, Chief:
mburns@stattorney.org
Investigations, Cynthia H. Jones, Esq., Deputy State’s Attorney:
cjones@stattorney.org

Mayor Sheila Dixon
City Hall, Room 250 100 N. Holliday St. / Baltimore, MD 21202
ph: 410-396-3835; fax 410-576-9425
email: mayor@baltimorecity.gov

Baltimore City Council, Office of the President
City Hall, 100 N. Holliday St., Suite 400 / Baltimore, MD 21202
President, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake:
410-396-4804; fax: 410-539-0647
email: CouncilPresident@baltimorecity.gov

District 1, James B. Kraft:
410-396-4821; fax: 410-347-0547; James.Kraft@baltimorecity.gov
District 2, Nicholas D’Adamo, Jr:
410-396-4808; fax: 410-396-4414; Nicholas.D’Adamo@baltimorecity.gov
District 3, Robert Curran:
410-396-4812; fax: 410-396-8621; Robert.Curran@baltimorecity.gov
District 4, Bill Henry:
410-396-4830; fax: 410-659-1792; Bill.Henry@baltimorecity.gov
District 5, Rochelle “Rikki” Spector:
410-396-4819; fax: 410-396-6800; Rochelle.Spector@baltimorecity.gov
District 6, Sharon Green Middleton:
410-396-4832; fax: 410-244-5343; Sharon.Middleton@baltimorecity.gov
District 7, Belinda Conaway:
410-396-4810; fax: 410-347-0537; Belinda.Conaway@baltimorecity.gov
District 8, Helen Holton:
410-396-4818; fax: 410-396-4828; Helen.Holton@baltimorecity.gov
District 9, Agnes Welch:
410-396-4815; fax: 410-545-3857; Agnes.Welch@baltimorecity.gov
District 10, Edward Reisinger Council Vice-President:
410-396-4822; fax: 410-545-7353; Edward.Reisinger@baltimorecity.gov
District 11, William H. Cole IV:
410-396-4816; fax: 410-545-7464; William.Cole@baltimorecity.gov
District 12, Bernard “Jack” Young:
410-396-4811; fax: 410-396-1594; Bernard.Young@baltimorecity.gov
District 13, Warren Branch:
410-396-4829; fax: 410-347-0534; Warren.Branch@baltimorecity.gov
District 14, Mary Pat Clarke:
410-396-4814; fax: 410-545-7585; MaryPat.Clarke@baltimorecity.gov

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE)
mail@stattorney.org, info@stattorney.org, kmorton@stattorney.org,
mburns@stattorney.org, cjones@stattorney.org, mayor@baltimorecity.gov,
CouncilPresident@baltimorecity.gov, James.Kraft@baltimorecity.gov,
Nicholas.D’Adamo@baltimorecity.gov, Robert.Curran@baltimorecity.gov,
Bill.Henry@baltimorecity.gov, Rochelle.Spector@baltimorecity.gov,
Sharon.Middleton@baltimorecity.gov, Belinda.Conaway@baltimorecity.gov,
Helen.Holton@baltimorecity.gov, Agnes.Welch@baltimorecity.gov,
Edward.Reisinger@baltimorecity.gov, William.Cole@baltimorecity.gov,
Bernard.Young@baltimorecity.gov, Warren.Branch@baltimorecity.gov,
MaryPat.Clarke@baltimorecity.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
=============================================================

Honorable David W. Young, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Office, Mayor
Sheila Dixon and City Council:

I have followed the case of Phoenix, a one-year-old pit bull terrier soaked
in gasoline and set afire on May 27, 2009. I understand the Baltimore City
Grand Jury indicted twin brothers Tremayne and Travers Johnson, 17, on five
counts of animal abuse and cruelty.

I thank the state’s attorney office and court for its serious deliberation
in this heinous crime. Phoenix was euthanized in caring hands after her
kidneys failed. Swollen and charred, her immune system simply couldn’t
handle burns covering 95% of her body.

But this case is as much about the twins as it is about Phoenix. These
youths are so desensitized to suffering, they ignored the cries of a living
creature enveloped in flames.

I urge you to levy felony animal cruelty penalties that include up to three
years in prison, a $5,000 fine, and mandatory counseling. If the Johnsons
are involved in dogfighting, as suggested by puncture wounds seen on
Phoenix, please punish them under animal fighting laws too. I hope you will
ensure these teens are barred from contact with animals.

Juvenile violence is often connected with musings on death and Goth anarchy.
Along with these dark images comes a fascination with victimizing animals.
Indeed, Columbine’s Eric Harris, D.C. serial killer Lee Boyd Malvo, murderer
Kip Kinkle and others “practiced” on animals before graduating to people.

Andrew Golden, 11, and Mitchell Johnson, 13, killed dogs in Jonesboro,
Arkansas prior to gunning down four students and one teacher. Mississippi
16-year-old Luke Woodham mortally stabbed his mother, killed three
classmates and shot seven more. Later in court, he confessed to bludgeoning
his dog with baseball bats and setting her on fire.

One U.S. study revealed that five of 11 killers involved in nine separate
school rampages had formerly abused animals. In another study, “Childhood
Cruelty Toward Animals Among Criminals and Noncriminals,” 25% of aggressive
criminals confessed to five or more acts of torturing animals.

Clearly, the animal-to-human violence link demands your utmost attention. I
reiterate my request that Mayor Dixon and the City Council address violence
at its roots by creating an animal abuse task force with citizen
representation. Please also empower animal control officers under the police
department and advocate prosecution in all animal abuse and fighting cases.

Thank you, in advance, for punishing Phoenix’ killers to the fullest degree
allowed by law.

Sincerely,

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

Twins indicted in Phoenix burning case
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2009/11/twins_indicted_in_phoenix_burn.html
Dog doused in gasoline, set on fire, Baltimore, MD (US)
http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/15502/MD/US/

$20, $30, $50…

That’s all it takes to become $40, $60 or $100 — to help Kinship Circle
hire an investigative research aid, publish our educational literature…and
better serve YOU, the animals’ eyes and voice.

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN <http://www.KinshipCircle.org> any amount
you contribute from now until December 31 will be MATCHED, due to generous
supporters who have pledged funds for a “matching donor pool.” PLEASE, if
you believe in our mission and use our alerts, literature, website and
information…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle
Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

Thank you for believing in our work for animals!

KINSHIP CIRCLE: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal advocacy organization with no
paid staff, that relies upon tax-deductible contributions to operate.

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID
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.

11/30/09: How Could They?
250,000 Animals Butchered Alive In Nepal Sacrifice


FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE: Nepal’s government upheld this year’s Gadhimai Jatra
mass animal sacrifice, despite strong global protest. On Nov. 24-25, some
250,000 animals were mutilated and beheaded in what may be the world’s
largest religious slaughter. We’ve modified our pre-festival sample letter
and urge everyone to send comments. This grotesque butchery must end.

SNAPSHOTS FROM OBSERVERS
Tue, 24 Nov 2009 / Manoj Gautam, Representative of Roots and Shoots Nepal:
“Thousands of buffaloes were standing in an enclosure when butchers holding
swords started hacking randomly at the animals. Baby buffaloes were bleating
and searching for their mothers. They were hunted down by the men. Needless
to say, not a single animal survived the blood bath…”

Krishna Singh, Programme Manager Animal Nepal: “I visited Gadhimai before
the killing… A baby goat died from a lack of food and water… The baby
buffaloes wanted to be petted. They were scared and needed some comfort.”

Bibi Funyal, photographer: “I was assigned to film the festival… In the
beginning butchers were able to cut the heads of buffaloes in one stroke.
Later it took them a long time to severe heads. Buffaloes were mooing — it
was a terrible sound… I had to step over thousands of bodies and heads and
wade through animal blood. It was something I will never do again…”

Lucia de Vries, Director Animal Nepal, international campaigner: “I am
convinced that these killings are among the worst forms of animal cruelty in
the world. I pray that when the images come out the international community
will agree that we have to stop this.” READ MORE:
http://serbiananimalsvoice.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/nepal-now-the-nepalese-g
overnment-climbs-above-the-chinese-as-the-worlds-no-1-animal-abusing-nation/

PHOTO SOURCE + VIEW MORE:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2009/nov/24/nepal-hinduism?picture=355997372

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

**SOME EMAILS MAY NOT WORK. We have cross-researched at Nepal government
websites, but are not accountable for disabled or outdated emails.

Rt. Hon’ble Prime Minister Mr. Madhav Kumar
Nepal Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Singh Durbar / P.O. Box: 23312 / Kathmandu, Nepal
email: info@opmcm.gov.np

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Administrative Section: adm@mofa.gov.np
All Divisions: Everyone@mofa.gov.np
Europe America Division: euroam@mofa.gov.np, ea@mofa.gov.np
Foreign Minister Secretariat: fmo@mofa.gov.np

Mr. Sharat Singh Bhandari, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation
Singha Durbar, Kathmandu, Nepal
email: info@tourism.gov.np, tourismnp@gmail.com

Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations
820 Second Avenue, Suite 17B / New York, NY 10017
ph: 212-370-3988/3989; fax: 212-953-2038; email: nepal@un.int

Embassy of the Kingdom of Nepal In USA
2131 Leroy Place, N.W. / Washington D.C., 20008
ph: 1-202-667-4550; fax: 1-202-667-5534
email: nepali@erols.com, lumbini@erols.com

TO LOOK UP NEPAL EMBASSIES & CONSULATES IN OTHER COUNTRIES, TRY:
http://www.kotan.org/tibet/embassies_nepal.html
http://www.immi.gov.np/location.php

ADDITIONAL NEPAL GOVERNMENT EMAILS:
House of Representative: nparl@ntc.net.np
Ministry of Agriculture & Cooperatives: moac@most.gov.np, agroinfo@wlink.com.np
Ministry of Information & Communication: moichmg@ntc.net.np, moichmg@ntc.net.np
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs: mlg@most.gov.np, molaw@wlink.com.np
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation: motca@ntc.net.np

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE):
info@opmcm.gov.np, adm@mofa.gov.np, Everyone@mofa.gov.np,
euroam@mofa.gov.np, ea@mofa.gov.np, fmo@mofa.gov.np, info@tourism.gov.np,
tourismnp@gmail.com, nepal@un.int, nepali@erols.com, lumbini@erols.com,
nparl@ntc.net.np, moac@most.gov.np, agroinfo@wlink.com.np,
moichmg@ntc.net.np, moichmg@ntc.net.np, mlg@most.gov.np, molaw@wlink.com.np,
motca@ntc.net.np

***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 Prime Minister and Officials of Nepal:

I am stunned by the magnitude of cruelty in the semi-annual Gadhimai Jatra
festival in Bara, Nepal. Fields fill with blood as sword-bearing butchers
casually hack apart baby buffalo and their elders. How can Nepal justify the
mutilation of hundreds of thousands of goats, buffalo, pigs, chickens, rats
and pigeons as “sacrifice” to the Hindu goddess of power, Gadhimai?

The Gadhimai alienates potential tourists, like myself, who object to the
senseless brutalization of animals. Furthermore, it desensitizes your own
children, teaching them to ignore suffering and celebrate violence.

Please ban all blood festivals. I urge the Nepalese government to enforce
stronger animal protection laws that shield animals from all forms of abuse,
including grotesque rituals such as the Gadhimai Fair.

The November 24-25, 2009 festival didn’t fail to repulse any human with a
conscience. One filmmaker noted that the butchers killed in a frenzy, unable
to sever heads quickly. “Baby buffalo searched for mothers. One touched my
tripod. That was when I felt I’d pass out if I continued filming. When I
left, I had to step over bodies and heads and wade through animal blood…”

As you know, the two-day contest involves men armed with knives who vie to
slaughter the most animals. Contestants are awarded a fee for each kill.
Death does not come quickly. Based on the “panchhbali” (five offerings),
competitors slit the throats of five different species. Buffalo take so long
to die that men cut them apart, starting with their back legs.

I am shocked that Nepalese officials not only allow this festival, but also
pay to confine animals before it begins. Religious leaders themselves have
proposed fruits and vegetables in place of animal sacrifice. I respectfully
ask you to embrace this nonviolent option and/or do everything within your
power to permanently cancel the Gadhimai festival.

Different cultures may not understand each other’s customs, but all humans
comprehend cruelty. The world recognizes the Gadhimai Jatra as outright
animal torture. It’s time that Nepal’s government does too.

Sincerely,

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================
Hindu sacrifice of 250,000 animals begins
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/24/hindu-sacrifice-gadhimai-festival-nepal
Stop world’s largest animal killing fair in Nepal
http://www.sindhtoday.net/news/1/66745.htm

PLEASE, if you believe in Kinship Circle’s mission and use our alerts,
literature, website and information…send what you can today.

$20, $30, $50…

That’s all it takes to become $40, $60 or $100 — to help Kinship Circle
hire an investigative research aid, publish our educational literature…and
better serve YOU, the animals’ eyes and voice.

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN <http://www.KinshipCircle.org> any amount
you contribute from now until December 31 will be MATCHED, due to generous
supporters who have pledged funds for a “matching donor pool.”

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal advocacy organization with no
paid staff, that relies upon tax-deductible contributions to operate.

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

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 / PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST THIS COLUMN

It’s that time of year when “pets become presents.”
So Kinship Circle is posting our “Live Gifts” column. Please share with
anyone who thinks animals make awesome gifts. They do not.

DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE “LIVE GIFTS” WITH PHOTOS HERE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/fact_sheets/LiveGifts.pdf

LINK TO OUR “LIVE GIFTS” COLUMN, FROM YOUR WEBSITE:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/columns_articles/live_gifts.html

SEND KINSHIP CIRCLE LETTERS IN ONE CLICK!
BOOKMARK THIS: http://www.change.org/kinship_circle/actions
Kinship Circle alerts are now archived as automated letters — to send with
one easy click. Visit the link above regularly.

Live Gifts — Instructions Not Included
KINSHIP CIRCLE COLUMN


Coauthored by: Brenda Shoss, president, Kinship Circle
Terri Kelley, investigative research aide, Kinship Circle

Nothing stirs the warm fuzzies more than a furry addition to the family. At
holiday time, shoppers are urged to wrap Fluffy or Fido in red ribbons.

But when the bows come off, an animal stumbles into an unfamiliar world.
Fido and Fluffy don’t come with instruction manuals stamped: “A Lifetime Of
Responsibility.” In fact, the average life span of a dog is 12 to 14 years.
Cats may live from 15 to 17 years. Even goldfish are around for 7 years. The
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) calculates
expenses for a single animal’s food, supplies, medical care and training to
be $700 to $875 annually. Costs creep into the thousands when health
complications, high quality food, and pet sitters are added to the equation.

Animals make bad surprise gifts. They soil furniture, chew rugs, slobber and
scratch. Unprepared recipients of puppies or kittens may grow frustrated
with unanticipated growth spurts, behavioral challenges, or grooming needs.

Once the cute factor fades, live gifts often wind up at the animal shelter.
According to ASPCA documentation, 60% of dogs and 70% of cats who enter
shelters are destroyed due to lack of space, illness, or un-adoptability.

“My kids will be thrilled to find Fido wrapped in bows. Why is this bad?”
On a physical level, it is never safe to tie animals in ribbons, enclose
them in boxes, or leave them unattended. Young animals chew and digest
anything in their path. Waxy-coated papers or bows can obstruct a tiny
kitten’s stomach and require emergency extraction.

Moreover, “live merchandise” teaches kids (and adults) that animals are
disposable. For holidays, birthdays, graduations or bar mitzvahs, we give
toys, electronics, apparel and jewelry. These inanimate objects fall within
a category of nouns considered to be without life. Animals, on the other
hand, are separated from plants and things by independent movement and
reactive sense organs. When people view animals as property, they fail to
see an individual with complex interests and needs.

Adults who adopt for children need to initiate a serious discussion about
what the child’s relationship with the animal will entail. Rescue
organizations and pet supply outlets carry books, videos and learning
materials about guardianship and training. More alternate gift ideas are
toys, beds, leashes, bowls and other gear. Sharing “pre-pet” time with a
child can be a fun and rewarding experience.

Impulse adoptions exacerbate the pet overpopulation crisis.
Shelters nationwide see a surge in surrenders after Christmas, Valentine’s
Day and Easter. “The holidays, and weeks just after, promise to fill more
cages and quarantine rooms…in animal shelters across the [New Jersey and
New York] region,” writes Tim Norris, of NorthJersey.com, about the overflow
at Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge in Oakland, NJ. “A fair number of arrivals
will come from well-meaning adopters who misjudged the commitment.”

Conversely, informed adopters are less likely to relinquish animals. The
Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) estimates 3 to 4 million healthy animals
are euthanized every year. Other guesstimates range from 6 to 8 million.

“Uncle Harold is dead set on surprising the kids with a dog.”
But no-one wants a present who comes with steep veterinary bills.

Common ailments have an incubation period. Within weeks of adoption, a
seemingly healthy puppy may harbor parasites, worms, respiratory infections,
coccidia, giardia, and deadly parvovirus or distemper. Fragile kittens may
harbor zoonotic diseases such as bacterial, parasitic, viral or fungal
infections. Cats must be screened for Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP),
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV).

Many veterinary hospitals offer puppy or kitten “packages” that include
vaccinations, spay/neuter procedures, and microchip implantation. Most
animals have a bit of wanderlust in them. Microchip identification is the
best defense against permanent loss.

An animal’s temperament is more difficult to prearrange. Still, adopters can
research which species, breeds or mixes are best suited to a particular
human environment. For example, are toddlers and nipping puppies a good
match? Can two working parents handle a robust dog who needs regular
exercise? Should longhair shedders inhabit a neatnik home?

“Where should we look for a new animal — breeder or shelter?”
Adopters can visit animal shelters, rescue/foster groups, and online
networks such as Petfinder.com to find furry soul mates. Many think that
shelters have no purebreds. In fact, puppy mill and breed-specific rescue
groups cater to pedigree darlings. The National Council on Pet Population
Study and Policy (NCPPSP) found 25% of dogs at shelters are purebred.

There are myriad reasons to adopt animals, rather than purchase from
breeders or pet shops. Reason #1: Thousands of puppies and kittens born
daily cannot squeeze into the nation’s 6,000 to 8,000 shelters. Just 3-4
million are re-homed. The rest are killed. Even when backyard breeders find
homes for every litter, they unintentionally put pound pets on death row.

Stray animals propel overpopulation with countless offspring. One female dog
and her young can produce 67,000 puppies in 6 years. A cat and her litter
can create 420,000 kittens in 7 years. Without enough loving homes, shelter
adoptions and extensive spay/neuter programs are the only viable solutions.

Furthermore, the wide-eyed pooch in the pet shop likely began her life at a
commercial enterprise where puppies are mass-produced. Profit-driven “puppy
mills” typically fail to provide adequate veterinary care, diet, exercise or
shelter. Large sites house up to 1,000 dogs in rusted chicken wire cages
heaped three or four tiers high. Urine and feces seep into lower cages. Dogs
at the top swelter in the summer and freeze in the winter.

Mass breeders look for low overhead and high return. Shoddy breeding methods
predispose dogs to chronic infirmities such as hip dysplasia, dislocating
kneecaps, seizures, eye lesions, liver and heart disease, and autoimmune
disorders. In California, a state financed study revealed almost half of pet
store pups were sick or carrying diseases.

“We’re all animal lovers. Is there something I can give in place of a live gift?”
Animals tend to awaken a child’s first sense of empathy. Animal-themed books
make wonderful gifts for youngsters, teens, and adults. Farm Sanctuary,
HSUS, United Poultry Concerns, PETA and other animal advocacy organizations
sell books from their websites. A simple Internet search using terms like
“Animal Books” produces lists with titles, authors and publishers.

Along with books, animal groups commonly offer educational materials, games,
magazine subscriptions, clothing and toys with a humane theme.

Sponsorship, membership or volunteering with a life-saving organization is a
meaningful gift for people of all ages. Shelters rely upon volunteers — to
clean cages, sweep hay, fill food bowls, walk dogs and socialize animals.
Most won’t let young children volunteer, but teens are usually welcome.

Parents can arrange educational tours for the entire family, a school
classroom, or even a birthday party. At Farm Sanctuary (Watkins Glen, NY),
Animal Acres (Los Angeles), or Longmeadow Rescue Ranch (Union, MO), kids can
meet rescued farm critters and “adopt” one. They’re able to follow the life
of their pig, cow, horse or hen through photos and stories.

Few gifts are as precious as an animal’s bottomless love. In return, we
promise a warm lap, a full bowl, and guardianship for life. No one can make
these promises for another. The decision to adopt comes from within.

Your $20, $30, or $50…can open a mind, change a law, save an animal.

Please help Kinship Circle hire an investigative research aid, publish our
educational literature…and better serve YOU, the animals’ eyes and voice.

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN <http://www.KinshipCircle.org> any amount
you donate from now until December 31 will be MATCHED. Please, if you use
our alerts, literature, website and information…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal advocacy organization with no
paid staff, that relies upon tax-deductible contributions to operate.

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

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.

SEND KINSHIP CIRCLE LETTERS IN ONE CLICK!
BOOKMARK THIS: http://www.change.org/kinship_circle/actions
Kinship Circle alerts are now archived as automated letters — to send with
one easy click. Visit the link above regularly. The letter below will be in
auto-letter format within the next week or sooner.

12/8/09: Roundup Plan 2010 – Seize 12,000 More Horses, Burros


PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com

UPDATE: On November 25, 2009 a lawsuit was filed to halt the Bureau of Land
Management’s huge Calico Complex (Nevada) horse roundup. The lawsuit
suspended the original December 7 capture date until December 28. During
the three-week postponement, motions seeking a preliminary and permanent
injunction against wild horse and burro roundups will have more time to
proceed…  http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/pdf/SDOC0573.pdf

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

EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO:
John Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice, Room 2141
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW / Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
email: john.cruden@usdoj.gov

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
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

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:
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

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCK: Sample letter is directly below this.
=============================================================

EVERYONE – SEND COMMENTS TO:
john.cruden@usdoj.gov, feedback@ios.doi.gov,
Secretary_of_the_Interior@ios.doi.gov, Robert_Abbey@blm.gov,
Mike_Pool@blm.gov, janet_lin@blm.gov

RECIPIENTS WITH WEB CONTACT FORMS ONLY:
President Barack Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Vice President Joe Biden: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ContactUs

***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
=============================================================

President Obama, Vice President Biden, Acting Assistant Attorney General Cruden,
Secretary Salazar, Bureau of Land Management, and Members of Congress:

The Bureau of Land Management has mishandled the Wild Horse and Burro
Program for years — governing for extinction rather than preservation.

Despite vast public opposition, the agency’s 2010 Round-Up Schedule calls
for the seizure of another 12,000 wild horses and burros, with taxpayers
footing a $32 million bill. By catering to special interests such as big
game hunting, mining, oil drilling, development, and ranching, BLM impounds
more horses than it can adopt out. To deal with “surplus” American horses
and burros in federal holding, the animals commonly wind up on the auction
block, sold to “killer-buyers,” and trucked to foreign kill floors.

I understand a lawsuit has been filed to stop the removal of more than 2,500
horses in Nevada’s Calico Complex. Originally slated for December 9, 2009,
the mass roundup is now delayed until December 28. I sincerely hope the
delay results in a permanent injunction against the roundup, and also
prompts the Justice Department to intensify its investigation of BLM.

The Calico Complex removal exemplifies some core problems with BLM. After
the same herd was corralled in 2005, all mares among an estimated 575 horses
left on the range received contraceptive vaccines. Today, BLM argues that
3,000 horses roam the area. It is outlandish to assert that a small herd
controlled with contraception quintupled in size in less than five years. In
fact, residents accustomed to the herd claim numbers are far lower.

Ultimately, the government must place a moratorium on roundups until
impartial analysts count how many wild horses and burros literally inhabit
public lands. Moreover, I urge the White House and Congress to advocate
reinstatement of wild horses and burros in their native Western range, where
they can live naturally as American symbols of majesty and freedom.

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act of 1971 (ROAM) will renew
protections originally granted in 1971. Passage of this bill would keep
these magnificent creatures where they belong — on public, Western
rangelands. I am counting on your support and look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

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

The AWHPC Team / American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
http://www.wildhorsepreservation.org
November 25, 2009 – Lawsuit filed to stop massive Calico Complex roundup
http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/pdf/SDOC0573.pdf>
Secretary Salazar’s New Plan
http://www.wildhorsepreservation.com/news_alerts.html#salazar

Your $20, $30, or $50…can open a mind, change a law, save an animal.

Please help Kinship Circle hire an investigative research aid, publish our
educational literature…and better serve YOU, the animals’ eyes and voice.

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN <http://www.KinshipCircle.org> any amount
you donate from now until December 31 will be MATCHED. Please, if you use
our alerts, literature, website and information…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

Kinship Circle is an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit charity with no paid
staff. Kinship Circle receives no government funding. Kinship Circle funding
is derived primarily from individual donors and some grant/giving programs.

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

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.

12/13/09: NASA Nukes Monkeys. Stop Them.

For the first time in decades (since chimps in space) NASA is conducting
radiation tests on squirrel monkeys like those in color photos above.

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

NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546-0001
NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr.: 202-358-0000

HQ Information Center: info-center@hq.nasa.gov <http://info-center@hq.nasa.gov>
Francis Lindsay, NASA Headquarters: francis.lindsay-1@nasa.gov <http://francis.lindsay-1@nasa.gov>
Andrew Schain, NASA Headquarters: andrew.schain@nasa.gov <http://andrew.schain@nasa.gov>

NASA HQ comment form: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/hq/about/contact_us.html

NASA Public Communications Office
NASA Headquarters, Suite 5K39 / Washington, DC 20546-0001
ph: 202-358-0001; fax: 202-358-4338

email: public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov <http://public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov>

NASA PUBLIC RELATIONS / SOCIAL MEDIA

Stephanie Schierholz: stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov <http://stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov>
Grey Hautaluoma: grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov <http://grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov>
Doc Mirelson: doc.mirelson@nasa.gov <http://doc.mirelson@nasa.gov>
Beth Dickey: beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov <http://beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov>
Jennifer Knotts: norma.j.knotts@nasa.gov <http://norma.j.knotts@nasa.gov>
Keith Koehler: keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov <http://keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov>
Bob Jacobs: bob.jacobs@nasa.gov <http://bob.jacobs@nasa.gov>

NASA Office of Inspector General
P.O. Box 23089 / L’Enfant Plaza Station / Washington, D.C. 20026

ph: 1-800-424-9183; Curator, Michael Campbell: michael.campbell@nasa.gov <http://michael.campbell@nasa.gov>
NASA Official, Steven Clevenger: Steven.M.Clevenger@nasa.gov <http://Steven.M.Clevenger@nasa.gov>

EMAIL BLOCK (ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE)

info-center@hq.nasa.gov <http://info-center@hq.nasa.gov> , francis.lindsay-1@nasa.gov <http://francis.lindsay-1@nasa.gov> , andrew.schain@nasa.gov <http://andrew.schain@nasa.gov> ,
public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov <http://public-inquiries@hq.nasa.gov> , stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov <http://stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov> ,
grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov <http://grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov> , doc.mirelson@nasa.gov <http://doc.mirelson@nasa.gov> , beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov <http://beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov> ,
norma.j.knotts@nasa.gov <http://norma.j.knotts@nasa.gov> , keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov <http://keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov> , bob.jacobs@nasa.gov <http://bob.jacobs@nasa.gov> ,
michael.campbell@nasa.gov <http://michael.campbell@nasa.gov> , Steven.M.Clevenger@nasa.gov <http://Steven.M.Clevenger@nasa.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 <http://info@kinshipcircle.org>
=============================================================

- Show quoted text -

Dear Administrator Bolden, NASA Headquarters, Public Communications, Public
Relations, and NASA Office of Inspector General:

I stand behind NASA’s mission. However, the use of live animals in space
radiation tests is a major leap backward for humankind. Please do not
subject squirrel monkeys to high-energy gamma-ray radiation to assess human
response to long-term space voyages.

I agree that space radiation may endanger astronauts traveling far
distances, such as a trip to Mars. But animal experiments generate
misleading results. Physiological, anatomical, and psychological variations
between species make accurate extrapolation to humans unlikely. And while
primates and humans share genetic likeness, their disease process and
treatment differ tremendously. It is precarious to base “neurobehavioral
effects of radiation on humans” upon non-predictive monkey tests.

I encourage NASA to continue utilizing animal-free technology, such as in
vitro methods with cellular components of human derivation. As you know,
modern bioengineers have devised models with blood vessels and organ
characteristics that better imitate human tissue function and design. A
March 2009 Biotechnology and Bioengineering report details these 3D cellular
systems derived from “building blocks” of active human cells.

Irradiating monkeys calls for experimenters to repeatedly blast restrained
animals with gamma rays comparable to three years in space. Once tests
conclude at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the monkeys spend
their lives as test subjects in a Harvard Medical School project.

Renowned primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall has shown that primates form social
unions and experience complex emotions. Certainly, these sentient creatures
experience pain and loneliness. I respectfully ask Administrator Bolden and
his NASA colleagues to end this pointless cruelty.

Thank you,

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

Giant Leap Backward: Ask NASA to End Cruel Radiation Testing on Monkeys
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/anexp/nasa.html
NASA to Subject Monkeys to Radiation
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/091112-nasa-space-monkeys-radiation.html
Monkey business has activists fuming: Harvard experiment protest planned
http://www.allbusiness.com/science-technology/astronomy-space-space-exploration/13470643-1.html

PHOTO SOURCES, LT TO RT:
spacetoday.org_RhesusMonkeySpacesuitNASA.jpg
regmedia.co.uk_2009_05_28_spacemonkey2.jpg
Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
Wikipedia

- Show quoted text -

Your $20, $30, or $50…can open a mind, change a law, save an animal.

Please help Kinship Circle hire an investigative research aid, publish our
educational literature…and better serve YOU, the animals’ eyes and voice.

- Show quoted text -

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN <http://www.KinshipCircle.org> any amount
you donate from now until December 31 will be MATCHED. Please, if you use
our alerts, literature, website and information…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE: A 501(c)(3) nonprofit animal advocacy organization with no
paid staff, that relies upon tax-deductible contributions to operate.

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION

Kinship Circle Primary: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org <http://subscribe@kinshipcircle.org>

Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid Network: disasteraid@kinshipcircle.org <http://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’S WEBSITE NOW OFFERS AUTOMATED LETTERS!
- Bookmark TOP 10 ALERTS: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/top10/
- Check all recent 2009 alerts in our ACTION ALERT CENTER:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/

12/24/09: Get Cruelty Off The Shelves
No Fur Campaign 2009/2010


=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCK (Complete Contact Information Follows Sample Letter)
=============================================================

bruce.nordstrom@nordstrom.com, contactcustomersrvc@nordstrom.com,
MMashouf@bebe.com, askus@bebe.com, salvarenga@bebe.com,
anne.keating@bloomingdales.com, talk@expressfashion.com,
jim.sluzewski@macys.com, karen_katz@neimanmarcus.com,
offices@neimanmarcus.com, ecare@ecare.neimanmarcus.com,
Ginger_Reeder@neimanmarcus.com, Gabrielle_DePapp@neimanmarcus.com,
Mackay_Boynton@neimanmarcus.com, Janine_Bolin@saksinc.com,
Julia_Bentley@saksinc.com, Caroline_Dougherty@s5a.com, Alan.Lacy@sears.com,
sarms15@searshc.com

WEB CONTACT FORMS:
Bloomingdale’s:
https://www.bloomingdales.com/service/contact/index.ognc
Brooks Brothers:
http://www.brooksbrothers.com/aboutus/contact.tem
Chadwick’s:
https://www.chadwicks.com/ContactUs/ContactUs.aspx
Macy’s East:
http://www.macysinc.com/contact/general.aspx
Saks Fifth Avenue:
http://www.saksincorporated.com/contacts/contactus.asp
Sears Roebuck and Company:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12608_NB_CSeMail?adCell=W3
Victoria’s Secret:
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/html/custsrvc/contact/product/
Burlington Coat Factory:
http://corporate.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/contact/epiphany7c.shtml

***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 Sir/Madam,

Thank you for any past efforts to close fur salons and/or end the sale of
fur merchandise at your stores. This shows sensitivity to not only your
customers, but also the unquestionable cruelty behind fur.

I appreciate that fur and fur-trimmed items present challenging questions
for upscale retailers in terms of customer satisfaction. But the minority
who still request real fur shouldn’t overshadow sound ethical policy.

The fact is, even a “little fur trim” is a lot of suffering and death.
Please expand your cruelty-free policy to include the termination of
fur-trimmed merchandise. Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Stella
McCartney, Todd Oldham and more popular designers offer sophisticated
collections without real fur.

There is virtually no regulatory oversight of fur farms. Caged animals are
typically stacked in open sheds where they pace in feces and urine. Some
perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. They resort to head
bobbing, infanticide, cannibalism, and other “coping tools.”

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. Some die
by cervical dislocation (neck popping). Others are injected with lethal junk
chemicals. Animals are also asphyxiated with unfiltered carbon monoxide.

Creatures trapped in the wild suffer no less. Those caught in leghold traps
or snares may gnaw their teeth to the jawbone or chew off their feet to
escape. Others languish on trap lines for days before trappers return to
fatally club, stomp or drown them.

No matter how you market it, fur is synonymous with violence and death. I
respectfully ask you to offer cruelty-free couture at all your locations.

Thank you,

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

Nordstrom, Inc.
Mr. Bruce A. Nordstrom, Chairman
1617 Sixth Avenue / Seattle, WA 98101-1742
ph: 206-628-2111; fax: 206-628-1795
email: bruce.nordstrom@nordstrom.com,
contactcustomersrvc@nordstrom.com

bebe stores, inc.
Manny Mashouf, President and CEO
400 Valley Drive / Brisbane, CA 94005
ph: 877-423-2303, 415-715-2715; fax: 415-715-3939
email: MMashouf@bebe.com, askus@bebe.com
Sandra Alvarenga: salvarenga@bebe.com

Bloomingdale’s, Inc.
Michael Gould, Chairman
1000 3rd Ave. / New York, NY 10022
ph: 212-705-2000; fax: 212-705-2805
Anne Keating, Senior Vice President, Public Relations:
anne.keating@bloomingdales.com
web contact form: https://www.bloomingdales.com/service/contact/index.ognc

Brooks Brothers
Claudio Del Vecchio, CEO
346 Madison Avenue / New York, NY 10017
ph: 800-274-1815, 212-682-8800; fax: 800-274-1010
web contact form: http://www.brooksbrothers.com/aboutus/contact.tem

Burlington Coat Factory
Monroe G. Milstein, Chairman
1830 Route 130 North / Burlington, NJ 08016
ph: 609-387-7800; fax: 609-387-7071
web contact form: http://corporate.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/contact/epiphany21.shtml

Chadwick’s of Boston
Eric Faintreny, CEO
35 United Drive / West Bridgewater, MA 02379
ph: 800-544-3795, 508-895-3000; fax: 508-588-7994
web contact form: https://www.chadwicks.com/ContactUs/ContactUs.aspx

Express, LLC
Michael Weiss, President and CEO
One Limited Pkwy. / Columbus, OH 43230
ph: 614-415-4000, 888-397-1980; fax: 614-415-4200, 614-415-7440
email: talk@expressfashion.com

Macy’s East
Ronald Klein, Chairman and CEO
151 West 34th Street / New York, NY 10001
ph: 212-695-4400; fax: 212-494-1057
Jim Sluzewski, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & External
Affairs, Macy’s Inc.: jim.sluzewski@macys.com
web contact form: http://www.macysinc.com/contact/general.aspx

Neiman Marcus
Burton M. Tansky President and CEO, Neiman Marcus Group, Inc.
Karen W. Katz, President and CEO, Neiman Marcus Stores
1 Marcus Square / 1618 Main Street / Dallas, TX 75201
ph: 214-743-7600, 214-741-6911; fax: 214-742-4904
email: karen_katz@neimanmarcus.com, offices@neimanmarcus.com,
ecare@ecare.neimanmarcus.com
Corporate Communications: Ginger_Reeder@neimanmarcus.com
Public Relations: Gabrielle_DePapp@neimanmarcus.com,
Mackay_Boynton@neimanmarcus.com

Saks Fifth Avenue
Stephen I. Sadove, Chairman and CEO
12 E. 49th St. / New York, NY 10017
ph: 212-753-4000, 212-940-4048; fax: 212-940-4299
Customer Relations Liaison: Janine_Bolin@saksinc.com
Public Relations: Julia_Bentley@saksinc.com, Caroline_Dougherty@s5a.com
web contact form: http://www.saksincorporated.com/contacts/contactus.asp

Sears, Roebuck and Company
Mr. Alan Lacy, Chairman and CEO
3333 Beverly Road, BC-118A / Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
ph: 847-286-8316; fax: 847-286-7829
email: Alan.Lacy@sears.com
Shannelle Armstrong Director, Public Relations Sears Holdings: sarms15@searshc.com
web contact form: http://www.sears.com/shc/s/nb_10153_12608_NB_CSeMail?adCell=W3

Victoria’s Secret
Grace A. Nichols, President and CEO
4 Limited Pkwy. East / Reynoldsburg, OH 43608
ph: 614-577-7000; fax: 614-577-7047
web contact form: http://www2.victoriassecret.com/html/custsrvc/contact/product/

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

Retailers that continue to profit from the bloody fur trade
http://www.furkills.org/wycd.html
Nordstrom Must Permanently Remove Fur From All Their Stores/ Northwest
Animal Rights Network (NARN), http://www.narn.org

Last few days to make your $20, $30, or $50…
open a mind, change a law, save an animal.

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN any amount you donate from now until
December 31 will be MATCHED. Please, if you use our alerts, literature,
website and information…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID
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

12/31/09: 2009 Ends With 2 More Important Wins For Animals!
1. Torture At Texas Tech Ends For Cats!
2. Primate Breeding Compound Canceled In Puerto Rico (but action still needed)

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

1. Torture At Texas Tech Ends For Cats!
SOURCE: Victory! Texas Tech Drops Cruel Cat Lab
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/12/victory_texas_tech.php

12/29/09, SUMMARY: Kinship Circle supporters joined PETA and activists
everywhere to urge Texas Tech University Health Service Center (TTUHSC) to
use simulated models for medical training courses. For more than two
decades, TTUHSC students drove plastic tubes down cats’ windpipes, causing
them to bleed or swell. Trainees also pumped air into the cats’ chest
cavities and extracted surplus air via an inserted needle.

Though TTUHSC earlier agreed to stop purchasing cats from Odessa, Texas
Animal Control, it was unclear whether they’d permanently replace the cruel
labs with synthetic models like simulators and manikins. Now it’s official.
PETA says university reports confirm: “TTUHSC will no longer use cats for
this training!” We’re certain that the thousands of Kinship Circle followers
who sent comments in one of our highest participation campaigns ever
contributed to this big win for animals.

IF YOU HAVE NOT YET DONE SO, TAKE ACTION HERE:
NASA Nukes Monkeys. Stop Them.
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1877&seriesfirst=true

Target – HLS Top Customers AstraZeneca & GlaxoSmithKline
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1850&seriesfirst=true

The Military’s War On Innocents
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1821&seriesfirst=true

KINSHIP CIRCLE REFERENCES:
11/17/09: Ask Texas Tech To End Cat Labs For Good
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1871&seriesfirst=true

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

2. Primate Breeding Compound Canceled In Puerto Rico
SOURCE: VICTORY! Construction of Bioculture’s Monkey Factory Halted
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/12/victory_bioculture.php

12/30/09, SUMMARY: Thousands of monkeys will be spared from misery. Though
primate experiments have failed to yield tangible data for AIDS,
Alzheimer’s, stroke, cancer, and other diseases — construction of a huge
monkey-breeding compound was planned for Guayama, Puerto Rico. Bioculture, a
primate supply firm, had intended to seize monkeys from the wild in
Mauritius for shipment to Puerto Rico. From there, babies would have been
separated from mothers and sold into a barren world of concrete and metal.

Kinship Circle members shared in the global outcry against this pointless
primate breeding factory. A lawsuit filed by local citizens and PETA, in
conjunction with worldwide pressure, has culminated in a Superior Court
judge’s ruling to terminate all construction of the Bioculture facility.

Unfortunately, Bioculture execs are hard at work trying to overturn the
judge’s ruling. Let officials know that citizens worldwide support PERMANENT
termination of this and any future monkey-breeding compounds:

Halt Primate Compounds In Puerto Rico For Good
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new.asp?LetterID=1848&seriesfirst=true

Final countdown… Your $20, $30, or $50 can help
open a mind, change a law, save an animal.

As part of our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN any amount you donate will be MATCHED.
If you use our alerts, literature, website…please send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

ACTION CAMPAIGNS * EDUCATION * ANIMAL DISASTER AID
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.

Kingship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / Saint Louis, MO 63130
-   Nonprofit Certificate of Incorporation, Missouri – Charter: N00071626 / Certification: 7789294
-   Federal 501(c)(3) registered with the IRS – Public Charity Status: 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
-   Sales Tax Exempt Status (from sales and use tax on purchases and sales – charitable)

1/4/10: Horses Flee BLM Helicopters In Subzero Temperatures


UPDATE: 1/4/10: This week’s “gather” of some 2,500 wild horses from Nevada’s
Calico Mountains marked the Bureau of Land Management‘s latest bungle to
“balance natural resources.” If you look into the eyes of the horses –
corralled in a subzero chill and bathed in sweat that freezes to their hide
– you see terror. With eyes bulging, they blow steam from their noses that
hangs in the frigid air. These are traumatized animals who do not quickly
settle, as BLM misleadingly tells the public. PHOTO by Kurt Golgart/Bureau
of Land Management as published in NY Times.

GO TO THIS LINK TO SEND AN AUTO LETTER NOW:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1876&seriesfirst=true

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

EVERYONE, SEND COMMENTS TO:
John Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice, Room 2141
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW / Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
email: john.cruden@usdoj.gov

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

U.S. Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street NW, Rm. 5665 / Washington DC 20240
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

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:
Congress.org – http://www.Congress.org
USA Senate – http://www.senate.gov
USA House of Representatives – http://www.house.gov

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCK: Sample letter is directly below this.
=============================================================

EVERYONE – SEND COMMENTS TO:
john.cruden@usdoj.gov, feedback@ios.doi.gov, Robert_Abbey@blm.gov,
Mike_Pool@blm.gov, janet_lin@blm.gov

RECIPIENTS WITH WEB CONTACT FORMS ONLY:
President Barack Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Vice President Joe Biden: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ContactUs

***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.

=============================================================
OPTIONS FOR SENDING THIS LETTER:
1 GO TO THIS LINK TO SEND AN AUTO LETTER:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1876&seriesfirst=true
2 ASK FOR A FORMATTED LETTER TO SEND (DOC): info@kinshipcircle.org
3 COPY/PASTE EMAIL BLOCK + LETTER BELOW INTO YOUR OWN EMAIL
=============================================================

President Obama, Vice President Biden, Acting Assistant Attorney General
Cruden, Secretary Salazar, Bureau of Land Management, Members of Congress:

The Bureau of Land Management continues to misuse the U.S. Wild Horse and
Burro Program. I implore elected officials to intervene — and stop — the
seizure of our nation’s last wild herds.

In early January 2010, BLM “managed” thousands of horses in Nevada’s Calico
Mountains by corralling them in subzero temperatures. With low-flying
helicopters overhead, horses ran until drenched in sweat. Once subdued,
sweat can freeze on their bodies and lead to respiratory illness or death.

Photographer Kurt Golgart unwittingly conveyed the horses’ fear in his image
published in NY Times. With bulging eyes, the horses blow steam from their
noses that hangs in the frigid air like fog.

BLM’s 2010 Round-Up Schedule calls for the capture of 12,000 wild horses and
burros. Most taxpayers do not want to foot BLM’s $32 million bill.

The Calico Complex removal exemplifies core problems with the agency. After
the same herd was corralled in 2005, all mares among an estimated 575 horses
left on the range received contraceptive vaccines. Today, BLM argues that
3,000 horses roam the area. It is outlandish to assert that a small herd
controlled with contraception quintupled in size in less than five years. In
fact, residents accustomed to the herd claim numbers are far lower.

For years, BLM has crowded American horses and burros in federal holding.
The agency impounds more animals than it can adopt out. Consequently, some
wind up on the auction block, sold to “killer-buyers,” and trucked to
foreign kill floors. This is neither fiscally nor ethically responsible. I
hope the Justice Department intensifies its investigation of BLM and the
current administration stops this agency’s disgraceful tactics.

Moreover, I urge the White House and Congress to advocate passage of the
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burro Act (ROAM) which renews protections
originally granted in 1971. Passage of this bill would keep these
magnificent creatures where they belong — on public, Western rangelands.

Sincerely,

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS
=============================================================
Calico Complex Roundup, Dec. 28 thru Feb 2010
http://humanitythrougheducation.com/
Official photo released by BLM brings controversy to photographer Kurt Golgart
http://www.examiner.com/x-25445-West-Palm-Beach-Horse-Rescue-Examiner~y2010m
1d2-Official-photo-released-by-BLM-brings-controversy-to-photographer-Kurt-Golgart

Your $20, $30, or $50…can open a mind, change a law, save an animal.

Please help Kinship Circle hire an investigative research aid, develop our
humane education outreach..and better serve YOU, the animals’ voice.

Our COMPASSION CAMPAIGN extends into January due to a last minute donation
for the matching pool. Any amount you give will be still be MATCHED. Please,
if you use our alerts, literature, website…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

Kinship Circle is an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit charity with no paid
staff. Kinship Circle receives no government funding. Kinship Circle funding
is derived primarily from individual donors and some grant/giving programs.

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (educational materials, ad designs, letter library…)
*   Daily operating costs: Office supplies, hardware/software, web design,
phone/internet, printing, disaster-related supplies/travel… All the boring
stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION
KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

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 / NOW ONE LIST…ONE VOICE FOR ANIMALS
1/12/10: Ask Vanderbilt To Go Animal-Free In All Trauma Training


Pigs, like dogs and cats, are commonly used in surgical training…as well
as other experiments. Babies such as those above are bred to harvest
their organs for human transplants. PHOTO: Richard Austin; SOURCE:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1053633/Lord-Winstons-fury-re
d-tape-drives-British-GM-pig-transplant-experiments-U-S.html

=============================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION + EMAIL BLOCK
=============================================================

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Office Of Research
Jeffrey R. Balser, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Health
Affairs; Dean, School of Medicine
D-3300 MCN 2104
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
1211 Medical Center Drive / Nashville, TN 37232
ph: 615-936-3030; email: jeff.balser@vanderbilt.edu

Gordon R. Bernard, M.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research:
gordon.bernard@vanderbilt.edu
Kenneth J. Holroyd, MD, MBA, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research:
kenneth.holroyd@vanderbilt.edu
Dan Roden, MD, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Personalized Medicine:
dan.roden@Vanderbilt.Edu
Jeanne Wallace, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research:
jeanne.wallace@vanderbilt.edu

ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE:
jeff.balser@vanderbilt.edu, gordon.bernard@vanderbilt.edu,
kenneth.holroyd@vanderbilt.edu, dan.roden@Vanderbilt.Edu,
jeanne.wallace@vanderbilt.edu

***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
=============================================================

Dr. Jeffrey R. Balser, Dean, School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University
Medical Center Office of Research:

Please permanently switch to validated non-animal systems for all Vanderbilt
University School of Medicine Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) classes. I
urge you to join over 90% of U.S. and Canadian facilities that exclusively
use human-focused medical simulators to train students.

I understand one Vanderbilt ATLS program required trainees to slice the
airways of live pigs to place tubes and needles in the animals’ hearts and
chest cavities. Emergency medical training is better served by relevant and
humane non-animal modes.

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.

Overall, animal-free research cuts costs and improves proficiency. For
example, a New England Journal of Medicine article highlights the “very
detailed feedback and…more subtle measurement of trainee performance”
gained from virtual reality simulators.

Dr. Emad Aboud — co-inventor of a system that pumps specially dyed water
into a human cadaver’s vessels and arteries — says animal-free models are
cheaper and more accurate. “This is the perfect alternative to the use of
live animals in surgical training,” claims Aboud, a neurosurgeon fellow at
the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

If you haven’t done so already, I encourage Vanderbilt to update its
trauma-management training with methods more relevant to human anatomy and
surgery. Killing animals is no longer viable, given the accessibility of
capable non-animal technologies.

Thank you,

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

Vanderbilt University Medical Center to perform medical procedures on live pig
http://support.pcrm.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=33021.0&autologin=true
Help End Cruel Pig Lab at Vanderbilt University
http://pcrm.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=33021.0&dlv_id=38201

Your $20, $30, or $50…can help us hire an investigative researcher,
develop our education outreach, fully automate our website…and more!

Kinship Circle’s COMPASSION CAMPAIGN lasts through January due to a last
minute matching pool donation. Any amount gift will be be MATCHED. Please,
if you use our alerts, literature, website…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (site development, educational materials, automation…)
*   Daily operating costs: Hardware/software, web design, phone/internet,
printing… All the boring stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION
KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”  +  Send to: info@kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

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 / NOW ONE LIST…ONE VOICE FOR ANIMALS
1/13/10: Permanently Halt Primates-For-Research
Farm In Puerto Rico


UPDATE SUMMARY: Thousands of monkeys will be spared from misery inside
research labs. Though primate experiments have failed to yield tangible data
for AIDS, Alzheimer’s, stroke, cancer, and other diseases — construction of
a huge monkey-breeding compound was planned for Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Bioculture, a primate supply firm, had intended to seize monkeys from the
wild in Mauritius for shipment to Puerto Rico.

GOOD NEWS FOR MONKEYS? Kinship Circle members shared in the outcry against
this pointless breeding factory. A lawsuit filed by local citizens and PETA,
in conjunction with worldwide pressure, has culminated in a Superior Court
judge’s ruling to terminate all construction of the Bioculture facility.

MAKE IT STICK! Unfortunately, Bioculture execs are trying to overturn the
judge’s ruling. Let officials know that citizens worldwide support PERMANENT
termination of this and any future monkey-breeding compounds.

=============================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION + EMAIL BLOCK
=============================================================

Hon. Luis Fortuno, Governor of Puerto Rico
La Fortaleza, P.O. Box 9020082 / San Juan, PR 00902-0082
ph: 787-721-7000; fax: 787-721-5072
Tere Nolla, Aide to the Governor: TNolla@fortaleza.gobierno.pr
Evelyn Cruz, Personal Executive Admin Assistant: ECruz@fortaleza.gobierno.pr

Hon. Glorimari Jaime, Mayor of Guayama
Municipio Autonomo de Guayama
Oficina de Plan de Orden Territorial
P.O. Box 360 / Guayama, PR 00785-0360
email: municipiodeguayama@hotmail.com

Rep. Pedro Pierluisi, Representative (District 1)
1218 Longworth HOB / Washington, DC 20515
fax: 202-225-2154; email: PedroPierluisi@mail.house.gov
Laura Maristany, Public Affairs Liaison: laura.maristany@mail.house.gov
Rosemarie Vizcarrondo, District Office Director: rosemarie.vizcarrondo@mail.house.gov
Eduardo Hilera, Legislative Correspondent: eduardo.hilera@mail.house.gov

ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE:
municipiodeguayama@hotmail.com, PedroPierluisi@mail.house.gov,
laura.maristany@mail.house.gov, rosemarie.vizcarrondo@mail.house.gov,
eduardo.hilera@mail.house.gov, TNolla@fortaleza.gobierno.pr,
ECruz@fortaleza.gobierno.pr

***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
=============================================================

Honorable Puerto Rican Officials:

I am relieved to learn a Superior Court Judge ruled to halt construction of
a huge monkey-breeding compound planned for Guayama, Puerto Rico.
Bioculture, a primate supply firm, had intended to seize long-tailed
macaques from the wild in Mauritius for shipment to Puerto Rico.

Given the findings of Guayama’s Superior Court and Puerto Rico’s Senate, I
urge officials to back permanent termination of Bioculture’s project. In
addition, please consider strong public opposition to the breeding of
monkeys for use in experimentation.

Though primate research has failed to yield tangible data for AIDS,
Alzheimer’s, stroke, cancer, and other diseases — companies such as
Bioculture persevere for profit. If completed, monkeys inside the Guayama
facility would have been separated from mothers and sold into a barren world
of concrete and metal. In labs, primates endure implanted brain electrodes,
induced seizures, poisoning, and more.

Ultimately, it does not serve human health to facilitate old-fashioned
animal research. As a case in point, 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.

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.

In-vitro cell technology, 3D cellular systems, computer automation and other
innovations will eventually render animal research obsolete. I encourage
Puerto Rico’s leadership to keep pace with evolving standards. Please do not
let Bioculture or any similar firm pointlessly “breed” animal suffering.

Thank you,

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

PUERTO RICAN PRIMATE FACILITY – ACTION ALERT JANUARY 2010
http://www.buav.org/takeactionnow/puertoricanprimatefacility
VICTORY! Construction of Bioculture’s Monkey Factory Halted
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/12/victory_bioculture.php

Your $20, $30, or $50…can help us hire an investigative researcher,
develop our education outreach, fully automate our website…and more!

Kinship Circle’s COMPASSION CAMPAIGN lasts through January due to a last
minute matching pool donation. Any amount gift will be be MATCHED. Please,
if you use our alerts, literature, website…send what you can today.

GIVE SECURELY ONLINE & IT WILL BE MATCHED:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

OR MAIL YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION TO:
Kinship Circle / Compassion Campaign
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
Saint Louis, MO 63130

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

DONATIONS TO KINSHIP CIRCLE HELP PAY FOR:
*   Animal disaster aid network and response
*   Investigative research/campaigns (with goal to hire an investigative aide!)
*   Educational literature and outreach (research, design, printing, distribution)
*   Website with activist tools (site development, educational materials, automation…)
*   Daily operating costs: Hardware/software, web design, phone/internet,
printing… All the boring stuff that lets us work full-time for animals!

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION
KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

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.

1/29/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE – NOW ONE LIST…ONE VOICE FOR ANIMALS
Victory: Guilty! Karley’s Killer Faces 4-Year Jail Term

UPDATE, 1/26/10: Former L.A. County assistant fire chief Glynn Johnson Is guilty of felony animal cruelty for fatally battering 6-month-old German shepherd mix Karley with a 12-pound rock outside his Riverside, Calif. home on 11/3/08. Karley’s shattered jaw and other wounds led to her euthanasia.

YOU WERE HEARD: Karley’s brutal murder struck a chord with Kinship Circle followers, who wrote/called/emailed the Riverside County District Attorney’s office, police and fire departments with a unified demand: Terminate Johnson’s job. Book and prosecute him to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Your persistence helped turn a sluggish case into an arrest and charges.  Your diligence shed light on the long-term repercussions of animal violence.

WHAT DO WE DO NOW? Johnson is scheduled to stand before a judge for sentencing on March 8, 2010. A Kinship Circle member and lawyer states: “Communication sent to the judge in reference to a case is considered ‘ex parte communication’ and is prohibited… In fact, a judge may even be forced to recuse him/herself.” We’ll update you if comments become appropriate. In the meantime, please thank the Riverside County District Attorney’s office. Each cruelty case that seeks maximum felony penalties sets a precedent for the next one.

=============================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION + EMAIL BLOCK
=============================================================

Rod Pacheco, Riverside County District Attorney
4075 Main St.; Riverside, CA 92501-3707
ph: 951-955-5431, 951-955-1683
fax: 951-955-5682, 951-955-9480
email: rodpacheco@co.riverside.ca.us
Maria Driver, DA Secretary: mwdriver@rivcoda.org

William Ernest  Robinson
Riverside County Deputy District Attorney
4075 Main St.; Riverside, CA 92501-3707
ph: 951-304-5400; fax: 951-304-5405
email: wrobinson@co.riverside.ca.us

ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE:
rodpacheco@co.riverside.ca.us, mwdriver@rivcoda.org,
wrobinson@co.riverside.ca.us

***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
=============================================================

Dear Riverside County District Attorney’s Office:

Thank you for recognizing the gravity of former L.A. County assistant fire
chief Glynn Johnson’s illegal abuse of an animal. Johnson’s 1/26/10 guilty
verdict could not have happened without your diligent prosecution.

As you know, Johnson fatally battered a 6-month-old German shepherd mix,
Karley, with a 12-pound rock outside his Riverside, Calif. home on 11/3/08.
An unleashed Karley had sprinted across Johnson’s yard. As he tried to
contain her by her collar, she defensively injured Johnson’s thumb and
wrist. A witness saw Johnson beat Karley repeatedly, shatter her jaw, and
slam her with a rock until nearly dead.

Violence is violence, whether victims are human or nonhuman animals.
Offenders like Johnson, who blame their victims, are often “repeat
offenders, resistant to intervention,” notes ASPCA’s Randall Lockwood,
Ph.D., a consultant to investigators, law enforcers and court officials.

Your pursuit of maximum felony animal cruelty penalties not only brings
justice for Karley, but sets precedent for the next Karley. I sincerely hope
Glynn Johnson receives the full 4-year prison term at his sentencing on
3/8/10. Any updates your office can provide are appreciated.

Thank you,

Animals in Haiti need you — now and tomorrow.
Haiti’s Minister of Agriculture tells us that 100,000 dogs were vaccinated pre-quake, out of an estimated 500,000. Where are they? Animal aid groups on the ground continue to help some, as they search for more.

ONE THING IS CERTAIN: Groups united under IFAW and WSPA’s leadership as the Animal Coalition Of Haiti (ARCH) want to leave the animal infrastructure better than they found it. That means funding is still needed for:

Mobile Clinic Relief / Vaccine Delivery / Temporary Vet Clinics
Dog population and control study / Monitoring and Evaluation
On-Site Project Manager / and more…

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE… in a country with acute and long-term needs. Rather than watch Haiti resort to the dog culls we’ve seen in China, here is our chance to educate, vaccinate and support Haiti’s young veterinarians.

Kinship Circle has pledged time, volunteers and dollars to Haiti animal aid. Please help us be there for them — now and tomorrow.

*   DONATE SECURELY ONLINE:

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER:

Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd. / St. Louis, MO 63130

Write HAITI ANIMAL AID, on your check’s memo line.

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW – FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION
subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

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.

2/5/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE – NOW ONE LIST…ONE VOICE FOR ANIMALS

Ask Vanderbilt To Go Animal-Free In All Trauma Training


Pigs, like dogs and cats, are commonly used in surgical training and other experiments. Babies like those above are bred to harvest their organs for human transplants. PHOTO: Richard Austin; SOURCE: Dailymail.co.uk

SENDING OPTIONS
1) GO TO THIS LINK TO SEND AN AUTOMATED LETTER:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1882&seriesfirst=true

2) OR — COPY/PASTE EMAILS & SAMPLE LETTER BELOW, TO SEND NOW

=============================================================
COMPLETE CONTACT INFORMATION + EMAIL BLOCK
=============================================================

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Office Of Research
Jeffrey R. Balser, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Health
Affairs; Dean, School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
1211 Medical Center Drive / Nashville, TN 37232
ph: 615-936-3030; email: jeff.balser@vanderbilt.edu

Gordon R. Bernard, M.D., Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research:
gordon.bernard@vanderbilt.edu
Kenneth J. Holroyd, MD, MBA, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research:
kenneth.holroyd@vanderbilt.edu
Dan Roden, MD, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Personalized Medicine:
dan.roden@Vanderbilt.Edu
Jeanne Wallace, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research:
jeanne.wallace@vanderbilt.edu

ALL EMAILS FROM ABOVE:
jeff.balser@vanderbilt.edu, gordon.bernard@vanderbilt.edu,
kenneth.holroyd@vanderbilt.edu, dan.roden@Vanderbilt.Edu,
jeanne.wallace@vanderbilt.edu

***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
=============================================================

Dr. Jeffrey R. Balser, Dean, School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center Office of Research:

Please permanently switch to validated non-animal systems for all Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) classes. I urge you to join over 90% of U.S. and Canadian facilities that exclusively use human-focused medical simulators to train students.

I understand one Vanderbilt ATLS program required trainees to slice the airways of live pigs to place tubes and needles in the animals’ hearts and chest cavities. Emergency medical training is better served by relevant and humane non-animal models.

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.

Overall, animal-free research cuts costs and improves proficiency. For example, a New England Journal of Medicine article highlights the “very detailed feedback and…more subtle measurement of trainee performance” gained from virtual reality simulators.

Dr. Emad Aboud — co-inventor of a system that pumps specially dyed water into a human cadaver’s vessels and arteries — says animal-free models are cheaper and more accurate. “This is the perfect alternative to the use of live animals in surgical training,” claims Aboud, a neurosurgeon fellow at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

If you haven’t done so already, I encourage Vanderbilt to update its
trauma-management training with methods more relevant to human anatomy and surgery. Killing animals is no longer viable, given the accessibility of capable non-animal technologies.

Thank you,

Each day differs, as ARCH members in Haiti encounter unrest in the streets
and other obstacles. Still — on a good day — they may treat some 44 dogs,
15 cats, goats and pigs…

As acute needs are met, focus also turns to the lasting welfare of Haiti’s animals. ARCH is working with the Haitian government to establish:  Mobile Clinic Relief / Vaccine Delivery / Temporary Vet Clinics Dog population and control study / Monitoring and Evaluation On-Site Project Management / and more…

As an ARCH member, Kinship Circle needs your help to:

1. Contribute to long-term initiatives to make life better for Haiti’s animals.
2. Fund travel costs for our responders on standby to deploy to Haiti.
   

PLEASE GIVE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti

Banner photos, (c) WSPA/IFAW

Kinship Circle — a nonprofit network of animal disaster responders in the U.S. and Canada — has assembled a Haiti team currently on standby, including a veterinarian, vet tech, ACO, and adept first responders.

After Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, Kinship Circle joined animal protection groups worldwide to form Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti (ARCH), led by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

Vanderbilt University Medical Center to perform medical procedures on live pig
http://support.pcrm.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=33021.0&autologin=true
Help End Cruel Pig Lab at Vanderbilt University
http://pcrm.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=33021.0&dlv_id=38201

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 needs your support to:

1. Help pay for long-term projects that will make life better for Haiti’s animals.
2. Fund travel for our responders on standby to deploy to Haiti under ARCH.
   

PLEASE GIVE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF:

 http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti

As of 2/8/10, ARCH (Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti) had treated nearly 750 animals. As the full earthquake damage to animals unfolds, focus also turns to their lasting welfare. ARCH is working with Haitian government officials to create animal facilities and services that did not exist pre-earthquake.

2/4/10: This puppy finds help in the hands of an ARCH team member in Haiti.  As of February 8, 2010, ARCH members had treated nearly 750 animals, mostly dogs. Other animals helped include cats, goats, sheep, pigs and cows. Photo courtesy of Best Friends / Delmas * Banner photos, (c) WSPA/IFAW

Long after ARCH leaves, its work will serve Haiti’s animals and people. Kinship Circle and other global animal protection groups in ARCH have
pledged time, money and/or volunteers to stay in Haiti to:

-   Setup a mobile veterinary clinic for Port au Prince and rural communities.
-   Support and implement training of veterinarians and animal health technicians.
-   Create a refrigeration system to keep a “cold chain” for storage/distribution of medicines.
-   Design public awareness/education campaigns in Haiti and Creole.
-   Vaccinate 3 million chickens for Newcastle disease and 2 million for Charcoal disease…
-   Activate a Vaccination Preventive Care Program for many more diseases and species.
-   Treat 3 million animals (anyone with a hoof!)…

Please help us give Haiti’s animals a better life:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti/#form

2/4/10: A surprised cat awaits a medical check, in line with other Haitians and cats. ARCH has sent a mobile veterinary unit to increase our capacity to help the people and animals of Haiti. Photo courtesy of Best Friends

Kinship Circle — a nonprofit network of animal disaster responders in the U.S. and Canada — has assembled a Haiti team on standby to deploy, including a veterinarian, vet tech, ACO, and adept first responders.

After Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, Kinship Circle joined animal protection groups worldwide to form Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti (ARCH), led by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

At present, ARCH partners include:
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW); World Society for Protection of Animals; American Humane Association; Best Friends Animal Society; RSPCA (UK); In Defence of Animals; American Veterinary Medical Association; American Veterinary Medical Foundation; Antigua & Barbuda Humane Society; ASPCA; United Animal Nations; Kinship Circle; One Voice; Swiss Animal Protection; Palo Alto Humane Society; People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA); Last Chance For Animals (LCA); Finnish Federation for Animal Welfare Associations; Animal Medical Care Foundation (AMCF)

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”  +  Send to: info@kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

2/9/10: LANDMARK MA BILL WILL STOP  SURGICAL SILENCING OF ANIMALS
ALERT WRITER: Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, CPRPets@aol.com

BACKGROUND: Dog breeders and the Mass. Veterinary Medical Assn. (MVMA) are
successfully fighting legislation to stop devocalization — cutting a dog or cat’s vocal cords to stifle or remove their voice. An Act Prohibiting Devocalization, House Bill 344, has been stalled in committee for more than three months. Without immediate action, this humane bill will die.

Stella’s scars show the truth about devocalization surgery on dogs and cats.

STEP 1: CONTACT SPEAKER ROBERT DELEO TODAY!
MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS ONLY:

USE THE PHONE. Ask to speak to Speaker DeLeo’s aide and state your comments. Or, leave a voicemail.

NON-MASSACHUSETTS RESIDENTS:
WRITE OR FAX. Do not call! We’ve been told non-MA calls can hurt the bill.

EVERYONE: PERSONALIZE THE SAMPLE COMMENTS BELOW
State why this bill matters to you…and why it should be passed as written, without amendments by special interests that profit from devocalization.

**Legislators state that there is no guarantee emails will be read. We are told aides often delete emails without counting them.**

Massachusetts Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo
PHONE:  617-722-2500
ADDRESS:  State House, Room 356 / Boston, MA 02133
FAX:  617-722-2008
EMAIL:  Robert.DeLeo@state.ma.us

RE: Please support House Bill 344 and ensure its passage.

Dear Speaker DeLeo:

Please ensure that House Bill 344, An Act Prohibiting Devocalization, passes this session. Special interests that profit from devocalization of dogs and cats want to dilute this humane legislation. I am counting on you to advocate for H.B. 344 — minus any amendments that permit the surgical removal of an animal’s voice.

Devocalization does not benefit animals, but it does pose grave risks for them. One little Pom choked to death after a prominent MVMA veterinarian devocalized her. Others suffer infection, aspiration pneumonia, or breathing difficulties. Some gag on food and water the rest of their lives.

House Bill 344 — as written — stops this unnecessary cruelty. It limits vocal cord surgery to three exclusively ethical situations: To treat disease, injury or congenital abnormality.

Shelter executives testify that devocalized dogs and cats are abandoned just like any others. Tissue regrowth is common, subjecting animals to stress, pain and repeat surgeries. Caretakers unable to pay ongoing costs further
jeopardize animals with surrender or euthanasia.

Surgically silencing an animal for convenience or profit is an act of cruelty. Massachusetts can open the door for other states to introduce equally humane and responsible legislation. Please support this landmark bill to prohibit devocalization.

Thank you,
YOUR FULL NAME
YOUR FULL ADDRESS
**Without your name/address your comments will be thrown away.**

STEP 2: MA RESIDENTS, CALL YOUR STATE REP (BEACON HILL)
TO FIND YOUR MASSACHUSETTS STATE REPRESENTATIVE:
1-800-462-8683 or http://www.wheredoivotema.com
(enter your address, then look for your Rep in General Court)

- Say H.B. 344, An Act Prohibiting Devocalization is a front-burner issue for you!
- Call again every 2 weeks for status of this bill and restate your support.
- Use talking points from sample letter above

LEARN MORE ABOUT DEVOCALIZATION:
Faces Of Devocalization: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZPoyuMw870
The Unkindest Cut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ADbMoX4aw
Barks Save Lives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7LFHG1RoPM

Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, is an unfunded, all-volunteer network
in Massachusetts, CPRPets@aol.com

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

***Kinship Circle believes an animal-free diet is the ultimate way to end cruelty and the devastating impacts of animal agriculture. We believe confinement, deprivation, drugging, brutalization, slaughter, dismemberment and consumption are bad for dogs, cats, pigs, cows, chickens, goats and all who live. We advocate for an end to the suffering of all.

It’s inserted just above the sample letter in the alert below…
Thanks! Brenda

#############################################################

2/22/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE – NOW ONE LIST…ONE VOICE FOR ANIMALS
South Korea: No Free Trade Deal For Nation That Eats Dogs And Cats

South Korea’s cat/dog consumption industry won’t end for ethical reasons. But a blow to South Korean financial interests may finally make them take notice. Urge the Obama Admin and U.S. Congress to not approve a United States – South Korean Free Trade Agreement. Send comments now.

SENDING OPTIONS:
1) SEND AN AUTOMATED LETTER:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1889&seriesfirst=true

2) OR — COPY/PASTE EMAILS & SAMPLE LETTER BELOW.

=============================================================
EMAIL BLOCK & WEB CONTACT FORMS
=============================================================

1) U.S CITIZENS ONLY — SEND COMMENTS TO –
YOUR REPRESENTATIVE AND 2 SENATORS IN U.S. CONGRESS:
To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
http://www.Congress.org
http://www.senate.gov
http://www.house.gov

2) EVERYONE — SEND COMMENTS TO –
U.S. WAYS AND MEANS TRADE SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS, PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA & HOUSE SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI:

*****ABOUT EMAIL ADDRESSES BELOW*****
Most Congresspersons use constituent-only web contact forms now. However, we searched documents from various Congressional committees, meetings, and initiatives to find some personal emails. WE CANNOT GUARANTEE THAT ALL THE EMAIL ADDRESSES BELOW ARE STILL VALID.

george.dalley@mail.house.gov, Emile.milne@mail.house.gov, janice.mays@mail.house.gov, charles.rangel@mail.house.gov, rangel@mail.house.gov, waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, slevin@mail.house.gov, vickie.walling@mail.house.gov,  john.tanner@mail.house.gov, christopher.vanhollen@mail.house.gov, Jacqueline.Gosnell@mail.house.gov, jim.mcdermott@mail.house.gov, james.mcdermott@mail.house.gov, richard.neal@mail.house.gov, lloyd.doggett@mail.house.gov, bob.siggins@mail.house.gov, rep.earl.pomeroy@mail.house.gov, bob.etheridge@mail.house.gov, jose.delgado@mail.house.gov, linda.sanchez@mail.house.gov, rep.brady@mail.house.gov, geoff.davis@mail.house.gov, dave.reichert@mail.house.gov,rachel.cariker@mail.house.gov, Derek.harley@mail.house.gov, wally.herger@mail.house.gov, kendra.fowler@mail.house.gov, damon.nelson@mail.house.gov, devin.hunes@mail.house.gov, AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov, sf.nancy@mail.house.gov,
nancy@mail.house.gov, terri.mccullough@mail.house.gov, john.lawrence@mail.house.gov, george.kundanis@mail.house.gov, d.leadership@mail.house.gov

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-CA:

http://www.house.gov/pelosi/contact/contact.html

*****IF A CONGRESSPERSON BELOW IS YOUR REP, USE THEIR CONTACT FORM*****

Charles B. Rangel, D-NY, Ways and Means Chairman: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/singlepages.aspx?NewsID=10470
Sander M. Levin, D-MI, Trade Subcommittee Chairman: http://www.house.gov/levin/levin_contact.shtml
John S. Tanner, D-TN, Trade Subcommittee: http://www.house.gov/tanner/contact.htm
Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, Trade Subcommittee: http://vanhollen.house.gov/Contact/
Jim McDermott, D-WA, Trade Subcommittee: http://www.house.gov/mcdermott/contact.shtml
Richard E. Neal, D-MA, Trade Subcommittee: http://www.house.gov/neal/write_neal.html
Lloyd Doggett, D-TX, Trade Subcommittee: http://doggett.house.gov/
Earl Pomeroy, D-ND, Trade Subcommittee: http://www.house.gov/formpomeroy/zipauth.htm
Bob Etheridge, D-NC, Trade Subcommittee: http://etheridge.house.gov/Contact/
Linda T. Sanchez, D-CA, Trade Subcommittee: http://lindasanchez.house.gov/index.cfm?section=contact
Kevin Brady, R-TX, Trade Subcommittee: http://www.house.gov/brady/contact_page.html
Geoff Davis, R-KY, Trade Subcommittee: http://geoffdavis.house.gov/Contact/
Dave G. Reichert, R-WA, Trade Subcommittee: http://reichert.house.gov/Contact/ZipAuth.htm
Wally Herger, R-CA, Trade Subcommittee: https://forms.house.gov/herger/webforms/landing.html
Devin Nunes, R-CA, Trade Subcommitte: https://nunes.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.ContactForm

***Kinship Circle believes an animal-free diet is the ultimate way to end cruelty and the devastating impacts of animal agriculture. We believe confinement, deprivation, drugging, brutalization, slaughter, dismemberment and consumption are bad for dogs, cats, pigs, cows, chickens, goats and all who live. We advocate for an end to the suffering of all.

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

RE: Please do not approve the U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

Dear President Obama and Members of the U.S. Congress:

I respectfully ask the Obama Administration to NOT ratify the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Labor unions and automakers oppose the accord as written, as do many Democrats who want South Korea to eliminate blockades to U.S. auto exports.

Furthermore, South Korea selectively complies with its own laws and misleads the global community. Government corruption is particularly evident in its application of animal welfare policy. For example, South Korea is the only nation to openly slaughter cats and dogs for human ingestion. It fails to uphold its own Food Sanitation Law of 1984, which bans dog broths (Boshintang) as “disgusting foods.” Some two million dogs are butchered for their meat every year.

Amendments to Korea’s Animal Protection Act of 1991 stiffen penalties for animal abuse, but ignore dog meat markets — the chief source of cruelty. The law calls extraction of bodily fluids from a living animal unlawful cruelty, yet doesn’t ban the “liquefaction” of cats in pressure cookers to make elixirs presumed to heal arthritis, neuralgia, and other human conditions.

How can a country unable to enforce its own laws abide by the terms of any Free Trade Agreement?

Gentle animals, historically bred as loyal companions to people, are systematically tortured to “tenderize” their tissue and expel the adrenaline believed to act as a sexual aphrodisiac when eaten. Their bones are slowly broken with pipes and hammers. They suffer bloodletting, live dismemberment, hangings, boiling and more brutalities.

Documentation of wet markets reveals dogs (some still with ID collars) squashed inside fly-infested crates in the hot sun. For decades, South Korea has flouted international censure of this trade. They have manipulated every effort to end the agony of stolen or factory-farmed dogs and cats.

While animal protection may seem to be a marginal issue at first glance, I ask you to consider that in America, roughly 77.5 million dogs and 93.6 million cats live as companions with people (American Pet Products Manufacturers Association 2009-2010 National Pet Owners Survey).

U.S. voters, your constituents, oppose favored status for a nation that not only consumes cats and dogs — but deliberately torments them as well. Please do not confirm the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.

Thank you,

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

Get all names/titles, mail addresses, phone/fax and emails:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1889&seriesfirst=true

When we care about the least of them, we care for them all…
PLEASE GIVE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti

Banner photos, (c) WSPA/IFAW

After Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, Kinship Circle joined animal protection groups worldwide to form Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti (ARCH), led by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”  +  Send to: info@kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

Companion Animal Network
info@companionanimalnetworktv.org
President Obama wants approval for South Korean trade deal
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/68403-obama-wants-south-korean-trade-agreement-next-year#

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.

2/11/10: The Iditarod Dog Sled Race Hurts And Kills Dogs
ALERT WRITER: Margery Glickman, SledDogAC@aol.com Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

AN AUTOMATED LETTER IS READY FOR YOU TO SEND:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1887&seriesfirst=true

OR — COPY/PASTE EMAILS & SAMPLE LETTER BELOW, TO SEND NOW

SAMPLE LETTER
BY: Margery Glickman, SledDogAC@aol.com
(Kinship Circle edited, but did not write this sample letter.)

Dear Iditarod Supporter:

Please end your organization’s support of the Iditarod dog sled race. In 2009, six dogs died. Among them, two dogs on Dr. Lou Packer’s team froze to death in brutally cold winds. A romanticized version of the Iditarod fails
to reveal dogs who endure death, paralysis, frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral disease, broken bones, torn muscles, tendons and sprains. For more facts, see the Sled Dog Action Coalition’s website: http://www.helpsleddogs.org

Even training runs can be fatal, when dogs encounter moose, snow machines, semi-tractors, ATVs or other vehicles. Dogs drown, strangle in harnesses and suffer heart attacks. They are gashed, quilled by porcupines, bitten in dogfights, and more. Training injuries or fatalities are rarely reported.

Mushers beat dogs as a form of intimidation style training. Eyewitnesses at the 2007 Iditarod said musher Ramy Brooks kicked, punched and hit dogs with a ski pole and chain. “A training device such as a whip is not cruel at all but is effective,” writes Jim Welch in his Speed Mushing Manual. “It is a common training device among dog mushers.”

At Iditarod puppy mills, mushers over-breed dogs and routinely kill unwanted ones, including puppies. Dogs who are disabled, old, or otherwise undesirable are shot in the head, dragged, drowned or clubbed to death.

“Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don’t pull are dragged to death in harnesses,” wrote former Iditarod dog handler Mike Cranford for Alaska’s Bush Blade Newspaper. Jon Saraceno claimed in USA Today that “He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens…”

During the race itself, mushers speed past checkpoints. At best, veterinarians give dogs brief visual checks. Rather than pull sick dogs, veterinarians often dose them with antibiotics to stay in the race.

I urge your organization to cut ties with the cruel Iditarod dog sled race.

Sincerely,

LEFT: Dogs on short tethers, prior to a race. RIGHT: At sled dog mills, dogs live outdoors with rickety enclosures and are jerked back when they run to the end of their chains. PHOTOS: http://www.helpsleddogs.org

TAKE EMAIL ACTION:
Most email providers allow people to send up to 40 email addresses at a time. For your convenience, addresses below are divided into groups of 40.

• Please email your comments, one group at a time.
• Groups contain addresses for the 2010 Iditarod sponsors, promoters, and musher sponsors.
• Email blocks with semicolons and commas: http://www.helpsleddogsorg/sponsors.htm

IF EMAILS DON’T WORK OR OTHER PROBLEMS ARISE,
CONTACT ALERT WRITER — NOT KINSHIP CIRCLE:
Margery Glickman, SledDogAC@aol.com

BLOCK ONE OF FIVE:
Martha.LaGuardia@uscg.mil, Christopher.Gay@cabelas.com, joe.arterburn@cabelas.com, car8@chrysler.com, rick.deneau@chrysler.com, richard.d.levy@wellsfargo.com, Dana.L.Rogers@wellsfargo.com, investorrelations@wellsfargo.com, capital.markets@exxonmobil.com, craig.a.haymes@exxonmobil.com, elizabeth_hillman@discovery.com, investor_relations@discovery.com, investorrelations@target.com, susan.kahn@target.com, newsroom@alaskaair.com, Susan.Bramstedt@alaskaair.com, jodom@odomcorp.com, sustainability@na.ko.com, Investor.Relations@ab-inbev.com, DaveScott@KLDistributor.com, billing@roadpost.com, investor.relations@iridium.com, info@vitecgroup.com, Marketing@ElectrochemSolutions.com, info@margaritaville.com, keywest@margaritaville.com, info@westernplows.com, glparsky@auroracap.com, info@visitjamaica.com, investor_relations@westjet.com, jeanne.jackson@nike.com, asilverman@npr.org, David.Bittler@nick.com, jobs@wellpet.com, skenyon@mill-usa.com, david.curtis-brignell@mill-cop.com, PDoyle@adn.com, ptira@mcclatchy.com, jstorey@horizonlines.com, investor_relations@trimble.com, corpcsf@wellsfargo.com

BLOCK TWO OF FIVE:
espence@nea.org, danya.proud@us.mcd.com, info@mychukka.com, dmorris@gci.com, resumes@crowley.com,  cburchfield@alaskanbeer.com, dwspencer@microlinetc.com, enisson@nacargo.com, jo.norton@providence.org, kroger.investors@kroger.com, Alyson.Johnson@wyndhamworldwide.com, sparmelee@outsidemag.com, dhibbler@depaul.edu, desa@diabetes-exercise.org, investor.relations@blockbuster.com, lailani@kotowski4senate.com, publicrelations@arizona.aaa.com, info0808@striker.com, david_peikin@choicehotels.com, investor_relations@choicehotels.com, irnewyork@shell.com, mjordan@invictalaw.com, rcotton@hawkpointegolf.com, hbspcs@harcourt.com, TGallagher@carnival.com, greg.lee@livestrong.org, jgooding@tiff.net, info@chempetitive.com, oberlander@topnotchresort.com, frank.hazevoets@tigenix.com, rene.reichenbach@t-online.de, board@rei.com, information@RSSC.com, kgood@scholastic.com, csinger@fpdwc.org

BLOCK THREE OF FIVE:
hotelrep@fdifairbanks.com, tmarkley@catawba.k12.nc.us, admin@krokodil.be, marketing@baffin.com, abement@nsf.gov, ted@pacifictugboats.com, neos@overshoe.com, enquiries@freshcatch.com, chris.deets@activeion.com, loki@lokiusa.com, unicorn@mcphee.com, info@doubleupfarms.com, jrotepel@tahsinusa.com, info@oceanbeauty.com, info@freedscoffeetea.com,  Richard.Salmons@lssi.com, chairman@arts.gov, bcumming@cmnh.org, Investor_Help@edmin.com, jh@desplainesparks.org, webmaster@equinedirect.net, info@foresightmultimedia.com, bob.klein@harley-davidson.com, ablank@gpworldwide.com, ian@brander.co.uk, circles@pandora.be, catchg.glassandstone@runbox.com, kco@verdepr.com, brian@wildthingsgear.com, stay@diamondmranch.com, ken@zolfeeast.com, buschk@billings.k12.mt.us, joni@doxafestival.ca, rabbikahn@torahacademy.org, pastor@calvaryws.com, JJohnston@udelhoven.com, info@greatriverjourney.com, reach@plaidfish.com, sales@tunnock.co.uk, info@inlettower.com

BLOCK FOUR OF FIVE:
lynne@boulderdigitalarts.com, swmoore@cbs.com, jfipp@ncs-nj.org, mccabel@kaukauna.k12.wi.us, cs@darntough.ca, garthdeesports@btconnect.com, owner@adventuresakrv.com, secretariat@41clubs.be, admin@k9hydrocentre.com,
plampi@alaskazoo.org, info@annamaet.com, rambler@cariboucreekgold.com, ma@goathleticapparel.com, tlange@tcinc.us, fsb@1stsecuritydl.com, info@brcomm.com, robert@100sportingevents.com, Mary-Michael@RiverviewCC.com, info@schadevineyard.com, joel_dvorak@natronaschools.org, pmroden@hsco.org, info@penair.com, mayor@muni.org, manager@ci.nome.ak.us, gwells@simon.com, vrupright@ci.wasilla.ak.us, AskMLP@muni.org, alcansigns@alaska.net, dpowers@akserigraphics.com, Luke.Welles@lifemedalaska.com, info@worksafeinc.com, rentme@valleycarrental.com, anchorage@alaskapain.net, bgabriel@biggelectric.com, jimb@harborent.com, info@10squaredracing.com, yum.investor@yum.com, info@trapperscreek.com, info@trabitsgroup.com, info@canada-goose.com

BLOCK FIVE OF FIVE:
sdean@jjkeller.com, customersupport@batteriesplus.com, larry@altitudetraining.com, information@lynden.com, contact@redpawfeed.com, orders@motosolutions.com, Macgellan@mac.com, orders@motosolutions.com, info@lake-rescue.org,  info@alaskadirectbusline.com, pressroom@atk.com, dax@polarcom.com, info@yukonzinc.com, prints@alaskastock.com, ewaite@sbsalaska.com, ruediger.henke@queo-media.com,  kbernier@mta-telco.com, sean.karin@alaska.net, amanda.fowler@warmers.com,  wiggys@wiggys.com, eldorado@yknet.ca, info@janssenfuneralhomes.com, qiviut@gci.net, info@usibelli.com, ccampbell@wmcnet.org, bwalker@mcmurry.net, info@sylmardogwear.com, tours@atlastravelweb.com, newsmedia@Exploritas.org, jmcfarland@fpdwc.org, balch@wvwc.edu, lance@cebridge.net, duane.dunn@sccc.edu, director@lmlibrary.org, jwomack@rcs.k12.va.us

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

End Live Bait Dog Training In Indiana (3/2/10)
***LETTERS SHOULD BE RECEIVED BEFORE MARCH 16, 2010***

Running pen operations pit a pack of dogs against a single wild-caught coyote or fox as a form of hunt training for the dogs. The coyote or fox has nowhere to run and is mauled. With hunter’s comprising less than 5% of Indiana’s population, we can be louder. Take action to stop this profoundly cruel blood sport now. PHOTOS: http://www.coyoteinfo.typepad.com

SENDING OPTIONS:
1) SEND AN AUTOMATED LETTER:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1891&seriesfirst=true

2) OR — COPY/PASTE EMAILS & SAMPLE LETTER BELOW.

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

EVERYONE, CONTACT:
Indiana Natural Resources Commission
Indiana Government Center North
100 N. Senate Avenue, Room N501 / Indianapolis, IN 46204-2200
fax: 317-233-2977
Jennifer Kane: 317-232-4699, jkane@nrc.in.gov
Sandra Jensen: 317-232-4229, sjensen@nrc.in.gov
contact form: http://www.in.gov/nrc/2351.htm

Office of Governor Mitch Daniels
200 W Washington St # 206 / Indianapolis, IN 46204-2731
ph: 317-232-4567; email: mdaniels@gov.in.gov
contact form: http://www.in.gov/gov/2631.htm

INDIANA RESIDENTS ONLY:
Attend and testify at the INRC hearing on 3/16/10 in Indianapolis where Commissioners may opt to move forward with Citizen petitions and take action via formal rulemaking procedures. We need a good showing at this hearing!

• Hearing Time: March 16, 2010 / 9:00am
• Place: Fort Harrison State Park Inn, Roosevelt Room / Indianapolis, IN
• More Info: http://www.in.gov./nrc/2354.htm

*****EMAIL ADDRESSES FROM ABOVE*****
jkane@nrc.in.gov, sjensen@nrc.in.gov, mdaniels@gov.in.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 – Type your address, city, state, country for your comments
to be officially considered.
=============================================================

Dear Indiana Natural Resources Commission and Governor Mitch Daniels:

My comments pertain to citizen petitions that seek to ban use of coyotes and red foxes in “penning” and as bait. I urge INRC to advance the rulemaking procedure that would disallow entrapment, harassment and slaughter of coyotes and foxes at running pen operations. I also hope Governor Daniels asserts his authority to put a stop to this inhumane activity.

As you know, “penning” entails the trapping, sale or barter of coyotes and foxes to hound hunting facilities. Wild-caught canids are penned separately, so that multiple dogs can literally rip apart a single coyote or fox. It is hard to believe that a blood sport similar to illegal dog or cockfighting is still legal in Indiana.

To deliberately torture a wild animal under the guise of “sport” is not only grotesque — but also ecologically irresponsible. Furthermore, the transport of wild animals slated for penning has been linked with transmission of rabies and other diseases.

On March 16, 2010, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources conveys results from its assessment of hunting/trapping regulations related to coyotes and foxes. This report covers penning.

Wildlife enthusiasts far outnumber hunters, who comprise less than 5% of Indiana’s population. I encourage INRC and Governor Daniels to weigh these petitions, from your citizens, and advocate an end to the capture of foxes and coyotes to use as training bait for dogs.

Thank you,
>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

==============================================================
HOPE HAS WHEELS — FOR HAITI QUAKE SURVIVORS
==============================================================

Please keep us moving: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti

ARCH’s mobile veterinary clinic makes rounds to underserved areas such as Pelerin where Haitians line-up to have animals vaccinated. In top photo, Kenny, 10, brought his dog Vito. “[Vito] has been sick for a long time, but I don’t know any vets and don’t have money,” he said. ARCH gave Vito antibiotics and vitamins and will check the dog’s progress…

As of end Feb. 2010, ARCH teams had administered aid to: dogs, cats, goats,
sheep, pigs, cows, horses, chickens, donkeys…nearly 3500 animals so far.

WE CAN’T MOVE FORWARD WTHOUT YOU…
Some ask, “Why Haiti’s animals, when animals everywhere need help?” We applaud your generosity for all animals. Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid made a commitment to help animals in the aftermath of the earthquake. What ARCH members uncovered is that Haiti has virtually no veterinary capacity.
The long-term coordination of veterinarians, clinics, vaccines…and public education…gives these animals a chance in future disasters and daily survival.  With $1.1M dollars pledged for enduring animal relief efforts in
Haiti — ARCH can only finish this job with your support!

Kinship Circle needs contributions to:

• Help pay for long-term projects that will make life better for Haiti’s animals.
• Fund travel for our responders on standby to deploy to Haiti.

PLEASE GIVE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti

All Haiti photos: T. Stargardter (c) WSPA/IFAW for ARCH

After Haiti’s 7.0 earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince and nearby areas, Kinship Circle joined animal protection groups worldwide to form Animal Relief Coalition of Haiti (ARCH), led by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

Project Coyote, info@projectcoyote.org
http://www.ProjectCoyote.org
Friends of Animals Tells Indiana to Stop Live Bait Dog Training
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/news/2009/december/friends-of-animals-t.html

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
3/5/10: Chile Quake – Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected


Kittens amid rubble. An 8.8. earthquake struck Chile’s central region,
namely Constitucion, Chile, on 2/27/10. photo source:
http://21paradigm.wordpress.com/

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Strongest Earthquake To Hit Chile In 50 Years
2. Some 700,000 Animals Affected, Animal Relief Chile Says
3. International NGOs On Alert For Chile’s Animals

===================================================================
1. Strongest Earthquake To Hit Chile In 50 Years

CHILE EARTHQUAKE / DISASTER OVERVIEW
-   2/27/10: Magnitude 8.8 – OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE
-   MAIN AFFECTED REGIONS:
60 miles NNW of Chillan, Chile
65 miles WSW of Talca, Chile
70 miles NNE of Concepcion, Chile
200 miles SW of Santiago, Chile
SOURCE: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010tfan.php

-   (AP) 3/4/10: The magnitude-8.8 quake and tsunami that followed ravaged a 700-kilometer (435-mile) stretch of Chile’s Pacific coast and killed at least 802 people. People missing, unknown. People affected, 2 million.

-   Chile has asked other countries and the UN for temporary bridges, field hospitals, satellite phones, electric generators, water purification systems, field kitchens and dialysis centers.

-   (guardian.co.uk) 2/27/10: The 22-mile deep earthquake caused buildings to collapse, fires to erupt, and unleashed a tsunami across the Pacific. It devastated the city of Concepcion, 70 miles from the epicentre.

-   ”This quake was around 500 times the magnitude of the one that devastated Haiti in Jan.,” but it was deeper and Chile’s buildings are sturdier, so there were less casualties.

-   Powerful aftershocks: There were 29 of magnitude 5 or greater, and one reaching 6.9, the US Geological Survey reported.

===================================================================
2. Some 700,000 Animals Affected, Animal Relief Chile Says

EFE, Chile. http://www.sach.bligoo.cl/

ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE
http://www.cefu.cl/ * http://www.sach.bligoo.cl/
CEFU executive director Alejandra Cassino estimates more than 700,000 companion animals may be affected by the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that hit Chile’s central region on 2/27/10. Coalition for the Ethical Control of Urban Animals (CEFU) has called upon other Chilean animal organizations to unite for these victims. Under the banner ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE, the coalition provides a national support network to cover veterinary care, resource management, communications, volunteers, etc.

ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE MEMBER GROUPS, SO FAR:
- Animanaturalis
- Animal Consciousness
- Rima
- ADAR
- ASPS Talca
- independent animal Enraizarte
- Students from the Universidad Diego Portales, Universidad Mayor,
Iberoamericana and Universidad de Chile

MONETARY DONATIONS TO ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE:
DIRECT DESPOSIT (the only option at this time)
Animal Relief Chile — also called Socorro Animal Chile (SACH) — asks the Chilean animal community and the rest of the world to join this campaign to help the animal victims of the earthquake, and their caretakers.

WIRE OR WESTERN UNION DONATIONS FROM YOUR BANK TO:
The account of the Organization OPRA
Account: 01-16460-0, Development Bank
Ruth: 65640920-0
CODE FOREIGN DEPOSITS: BKSACLRM
Send a confirmation email to: aporteanimal@gmail.com

SUPPLY NEEDS (translated from Spanish):
For donations of perishables (dog/cat food…) and medical supplies, communicate directly with those responsible for receiving/coordinating aid:

** Animal Relief Chile: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=329459149031&ref=ts
Alejandra Cassino Marcel, 09-235-1982, socorroanimalchile@gmail.com

SOURCE OF THIS INFORMATION, TRANSLATED FROM SPANISH
Socorro Animal Chile (SACH)
socorroanimalchile@gmail.com, sosanimalchile@gmail.com
website: http://www.sach.bligoo.cl/

Coalition for the Ethical Control of
Urban Animals (CEFU)
coalicion@cefu.cl, denuncia@cefu.cl, prensa@cefu.cl
website: http://www.sach.bligoo.cl/

===================================================================
3. International NGOs On Alert For Chile’s Animals

Rescue worker Cristian Velasquez found and comforted this puppy found alive inside a collapsed house in Constitucion, March 1, 2010. Velasquez gave him bits of food and water after rescuing him from (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

WORLD SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF ANIMALS (WSPA)
http://animalsindisasters.typepad.com/

EDITED FOR LENGTH
The impact on animals is becoming clearer, as we now have information from several of our member societies in affected regions… A center run by our member society, Centro de Rehabilitacion y Rescate de Primates (CRRP) that provides shelter for 165 mistreated primates has been damaged too. CRRP staff said that one of the monkeys has died and others are much stressed… Some animal shelters run by non-member societies are also reportedly seriously damaged. Many dogs have been left homeless, and there are reports of animals roaming around towns…. Flights into Chile are very limited. We now have confirmed tickets, to fly directly to Santiago, on Sunday night…

INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE (IFAW)
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/

IFAW Emergency Team on Alert — A magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near the city of Concepcion, Chile… More than 2 million people are displaced, wounded or otherwise affected… Shortly after the earthquake, IFAW reached out to our friends at animal protection groups in Chile to assess the needs of animal victims. We are standing ready to provide emergency grants or whatever else is appropriate during these difficult times.

Animales terremoto en Chile
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prensanimalista/sets/72157623551563382/

Please Give To Kinship Circle’s Disaster Aid Fund…So We Are Always Ready!
Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Missouri Flood, Iowa Floods, Gustav, Ike, Kentucky
Flood, California Wildfires, Haiti… You helped us be there for animals.

*   DONATE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE DISASTER AID FUND: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

*   DONATE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF: http://www.KinshipCircle.org/haiti

*   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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

3/9/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
Hope Has Wheels! $1.1M Pledged For Lasting Animal Aid In Haiti

WHY AM I HERE? We highly recommend you view our friend Tom McPhee’s extraordinary short, “Why Am I Here?” Tom, Executive Director of World Animal Awareness Society — and creator of the Katrina animal rescue film, American Opera — explains why he traveled to earthquake-stricken Haiti to film animal rescue operations with SODOPRECA. The film’s rich texture and breathtaking scenes will make you feel as if you went with him:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg6Ng9jeGTk

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Hope arrived on four wheels……Underneath a fully equipped veterinary mobile clinic! As of March 4, 2010, ARCH has treated over 4000 animals, including many dogs, goats, sheep, cats, pigs, cows, horses, donkeys and domestic fowl. In the photo above, Kenny, 10, said his dog Vito had “been sick for a long time, but I don’t know any vets and don’t have money.” ARCH gave Vito antibiotics and vitamins and will check the dog’s progress… Photos: IFAW/WSPA for ARCH

Animal groups pledge $1.1M dollars for long-term animal aid in Haiti
3/4/10 — Animal Relief Coalition Of Haiti (ARCH) announced a $1.1 million agreement with the Haitian government to improve and repair animal welfare conditions in the aftermath of January’s ruinous earthquake. Over 20 animal protection groups worldwide, including Kinship Circle, formed ARCH under joint leadership of World Society For Protection of Animals and International Fund For Animal Welfare. The ambitious long-term plan covers:

*   DISEASE PREVENTION NETWORK: To protect people and animals from disease outbreaks, a laboratory and staff will carry out targeted vaccination campaigns for Rabies, Anthrax and other diseases.

*   VETERINARY TRAINING: Our goal is to train at least 200 Haitian veterinarians and vet technicians for current/future animal welfare issues.

*   VACCINATION COLD STORAGE: A “cold chain” is crucial to keep vaccinations fresh and stable through delivery.

*   ANIMAL POPULATION STUDIES: Haiti’s animal demographics have changed dramatically due to recent disasters. Updated data is vital to reach animals.

ARCH’s mobile vet clinic makes rounds to underserved areas such as Pelerin where Haitians line-up to have animals vaccinated. According to the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, there are some 5 million farmed animals in Haiti (not including domestic fowl), and about 500,000 dogs in Port-au-Prince.

Why Haiti’s animals, when animals everywhere need help? Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid made a promise to help Haiti’s animals after one of the most devastating earthquakes in modern times. ARCH’s enduring plan to coordinate veterinarians, clinics, vaccines…gives these animals a chance in future disasters and daily survival.

All Haiti photos: T. Stargardter (c) WSPA/IFAW for ARCH

PLEASE GIVE TO HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/haiti

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

3/15/10: KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
Chile’s Animals – Worse Than We Thought. Help Us Be There.

Animals with broken bones. Eyes cloudy with saltwater.
A kitten cut. Puppies under rubble. There are thousands more, each one a bark and purr unheard… THIS IS CHILE, post-quake.

Dear Supporters,
I just got off the phone with Kinship Circle’s Chile contact. She described the forgotten victims of Chile’s 8.8-magnitude earthquake on 2/27/10 — followed by 20+ aftershocks, some as high as 7.2 and 6.9, and two tsunamis.

Socorro Animal Chile, SACH (Animal Relief Chile) is a coalition of Chilean animal protection groups united for the relief of an estimated 700,000 (or more) animals scattered across Dichato, Constitucion and Pichilemu, Chile. SACH sends three veterinarian-led teams into the field daily. They’ve formally requested assistance from Kinship Circle’s disaster response team.

SACH has also asked us to raise funds on their behalf, with three main goals to:

1. Erect a temporary tent shelter/clinic to care for animals abandoned in the earthquake.
2. Carry out a spay/neuter campaign.
3. Focus on transport and adoption campaigns, particularly in the U.S.

SACH needs Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid in Chile to assist with:
– Search and Rescue / Trapping
– In-Field First Aid
– Wound Transport to Veterinary Clinics
– In-Field Sustenance (food/water program)
– Assessment and Tracking of Animal Populations
– Emergency Sheltering (once a temporary staging area/clinic is established)

WE NEED TO RAISE $500,000.
http://kinshipcircle.org/donation/
I know you have DONATION FATIGUE! We wouldn’t ask, with Haiti animal aid still underway, if it weren’t critical.  I ask for you to reach deep, to helpwith funding needs outlined below. We can’t keep our promise to Chile’s animals without funding, as most of our resources went to Haiti work.
With deep gratitude, Brenda Shoss, president, Kinship Circle

Please donate to Kinship Circle / Animal Relief Chile now:
BY MAIL:
Kinship Circle
Animal Relief Chile
7380 Kingsbury Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63130

ONLINE:
http://kinshipcircle.org/donation/

Your donation helps pay for:
**This is to show why we’re fundraising. DO NOT SHIP ITEMS TO US.**
STAGING AREA/TEMP SHELTER IN CHILE:
– Large vehicles: 3 SUVs
– Gas fueled generators
– Basic veterinary surgical equipment and examining table
– Basic veterinary clinic equipment, including vaccines, medicines, etc.
– Subcutaneous fluid bags, lines, needles
– Portable X-ray machine and light table
– Fans and portable air conditioners for surgical tents
– Kennels, run, carriers, cages…for rescued animals
– Sturdy large tent shelters for clinic, animal sheltering, volunteers
– Electrical lighting for staging area/volunteer camp at night
– Fencing
– Leashes, collars
– Bowls
– Litter-boxes & Litter
– Cat and dog food
– Water
– Blankets; Newspaper
– Trap cages
– Catch poles
– Hygiene
– Refrigerator cold storage of medication
VOLUNTEER DEPLOYMENT & GROUND ACTIVITIES:
– Airfare reimbursement for volunteer deployments
– Lodging for volunteers, whether in hotel, rented property, or camp
– Sustenance (food, water) for volunteers + some equipment, such as catchpoles, etc.
– Administrative costs for web construction, public messaging, long distance communications…

A Plea From Earthquake-Stricken Chile
Dear Ms. Shoss and Kinship Circle,
The earthquake and following tsunami that Chile suffered on the early morning of the 27th of February devastated several small towns close to the coast. Thousands of animals are silent victims of this catastrophe. Hundreds of dogs live with their owners in shelters and thousands roam the ruins of towns and cities. The dogs’ guardians have lost everything and do not have the resources to feed their animals. Some opted to abandon them.

Chilean animal welfare groups and veterinarians decided to work together to help animals and created Socorro Animal Chile (Animal Relief Chile).

Socorro Animal Chile (Animal Relief Chile) formally requests assistance from Kinship Circle for our animal aid operation in Dichato, Constitucion and Pichilemu, Chile. We need trained animal disaster responders and rescue and veterinary specialists. On behalf of the animal organizations in SACH/Animal Relief Chile, we ask that Kinship Circle deploy its team to Chile to work within our animal disaster plan, in response to Chile’s earthquake.

We also ask Kinship Circle to temporarily receive donations in the United States on behalf of Socorro Animal Chile. We urgently need funding to sustain our work for animals. Difficult bureaucratic steps necessary to
opening a Paypal account ourselves, in Chile, have prompted SACH to request financial aid from other countries, especially the United States. That is the reason we ask Kinship Circle to accept funds on our behalf.

For all your help I am grateful,
Alejandra Cassino, Chief Coordinator
Adriana De La Garza, International Affairs
Socorro Animal Chile / Animal Relief Chile

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ANIMAL RELIEF CHILE
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=329459149031&ref=ts
http://www.sach.bligoo.cl/

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

*   DONATE TO CHILE OR HAITI ANIMAL RELIEF FUNDS:
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

SIGN-UP FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD”  +  Send to: info@kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send

3/21/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
Show Me Horse Slaughter In Show-Me Missouri?

SEND YOUR COMMENTS EITHER WAY:
1) Skip this blog entry. Go to this link to send an automated letter:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1894&seriesfirst=true

2) OR — Copy/paste emails & sample letter below into your own email.


Photo: Horses sold for transport to a Canadian slaughterhouse.
http://www.humanefood.ca/otherissues.html

Missouri, the “Show Me State,” is already the nation’s puppy mill capital. Now the enterprising state aims to reinstate horse slaughter. Rep. Jim Viebrock, R-Republic, has introduced H.B. 1747 to sidestep federal regulations that bar horse slaughter for human consumption. According to Viebrock, his bill would jump-start the “ailing equine industry.”

WHEREVER YOU LIVE: THIS BILL AFFECTS YOU. The last three U.S. kill plants were shut down in 2007. Don’t let Missouri revive a despicable industry.

=============================================================
SAMPLE LETTER – CONTACT INFO FOLLOWS SAMPLE LETTER
=============================================================

Missouri House of Representatives:

Please reject Rep. Jim Viebrock’s bill to sidestep federal rules that bar horse slaughter for human consumption. If passed, H.B. 1747 lets horse processors operate in Missouri — even though no equine plants legally function in the U.S. right now. While supporters insist slaughter “saves” horses from neglect and starvation, their argument fails to recognize:

– “Americans oppose horse slaughter by an overwhelming margin,” says Glen Bolger, national pollster and founding partner of the nonpartisan Public Opinion Strategies (POS). In a 2007 poll, POS found that 71% want horses preserved as part of American cultural heritage. Nearly half are less likely to vote for a Congressperson who is against a horse slaughter ban.

– Equine plants are known polluters that congest sewers and contaminate land and water.

– Under Missouri Anti-Cruelty Statues Chapter 578, animal abandonment is a crime punishable by fines and jail time. Rather than advocate slaughter as an alternative to neglect, lawmakers ought to enforce criminal prosecution.

– Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Methods to stun and kill cows and
pigs are excruciating when used on horses. Nonetheless, these excitable,
long-necked animals are subjected to captive bolt pistols that often don’t
render them insensible. Some remain aware while killed.

– Overpopulation stems from industries such as Premarin and Prempro (HRT drugs made from mare urine); carriage horses; riding stables, etc. that over-breed horses. Focus should shift to breeding oversight and responsible care. Moreover, there is no documented connection between closure of domestic plants and a spike in horse abuse cases. In contrast, slaughter supplies a “dumping ground” for irresponsible breeders and caretakers.

H.B. 1747 wants to impose a U.S. market for horsemeat on a nation that doesn’t want it. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503/S.B. 727, currently before Congress, bans possession, shipment, transport, purchase, sale, delivery or receipt of any horse for the purpose of human ingestion. In 2006 Congress cut off funding for mandatory ante-mortem inspection of horses. This de-funding was reinstated in the 2010 Appropriations Act. It is illegal to kill uninspected horses under the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

In 2007 the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals proclaimed horse slaughter illegal in Texas, home to two foreign-owned equine plants. Later that year, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly froze America’s last kill plant in DeKalb, Illinois for its failure to assess environmental impacts of horse slaughter, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

Missouri’s proposed “rebirth” of a doomed industry is economically and ethically shortsighted. Horse slaughter is a no-win for horses and people. Please do not support H.B. 1747.

Sincerely,

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

=============================================================
CONTACT INFORMATION
=============================================================

MISSOURI RESIDENTS, CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES:
Find your reps’ contact info: http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx

EVERYONE, CONTACT MISSOURI LAWMAKERS:
Emails below are from the Missouri House of Representatives website:
http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx — If any don’t work, it is because:

• The website contains inaccurate, outdated information
• The recipient has disabled his/her email
• The recipient’s mailbox is full (try later)
• At the time emails below were cross-researched and checked, they worked.

AGRICULTURE POLICY COMMITTEE + ENTIRE MISSOURI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:
Sue.Allen@house.mo.gov, Bert.Atkins@house.mo.gov, Joe.Aull@house.mo.gov, NitaJane.Ayres@house.mo.gov, Kenny.Biermann@house.mo.gov, Walt.Bivins@house.mo.gov, Ellen.Brandom@house.mo.gov, Rachel.Bringer@house.mo.gov, Dan.Brown@house.mo.gov, Jason.Brown@house.mo.gov, Michael.Brown@house.mo.gov, Mark.Bruns@house.mo.gov, Eric.Burlison@house.mo.gov, John.Burnett@house.mo.gov, Don.Calloway@house.mo.gov, Chris.Carter@house.mo.gov, Ron.Casey@house.mo.gov, Maria.ChappelleNadal@house.mo.gov, Mike.Colona@house.mo.gov, Pat.Conway@house.mo.gov, Wayne.Cooper@house.mo.gov, Michael.Corcoran@house.mo.gov, Stanley.Cox@house.mo.gov, Mike.Cunningham@house.mo.gov, Shalonn.Curls@house.mo.gov, Cynthia.Davis@house.mo.gov, David.Day@house.mo.gov, Bill.Deeken@house.mo.gov, Charlie.Denison@house.mo.gov, Mike.Dethrow@house.mo.gov, Scott.Dieckhaus@house.mo.gov, John.Diehl@house.mo.gov, Bob.Dixon@house.mo.gov,
Curt.Dougherty@house.mo.gov, Tony.Dugger@house.mo.gov, Gary.Dusenberg@house.mo.gov, Ed.Emery@house.mo.gov, Vicki.Englund@house.mo.gov

Doug.Ervin@house.mo.gov, Sally.Faith@house.mo.gov, Joe.FallertJr@house.mo.gov, Linda.Fischer@house.mo.gov, Barney.Fisher@house.mo.gov, Thomas.Flanigan@house.mo.gov, Tim.Flook@house.mo.gov, Michael.Frame@house.mo.gov, Ward.Franz@house.mo.gov, Doug.Funderburk@house.mo.gov, Chuck.Gatschenberger@house.mo.gov, Jason.Grill@house.mo.gov, Jeff.Grisamore@house.mo.gov, Casey.Guernsey@house.mo.gov, Jim.Guest@house.mo.gov, Belinda.Harris@house.mo.gov, Steve.Hobbs@house.mo.gov, Steve.Hodges@house.mo.gov, Jason.Holsman@house.mo.gov, Denny.Hoskins@house.mo.gov, leonard.hughes@house.mo.gov, Jake.Hummel@house.mo.gov, Allen.Icet@house.mo.gov, Kenny.Jones@house.mo.gov, Tim.Jones@house.mo.gov, Tishaura.Jones@house.mo.gov, Jason.Kander@house.mo.gov, Shelley.Keeney@house.mo.gov, Chris.Kelly@house.mo.gov, Gayle.Kingery@house.mo.gov, Jeanne.Kirkton@house.mo.gov, Andrew.Koenig@house.mo.gov, Sam.Komo@house.mo.gov, Michele.Kratky@house.mo.gov, Will.Kraus@house.mo.gov, JC.Kuessner@house.mo.gov, Mike.Lair@house.mo.gov, Sara.Lampe@house.mo.gov, Scott.Largent@house.mo.gov

Mike.Leara@house.mo.gov, Roman.LeBlanc@house.mo.gov, Paul.Levota@house.mo.gov, Albert.Liese@house.mo.gov, Scott.Lipke@house.mo.gov, Tom.Loehner@house.mo.gov, Beth.Low@house.mo.gov, Rebecca.McClanahan@house.mo.gov, Tom.McDonald@house.mo.gov, Mike.McGhee@house.mo.gov, Cole.McNary@house.mo.gov, Margo.McNeil@house.mo.gov, Tim.Meadows@house.mo.gov, Kate.Meiners@house.mo.gov, Chris.Molendorp@house.mo.gov, James.Morris@house.mo.gov, Brian.Munzlinger@house.mo.gov, Bob.Nance@house.mo.gov, Jamilah.Nasheed@house.mo.gov, Stacey.Newman@house.mo.gov, Brian.Nieves@house.mo.gov, Jerry.Nolte@house.mo.gov, Charlie.Norr@house.mo.gov, Jeanette.Oxford@house.mo.gov, Sharon.Pace@house.mo.gov, Mark.Parkinson@house.mo.gov, Mike.Parson@house.mo.gov, Darrell.Pollock@house.mo.gov, Bryan.Pratt@house.mo.gov, Paul.Quinn@house.mo.gov, Ronald.Richard@house.mo.gov, Jeanie.Riddle@house.mo.gov, Jeff.Roorda@house.mo.gov, Martin.Rucker@house.mo.gov, Marilyn.Ruestman@house.mo.gov, Don.Ruzicka@house.mo.gov, Ray.Salva@house.mo.gov, Therese.Sander@house.mo.gov, David.Sater@house.mo.gov, Luke.Scavuzzo@house.mo.gov, Rob.Schaaf@house.mo.gov, Rodney.Schad@house.mo.gov, Dwight.Scharnhorst@house.mo.gov, Ed.Schieffer@house.mo.gov

Charlie.Schlottach@house.mo.gov, Shane.Schoeller@house.mo.gov, Sue.Schoemehl@house.mo.gov, Jill.Schupp@house.mo.gov, Tom.Self@house.mo.gov, Tom.Shively@house.mo.gov, Ryan.Silvey@house.mo.gov, Trent.Skaggs@house.mo.gov, Jason.Smith@house.mo.gov, Joe.Smith@house.mo.gov, Michael.Spreng@house.mo.gov, Bryan.Stevenson@house.mo.gov, Mary.Still@house.mo.gov, Rachel.Storch@house.mo.gov, Rick.Stream@house.mo.gov, Mike.Sutherland@house.mo.gov, Terry.Swinger@house.mo.gov, Mike.Talboy@house.mo.gov, Mike.Thomson@house.mo.gov, Steven.Tilley@house.mo.gov, Tom.Todd@house.mo.gov, Clint.Tracy@house.mo.gov, Jim.Viebrock@house.mo.gov, Michael.Vogt@house.mo.gov, Maynard.Wallace@house.mo.gov, Gina.Walsh@house.mo.gov, Rochelle.Gray@house.mo.gov, Jay.Wasson@house.mo.gov, Steve.Webb@house.mo.gov, Don.Wells@house.mo.gov, Raymond.Weter@house.mo.gov, Hope.Whitehead@house.mo.gov, Kevin.Wilson@house.mo.gov, Terry.Witte@house.mo.gov, Billy.Wright@house.mo.gov, Patricia.Yaeger@house.mo.gov, Anne.Zerr@house.mo.gov, Jake.Zimmerman@house.mo.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.

Kinship Circle believes an animal-free diet is the ultimate way to end cruelty and the devastating impacts of animal agriculture. We believe confinement, deprivation, drugging, brutalization, slaughter, dismemberment and consumption are bad for horses, dogs, cats, pigs, cows, chickens, goats and all who live. We advocate for an end to the suffering of all.

Give To Kinship Circle’s Disaster Aid Fund…So We Are Always Ready!
Hurricane Katrina, Rita, Missouri Flood, Iowa Floods, Gustav, Ike, Kentucky Flood, California Wildfires, Haiti, Chile… You helped us be there for animals.

*   DONATE TO KINSHIP CIRCLE DISASTER AID FUND: 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
http://www.KinshipCircle.org * http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters
=============================================================
SOURCE OF INFORMATION / REFERENCE LINKS FOR THIS ALERT
=============================================================

Slaughter of horses in U.S. could resume, in Missouri
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/3335E5FAA88015DC862576E2000F6ECE?OpenDocument
Show MO Legislators Why They Should Oppose H.B. 1747
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1160

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.

UPDATE: Missouri lawmakers don’t care what you think about H.B. 1747, a bill that could reinstate U.S. horse slaughter for human consumption. In fact, House Reps are forwarding your letters back to Kinship Circle, UNREAD.

Some Reps leave indecent voicemails on Kinship Circle’s line. One sang a vulgar version of “A Horse Is A Horse.” Another, at 10:00pm, chanted Kinship Circle president Brenda Shoss’ name in a creepy voice, then neighed. They’ve cussed, hung up, and yelled.

They are so inconvenienced by your “fricking” emails, they will vote to kill horses. Revenge is the basis for enacting a law in Missouri?

We all know this is not a Missouri issue. No equine plants have legally operated in the U.S. since those in Texas and Illinois were shut down in 2007. Killing American horses affects concerned citizens everywhere. But Missouri’s elected officials prefer to make teenage-style phonies to a 501c3 nonprofit charity.

Thanks to their immature harassment, the issue has broadened to one about free speech, legislator conduct, and horses. If you care about all three, write or call Missouri’s governor to report these abuses:

Office of Governor Jay Nixon
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-751-3222

3/25/10: KINSHIP CIRCLE

MISSOURI HOUSE REPS ARE FORWARDING YOUR LETTERS BACK TO KINSHIP CIRCLE, UNREAD. We are receiving roughly 700-800 of your unread letters per day, and struggling to keep our system from freezing.

SINCE 3/21/10, SOME MISSOURI HOUSE REPS HAVE ALSO:
–  Left indecent voicemails on Kinship Circle’s line. One sang a vulgar version of “A Horse Is A Horse.” (CALLER ID: Missouri State, 573-522-0000)

–  Called our line late at night. At 10:00pm, one unidentified legislator chanted Kinship Circle president Brenda Shoss’ name in a creepy voice, then neighed. (CALLER ID: Missouri State, 573-522-0000)

–  Called and reached us — to cuss, yell and slam down the phone.

–  Called our business line to leave messages that begin “Hey Brenda…” in a menacing voice. Never: “Ms. Shoss” or “Kinship Circle.”

–  Called to say they are so inconvenienced by your “fricking emails,” they’ll vote YES on H.B. 1747. And: “The entire Missouri House is against your organization.” Revenge is the basis for enacting a law in Missouri?

THEIR DEFENSE? WE ONLY WANT TO HEAR FROM MISSOURI CONSTITUENTS
We all know this is not a Missouri issue. No equine plants have legally operated in the U.S. since those in Texas and Illinois were shut down in 2007. Killing U.S. horses affects all concerned citizens. But Missouri’s elected officials prefer to make teenage-style phonies to a 501c3 nonprofit.

Thanks to their immature harassment, the issue has broadened to one about free speech, legislator conduct, and horses. If you care about all three, write or call Missouri’s governor to report these abuses:

Office of Governor Jay Nixon
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65102
* 573-751-3222 (calling is best way to be heard)
http://governor.mo.gov/contact/

THIS UPDATE IS IN REFERENCE TO ALERT:
3/12/10: Show Me Missouri – Show Me Horse Slaughter?
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library/letter_new2.asp?LetterID=1894&seriesfirst=true

CHILE UPDATE: Thousands await refuge from injury, hunger, thirst, fear.
Kinship Circle’s team arrives 3/30/10 to work in hard hit coast towns.

WE NEED TO RAISE AT LEAST $500,00 TO:
–  Finance our initial five-person team, in Chile to assess the emergency for animals. This deployment will help form our extended plan for the rescue/recovery of earthquake affected animals.

–  Fund Kinship Circle teams over 3 to 6 months — including veterinarians, vet techs, first responders, and a Chile project manager — to conduct:
*   Search and Rescue / Trapping
*   In-Field First Aid / Wound Transport
*   In-Field Sustenance (food/water program)
*   Assessment and Tracking of Animal Populations
*   1-Year Clinic/Shelter (for homeless and temporarily surrendered animals)
*   Extended Care (vaccines, spay/neuter, and adoption programs)

*  DONATE TO CHILE RELIEF FUND NOW:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

KINSHIP CIRCLE IS AUTHORIZED BY CHILI’S GOVERNMENT. DONATIONS HELP FUND:
1)  A temporary shelter/clinic to care for animals left homeless by the earthquake as well as provide extended care for those animals without caretakers or who require more medical aid.

2)  A spay/neuter campaign with the goal to sterilize 5,000 to 6,000 animals. With enough funding, a spay/neuter program can change both the post-quake and long-term landscape for Chile’s animals.

3)  Transport and adoption campaigns, particularly in the U.S. In addition to a large pre-quake stray population, thousands more animals are left homeless by overwhelmed quake survivors.

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

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SIGN-UP FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

3/30/10: KINSHIP CIRCLE
Not a Missourian? Forward this to a list or person who is.

Dear Missourians,

We learned, just this morning, that the Missouri House passed H.B. 1747 — the bill to permit horse processing for human consumption in MO.

As you know, Kinship Circle circulated a polite sample-letter alert asking Missouri Reps to reject H.B. 1747. If Missouri’s bill passes in the Senate, this state will revive the horse kill trade in America.

Some Reps — in response to your emails — misused public information and harassed a benevolent, nonprofit organization. They bounced 1600 (at last count) unread emails from their servers back to Kinship Circle. Some left childish and menacing messages on Kinship Circle’s voicemail: singing “A Horse Is A Horse,” chanting “Brenda, Brenda, Brenda…neigh…” in reference to KC president Brenda Shoss. One just bleated some type of tribal war call.

Most alarming? Use of the word “retaliate” — as in, the House will pass this horse kill bill to get back at Kinship Circle members for sending comments. In fact, words such as “everyone here is against your organization and doesn’t like you…” or “you’ve guaranteed passage of this bill” because we are so mad at you…formed the basis for how some elected officials voted.

It is vital that MISSOURIANS now do two things:
1) CONTACT YOUR STATE REPS
Find your Reps’ email address & contact info: http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx
– Ask how they voted on H.B. 1747, the bill to legalize horse slaughter in MO.
- Tell them if they voted in favor of it, they just lost your vote at election polls.

2) CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS
Find your Senators’ email address & contact info: http://www.senate.mo.gov/
– Describe your disapproval of the House passage of  H.B. 1747, to legalize horse slaughter in MO.
- Explain why the Senate should NOT pass a similar bill, using the talking points below.
- Tell them that their YES or NO vote on legalized horse slaughter will effect your future voting decisions.

There is no auto-letter for this. A personal constituent approach is vital to keep this bill from passage in the Senate.

• Type or copy/paste your comments into an email to send to your Reps and Senators.
• Type your comments in a program like Word, print them, and fax or snail-mail to your Reps and Senators.
• Call your Reps and Senators.

=============================================================
TALKING POINTS – MODIFY & PERSONALIZE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!
You DO NOT have to use every talking point. You DO have to sign with name and full address; if not you’ll be ignored.
=============================================================

– I’m dismayed by the recent passage of Rep. Jim Viebrock’s bill to sidestep federal rules that bar horse slaughter for human consumption. As your constituent, I’d like to know how you voted (or plan to vote) on legalizing horse slaughter in Missouri. Your stance on H.B. 1747, or any Senate companion bill, will influence my vote at election polls.

– I ask my Senators to oppose any bill with language that mirrors H.B. 1747 and lets horse processors operate in Missouri.

– Eyes around the nation are focusing on Missouri — to see if it will revive horse slaughter on American soil. As you know, this is not a Missouri issue alone. No equine kill plants have legally operated in the U.S. since those in Texas and Illinois were shut down in 2007. The matter of killing American horses affects concerned citizens everywhere.

While supporters insist slaughter “saves” horses from neglect and starvation, their argument fails to recognize:

– “Americans oppose horse slaughter by an overwhelming margin,” says Glen Bolger, national pollster and founding partner of the nonpartisan Public Opinion Strategies (POS). In a 2007 poll, POS found that 71% want horses preserved as part of American cultural heritage. Nearly half are less likely to vote for a Congressperson who is against a horse slaughter ban.

– Equine plants are known polluters that congest sewers and contaminate land and water.

– Rather than advocate slaughter as an alternative to neglect, lawmakers
should enforce criminal prosecution. In Missouri Anti-Cruelty Statues, animal abandonment is a crime punishable by fines and jail time.

– Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Methods to stun and kill cows and pigs are excruciating when used on horses. Nonetheless, these excitable, long-necked animals are subject to captive bolt pistols that often don’t render them insensible. Some remain aware while killed.

– Focus should shift from slaughter to breeding oversight and responsible care. Overpopulation stems from industries such as Premarin and Prempro (HRT drugs made from mare urine); carriage horses; riding stables, etc. that over-breed horses. Moreover, there is no documented link between closure of domestic plants and a spike in horse abuse cases. In contrast, slaughter supplies a “dumping ground” for irresponsible breeders and caretakers.

– Missouri wants to impose a U.S. market for horsemeat on a nation that doesn’t want it. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503/S.B. 727, currently before Congress, bans possession, shipment, transport, purchase, sale, delivery or receipt of any horse for the purpose of human ingestion.

– Please do not support any legislation to legalize horse slaughter in Missouri.

Sincerely,

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

3/29/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
Kinship Circle’s team is en route to Chile.  Why Chile? The answer lies in their eyes…


WHY CHILE?
Animals have no borders, so when Chileans asked Kinship Circle to send teams to help displaced animals, we got to work. We are now in Chile for rescue, first aid and the eventual construction of a temp tent clinic/shelter to house homeless animals, treat injuries, vaccinate, and spay/neuter.

WHY CHILE?
A stretch of coastal towns, about 500-600 miles from Santiago, Chile are ruined from an 8.8 earthquake, aftershocks, and two tsunamis. Still, cries of animals are heard from the rubble. Many are sick from drinking saltwater… It will take 4 to 5 days for a SACH/Kinship Circle convoy to log animal numbers, leave food/water and treat any injured or sick animals.

I wonder how we will find the money to finance all that needs to be done for thousands… Will people care enough about animals in Chile to contribute?

WHY CHILE?
Anyone who looks into their eyes would see the same sadness and confusion that I see. That look, a mix of hunger and hopelessness, was Katrina’s hallmark. For some rescuers, it is a look that can never be erased.

How do you turn away from a plea for help? From tears…and stories of animals left behind? YOU DON’T. Brenda Shoss, president, Kinship Circle

*  DONATE TO CHILE RELIEF FUND NOW:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

WE NEED TO RAISE AT LEAST $500,000 TO…
Fund Kinship Circle teams for 3 to 6 months — including veterinarians, first responders, and a Chile project manager — to purchase and oversee:
*   Search and Rescue / Trapping
*   In-Field First Aid / Wound Transport / Food-Water Program
*   Assessment and Tracking of Animal Populations
*   1-Year Clinic/Shelter (for homeless and temporarily surrendered animals)
*   Extended Care (vaccines, spay/neuter, and adoption programs)
*   Veterinary surgical/diagnostic equipment
*   Veterinary medicines, vaccines, tools
*   Containment & care: kennels, cages, food, hygiene, bowls, leashes, collars, litter…
*   Temp clinic/shelter: military tents, fencing, electrical lighting, air/heat…
*   Field work: stretchers, carriers, gas, first aid, catch poles, trap cages…

http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

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

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

SIGN-UP FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

4/1/10: KINSHIP CIRCLE
FRONT PAGE: State Legislators Target Activists…For Campaign To Stop MO Horse Slaughter Bill

READ ENTIRE STORY:
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/politics/story/FEB3E9E8D29BCE76862576F800080BC2?OpenDocument

The St. Louis Post Dispatch – the daily in St. Louis, Missouri and largest newspaper in the state — asked for an exclusive. They got it…and our story about Missouri House Representatives tampering with public information and harassing Kinship Circle made the FRONT PAGE today. A cliff-notes version has been picked up by the Associated Press as well.

Ironically, some House Reps are still bouncing unread emails back to our server — even from writers who support them. Those Reps who harassed Kinship Circle left songs, neighs and menacing chants on our voicemail. Threats were made to “retaliate” to citizen emails by passing the bill.

A FEW STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
– Brenda Shoss and members of her advocacy group, Kinship Circle, unleashed a deluge urging legislators to vote against a bill that would open the door for a horse slaughterhouse to come to the Show-Me State…

– Shoss received calls at her home from offices in the Capitol, taunting her and making “neighing” voices into the phone. One caller sang a version of the theme song from “Mr. Ed.” A number of the calls came late at night.

– Some legislators programmed their e-mail systems to forward any message containing the word “horse” to Shoss. And some told the activist that they would consider passing the bill out of spite.

– The response of elected officials has left the experienced activist dumbfounded. Even when her organization got involved in the high-profile animal abuse case of NFL quarterback Michael Vick, she had never seen such a vitriolic reaction.

– The late-night, anonymous phone calls led Shoss to file a harassment complaint with the University City Police Department. The calls stopped, she said, after the Post-Dispatch started asking lawmakers about them…

HORSE KILL BILL PASSED 91 TO 61 IN THE HOUSE. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
MISSOURIANS ONLY: Email, call or write your state Senators. NO AUTO LETTERS.
Please take a few extra steps to write a personal email and hit send…or print out a note to fax or postal mail. SEE MISSOURI ALERT AT END OF THIS EMAIL. FORWARD IT TO MISSOURI LISTS, INDIVIDUALS.

SLEAZY, UNCONSTITUTIONAL LAWMAKING
Missouri Republican Rep. Jim Veibrock had a dream to revive the “ailing equine industry.” He didn’t want pesky opponents to keep his H.B. 1747 bill from passage. So when Veilbrock’s bill went to Missouri’s Agriculture Policy Committee, members gave it a Teflon-strength shield.

As reported in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, “The committee embellished [Veilbrock's] legislation, adding a provision to block citizen initiatives that would ‘criminalize or regulate crops or the welfare of animals.’

“Even if citizens gathered signatures and placed such a restriction (tough new rules aimed at restricting puppy mills, for example) on the state ballot — even if it were supported by an overwhelming majority of Missouri voters — the committee’s amendment would prevent it from taking effect. The slap in voters’ faces probably is unconstitutional. It certainly is insulting.”

OUR STORY IS GAINING TRACTION & APPEARS IN…

• Washington Post
• KasasCity.com
• CBS NEWS
• Yahoo News

…And many more smaller papers nationwide. Just Google “Activist floods lawmakers’ inboxes; they retaliate”

MISSOURIANS: Stop The Horse Kill Bill In Your State
Not a Missourian? Forward this to a list or person who is.

The Missouri House has passed H.B. 1747 — the bill to permit horse processing for human consumption in MO.

Some Reps — in response to your emails — misused public information and harassed a benevolent, nonprofit organization. They bounced over 2000 (andcounting) unread emails from their servers back to Kinship Circle. Some left childish and menacing messages on Kinship Circle’s voicemail: singing “A Horse Is A Horse,” chanting “Brenda, Brenda, Brenda…neigh…” in reference to KC president Brenda Shoss. One just bleated some type of tribal war call.

Most alarming? Use of the word “retaliate” — as in, the House will pass this horse kill bill to get back at Kinship Circle members for sending comments. In fact, words such as “everyone here is against your organization and doesn’t like you…” or “you’ve guaranteed passage of this bill…” formed the basis for how some elected officials voted.

It is vital that MISSOURIANS now do two things:
1) CONTACT YOUR STATE REPS
Find your Reps’ email address & contact info: http://www.house.mo.gov/member.aspx
– Ask how they voted on H.B. 1747, the bill to legalize horse slaughter in MO.
-Tell them if they voted in favor of it, they just lost your vote at election polls.

2) CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATORS
Find your Senators’ email address & contact info: http://www.senate.mo.gov/
– Describe your disapproval of the House passage of  H.B. 1747, to legalize horse slaughter in MO.
- Explain why the Senate should NOT pass a similar bill, using some of the talking points below.
- Tell them that their YES or NO vote on legalized horse slaughter will effect your future voting decisions.

There is no auto-letter for this. A personal constituent approach is vital to keep this bill from passage in the Senate.

=============================================================
TALKING POINTS – MODIFY & PERSONALIZE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!
Sign with name and full address; if not you’ll be ignored.
=============================================================

– I’m dismayed by the recent passage of Rep. Jim Viebrock’s bill to sidestep federal rules that bar horse slaughter for human consumption. As your constituent, I’d like to know how you voted (or plan to vote) on legalizing horse slaughter in Missouri. Your stance on H.B. 1747, or any Senate companion bill, will influence my vote at election polls.

– I ask my Senators to oppose any bill with language that mirrors H.B. 1747 and lets horse processors operate in Missouri.

– Eyes around the nation are focusing on Missouri — to see if it will revive horse slaughter on American soil. As you know, this is not a Missouri issue alone. No equine kill plants have legally operated in the U.S. since those in Texas and Illinois were shut down in 2007. The matter of killing American horses affects concerned citizens everywhere.

While supporters insist slaughter “saves” horses from neglect and starvation, their argument fails to recognize:

– “Americans oppose horse slaughter by an overwhelming margin,” says Glen Bolger, national pollster and founding partner of the nonpartisan Public Opinion Strategies (POS). In a 2007 poll, POS found that 71% want horses preserved as part of American cultural heritage. Nearly half are less likely to vote for a Congressperson who is against a horse slaughter ban.

– Equine plants are known polluters that congest sewers and contaminate land and water.

– Rather than advocate slaughter as an alternative to neglect, lawmakers should enforce criminal prosecution. In Missouri Anti-Cruelty Statues, animal abandonment is a crime punishable by fines and jail time.

– Slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Methods to stun and kill cows and pigs are excruciating when used on horses. Nonetheless, these excitable, long-necked animals are subject to captive bolt pistols that often don’t render them insensible. Some remain aware while killed.

– Focus should shift from slaughter to breeding oversight and responsible care. Overpopulation stems from industries such as Premarin and Prempro (HRT drugs made from mare urine); carriage horses; riding stables, etc. that over-breed horses. Moreover, there is no documented link between closure of domestic plants and a spike in horse abuse cases. In contrast, slaughter supplies a “dumping ground” for irresponsible breeders and caretakers.

– Missouri wants to impose a U.S. market for horsemeat on a nation that doesn’t want it. The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, H.R. 503/S.B. 727, currently before Congress, bans possession, shipment, transport, purchase, sale, delivery or receipt of any horse for the purpose of human ingestion.

– Please do not support legalized horse slaughter in Missouri.

>>>YOUR FULL NAME
>>>ADRESS, CITY, STATE
>>>COUNTRY

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

FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

4/4/10: http://www.KinshipCircle.org/chile
500 animals in one area alone. An oil-drenched kitten. A dazed puppy in an intersection… At Chile’s ground zero, we see animals everywhere.

LT: A Chilean veterinarian, on mission with Kinship Circle’s team, holds a cat missing her paw. RT: Kinship Circle’s Traci Dawson, Byron Wilkes and Maureen Valentine head out to coastal areas hardest hit by an earthquake, aftershocks and tsunamis. Photos (c) Kinship Circle, Chile 2010

Kinship Circle works alongside Chilean veterinarians to save them — but can’t get animals off the streets without your help. Worse, Chile’s government has discussed a cull of 700,000 animals in hard hit communities.

As we travel the coast, Kinship Circle IC Traci Dawson likens it to Chile’s “Upper Ninth Ward,” in reference to a Katrina ravaged community in New Orleans. Pre-quake strays with mange, malnutrition, infection…blend with animals displaced by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunamis.

Still, that puppy in the middle of the road? She is safe and will be adopted. The animals near the oil spill? They are fed and clean.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT:
•   To send teams over several months, including airfare, van rental, field rescue gear, etc.
•   To position our project manager on site and maintain daily communications.
•   To (funds permitting) develop a temp clinic/shelter for injured, sick and homeless.

A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION CAN BE MADE AT EITHER LINK:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

KINSHIP CIRCLE CHILE PHOTO DIARY:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49004747@N02/

A cat is treated at a vet clinic. Eye infections are common, some due to prolonged saltwater exposure following an earthquake prompted tsunami. Photos (c) Kinship Circle, Chile 2010

4/2/10: Villa Futura, north of Concepcion, Chile
OVERVIEW: Kinship Circle team members Traci Dawson, June Towler, Shawndra Michell, Maureen Valentine and Byron Wilkes work in a temp vet clinic, with three Chilean veterinarians, student vets, and six volunteers from a SACH (Socorro Animal Chile / Animal Relief Chile) member group, Animal Dignity. Outside the clinic, a line of people and animals stretch down the sidewalk…

ACTIVITIES: The turnout is staggering. There are virtually no neutered dogs… Vets examine animals, checking eyes, teeth, ears, glands, neck region, flea infestation, spines, organs, heart, etc. Skin disorders are prevalent, as are wounds and bites.

ISSUES: The clinic runs out of pest spray, latex gloves and paper towels. Though Kinship donates latex gloves, there still aren’t enough.

STATS: Today the clinic sees over 200 animals.

KC’s Byron Wilkes brings food to one of many dogs roaming in ruined Chilean towns. Animals are examined at makeshift vet clinics. Skin disorders are prevalent, as are wounds and bites. Photos (c) Kinship Circle, Chile 2010

4/1/10: Santa Clara Talchuano / 9:00 am
OVERVIEW: An earthquake and tsunami crashed into this “fishing town” near ground zero. Torn nets and debris cover beaches and streets. Numerous dogs rove amid rubble. Homes are rimmed with waterlines about 5 feet high. Buildings have Katrina-like mold, mud, water damage and collapsed walls.

ACTIVITIES: We spot a nursing dog. Fishermen lead us to the vicinity of her den. We search for her pups to evaluate their condition, but mom has tunneled so deep underground that we are unable to safely reach them.

Some evacuated locals left animals behind. An extremely large stray population wander streets and deserted buildings. All seem friendly, if skittish. We don’t encounter any aggressives.

ISSUES: Mange, wounds, starvation, lack of water. Food is distributed in measured amounts because many sell food rather than feed animals.

SIGHTING STATS: Roughly 100-150 dogs and unnumbered cats.

Please make a contribution for Chile’s animal quake victims:
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile
http://www.kinshipcircle.org/donation/

4/1/10: Calita Los Morros / 2:30 pm
OVERVIEW: Military tents and small shacks of wood and pallets serve as evacuee camps here. Many are with animals, but not all. Some conflict erupts between neighbors with and without animals…

ACTIVITIES: The team provides food and medical care to animals in the camp. Two cats with severe upper respiratory disease are treated on site.

During street rounds, we visit a family with multiple dogs — including a mom with a large litter and several cats. All animals are checked, treated and left with food. KC revisits a resident who told SACH she’d leave with her dogs. As suspected, she did not take them. The abandoned dogs are fed and we’ll attempt to find a home for them…

ISSUES: Mange, injuries, wounds, starvation, TVT, distemper. TVT, a canine venereal virus prevalent here, is transmitted via contact (sexual, touch/rub open wounds, nasal). Dogs get large red “cauliflower” tumors…

SIGHTING STATS: Approximately 200 dogs/cats.

Large animal populations roam streets and deserted buildings in earthquake stricken parts of Chile. Photos (c) Kinship Circle, Chile 2010

4/1/10: Calita il Fiernillo, Quake causes oil spills / 5:00 pm
OVERVIEW: The earthquake caused an oil spill at a refinery along this town’s shore. Dogs and cats wadethrough black-water puddles. One cat is found atop a roof drenched in oil… Animals are decontaminated, but with no temp shelter, we can only release them.

In a an area swarming with strays, we capture and treat a very skittish dog whose staked out his “spot” on a slab of cardboard. Down the road, we find an 8-week-old puppy dazed and ragged in the middle of an intersection. SACH takes the puppy to a clinic, where she’ll remain till healthy enough to adopt out. Kinship Circle team members contribute money toward the pup’s clinic fees, as SACH reveals they are now completely out of money.

SIGHTING STATS: Over the course of the day, we see an estimated 500 dogs. The stray population has ballooned with animals displaced by this disaster.

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. http://www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters

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

SIGN UP FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe@kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters