Contact the Governor!
Two complementary bills are pending at the California Capitol. Both affect wildlife.
The Bills
AB 1477: Would require that wildlife control operators notify customers of non-lethal methods and that lethal methods will be used, if necessary, to kill the animal. Non-target animals (dogs and cats, eg) must be released and, if injured, receive treatment. Wildlife operators would be required to receive continuing education.
AB 449: If animals are to be killed, would require that animals captured be killed using only methods approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association panel on euthanasia.
Why the bills are needed:
Wildlife control operators fly under the radar - there are no statistics on how the animals are killed or the number. And. operators are not required to pursue further training. Furthermore, there is no law regarding how trapped animals may be killed. Cases exist in which animals have been injected with acetone, hung or drowned.
What you can do
Contact the Governor TODAY and urge him to sign AB 1477 and AB 449 into law!
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-2841
Email: governor@governor.ca.gov
Cafepress shop
When you shop at our Cafepress store, you don't have to worry about long lines or screaming children (yours or others).
Choose from several designs, including "Go Veggie", "I Love Animals - that's why I don't eat them" and several others. You can even show off your love for Howie with the hand-drawn How-Cow design!
All proceeds benefit farmed animals, including the nearly 300 animals at Animal Place. Click on Howie to visit the shop!
http://www.cafepress.com/animal_place
Choose from several designs, including "Go Veggie", "I Love Animals - that's why I don't eat them" and several others. You can even show off your love for Howie with the hand-drawn How-Cow design!
All proceeds benefit farmed animals, including the nearly 300 animals at Animal Place. Click on Howie to visit the shop!
http://www.cafepress.com/animal_place
Help Kangaroos in California
Action Needed for Kangaroos in California
WHAT: SB 880 would allow the sale of kangaroo skins and body parts in the state of California.
STATUS: It passed the Senate and the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. It has two more steps: to be voted on by the entire the Assembly and then signed by the Governor.
WHY WE MUST STOP THIS BILL: SB 880 would erase a law that was implemented in 1970 to protect kangaroos by prohibiting the sale of their skins.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Please do 2 things:
1. Call, email, or fax your state Assemblymember today and ask that thet vote NO on SB 880. If you previously contacted your Assemblymember on behalf of the kangaroos, please do so again and remind them of your opposition to this bill.
2. Contact the Governor and urge him to veto (oppose) SB 880 should it pass the Assembly.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-2841
916-445-4633 fax
governor@governor.ca.gov
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR: If you do not know the name or contact information of your Assemblymember, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.
1.Enter your zip code and press “search” to find your state officials.
2.When contacting your Assemblymember, please use the “Capitol Office” information.
3.You can also click on your Assemblymember’s name for further contact details (including email addresses for most legislators).
TALKING POINTS TO USE IN YOUR COMMUNICATION
•Kangaroos are not farmed. They are taken from the wild in Australia, and exist only in Australia.
•Kangaroos are shot at night by hunters. The hunters are not always able to distinguish between those who are “approved” to be killed and those who are endangered. In Queensland, Australia, the Western Grey Kangaroo is protected, but can easily be mistaken for the Eastern Grey who is allowed to be hunted.
•SB 880 would change the existing law that protects certain “look-alike” species, so that Californians do not unwittingly contribute to the extinction of a species.
•If a mother kangaroo is killed, her baby is taken from the pouch and killed by a heavy blow to the head (according to the Australian Code of Practice). Note: similar methods are used in Canada’s seal hunt; both California and Federal laws prohibit the sale of seal products from Canada because of the cruel killing methods used.
•According to Australian government statistics, kangaroo populations continue to decline and are now the lowest they have been in over a decade. Current populations are below half of what they were in 2001. (Source: Sustainable Wildlife Industries, Dept. of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra, 2006).
•Reintroducing the trade in kangaroo skins into California would be disastrous, as there are already too few kangaroos to meet the industry's demands.
•SB 880 was recently amended that seemingly limits the number of kangaroos that can be killed in a given year. However, the amendment does not provide any real protection for kangaroos. In fact, it could allow more kangaroos to be killed to supply soccer cleats to Californians.
WHAT: SB 880 would allow the sale of kangaroo skins and body parts in the state of California.
STATUS: It passed the Senate and the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. It has two more steps: to be voted on by the entire the Assembly and then signed by the Governor.
WHY WE MUST STOP THIS BILL: SB 880 would erase a law that was implemented in 1970 to protect kangaroos by prohibiting the sale of their skins.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: Please do 2 things:
1. Call, email, or fax your state Assemblymember today and ask that thet vote NO on SB 880. If you previously contacted your Assemblymember on behalf of the kangaroos, please do so again and remind them of your opposition to this bill.
2. Contact the Governor and urge him to veto (oppose) SB 880 should it pass the Assembly.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-2841
916-445-4633 fax
governor@governor.ca.gov
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR: If you do not know the name or contact information of your Assemblymember, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html.
1.Enter your zip code and press “search” to find your state officials.
2.When contacting your Assemblymember, please use the “Capitol Office” information.
3.You can also click on your Assemblymember’s name for further contact details (including email addresses for most legislators).
TALKING POINTS TO USE IN YOUR COMMUNICATION
•Kangaroos are not farmed. They are taken from the wild in Australia, and exist only in Australia.
•Kangaroos are shot at night by hunters. The hunters are not always able to distinguish between those who are “approved” to be killed and those who are endangered. In Queensland, Australia, the Western Grey Kangaroo is protected, but can easily be mistaken for the Eastern Grey who is allowed to be hunted.
•SB 880 would change the existing law that protects certain “look-alike” species, so that Californians do not unwittingly contribute to the extinction of a species.
•If a mother kangaroo is killed, her baby is taken from the pouch and killed by a heavy blow to the head (according to the Australian Code of Practice). Note: similar methods are used in Canada’s seal hunt; both California and Federal laws prohibit the sale of seal products from Canada because of the cruel killing methods used.
•According to Australian government statistics, kangaroo populations continue to decline and are now the lowest they have been in over a decade. Current populations are below half of what they were in 2001. (Source: Sustainable Wildlife Industries, Dept. of the Environment and Heritage, Canberra, 2006).
•Reintroducing the trade in kangaroo skins into California would be disastrous, as there are already too few kangaroos to meet the industry's demands.
•SB 880 was recently amended that seemingly limits the number of kangaroos that can be killed in a given year. However, the amendment does not provide any real protection for kangaroos. In fact, it could allow more kangaroos to be killed to supply soccer cleats to Californians.
A factory farm near you...
A new website from advocate group Food & Water Watch shows us where factory farms are located along with the most polluting states for each industry. It also shows number of animals in each state for each industry. You can go further in detail by clicking on the number of sites or animals by county! This is a great educational tool.
Visit: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/
From the website, we learn:
Cattle
Nebraska (644 sites) and Iowa (552 sites) are most polluting based on site/farm number
Texas (2.6 million cattle), Kansas (2.2 million cattle), and Nebraska (2.1 million cattle) are most polluting based on number of animals.
Pigs
Iowa leads the states with most number of sites (3,876) and number of animals (13.3 million pigs). As an aside, Iowa has a population of 3 million - that's four pigs per person in Iowa.
In a distant second is North Carolina (human population 8.8 million) with 9.8 million pigs.
Dairy
California is the number one most-polluting dairy state with 1.4 million dairy cows and 1,075 dairy farms.
No other state matches California with number of animals or number of farms: Wisconsin is a distant second with 189 farms and Idaho has 318,000 dairy cows.
Broilers/Chicken raised for their flesh
Georgia houses and raises 148 million baby birds (meat birds are killed at 6 weeks of age), Alabama is second with 99 million baby birds.
Even more shocking is the number of sites - Georgia has less than a 1,000 sites for 148 million birds. That's an average of 154,000 birds per site.
Egg-laying hens
Visit: http://www.factoryfarmmap.org/
From the website, we learn:
Cattle
Nebraska (644 sites) and Iowa (552 sites) are most polluting based on site/farm number
Texas (2.6 million cattle), Kansas (2.2 million cattle), and Nebraska (2.1 million cattle) are most polluting based on number of animals.
Pigs
Iowa leads the states with most number of sites (3,876) and number of animals (13.3 million pigs). As an aside, Iowa has a population of 3 million - that's four pigs per person in Iowa.
In a distant second is North Carolina (human population 8.8 million) with 9.8 million pigs.
Dairy
California is the number one most-polluting dairy state with 1.4 million dairy cows and 1,075 dairy farms.
No other state matches California with number of animals or number of farms: Wisconsin is a distant second with 189 farms and Idaho has 318,000 dairy cows.
Broilers/Chicken raised for their flesh
Georgia houses and raises 148 million baby birds (meat birds are killed at 6 weeks of age), Alabama is second with 99 million baby birds.
Even more shocking is the number of sites - Georgia has less than a 1,000 sites for 148 million birds. That's an average of 154,000 birds per site.
Egg-laying hens
Iowa, Ohio, California and Indiana all have more than 20 million egg-laying hens. Iowa, with 33 million birds has approximately 46 sites - that's a whopping 700,000 birds per site.
Pennsylvania houses 15 million birds on 75 sites. That means, on average, each farm is housing (indoors in battery cages) 200,000 birds.
Shop beautiful jewelry and help Animal Place!
Every month, McFarland Designs donates 5% of all purchases to a selected charity. For the month of August, 5% of every purchase made will go to Animal Place!! The jewelry is hand-made and absolutely gorgeous.
Choose from beautiful rings (even vegan pearls!), charming earrings, and stunning necklaces & pendants.
Click on any of the images to go to McFarland Designs' shop. Or, click HERE. Remember, your purchase will help Howie, the cow, Flower, the pig, and all the critters at the sanctuary!
Going Veg Saves Money...and your health
An interesting MSN Money Market article discusses the cost-effectiveness of a vegetarian or vegan diet.Basics are easy on the wallet: Animal proteins are generally more expensive than plant proteins.
Fresh, canned, frozen or organic: Buying local is generally cheaper than purchasing out of season fruits and vegetables. Seasonal fruits and vegetables are often less expensive too. Organic produce, while more available, is often pricier. Check out your local farmers markets for more affordable, in-season produce.
A payoff in better health: Overall, the health care costs for a vegetarian or vegan are much lower than for non-vegetarians. Less chronic disease, better heart health and a lower risk of certain cancers are all benefits of a vegan diet.
It's good for insurers: Health insurance agencies are promoting lifestyle changes to try and offset the costs associated with heart disease. A plant-based diet improves key health indicators (blood pressure, cholesterial, body mass index & blood sugar).
MSN Money Market Article
Nervous about what to cook on a vegan diet? Check out these awesome cook books for some great recipes! This is by no means a complete list, but it should help you get started!
Vegan with a Vengeance: Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: Isa Chandra Moskowitz
The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen: Donna Klein
Vegan Planet: Robin Robertson
How it all Vegan: Sarah Kramer
The Garden of Vegan: Tanya Barnard
La Dolce Vegan: Sarah Kramer
Vegan Cooking for One: Leah Leneman
Ontario fire kills 40,000 chickens
A fire at Burnbrae Farms killed 40,000 hens. Hens in the egg-laying industry are housed in stacked wire cages inside buildings, making escape from fire impossible for the birds. This is yet another reason to give up eggs.
Toronto Star article
For egg alternatives in baking, try boiled flaxseeds, applesauce, banana or Ener-G egg replacer. You can also season tofu and scramble it for a scrambled egg alternative.
Toronto Star article
For egg alternatives in baking, try boiled flaxseeds, applesauce, banana or Ener-G egg replacer. You can also season tofu and scramble it for a scrambled egg alternative.
One more reason to go vegan
It’s hard to fathom but estimates now put the total number of sea animals killed in the US annually at 34.6 billion. Over-fishing has depleted our ocean’s biodiversity and increased pollution.
Fish kills were calculated by taking the weight of commercial landings from Fisheries of the United States (U.S. Department of Commerce), obtaining average weight of each species, and then calculating the estimated number of individuals slaughtered. The initial numbers exclude discards – individual animals caught, then released back into the water. Over 40% of discarded animals die, including turtles, dolphins and other marine animals.
Fish experience pain and can suffer – this is scientific fact. Commercial fishing increases the spread of disease to wild populations, and it harms other species, like seals and sea birds who are mercilessly killed for trying to eat the farmed fish.
Do the oceans a favor – skip the fish and go veggie!
Fish kills were calculated by taking the weight of commercial landings from Fisheries of the United States (U.S. Department of Commerce), obtaining average weight of each species, and then calculating the estimated number of individuals slaughtered. The initial numbers exclude discards – individual animals caught, then released back into the water. Over 40% of discarded animals die, including turtles, dolphins and other marine animals.
Fish experience pain and can suffer – this is scientific fact. Commercial fishing increases the spread of disease to wild populations, and it harms other species, like seals and sea birds who are mercilessly killed for trying to eat the farmed fish.
Do the oceans a favor – skip the fish and go veggie!
