JULY 2008, DARIEN, CONN. — Following the latest obnoxious proposal this month from the U.S. government to kill thousands of horses, the international animal advocacy organization Friends of Animals again calls for a full moratorium on the government-sanctioned round-ups, sales and slaughter of free-living horses.¹

The federal Bureau of Land Management set out in helicopters and harassed and chased roughly half the western herd of mustangs — a group numbering 30,000 — into a corral. And now, the officials are proposing to start killing them.

Environmentalists, The New York Times tells us, will go along with this violence because they see the mustangs as “top-of-the-food-chain bullies whose hooves and teeth disturb the habitats of endangered tortoises and desert birds.”²

We at Friends of Animals are also environmentalists. We aren’t calling these horses “icons” or “part of the imagery” of the west. We are calling for respect, and our government should deliver.

If horses are at the top of the so-called food chain, it’s our government’s fault. Where are the carnivore animals? We could put the blame for their absence squarely at the feet of the U.S. government and its predator-control schemes.

Conflict of Interest?

The Bureau of Land Management is charged with protecting wild horses and burros on the western rangelands. Yet it routinely rounds them up and passes them to private ownership. The bureau is poised to shoot several thousand of them (it plans to decide on the matter after a Congressional audit that’s due to be completed in September). To justify this proposal, officials are complaining about expenses. Yet the bureau allows ranchers to enjoy leases to the rangelands for a pittance. Ranchers who claim mustang “overpopulation” degrades the environment. Balderdash.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were about 2 million mustangs in the wilderness.³ Today, there’s a total of 60,000 (if that many). This community of horses is degrading the environment, but the owners of 3 million cattle are not?

“We must stop supporting the profits of ranches,” said Friends of Animals president Priscilla Feral. “For those who respect free-living animals, it’s simply not enough to express outrage at the proposed shooting of horses. We need to end the cycle of violence. It’s high time we acknowledge the connection between horsemeat and hamburgers.”

Priscilla Feral points out the unavoidable root of the problem: addiction to animal products.

Just two years ago, the Bureau of Land Management relaxed the rules and regulations governing ranchers on public land, cutting back on conservation provisions, and allowing ranchers significantly more control. The opposite pressure should be occurring. Ranchers do not merit the support of the government while they siphon land and resources and push free animals to the brink of extinction — and then blame horses for the mess.

Then we have Jay Kirkpatrick, an experimenter who directs the Science and Conservation Center in Billings, Montana, quoted in The New York Times as saying insufficient weight is being given to birth control for horses. But animals in nature don’t need to be controlled by a species that has such difficulty in controlling itself.

For three decades, the Bureau of Land Management has backed costly experiments with contraception as a way to continue aggressive management practices. Jay Kirkpatrick, together with the Humane Society of the United States, have promoted the invasive and disturbing tests of hormones and the immunocontraceptive porcine zona pellucida, or PZP, in free-roaming horses.

Terms like “overabundant” and “overpopulation” are liberally applied wherever free-living animals are deemed inconvenient. The underlying message is that, if not controlled, free-living animals will take over. This both reflects and supports the systematic acceptance of control, and treats all of nature as a zoo.

Recommendations for Action from Friends of Animals:

Go to the root. This is a question of who gets the land: free-living animals, or cattle ranchers. The key step each of us can take in support of horses is to adopt a plant-based diet.

Oppose the BLM’s proposal. If you’ve seen more than enough debates about whether the land can support horses and burros while all along the government supports the real environmental threat — animal agribusiness — tell the BLM now, using the link you see here. Or call the BLM toll-free: 1-800-710-7597. Let them know these mustangs should never have been corralled in the first place. Let the horses go, and let them be. Allow them the dignity of freedom.

Then find your representative in Congress, ring them up at 202.224.3121, and explain that real environmental awareness means questioning the influence of corporate profit-seekers over laws and agencies. Say “no” to horse-killing. And tell them you oppose roundups too.

Support Friends of Animals’ new radio and television announcements. We’re buying 30-second and one-minute announcement spots, asking the public to call the BLM and oppose the horse-killing proposal. You can sustain our public announcement throughout the audit period leading up to the BLM’s decision. Let’s make the most of the window of time these horses have. Invest in our public education effort; donate here.

Thank you for teaching respect for the autonomous animals of our Earth. Thank you for telling our government no to killing horses.

NOTES

[1] We have previously called for a repeal of the (2005) Burns Amendment, which reversed a 34-year prohibition on the slaughter of wild horses by enabling the BLM to sell off horses over 10 years of age.

[2] Felicity Barringer, “On Mustang Range, a Battle on Thinning the Herd” - New York Times (20 Jul. 2008).

[3] Deanne Stillman, “Wild Horses Aren’t Free” - Los Angeles Times (2 Jun. 2008).

Friends of Animals, founded in 1957, advocates for the right of animals to live free according to their own terms.

Imtribune.com
The Lewiston Tribune Online

http://www.lmtribune.com/breaking-news/636/

A federal judge in Montana has ruled that gray wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming be returned to federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Judge Donald Molloy of Montana ruled Friday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner when it removed wolves in the Northern Rockies Region from the endangered species list in March.

He agreed with arguments made by environmental and animal rights groups that wolf populations in Yellowstone National Park do not yet interbreed with wolves in Idaho and western Montana to an extent that ensures genetic diversity. He also ruled the agency approved Wyoming’s state wolf management plan last year despite previously saying the basic tenants of that plan that allow wolves to be killed without regulation in 90 percent of the state, was inadequate to protect wolves. Lastly, Molloy ruled the groups proved that wolves were likely to be harmed by public hunting seasons planned in each state this fall.

Molloy granted a preliminary injunction reversing the delisting of wolves while the entire case is being heard and also said the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in a majority of their claims.

The ruling is a set back for the Fish and Wildlife Service that has said wolves are biologically recovered and decided earlier this year that adequate state regulations were in place to keep the wolves from becoming imperilled. There are estimated to be about 2,000 wolves in the three states and about 800 in Idaho.

BigNews.Biz

That’s nearly one wolf killed every day. And if Wyoming, Idaho and Montana have their way, at least 900 wolves — nearly 60 percent of the population — could be exterminated this fall.

LIVINGSTON, MT (July 17, 2008) - Citing the recent rash of wolf killings in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, conservation groups asked a federal court today to reinstate Endangered Species Act protections, while considering arguments that delisting the wolf was unlawful. The request for a court order to stop the killing was filed with a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s wolf delisting decision. At least 28 wolves have been killed in the three states since the delisting took effect on March 28. The death toll could be even higher since kills are not required to be reported immediately, and ‘shoot and bury’ tactics mean that some kills might not be reported at all.

“Until now the reintroduction of gray wolves to the Northern Rockies was one of our greatest endangered species success stories,” said Louisa Willcox, NRDC Action Fund Wildlife Campaign Director. “Now the region has become a killing field for wolves, just as we predicted.”

“Dozens of wolves have been killed already, and more are certain to die under state laws that in many cases allow unregulated wolf killing anywhere, anytime, for any reason,” Willcox said.

In their request for a preliminary injunction reinstating Endangered Species Act protections, the Action Fund’s partner organization, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and 11 other groups argued that “the killing of wolves that have been removed unlawfully from the endangered species list is sufficient to demonstrate irreparable harm.”

“The killing must stop while the court considers the government’s illegal decision to revoke protections in the first place,” Willcox said. “The gray wolf simply hasn’t recovered yet. Every animal that falls victim to bait or bullet increases the odds that wolves will slide back toward extinction.”

Some of the first wolves to be killed since the delisting took effect include:

• Wolf 253M - This eight-year-old celebrity wolf’s fans called him “Hoppy” because of his limp (caused by an injury from a fight with another wolf pack). He was shot the day after delisting on an elk feeding ground in Wyoming. This black wolf was one of the most recognizable members of Yellowstone’s famous Druid Peak pack. People snapped his photograph and shot video as he and his pack mates played, hunted and snoozed. Later, he became the first wolf to step foot into Utah in over 75 years and established his own pack in Grand Teton National Park.

• The Ashton wolves - These two males were killed on April 1 near Ashton, Idaho. The first was shot within view of the shooter’s home near some horses. The second was pursued by the landowner for over a mile on snowmobile. Authorities declined to press charges against the shooter due to “reasonable doubt” as to whether the wolves were “molesting” livestock.

• Wolf B160 - This collared wolf was found shot on April 3 near Clayton, Idaho. His body was still warm when a woman found him about 70 yards from Highway 75. He had been shot through the femur and stomach. (Photos of Wolf B160’s carcass are available on NRDC’s digital newsroom).

In their challenge to wolf delisting, the groups alleged multiple violations of the Endangered Species Act. They said the death toll confirms arguments that the delisting decision threatens wolf survival. They also said the delisting decision was based on outdated science.

“We understand wolf biology, behavior and genetics much better than when the original wolf recovery goal was developed more than 20 years ago,” said Dr. Sylvia Fallon, an NRDC Action Fund scientist. “You and your doctor wouldn’t make important health decisions based on outdated research, yet that’s exactly what the federal government has done with wolves.”

The lawsuit says scientists have determined wolf populations are still too fragmented and a minimum population of 2,000 to 5,000 animals is needed to ensure enough genetic diversity for the animals’ long-term survival. At the time of delisting there were about 1,500 wolves in the region. All but 300 could be allowed to be killed under the government’s current minimum recovery standard.

The Action Fund’s partner group, NRDC, filed a petition in February requesting that the Fish and Wildlife Service establish legitimate targets for recovery of wolves throughout the lower 48 states. In its petition, NRDC demonstrates that the service failed to recover wolves on much of the available public lands where wolves formerly lived, and ignored decades of scientific analysis. Without explanation or any scientific basis, the service set widely different recovery goals in the Midwest, Northern Rockies and Southwest regions.

The reintroduction of wolves by the federal government 12 years ago has been widely hailed as a major success story. It has measurably improved the natural balance in the Northern Rockies and benefited bird, antelope and elk populations, according to the Action Fund. Many thousands of visitors flock to Yellowstone National Park each year to see and hear wolves in the wild, contributing at least $35 million to the local economy each year, the group said.

Thousands of gray wolves roamed the Rocky Mountains before being slaughtered and eliminated from 95 percent of the lower 48 states by the 1930s. The gray wolf was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1973. Reintroduction efforts placed 66 wolves in Yellowstone National Park and part of Idaho in 1995-96.

The lawsuit was filed by Earthjustice on behalf of NRDC… and others.

As part of its “Call Off the Guns” campaign, the NRDC Action Fund has generated more than 150,000 comments and emails to the Bush administration, urging it to maintain strong protections for the wolves under the Endangered Species Act. The campaign also ran national TV and print ads in an effort to mobilize the public against the government’s wolf killing plan

Please write to the governors below to halt wolf persecution and killings. If you are one of these states’ residents, or travel frequently to the state, say so; your letter will hold more weight.

Idaho :
Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter
P.O. Box 83720
Boise , Idaho 83720
United States
Phone: 208-334-2100
Electronic correspondence

Montana :
Gov. Brian Schweitzer
Office of the Governor
Montana State Capitol Bldg.
P.O. Box 200801
Helena MT 59620-0801
United States
Phone: 406-444-3111
Fax: 406-444-5529
Electronic correspondence

Wyoming :
Gov. Dave Freudenthal
State Capitol, 200 West 24th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82002-0010
United States
Phone: 307-777-7434
FAX: 307-632-3909
Electronic correspondence

DissidentVoice.org

by Lee Hall

In Vegetarian Society history, vegetarianism means what it sounds like: the custom of preparing, eating, and sharing foods made from a variety of plant sources.

Those who also eat eggs, cream and the like are, to be precise, ovo-lacto-vegetarians.

John Davis, historian for the International Vegetarian Union (the umbrella group of vegetarian societies worldwide), wrote in The Origins of the “Vegetarians” that the word “vegetarian” first appeared between 1838 and 1843, at the Ham House of Ham Common (understandably re-named Alcott House by 1843). The students at this English school, Davis reported, followed a completely plant-based diet, based on the British socialist principles of John Stuart Mill, and the ideas which Bronson Alcott taught in Boston.

Today, vegetarian groups vary in their definitions. Most vegetarians in India never cook with eggs.

read full article

In My View

Letters

Trap, Neuter and Return: A New Ethic Takes Root

On the Road to Salemata for Chimpanzees

Movement Watch

Dying to Go Green

At FlexPetz, Every Dog Has His Day, or Hour

Paper or Plastic?

Cheers and Jeers

In Praise of Amphibians

Restaurant Review: Café Blossom

Spiral Diner and Bakery

Merchandise Catalog

Past Issues

Three Gibbons Return to Primarily Primates!

Our dear Kimchi (meaning “Little Cabbage”) is a hybrid of golden-cheeked gibbon and a subspecies of Chinese white-cheeked gibbon. This photo was taken by Dr. Valerie Kirk on April 18, 2008.

See Video

Twelve gibbons (primates who are not monkeys, but small apes, and whose bodies look very much like our own) have also been in limbo during the case of Chimps, Inc. vs. Primarily Primates. We felt unable to settle the case until we could ensure the one gibbon who was left alone at our refuge got a group of friends back. It did not seem right to let Kimchi, the one lone gibbon, sing alone. Their distinctive singing is an important way for gibbons to interact. As a solo, the song of a gibbon is a very lonely sound.

So we are very happy to let you know that Kimchi is being joined by José Maria, Junior, and Scoshio. As we write, plans are in place and preparations are being made for three gibbons to be returned from South Carolina on the 2nd of June. This is proceeding under veterinary care, with our director, Stephen Tello, accompanying the three home in an air-conditioned vehicle.

Kimchi came to us from a zoo in January 2002. At that time, Scoshio, a white-handed gibbon, had been living at Primarily Primates for eight years, and Junior had already been living at our refuge for six years. Junior, also a white handed gibbon, was once kept as a pet, and is 22 years old this year. Junior’s father came from Vietnam; his mother was given to the pet-owner by the San Antonio Zoo.

José Maria originally came to Primarily Primates in 2002, as part of a group of eight, from the same private home where Junior once lived. As a pet, dark-haired, dashing José Maria had to endure the pain of canine teeth actions.

Please join us and Kimchi in welcoming José Maria, Junior, and Scoshio back to Primarily Primates, where newly expanded living spaces await them, and a lot of love and caring is in store for them.

Update: The Emma and Jackson Custody Case Closes

When two of our youngest chimpanzees, Emma and Jackson, were removed and transported out of state, our struggle over custody became a national media event. But to Primarily Primates, it was simply part of our commitment to looking after these youngsters for life — precisely the commitment that defines us as a sanctuary.

Other values to consider are the feelings of Jackson and Emma after they’ve been living in another community over a long period, and the harmony and mutual support that ought to exist among the sanctuary movement as a whole.

So in May, we decided that — rather than carry on a protracted legal dispute with Chimps, Inc. which could last years — Jackson and Emma should remain where they are, in Oregon. Supporters need to know how and where particular primates will be permanently settled, but the suit Chimps, Inc. filed in Oregon had kept these two young chimpanzees in legal limbo. We decided it would not be fair to two young chimpanzees to let them go through a substantial part of their adolescence in Oregon and then be uprooted.

We also believe that reaching a settlement agreement would allow us to move ahead and attempt to foster harmony in the sanctuary community.

We want Emma and Jackson to have a happy life. We’ll always miss them. But we do have confidence that Jackson and Emma will enjoy a place of permanent safety.

Joining Primarily Primates With Friends of Animals, Priscilla Feral Throws Watermelon Party for the Chimpanzees

Hope and Grace finish their watermelon.

With hoots and expressions of delight, Champ, Tina, Buffy, April, Uriah and Carmen, who’s now in her 50s, wobbled around with their 20 lb. watermelons. Some chimpanzees smashed the rinds, while others dribbled the giant fruits, like basketballs, the full length of the outdoor living area.