UPDATE 2 (12/08, 11:14pm): Apparently the competitor's deal fell through, and PPS was able to secure the land after all! More at Animal Person.

UPDATE (11/18, 11:06pm): Apparently Peaceful Prairie was outbid by an unnamed competitor. More at Animal Person.

In case you haven't already seen this elsewhere, Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary is urgently attempting to acquire property to expand the sanctuary by 35 acres. They need a total of $115,000 to purchase the property from Fannie Mae. As of Mary Martin's post they were still seeking $15,000 in donations (JustGive.org) to purchase property that was originally listed at $255,000.

This request is urgent for at least two reasons:

1) There is a very limited window of opportunity for PPS to acquire this property. The closing date is December 17th, and PPS needs to show Fannie Mae that they have the funds to purchase the property. If you donate using the JustGive link above, it should be viewable as soon as the payment processes.

2) The area is zoned for agricultural use, so if they don't acquire the land, it will end up being used instead to exploit animals.

PPS is an abolitionist sanctuary that promotes veganism, and this purchase will allow them to convert a 4,000 sq. ft. home into an Education Center, complete with volunteer and visitor housing.

Credit card donations can also be made through PayPal from the left sidebar on PPS's home page.


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Labels: sanctuaries

25-year-old African elephant Maggie has finally left Alaska after years in a zoo up there, where she was not doing so well. She arrived safely in California to live out the rest of her life in comfort at The Performing Animal Welfare Society Wildlife Sanctuary in Galt, California.

The complicated and dangerous maneuver was carried out courtesy of the Air Force, owing to Maggie's size. Unable to fit her crate in a standard commercial aircraft, she was flown to California in an Air Force cargo plane. Animal activist and retired Price Is Right host Bob Barker contributed the massive sum of $750,000 toward Maggie's care. More background on Maggie's transfer move can be found here.

SOURCE: Associated Press: Maggie the Elephant Leaves Alaska


Photo credit: AP Photo/Al Grillo

Labels: elephants, exotic animals, sanctuaries, wildlife, zoos

Newsweek asks in its August 13th issue whether animals have rights, touched off by the lawsuit over chimpanzee custody that I wrote about previously a little over a month ago. While it's nice to see the issue covered in a national magazine, they didn't exactly "cover" the issue. It's more like they touched on it in brief, which is surprising, since they often go into greater detail in the magazine.

Frankly, I would have liked someone to dispute Priscilla Feral's contention that "This isn't about establishing rights for animals." If it's not, then it sure as hell should be. What kind of friend to animals are you when you claim to be for abolishing the exploitation of animals, but then to hide it so you can better exert your grip over some chimpanzees? This is behavior befitting an animal exploiter, not an animal rights organization. It's shameful.

This is a good opportunity to write a letter to Newsweek explaining that animals do have rights, that continuing to keep thinking, feeling beings as property disrespects their interests in freedom. Maybe a letter drawing the parallel to animals in factory farming would provide a unique angle to this story as well.

Source: Monkey See, Monkey Sue (for Legal Custody)

PS - Sorry for the lack of posts this week. On the rare occasions I've had internet access, I haven't had time to post. But look for a new Totally Not Vegan tomorrow.

UPDATE:

The most important aspect of this post, in my mind, was encouraging readers to write to Newsweek about animal rights, and I hope no one lost sight of that when I jumped the gun with middle paragraph above, in which I got swept up in a knee-jerk response to a fairly weak article that managed to only tell a tiny piece of a story that I admittedly knew little about, certainly not firsthand.

Thank you to everyone who understands this and who has been supportive in helping me to get a handle on some of what is going on behind-the-scenes.

Regular readers will know that I have actually been fairly favorable toward FoA at AAFL in the past, so I think it would be appropriate to give the organization an opportunity to respond to this entry in a way that isn't buried in the comments section, and for me to move on.

From Friends of Animals' Lee Hall:

Anyone who really wants to subvert humanity’s property rights over animals would support FoA adamantly in this dispute. The lawsuit brought in by Chimps Inc. of Oregon against Primarily Primates cannot and will not establish nonhuman rights. The Oregon refuge filed a complaint in federal court to state its desire, now that it has helped in a temporary situation, to remain in “possession” of two young chimpanzees, Emma and Jackson. Claims based on the possession of animals are traditional property arguments, not constitutional milestones. Why would Chimps, Inc. be credited with animal rights due to an argument they themselves have filed and based on property law?

Lee also sent the following links:

"An important piece to review"

"See also (particularly the comment section)"

Labels: Friends of Animals, primates, sanctuaries, wildlife

CBS5: Elephant Leaving Philadelphia Zoo After 41 Years (Bay Area)

Dulary the elephant is headed to the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN after 41 years of being held in captivity at Philadelphia's zoo. The event is being used as PR to cover for some rather bad news, it would seem:

The three remaining elephants in Philadelphia will also be sent away in the coming months, to a conservation center in Pennsylvania that will breed the animals for zoos taking a different approach. Instead of closing exhibits, they're looking to expand and improve their elephant habitats.

While I'm cheered to see Dulary end up in a beautiful, spacious sanctuary, this news should push us to fight harder to keep elephants from being bred for captivity. What a sick notion! If you're having trouble understanding why this is a problem, substitute elephants with people, and it becomes obvious just how appalling this is.

Elephants deserve no less consideration than humans. Not only do we need to do a better job of protecting their habitat in the wild, but we must also educate the public as to the inhumanity of keeping elephants in zoos so that people will no longer support the practice.

Labels: elephants, sanctuaries, wildlife, zoos

Los Angeles Times | California | Local News: Ruby to leave L.A. Zoo for greener pastures

Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today that 46-year-old African elephant Ruby will finally be moved from the L.A. Zoo to the 75 acre Performing Animal Welfare Society's (PAWS) Sanctuary in San Andreas.

I've written about elephants in zoos before, including quite a bit of coverage on Ruby, not to mention a 48-year-old Asian elephant named Gita, who died at the L.A. Zoo last year due to negligence. So it is a relief to learn of this development.

Huge thanks to the activists that helped push this decision, including the tireless Catherine Doyle and the unsung Chris DeRose, and to donors Patty Shenker, Bob Barker and others who will help pay for Ruby's upkeep at PAWS. Applause is also due to Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys), who fought for Ruby's release as well.

The fate of Billy, a 22-year-old Asian bull, appears to be sealed as he remains on display while the elephant exhibit is expanded at a cost of $39 million dollars, despite his unusual behavior. In recent years, major zoos in San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and New York City have made the decision to stop exhibiting elephants altogether, as they find homes for some or after the deaths of others already held there.

UPDATE: Last Chance for Animals sent out an email bulletin this afternoon, taking a much dimmer of view of today's news, and I can't say that I disagree with most of what I read. After all, Ruby had to leave the L.A. Zoo at some point because, as an African elephant, she isn't exactly a perfect fit with the expanded Asian elephant exhibit.

I tried to find this on the LCA website, but it seems their bulletins are not posted there (unless I missed it), so I am quoting it for you below:

The Los Angeles Zoo announced today that they are sending Ruby, the African elephant, to a sanctuary. However, the zoo has not bothered to announce that the plan for the new exhibit is to house as many as eight elephants; making the new $39 million exhibit smaller in comparison to the old exhibit.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was on hand to make sure he didn't miss the photo opportunity and to pat himself on the back for the zoo's decision, but was no where to be seen last year as this very same topic was up for vote in the City Council. Villaraigosa was also not on hand when Gita, the zoo's Asian female, died at an early age last year. In fact, despite the Mayor's numerous statements that "a zoo is not an appropriate place for an animal as large as an elephant," he wasted no time praising the zoo's $39 million proposed elephant exhibit that will be outdated even before construction is complete.

While some see the zoo's announcement as the end of a long fight for the elephants at the L.A. Zoo, Last Chance for Animals, a non-profit animal rights organization in Los Angeles, cautions the public not to celebrate.

"This is the darkest day for elephants in captivity. One elephant has been moved out, but at least 8 more will be moving in once the new exhibit is completed. This is not a success story; elephants should not be in captivity, period!" stated LCA President Chris DeRose. "The L.A. Zoo exhibit should be closed down permanently so no more elephants have to suffer and die there. We cannot lose our focus - the fight isn't about the welfare of one elephant, it is about the rights of all elephants in captivity."

Last Chance for Animals warns Ruby's departure will set a dangerous precedent: zoos will view sanctuaries as a way to get their "surplus" and "problem" elephants off their hands while continuing to breed more elephants, instead of realizing that zoos are the problem - the small spaces, the concrete floors and the unnatural social groupings are slowing driving the elephants insane while their feet and bodies deteriorate before our eyes.

"I want to make this clear; LCA is committed for the rights of all elephants, not just the welfare of one. We wanted to see Ruby and Billy move out of the zoo as much as anyone, maybe more (we've been fighting for this for almost 20 years), but the focus should remain to close the elephant exhibit once and for all. Today's move is nothing more than clearing out old inventory to make room for the new," stated DeRose.

Harsh words indeed for the L.A. Zoo, but not entirely undeserved.

Labels: elephants, sanctuaries, wildlife, zoos

Last year my wife and I spent Christmas day helping out with farm chores up at Animal Acres Farm Animal Sanctuary. We swept up droppings, cleaned out stalls, and put out fresh straw and hay. This was followed by a potluck and spending some quality time with the rescued animals.

This year, we decided to make a tradition of it, and here's a few of the photos we remembered to take (once again, we forgot to take food pictures... another tradition!):


Doing chores out back


Eric clearing used straw bedding


Roscoe says hello


Are we enough to be considered a herd?


One of the more outgoing sheep


Goats seem to be pretty sociable, and like being stroked...


...under the chin, for example


Audrey's my friend from Thanksgiving


Audrey is also a sneak
(this is emu food well up off the ground)


Goats have loads of personality


Don't worry: the emu got to eat, too


Chillin' in the shade. Sure beats a factory farm.


Don't be fooled. Once you start throwing that toy,
you will never, ever be allowed to stop!


My wife, Jen, with Tyler


Johnny likes the goats best from up here
I was pleased to see nearly twice as many people helping out than last year. I hope you'll consider helping out at a sanctuary near you. Animal Acres and other non-profit sanctuaries need your assistance. If you cannot help out with a monthly or even an irregular donation, outside help is frequently necessary to accomplish all the work that needs doing at a busy animal sanctuary.

It's quite rewarding to see the animals you're no longer eating, and to do them this small bit of service. They deserve it after what they've been put through in their previous lives.

Labels: activism, events, Holidays, sanctuaries

National Geographic News: Chimp Champion Fights Ape Meat, Pet Trade -- By Force, if Necessary

Another hero for our animal cousins:

(Sheri) Speede has removed gunshot pellets from chimps and extracted embedded ropes from apes' waists. (In villages captive chimps are often leashed with ropes knotted in such away that they tighten if the chimp struggles, Speede said. Also, some chimps are tied up for years and grow "around" the ropes, she said.)

Perhaps her most painstaking procedure was a six-hour surgery to save a female with a twisted colon—performed over a split log, with no veterinary technicians.

Further complicating matters, Speede was pregnant at the time, with her belly obstructing her view and movement.

But the surgery was a success...

She has also coordinated armed raids to rescue primates and has even survived being robbed at knifepoint.

The sanctuary Speede built, Sanaga-Yongre, employs 23 Cameroonians full time, while still more work part time in construction and cleanup. The sanctuary also stimulates the local economy by purchasing produce from nearby villages.

On top of this, she is one of precious few professionals with medical knowledge located within miles of the facility and serves as sort of an informal doctor for the locals, delivering babies and mending bones, among other services.

Sanaga-Yongre buys textbooks and other supplies and pays the teacher's salary at the local school, no doubt making a huge difference in the lives of the children who learn there.

"We need to develop more social programs," Speede said, "because you can't go into a community as impoverished as that ... and not do anything for the people and expect them to embrace you.

"I didn't know that when I went in, but I know it very well now."

I imagine when you're trying to change attitudes and values (about, for instance, bush meat), this comes in very handy.

According to Doug Cress, executive director of the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance,

"We use to say that every chimpanzee in a sanctuary represents another ten dead in the wild," Cress said in an email. "But I think Sheri Speede's work may have turned that equation inside out.

"Now, I'd say each chimpanzee in a sanctuary could represent another ten in the wild that we can still protect."

Sheri Speede reminds us just how much of a difference one dedicated person can make in the world.

Labels: primates, sanctuaries, wildlife

Well, I didn't get done with the festivities related to my short film screening until about 8:45pm (missed Dan Piraro's keynote -- damn!). It would have taken me about 30 minutes or so to get down to the Strength of Many conference on the hopes that I might be able to meet up with some familiar faces at the hotel bar before everyone staying there turns in for the night. I figure there's always tomorrow, so I stayed in and saw this story.

I can't say that I'm overjoyed about what I read here, but I am certainly glad that one elephant exhibit is closing down. The problem is that the Philadelphia Zoo hopes to open one again when funds permit.

And three of the four elephants that were kept in that half-acre prison cell are being sent to another zoo in Baltimore, which is eventually going to provide six acres to five elephants, with plans to breed more.

Fortunately, one formerly injured elephant, Dulary, will be transported to The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, TN.

Zoo officials expect the transfers to be completed by next spring.

Labels: elephants, sanctuaries, wildlife, zoos

My visit to Animal Acres today was interesting and fun.

I was curious to see how forty 3rd-graders would respond to what they were going to learn about the animals in the sanctuary, and for the most part, they seemed pretty involved and asked good questions. I was able to watch the interaction most of the time, since I was mainly there to help keep an eye on the large group when it split up after the initial presentation. They are definitely not your average children, being from a private school with an emphasis on character-building.

Leigh Crenshaw demonstrates battery-cage conditions with help from some volunteers
The presentation was given by Leigh Crenshaw, Animal Acres' Youth Program Coordinator, which exposed the kids to the workings of today's factory-farmed animals through visual examples that they got to participate in. They also got to learn more about the more fascinating aspects of animals when allowed to express themselves, by reading aloud animal facts and stories for the rest of the group. Afterward, the students were excited to get to go meet the animals, whom they had excitedly observed on the way in.


Many questions were asked during their visit with the animals, and they came really fast, so it was hard to answer many of them, especially because I haven't spent nearly as much time at the Sanctuary as I'd need in order to be familiar enough with the guests there. Many of those questions revealed genuine concern for the animals' origins, personalities, and so on, while other questions showed me that some of the kids still didn't "get it," even after the presentation and the tour. I think some of them had a history with animals like turkeys that was far different from the factory farmed animals that Animal Acres has rescued. I didn't really need to hear about this one girl's relative who shot his own turkey for Thanksgiving, for instance.


That said, they really seemed to get some insight into the animals, since most of them had never seen real farm animals before. The pigs made a strong impression, in particular, looking nothing like the pictures they saw in books like Charlotte's Web, which they were currently studying. Like many factory-farmed pigs, Animal Acre's Wilbur was so big that he could barely support his own weight. The kids definitely didn't like that the animals were tampered with like they are. And, while they couldn't see any piglets on this visit there was a new calf at the sanctuary, Pablo, who really proved that they didn't like seeing the animals manipulated. Pablo opened the door to questions about his missing horns, which were exposed. They loved all the calves at the sanctuary, so the site of those sockets was sobering, and at least one kid seemed to get the message that dehorning was "mean."

With all those kids (I had 22 in my group), and all those questions and individuals distracted by all the different animals, it's hard to say how much got through. I'm sure if I studied farm animals a little more thoroughly and had done this before, I could have done more (can't we always?). I couldn't help but wonder how effective this activism is, and how many of the students will think further on this subject in their quieter moments, perhaps changing the way they look at animals.


During the all-group presentation, the kids were fairly quiet and attentive (considering) while I answered a question about why vegans don't drink milk, giving my own reasons. I was surprised at the depth of my own reaction to what I was saying, and that made it harder for me to gauge the impact of my answer on the students, but I kept the answer pretty straightforward, trying to avoid being too blunt or shocking, while revealing the basic truth behind dairy production. Maybe stuff like that will seep in over time and have an impact later.

In the meantime, I had to leave for a protest in downtown L.A., noting on my way out that the "vegan" PB&J and similar lunches the kids had brought from home also included Cool Ranch Doritos and Robert's Pirate’s Booty with Aged Cheddar, though one girl was proud of her yummy Robert's Veggie Booty, which is vegan, giving me some glimmer of hope that maybe this day will sink in for some of them -- if not now, then someday.

Labels: activism, Animal Acres, sanctuaries