Stop China From Skinning Cats & Dogs Alive!

China has emerged as one of the world’s most powerful economies but is still mistrusted and feared (as distinct from respected) because since emerging from behind the bamboo curtain, it’s government has done little to dispel its autocratic image and apparent disregard for human rights. Quite apart from human rights, decent people everywhere could never accept a society so depraved and bereft of common decency as to accept the skinning of live animals as acceptable behaviour.

It’s burgeoning economy has resulted from flooding the world with cheap consumer products produced by a cheap unregulated work force. A fact that is understandable, having regard to its enormous population and fantastic work ethic.

In turn, China has developed an insatiable appetite for raw product from other countries and governments keen to export to China are reluctant to criticise or offend the Chinese government.

Given this background, will your government impose economic sanctions against China or openly criticise the Chinese government or demand that it puts a stop to the Chinese cat and dog fur trade? Most unlikely. However, there will surely be individuals within governments, so incensed and horrified by the trade that they will support Our Cause.

The Chinese government is well aware of the economic power play behind the scenes. It also knows it has a long way to go earn acceptance from the free world.
And make no mistake, China absolutely craves acceptance as a world leader that is trusted and respected and there are emerging signs that it is prepared to adopt more acceptable and responsible policies to earn that acceptance.

It knows that if it behaves or permits behaviour that is abhorrent to people of the democratic world, it will not earn the trust or respect it craves. Its our duty to show China that it can take a single , but highly significant step towards overcoming the prejudice of the millions of free-thinking decent people, if it recognises animal rights and, in particular, abolishes the abhorrent trade in cat and dog fur.

Cat and dog pelts sell for about US$1 each and every year, 2,000,000 cats and dogs suffer a horrific death, skinned alive for the pelts.

For what?

1. An insignificant contribution towards the Chinese economy - a few million US$; and

2. A clear message to the world that so long as the Chinese government permits the trade, China is not fit to take its place as a leading nation and certainly not one that is entitled to any trust or respect.

The “adverse fallout” and abhorrence for the Chinese government resulting from the trade will far exceeds the paltry contribution it makes towards China’s economy. It is in China’s interest, to abolish the trade.

It’s our duty to tell the world about the trade and kick up such a stink that our message reverberates around the world.

Remember Tianamen Square. Let’s make this another Tianamen Square – this time, for the animals.

Please sign the Online Petition. It’s the First Step in Our Fight!”

http://animalsaviors.org/petition.html

Barker's gift launches animal ethics course at Drury

Steve Koehler
News-Leader

A $1 million endowment from game-show legend Bob Barker will establish the country's first undergraduate course on animal ethics at Drury University.

Before a standing-room-only crowd of students and faculty — as well as several dozen dogs and a few cats — Barker handed over a check to Drury President Todd Parnell on Monday.

"I'm flattered beyond words for so many of you to be here," said Barker, a Drury alum and longtime host of "The Price is Right." He spoke to the audience packed into a large room in the Trustee Science Building in the middle of Monday's ice storm.

The money, Parnell said, will give Drury students "the means to an education dominated by the most prestigious universities in the country."

Several law schools, including those at Harvard and Stanford, have also received gifts from Barker to fund the study of animal rights.

"It's going to be so interesting for you," Barker told students. "My hope is that the model is duplicated across the country."

The semester-long course will begin in either the fall of 2009 or the spring of 2010. It's an interdisciplinary class that will examine animal rights through various areas including religion, the environment, criminology, philosophy and biology.

Wendy Anderson, associate professor of biology, said her portion of the course will explore several areas, including the environmental impact of confined animal feeding operations; the impact of exotic animals becoming pets or being placed in zoos; what happens when pets are released into the ecosystem; and the impact on vegetation and other animals.

Other parts of the course will look at laws protecting animals, how animals are regarded in religion and advances that have been made to minimize animal testing.

"It's very exciting. It's something that's uniquely Drury," Anderson said. "I plan on going to the classes every day myself. I'm only teaching for two weeks, and I want to see what the other (faculty) are teaching."

The enthusiasm of the faculty impressed Barker.

"I had high hopes for this course and after visiting with the faculty, my hopes are boundless now," Barker said. "It's going to be known as a wonderful, wonderful course."

The idea for the course came from Patricia McEachern, associate professor of French at Drury and an animal-rights advocate. She talked with Barker while he was on campus to deliver Drury's commencement address in May.

"Bob Barker is a personal hero to me. He's done more for animals than any human being on the planet. He is a modern-day St. Francis of Assisi," she said.

McEachern said Barker called her office this fall and left a message asking her to call him at home.

"I couldn't do that," she initially thought. But she eventually called and the two spoke often as they developed the course that would include classroom work, appearances by special speakers and conferences on the subject.

"We hope that whatever area we go into, we develop an empathy for animals and animal rights," she said.

McEachern admitted Monday that she was so excited after dropping Barker off at his hotel room Sunday night that she forgot to take the check. Thankfully, Barker reminded her to take it.

She kept the check on her nightstand and gave it to Parnell Monday at the press conference.

Jessica Kleekamp, a junior studying English, will likely graduate before the course is available. But she showed her support Monday by carrying a sign that resembled the podium contestants stand behind on Barker's game show.

It read: "1,000,000. Animal Rights" and on the other side it read: "Have Your Pet (Spayed) or Neutered."

"I've watched Bob since I was a little kid," Kleekamp said. "I like him as both (animal rights advocate and game show host). I knew him first as a game show host, but I think he's really great at animal rights, too."

Hard-Luck Animal Shelter Must Raise $17,000

MENTOR, Ohio -- There are more problems for the animals at the Lake Humane Shelter in Mentor.

First, the building lost heat and now the sewer system is backed up, but that's only the beginning of what the nonprofit organization is going through.

In the midst of these problems, workers discovered some animals that had been dumped on the property in freezing conditions.

The people who run the shelter had no choice but the close the doors again after the heater stopped working a few days ago, forcing them to put animals in offices and other spaces not designed to house them.

After getting a $17,000 bill to fix the furnace, the shelter had more bad luck.

"We're not a government agency, we get no government funding. We don't get any United Way funding. Everything you see, everything we do is funding by private donations," said the shelter's Gail Keegan. "These animals need to be fed, they need to be kept warm, and our very first priority is our animals."

When shelter workers found a dog and two cats dumped on the property in the middle of the heating and sewage crisis, their hearts were broken.

One of the cats and a dog survived, but the other cat didn't, freezing to death in an icy puddle.

But the people who run the shelter refused to give up, and they finally got some good news: a check from the invisible fence company.

Little by little, the shelter has been getting donations, but it's still far from the $17,000 goal.

To help, go to www.lakehumane.org.

Pets Abandoned by Owners After Foreclosure

Animals Are the Newest Mortgage Victims as Owners Leave Pets Behind
By EVELYN NIEVES
Associated Press Writer
Jan. 30, 2008—


STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) -- The house was ravaged -- its floors ripped, walls busted and lights smashed by owners who trashed their home before a bank foreclosed on it. Hidden in the wreckage was an abandoned member of the family: a starving pit bull.

The dog found by workers was too far gone to save -- another example of how pets are becoming the newest victims of the nation's mortgage crisis as homeowners leave animals behind when they can no longer afford their property.

Pets "are getting dumped all over," said Traci Jennings, president of the Humane Society of Stanislaus County in northern California. "Farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies."

In one such colony in Modesto, two obviously tame cats watched alone from a distance as a group of feral cats devoured a pile of dry food Jennings offered.

"These are obviously abandoned cats," Jennings said. "They're not afraid of people, and they stay away from the feral cats because they're ostracized by them."

The abandoned pets are overwhelming animal shelters and drawing fury from bloggers, especially as photos of emaciated animals circulate on the Internet.

The first people to enter an abandoned house, such as property inspectors and real estate brokers, have discovered dogs tied to trees in backyards, cats in garages, and turtles, rabbits and lizards in children's bedrooms.

No one keeps track of the numbers of abandoned pets, but anecdotal evidence suggests that forsaken animals are becoming a problem wherever foreclosures are climbing. Stockton and Modesto have some of the nation's highest foreclosure rates.

Despite months of warning before a foreclosure, many desperate homeowners run out the clock hoping to forestall an eviction. Then they panic, particularly if they are moving to a home where pets are not permitted.

The situation has become so widespread that the Humane Society urged home owners faced with foreclosure to take their animals to a shelter.

Shelters are trying to keep up, but the spike in abandoned pets comes at a time when fewer people are adopting animals. Home sales are plunging to their lowest level in decades, and new homeowners are often the most likely to seek a pet.

Even people who are buying homes are not adopting pets.

"People are not bringing home puppies because times are tough, and animals cost money," said Sharon Silbert, president of Animal Rescue of Tracy, a community near Stockton.

The mortgage crisis showed few signs of easing Tuesday after a real estate tracking company announced that many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the last three months, setting the stage for more foreclosures this year.

The San Joaquin Animal Shelter in Stockton is fielding more desperate calls from animal owners about to be evicted. Many call as a last resort after being turned down by various rescue groups with no room for more animals.

"They're usually breaking down on the phone," said Kathy Potter, a shelter dispatcher. "I'm quite direct with them that there's a 50-50 chance the animals might be put down."

Still, shelter operators say, half a chance is better than none.

"They may be euthanized at a shelter," said Stephanie Shain of the Humane Society of the United States. "But they'll be fed and have water and have a humane euthanization, as opposed to spending the last days of their lives eating carpet or wallboard."

Bloggers are furious with the "foreclosure pet" phenomenon, especially after seeing photos of emaciated animals on the Internet. Some critics say the pet owners have already proved they are irresponsible by buying houses they could not afford or mortgages they did not bother to understand.

"They see a pet as property, no different than a worn sofa tossed into the alley when the springs pop," says a posting about foreclosure pets on About.com.

The problem is exacerbated because most people grappling with foreclosure are returning to rental housing or moving in with relatives -- two situations where it can be difficult or impossible to bring pets.

"What we've always known is that when times are hard for people, they're hard for their pets," said Stephen Zawistowski, a vice president at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Abandoning animals is illegal in most states under anti-cruelty laws, but the laws are not rigidly enforced.

In Stockton, shelter workers recently reunited a family with two rottweilers they had left behind in their foreclosed house. The family was staying in a homeless shelter, the dogs being cared for by neighbors at the family's behest. Shelter workers were able to find housing for the family and their dogs.

But happy endings elude a majority of foreclosure animals.

"Their best shot is for the owners to plan ahead some," Jennings said. "But they didn't plan when they bought their house. I don't see that happening anytime soon."


Copyright © 2008 ABC News Internet Ventures

Save Healthy Animals From a Needless Death

Animal care and control centers across the country are doing everything they can, but the number of healthy and treatable dogs and cats that are euthanized is still devastatingly high.

Support comprehensive programs for ending euthanasia of healthy and treatable animals!

What we need is a financial solution to this problem that has the full support of the community. The American Humane Association has a program that does just that. It's called Getting to Zero®.

This program is based on a series of community-based interventions that have proven to reduce pet euthanasia, and includes areas such as adoption, foster care, spay/neuter, training and transfer.

Every year, an estimated four to six million dogs and cats are euthanized in animal care and control facilities in the United States. This problem remains a source of shame for our country.

Sign the petition today supporting programs to bring the number of healthy and treatable animals that are euthanized down to zero in the next 25 years.

Thank you for helping these animals.

Top Ten Cold Weather Tips For Our Furry Friends!

From the ASPCA.

Brrrr…it’s cold outside! The following guidelines will help you protect your companion animals when the mercury dips.

1. Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases, including rabies, from other cats, dogs and wildlife.

2. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

3. Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm—dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags.

4. Thoroughly wipe off your dog's legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

5. Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

6. Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

7. Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

8. Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him—and his fur—in tip-top shape.

9. Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information.

10. Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

VISIT THE PET FOOD RECALL RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE LATEST INFO

Late last week, news conferences held by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Menu Foods, Inc., confirmed suspicions by the ASPCA that a contaminant other than aminopterin may be responsible for the illnesses and deaths of animals who ingested recently recalled contaminated foods. The contaminant, melamine, was found in wheat gluten samples of the recalled lots.

To add to the fast-breaking developments, Hill’s Pet Nutrition voluntarily recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry cat food—its only product containing wheat gluten—which it believes may have been contaminated by infected wheat gluten. At this time, the ASPCA is uncertain as to whether other pet food manufacturers will issue voluntary recalls, and we advise pet parents to contact their manufacturer directly.

Although we share your concerns about keeping your companion animals safe and healthy, we also want to assure consumers that there is no need to panic or take sudden actions, such as refraining from feeding dry food altogether. “There are several dry cat and dog foods that do not include any wheat gluten in their formulas,” says the ASPCA’s Dr. Steven Hansen, veterinary toxicologist, “and you can get that information from the label on your pet food or the manufacturer. Further, if your pet is used to eating a particular type of food, a sudden change in diet or diet type may upset his stomach. This may be especially problematic for pets with pre-existing illnesses.”

For additional information on the pet food recall, including answers to your most frequently asked questions, please visit the Pet Food Recall Resource Center.

PET FOOD RECALL UPDATE: CONTAMINANTS IN ADDITION TO RAT POISON MAY BE INVOLVED

Since Menu Foods, Inc. announced its massive pet food recall on March 16, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center has been flooded with calls from pet parents and animal welfare professionals alike. Based on data from these calls, the ASPCA reports that clinical signs in cats affected by the contaminated foods are not fully consistent with the ingestion of rat poison containing aminopterin which, says Menu Foods, is at the “root” of the contamination issue.

Explains the ASPCA’s Dr. Steven Hansen, veterinary toxicologist, “There are so many inconsistencies in the purported link between aminopterin and the animals affected that we urge veterinary toxicologists and veterinary pathologists at diagnostic laboratories to continue looking for additional contaminants.”

Pets who are being treated for kidney failure suspected to be related to contaminated food should stay on their treatment. If your pet has eaten contaminated food and shows any signs of illness, including loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, changes in water consumption and changes in urination, please consult with a veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 immediately. In order to help with your pet’s diagnosis, you are advised to:


- retain food samples for analysis

- save all packaging and receipts, and document the product name, type of product, date codes and/or production lot numbers

- document the dates that the product was fed to your pet, how much was eaten, and the time when you first noticed symptoms

Adverse effects or deaths of pets conclusively linked to eating the contaminated foods should be reported to the FDA. Additionally, the American Veterinary Medical Association website contains helpful information for pet parents and veterinarians.

For a complete list of recalled pet food brands, please visit http://www.menufoods.com/recall.

Update, 3/30/07 10:45 A.M.: Click here to read the ASPCA's most recent information on the pet food recall.