Hi everyone,
A) Candle Lighting
Ceremony TONIGHT
B) USDA Comments Needed
TODAY
C) Art Auction for Dogs
Deserve Better
D) Iowa Vet Should Have License Revoked
E)
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
F) Great Vegan Website
A)
Candle Lighting Ceremony TONIGHT
Bethesda Hospice
Care and the Humane Society of MO (HSM) are sponsoring a
Candle Lighting Ceremony to
remember beloved pets who have passed away,
Monday, December 3, from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm. It will be at
the park right across the street from the HSM headquarters on Macklind. For
more information, or to RSVP, call Sarah Wildt
at 314-471-5316. Sarah also facilitates pet loss support
groups, so you may want to ask her about that at the same time.
B) USDA Fumbles Again
Once again the USDA is proposing idiotic
rule changes to benefit animal agriculture
and large corporate farms. Due to the recent spinach and lettuce
recalls--which were caused by factory farm runoff--the USDA wants to force
small and organic farms growing green leafy vegetables to sterilize the
soil. This destroys beneficial bacteria and other healthy microbes in the
soil. Instead, they should be focusing on the real cause--industrial animal
farms and processing plants. You can submit comments at the
Organic Consumers Association website.
C)
Art Auction for Dogs Deserve Better
(Thanks, Gina!)
Aunia Hahn, an artist from O'Fallon, Illinois,
has set up one of her limited edition pieces for auction, to benefit
Dogs Deserve Better.
You can see the picture and bid on it on
eBay. All proceeds go to Dogs
Deserve Better, a great organization advocating on behalf
of chained dogs. You may
recall its founder, Tammy Grimes,
was arrested last year for "stealing" Doogie, a poor bedraggled dog,
chained and dying. He couldn't walk, couldn't get to any water, lay in
dirt. It was an incredibly sad situation. No one was home and a neighbor
attested to the deplorable treatment of Doogie.
Grimes rescued the dog,
but instead of prosecuting the "owners" for abuse and neglect, Grimes was
arrested for stealing Doogie. The judge declared the dog "property,"
therefore he could not be "rescued." Grimes never wavered, and neither
have her supporters. She never disclosed Doogie's whereabouts so he could
not be returned. Doogie did very well at his new home, but eventually the
years of mistreatment took their toll. He died five months after his
rescue. You can read the full account with updates on the upcoming trial
here.
D) Iowa
Vet Should Have License Revoked
The
Humane Farming Association
(HFA) did an exposé on
a hell-hole called Wiles Farm,
a frightening hog factory in Ohio. HFA made its video evidence available
to the Wayne County Prosecutor, who was able to obtain a small conviction
on cruelty charges. Naturally, the punishment in no way fits the crime.
But, worse than the slight punishment are the actions of the Wayne County
judge and other officials, who worked very hard to thwart the
Prosecution's case. You can read
the entire
report, which was included in HFA's fall newsletter,on their
website.
The video evidence and employee testimony were
horrific. Hogs were hanged by chains to slowly strangle, piglets were
thrown like trash, pigs starved because they were too sick and weak to
reach food and water, etc. One of the worst displays was when the Defense
called its paid veterinarian
to testify. He admitted he had never been to the farm and had no idea
what went on there; but he was willing to state he saw no cruelty in a pig
strangling to death for several minutes. He also testified that allowing
pigs to lie in filth and starve, and seeing pigs with broken backs and
other serious injuries, is not out of the ordinary (therefore, not cruel).
The veterinarian needs to find another line of
work. Check out
this page
and contact the Iowa Board of Veterinary Medicine. (In case you're
wondering why an Ohio hog factory hired an Iowa vet, it's because they had
trouble finding a crooked enough vet nearby.)
E) American
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
It's hard to believe we are still talking
about the
Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, but it's still an issue. Now
that the three American slaughterhouses are closed, these poor animals are
being transported to Mexico. It's time to put an end to the whole
business. Call your US Representative and US Senators today and ask them
to cosponsor the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, and ask for a
vote before they leave for the holiday recess. In the Senate the bill is
S 311. In the House it is HR 503.
F)
Great Vegan Website
I found another one!
Vegan Coach. A
website with an attitude...and a great newsletter.