News About Animals - January 28, 2011

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January 28, 2011   Please Help The Animal Victims Of The Floods In Brazil And Australia IDA has played a vital role in relief efforts following many natural disasters, including responding to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and, most recently, after the 2010 earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. And now catastrophic flooding in Australia, where it is believed that the largest toll on animals, wildlife and local communities in the country’s history has taken place. It's being referred to as "Australia's Katrina." At the same time, Brazil is being hit by ongoing floods and mudslides, and IDA is responding as best we can. Please click here to read more, view photos, and see what you can do to help. Victory - No More Elephants In El Salvador Zoo IDA’s campaign to end the display of elephants at the Parque Zoológico Nacional in El Salvador is a success! The Ministry of Culture has announced that the zoo will not acquire another Asian elephant to replace Manyula, who died last September. IDA applauds the government of El Salvador for its progressive decision to no longer keep elephants at the zoo, sparing another elephant from a lifetime of loneliness and suffering. And there is a new vision for the zoo that includes fresh leadership, upgrading exhibits to improve animal welfare, and decreasing noise around the zoo (which is located in San Salvador). The zoo will no longer acquire exotic animals and will instead focus on local fauna and animals of Mesoamerica (the area from central Mexico through Costa Rica). Manyula, who was taken from India as a calf, lived alone in a tiny enclosure at the zoo for more than 55 years. Though deprived of all that was natural to her, she was a national icon and hundreds of people turned out for her burial. Shortly after her death, there were calls to replace Manyula with another elephant, but fortunately the government did the right thing and permanently closed the elephant exhibit. Thanks to everyone who took action and sent messages to Salvadoran officials, and also to Salvadoran-born activist Sylvia Herrera, who brought Manyula’s plight to our attention and worked hard to ensure that no other elephant would again suffer at the Parque Zoológico Nacional. Please e-mail messages of thanks to El Salvador Secretary of Culture Dr. Hectór Samour and Georgina Hernández, Director of Cultural Development. Washington State Ballot Measure To Improve Lives Of Hens This November, the state of Washington may gain the power to tell the animal agriculture industry to treat egg-laying hens better. IDA and a coalition of animal welfare, environmental and food safety groups are endorsing a statewide ballot measure that would require egg-laying hens to have at least enough room to turn around and extend their wings. (Important - IDA advocates a vegan diet, but this measure will at least make the lives of hens less cruel.) Nearly 6 million egg-laying hens in Washington spend the majority of their lives in cages so small that each hen has less space than a sheet of paper and can barely move. This measure prevents such cruel confinement and bans the sale of eggs from battery cage hens in the state. Anti-confinement legislation has improved the lives of animals in Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, and California, phasing out various abusive farming practices. Washington can be the next historic step. The first phase is to collect signatures to get the measure on the ballot for the vote in November. The coalition headquarters needs volunteers to collect signatures. You do not need to be a Washington State resident to help. To volunteer to collect signatures, contact Washingtonians for Humane Farms. Thank you! IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary Intervenes To Help Homeless Dogs Our Mississippi sanctuary intervened just in time for six homeless dogs in danger of being shot. The dogs had accumulated at a residence in the town of Enid, finding the compassionate family wouldn’t let them go hungry, and there was a porch with furniture to somewhat shield them from the sleet and snow. Neighbors, alarmed to have a group of dogs wandering from the property into their yards, determined that shooting them was their only option, as the community and county have no animal control. Friends contacted authorities who referred them to us as "the only hope" in such situations, and now the rescued dogs are being placed for adoption. Oppose BLM Plan To Remove 1,726 Wild Horses From Northeastern Nevada The Bureau of Land Management is accepting public comments on a plan to round up 1,726 wild horses from the Triple B, Maverick Medicine and Antelope Valley BLM Herd Managment Areas and the Cherry Spring Wild Horse Territory, managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The roundup is scheduled for July 2011, in the heat of the desert summer. They will leave behind as few as 472 wild horses in this vast, 1.7 million-acre public lands complex. Meanwhile, the BLM authorizes nine times that number of privately-held, farmed animals to graze the same area. Click here to submit your comments today!        At only $12, these commuter mugs sell out fast! Get yours today!    "Real environmentalists don't eat meat." Shirt $21, buttons $1.     Support IDA with custom greeting cards from CardsDirect!     These sweatshirts sell out faster than we can stock them! Get yours now before we run out!    This message was sent to sweetygirl2002@uol.com.br In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa. In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible. In Defense of Animals 3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901 Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031 idainfo@idausa.org To unsubscribe, please click here.

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