News About Animals - August 25, 2011 - Breaking News For Elephants!

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August 25, 2011   IDA Celebrates Huge Win For Elephants In Zoos IDA has long been pushing zoos to end the use of archaic, circus-style training because it is inhumane for elephants and unsafe for keepers. The zoo industry has finally responded with a dramatic policy shift that will end this cruel practice in zoos. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) announced that by September 1, 2014, keepers will no longer be able to share the same unrestricted space with elephants – which means an end to the use of “free contact” training and bullhooks, though there will be some exceptions. About half of AZA zoos with elephants use “free contact” training in which keepers use the bullhook, a steel-tipped weapon resembling a fireplace poker, to control elephants through the threat of painful punishment. Under the new directive, zoos will be required to use the “protected contact” method - keeper and elephant are separated by a protective barrier and only positive reinforcement training is utilized. This is a significant step forward, but there is still much work to be done for the many elephants who are still kept in woefully inadequate conditions that cause them to suffer and die prematurely. You can read more in IDA’s news release. Lily Tomlin Joins Effort To Help Rosie The Elephant Famed actor and comedian Lily Tomlin is our newest ally in the fight to stop an unsafe and inhumane elephant facility in Hope, Maine. She's written to Maine Governor LePage, urging him to oppose this well-intended but misguided plan that would cruelly keep a single elephant in inadequate conditions and is fraught with public safety problems. The proposed "sanctuary" would bring an elephant named Rosie from a circus-owned facility where she is not performing to live by herself in a small enclosure and cold weather conditions that will force her to spend most of the year indoors. There also are grave human safety concerns that include a handler who does not have the experience required to safely handle an elephant, use of unsafe and inhumane training methods including use of the bullhook, and the threat of tuberculosis, which is transmissible to humans. Rosie deserves a better home. Click here to learn more and see what you can do to help. IDA's International Day Of Action For South Korean Dogs And Cats Draws Worldwide Attention IDA’s 7th annual International Day of Action for South Korean Dogs and Cats  was an inspiring success! Forty cities around the world participated in protests, leafletings outside South Korean Embassies and Consulates, tableing, petition gathering, and letter writing events. We presented the South Korean Consulate in San Francisco with over 15,000 individually signed petitions from IDA members asking the South Korean government to strengthen laws regarding dogs and cats to end their torture and consumption. We received extensive media coverage  from TV stations in San Francisco and Washington DC plus articles in national, regional, and Asian print media. This year’s action definitely brought worldwide attention to the plight of the South Korean dogs tortured and killed for their meat. Check out the photos of our events across the U.S. and around the world. The Animal Advocates of Arizona got creative and held an event at the vegan Restaurant, Green in Tempe, Ariz., where 35 attendees sent 92 handwritten letters to South Korean officials. Dozens more around the state of Arizona and hundreds around the country also sent letters. Click here too send your own letters. Passersby in Long Beach, Calif., met four dogs rescued from a dog meat farm by the South Korean organization CARE and brought to the U.S. by Happy Angels Dog Rescue in Los Angeles, all available for adoption. Many people sat down with them and wanted to know their stories. Koa, a three-legged dog, embodies the hope of all South Korean dogs and cats in the meat industry, that they too will someday be free and loved as companion animals. IDA’s International Day of Action for South Korean Dogs and Cats helped bring that day one step closer. IDA Applauds Conviction In Charleston, Mississippi Cruelty Case IDA applauds the conviction of Sherry White and Ricardo Simpson of Charleston, Mississippi on charges of animal cruelty. IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary rescue team aided the Charleston Police Department with the seizure of six severely neglected dogs on June 29. Five of the six dogs were emaciated and without shelter. Four of the dogs tested heartworm positive and all were infested with internal and external parasites. The dogs are recovering under the care of IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary. Click here for more details. NY Times Op-Ed: Stop Using Chimpanzees In Research Congressman Roscoe G. Bartlett from Maryland, who introduced the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act of 2011, has written a thought-provoking op-ed in the New York Times. Bartlett says "Americans can no longer justify confining these magnificent and innocent animals to traumatic invasive research and life imprisonment." Click here to read the full piece and post your own comments on the NY Times' website.   Carry lunch or your laptop in style with our spacious messenger bag!   Rest your head or feet on our cool new throw pillow.   Organic cotton Guardian Tote Bag from EcoJoia, now on sale!   Click here to see our new women's fitted, organic cotton shirts.   Help elephants in Africa - click here to see how. 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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