Newsletter: Happypets.org Action_Alerts & More !
Volume: 2 Issue: 3
If you missed any of
previous newsletters please visit the archives at: happypets.addr.com/Newsletter_Archives.htm
IN THIS ISSUE:
ACTION ALERT: SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE ASSAULTS PetSMART
ANIMAL BYTE: WEST HOLLYWOOD PLANS TO BAN CAT DECLAWING
UPDATE: SAN FRANCISCO GUARDIAN BILL APPROVED
ACTION ALERT:
MORE SUAREZ BEARS NEED YOUR HELP
UPDATE: DOLPHIN-SAFE TUNA BILL INTRODUCED
PET TIP OF THE WEEK:
CHECK YOUR CAR FOR CATS!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK: CARRIBEAN VEGETABLE STEW
JOKE OF THE WEEK:
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ACTION ALERT:
SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE ASSAULTS PetSMART
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) has launched an assault
against PETsMART Charities for its recent grant to The Humane
Society of the United States' Remote Area Veterinary Services (RAVS)
program. The USSA is asking it's members to bombard PETsMART with emails,letters and phone calls in protest of their grant to the RAVS program.
They are implying, with their well known hostility towards animal protection groups, that such a grant indirectly supports a campaign to wipe out
all hunting and nothing could be further from the truth.
The RAVS program specifically provides much-needed health care services, rabies vaccinations, free spay/neuter, and general medical attention to dogs
and cats in rural, often desperately poor areas of the country. The PETsMART money is specifically earmarked to help fund 36 free spay/neuter clinics and
pet-care sessions throughout the Appalachian areas of Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia in 2003. Not a penny of this grant will go to overhead or to other
HSUS programs.
For the sake of the dogs and cats who live in impoverished communities
throughout the country, we must let PETsMART know that we appreciate their support of the RAVS program.
To help counter the vocal protests of USSA members, Please visit
http://files.hsus.org/web-files//PDF/petsmart_support.pdf
and download a Thank You card to bring to your nearest PETsMART
store. If there isn’t a PETsMART store in your area, you can mail the card to:
PETsMART Charities
19601 North 27th Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85027
The HSUS is asking that we not send call or send emails because they
don’t want to further burden PETsMART’s systems.
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ANIMAL BYTE:
West Hollywood Takes First Step In Banning Cat Declawing
The city of West Hollywood, California may become the first city in
the US to ban the practice of declawing cats. The West Hollywood City
Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the declawing of cats and ordered the city attorney to look into whether it can become the first city in
America to ban the practice by law.
Among the supporters of the ban is "Golden Girls" actress Bea Arthur.
"I've lived with cats for many years and would never dream of subjecting
them to this needless, painful mutilation," Arthur wrote in a letter to the
City Council. The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, which
has more than 2,500 practicing members nationwide, also supports the
ban and PETA intends to lobby other cities around the nation to adopt
similar laws.
West Hollywood, the small city of 3,500 nestled on the edge of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, has already embraced the Guardian bill, designating people
as pet guardians instead of owners. The terminology was mostly ceremonial until now. "I thought this would be a great first step to putting some
teeth in the resolution," said Councilman John Duran, who introduced the ban.
The city attorney will create a draft of the proposed ban and submit it
to the council within four weeks.
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UPDATE: San Francisco Residents Recognized as Animal Guardians
Animal rights activists are applauding San Francisco supervisors' final vote this week to change the term "pet owner'' to "pet owner-guardian"
in city documents. The vote makes San Francisco the seventh city in the
nation to codify animal guardian language, joining West Hollywood and
Berkeley, CA; Boulder, CO; Sherwood, AR; Amherst, MA; Menomonee Falls, WI; and the state of Rhode Island in setting this important precedent.
A growing number of people see animal "owner" as an outdated term that
does not reflect the human/animal bond that exists in our culture today.
For further information about the guardian campaign, visit:
http://idausa.org/guardian.html
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ACTION ALERT: MORE SUAREZ BEARS NEED YOUR HELP
I'm sure many of you remember last year's persistent campaigns led by several animal protection agencies on behalf of the polar bears known as the Suarez Six.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the polar bears from the Suarez Bros.Circus last November, citing multiple violations of federal law that included
maintaining wildlife in inhumane and unhealthful conditions, and transferred them to zoos.
Unfortunately, the black bears with the circus were not given the same
protection under U.S. federal law and have been left to languish in
small, filthy cages. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited the
circus for forcing the bears to live in conditions teeming with rodents, for
failure to provide veterinary care, and for repeatedly failing to properly
contain potentially dangerous animals.
The black bears are in Puerto Rico, and local authorities have
revoked the circus’s wildlife permit. Please send polite letters asking
officials to immediately confiscate the black bears. Contact:
Lic. Luis E. Rodriguez Rivera, Secretary
Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources
P.O. Box 9066600
San Juan, PR 00940-6600
Tel.: 1-787-723-3090
Fax: 1-787-723-4255
For sample letters visit:
It's also rumored that The Suarez Bros. Circus is making plans to
perform in Saint Lucia .
Please send polite letters urging Saint Lucia officials to refuse
to allow the Suarez Bros. Circus to take its black bears to the island.
His Excellency Dr. Kenny D. Anthony
Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
Prime Minister’s Office, 5th Fl., Greaham Louisy Administrative Bldg.
Waterfront, Castries
Saint Lucia, West Indies
Tel.: 1-758-468-2111
Fax: 1-758-453-7352
E-Mail: pmoffice@candw.lc
The Honorable Philip J. Pierre
Minister for Commerce, Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs
Ministry of Commerce, Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs
4th Fl., Heraldine Rock Bldg.
Waterfront, Castries
Saint Lucia, West Indies
Tel.: 1-758-468-4202
Fax: 1-758-451-6986
E-Mail: mitandt@candw.lc
The Honorable Senator Calixte George
Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry
Stanislaus James Bldg.
Waterfront, Castries
Saint Lucia, West Indies
Tel.: 1-758-468-4210
Fax: 1-758-453-6314
E-Mail: admin@candw.lc
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UPDATE: FEDERAL TUNA-DOLPHIN BILL IS S.130:
In the last Newsletter, we told you about a bill vowed to be introduced by
Senator Barbara Boxer to restore protection for dolphins after the Bush
Administration lowered the standards for the "dolphin-safe" label on
tuna. The Senator bill has been assigned a bill number: S. 130.
To read the text of S. 130, go to
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c108query.html
and type "S130" into the search
box.
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PET TIP: CHECK YOUR CAR FOR CATS
During the winter, outdoor cats and other animals sometimes choose to sleep under the hoods of cars where it is warmer. Before starting your car you
should bang loudly on the hood and wait a few seconds to give an animal a chance to escape.
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RECIPE OF THE WEEK: Caribbean Vegetable Stew
2 cups water
2 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped cabbage
3 cups diced sweet potatoes
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cups undrained canned tomatoes
2 cups fresh or frozen sliced okra
3 tbls. lime juice
2 tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
a handfull of chopped peanuts (optional)
a few sprigs of cilantro (optional)
salt to taste
Saute the onions on medium heat for 4 or 5 minutes.
Add the cabbage and the chile or cayenne and continue to saute,
stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 8 minutes.
Add grated ginger and the water, cover the pot, and bring to a boil.
Stir in the sweet potatoes, sprinkle with salt, and simmer for 5 or 6
minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender. Add the tomatoes, okra,
lime juice.
Simmer until all of the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
Stir in the cilantro and add more salt to taste.
Sprinkle the stew with chopped peanuts and top with a few sprigs
of cilantro, (optional)
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JOKE OF THE WEEK:
A man walked by a table in a hotel and noticed three men and a dog
playing cards. The dog was playing with extraordinary performance.
"This is a very smart dog," the man commented.
"Not so smart," said one of the players. "Every time he gets a good
hand he wags his tail."
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And that wraps up this week's Newsletter! I hope you are all enjoying it,
but if not please know that you can unsubscribe at any time. As always, I
welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. If you have a recipe, joke or
pet tip you would like to share with the community in the next newsletter please
let me know. Plus, I am always looking for fresh content for the
website.
Warmest Regards,
Tara
Tara@happypets.org
www.happypets.org