Animal Welfare Report, National Wildlife Week, Kat Von D, CNCO, YUMMY - Dog Meat, China Takes Step Against Dog Meat, Hobo K-9, J.A.K.’s Puppies, Forest Rangers Busted, #SaveGazaAnimals, Elijah Gatlin, Iowa Ag-Gag, Selling Baby Elephants, Breeding Giraffes for Entertainment, Exclusive interview with Dr. Amir Khalil & please join the New York City Bar Association's Animal Law Committee next week with regard to the Endangered Species Act Under the Trump Administration!
Forest Rangers of Rajaji Tiger Reserve Busted for Working With Poachers in Ethics Probe!
In a government shakedown, an internal investigation has exposed an underground crime syndicate of poachers in league with government forestry at Uttarakhand’s Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR) in India. Implicated in the probe were 11 forest department officials, including the park director himself who conspired with poachers to kill four of the park’s leopards and two of their extremely endangered tigers, along with pangolins and porcupines between December 2017 and March 2018. The final report names officials from the very highest levels down to the most junior positions of the massive tiger reserve.
The probe began after a lucky raid discovered the parts of missing park animals on March 22, 2018. After the animal parts were confirmed to be from protected animals on the reserve, an internal investigation was issued by the state’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) D V S Khati. At the end of the six-month probe lasting from June 8 to December 19, 2018, the overseeing investigator sought official permission to charge eleven park officials implicated in the crimes.
According to the official report, the gang of poachers and corrupt officials ran a ruthless campaign of intimidation against anyone with the capacity to expose their activities. When one park official who informed to government higher-ups caught wind of the plot, they falsely charged him with illegal fishing. The implicated officials were also accused of conspiring to release poachers from incarceration, tampering with evidence, fabricating evidence, and torturing witnesses with beatings and electrical shock.
Some of the named officials have already tried to flee, unsuccessfully. Others have tried to explain their actions by saying they only allowed poaching in areas plagued by animal attacks. Time will tell what happens to those implicated in the crimes, but everyone, human and cat, can rest easier knowing justice will be served.
On Thursday, Iowa passed an inhumane and unconstitutional law to ban undercover investigations that expose animal abuse. Politicians and Big Ag lobbyists sent a clear message to all Americans: They don’t want you to see the animal cruelty that occurs every day behind the closed doors of the state’s factory farms and slaughterhouses.
In Iowa, Mercy For Animals investigators have documented baby chicks ground up alive, mother pigs confined in tiny crates, and egg-laying hens locked in cages, among other sickening yet legal cruelties.
But Mercy For Animals isn’t giving up the fight. Animals need you to tell the Iowa Tourism Office that you won’t visit a state that covers up animal cruelty.
Although Iowa’s newest “ag-gag” bill passed at lightning speed, Mercy For Animals was quick to respond.
With only a few days to mobilize, we contacted more than a thousand Mercy For Animals supporters in Iowa and provided them with tools to contact their local representatives. We sent an official statement of opposition to Iowa politicians and called on our thousands of Hen Heroes volunteers to sound the alarm. Despite the public outcry, Iowa’s governor signed this legislation to ban undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses. If you care about animals and transparency in our food system, make your voice heard. Tell the Iowa Tourism Office that you won’t visit the state and spend your consumer dollars in Iowa as long as this horrible law is in place.
Along with other amazing activist groups, Mercy For Animals has been at the forefront in defeating ag-gag initiatives. With your support, we will continue to shine a light on animal cruelty, protect our investigators, and bring mercy to suffering animals.
China Takes Major Step in The Fight Against Dog Meat!
For better or worse, China is a culture steeped in history and tradition. As with every culture, some traditions are less enlightened than others, and the struggle between the moral and the traditional can be a long and strenuous fight indeed. This divide has become more and more pronounced in China with regards to its animal ethics practices. From the use of animals in traditional medicine to the dog meat trade, China, along with many other countries, has become more awake to animal rights issues than ever before.
The impact of animal rights activism in china can be seen most clearly in the crackdown on dog meat festivals, which prohibits the selling of the traditional festival meat. Just recently, the two major governing bodies in China, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC), put forward a legislative proposal that would classify dogs as companion animals.
The new classification gives them elevated status, which includes protection from abuse and cruelty. Most importantly, this change would grant them legal protection from being slaughtered for food. If ratified, the new legislation would, in effect, put an end to the centuries-long tradition, and be an enormous win for the country’s animal rights activists.
The measure has been met with immense praise by animal advocates, and will undoubtedly face challenges with government traditionalists. The Chinese government has taken an active role in animal and environmental leadership so far, and proponents of the new law believe this is the next step in China’s emergence as a moral, as well as economic world power.
Even if the measure is defeated, there would still be cause to hope. With such a far-reaching measure even being considered by the legislative body this time, the question becomes not whether China will outlaw dog meat, but when.
Pet Store in Iowa Busted For Pretending to be a Non-Profit Organization Selling ‘Rescue’ Dogs
Puppy mills are terrible places for dogs. They mass-produce dogs for profit with no regard to their health and wellbeing. The dogs are kept in small cages for breeding, becoming severely matted, covered in feces, and suffer from mange and deformities. With this information coming to light, animal activists and local governments have been cracking down on puppy mills.
Chicago has an ordinance in place since 2015 called the Companion Animal and Consumer Protection Ordinance, which makes selling non-rescued dogs, cats, and rabbits in stores illegal. Yet it was found last year that purebred and designer pets were being sold as ‘rescue’ pets in Chicago stores. Tim Miller, the Iowa Attorney General‘s office conducted a nine-month investigation recently and found that the dogs being supplied to such stores are coming from a common source: Hobo K-9, a non-profit dog rescue.
The problem with this, however, is that Hobo K-9 was started by J.A.K.’s Puppies, a for-profit corporation that sells purebred and designer mix dogs. Even more suspiciously, both the non-profit organization and for-profit business operate out of the same storefront. All J.A.K.’s puppies are sold to suburban pet stores at 61 days old. Between January 2015 and November 2017, 71 percent of the dogs sold were purebred and 29 percent were designer mixes.
Similarly, between September 2016 and December 2017, Hobo K-9 exported 73 percent pure bred and 27 percent designer mix puppies to rescues labeled Pet Luv Pet. These puppies were also all younger than 16 weeks old, which is extremely rare in dog rescue work. But wait, there’s even more suspicious activity here—J.A.K.’s puppies wrote several large checks to Hobo K-9, which is why the report filed by the Attorney General’s office states, “it appears they must claim to ‘rescue’ puppies from themselves — or from the for-profit puppy mill industry in which they participate.”
Rescue work is exhausting, heartbreaking, and difficult. The work done by organizations dedicated to saving the lives of rescue dogs is not to be underestimated or taken lightly. Only time will tell if J.A.K.’s puppies will be shut down, but there certainly have to be consequences and more ways to prevent puppy mills from manipulating dog lovers and twisting the narrative of hard-working rescue organizations.
Call
Out Judge Who Failed to Deliver Justice for Massacred Dogs. A
Mississippi man who boasted about gunning down four defenseless dogs has been
handed the ridiculous sentence of only thirty days in the county jail. We must
call out this judge who failed to deliver justice for the innocent victims of
this cold-hearted killer and ask that she give out maximum sentences for animal
abuse in the future. TAKE
ACTION
Support
Nomination to Protect Wild Horses and Burros! The
lives of wild horses and burros continue to be at risk! The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) is seeking nominations for three positions on its National Wild
Horse and Burro Advisory Board. Ginger Kathrens has reapplied for the “Humane
Advocacy” position, which she has held for the past three years. We must support
her nomination to save wild horses and burros from wholesale
slaughter! TAKE
ACTION
VIDEO:
National Wildlife Week: Endangered Red Wolves. Don't
let the interests of wild animals be misrepresented by pseudo-advocacy groups
which claim to help them, but in actuality actively advocate killing them. Make
National Wildlife Week a true week for the interests of wild animals such as the
red wolf. Due to intense predator control programs, hunting, and habitat loss,
over 99% of red wolves' range has been lost. Now, approximately 40 wild red
wolves can be found in eastern North Carolina, and 200 red wolves are held at
captive breeding facilities across the United States. Commit to making animal
and eco-friendly choices to protect these endangered species so they may thrive
in the future. SEE
VIDEO
Vegan
Product "JUST Egg 2.0" Saves Over 20,000 Animals! Famous
for its cookie doughs and plant-based mayonnaises, the JUST brand is set to
launch a tasty and convenient liquid "egg" product (made from mung beans)
nationwide in grocery chains, Sprouts Farmers Market this March, and Whole Foods
this April. READ
MORE
Selling
Baby Elephants is a Conservation Scam. Thirty-five
infant and juvenile elephants have been torn from their mothers and families in
Zimbabwe and are now in transit to zoos in China. As for the profit from these
stolen lives? It will go to fund sham conservation. READ
MORE
This panel, featuring Animal Legal Defense Fund Staff Attorney Daniel Waltz, will cover key regulatory and legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act under the Trump Administration including: new standards and rules, removal of species from protection, reduction of funding for certain initiatives, trophy hunting, and ivory trade.
The probe began after a lucky raid discovered the parts of missing park animals on March 22, 2018. After the animal parts were confirmed to be from protected animals on the reserve, an internal investigation was issued by the state’s principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) D V S Khati. At the end of the six-month probe lasting from June 8 to December 19, 2018, the overseeing investigator sought official permission to charge eleven park officials implicated in the crimes.
According to the official report, the gang of poachers and corrupt officials ran a ruthless campaign of intimidation against anyone with the capacity to expose their activities. When one park official who informed to government higher-ups caught wind of the plot, they falsely charged him with illegal fishing. The implicated officials were also accused of conspiring to release poachers from incarceration, tampering with evidence, fabricating evidence, and torturing witnesses with beatings and electrical shock.
Some of the named officials have already tried to flee, unsuccessfully. Others have tried to explain their actions by saying they only allowed poaching in areas plagued by animal attacks. Time will tell what happens to those implicated in the crimes, but everyone, human and cat, can rest easier knowing justice will be served.
On Thursday, Iowa passed an inhumane and unconstitutional law to ban undercover investigations that expose animal abuse. Politicians and Big Ag lobbyists sent a clear message to all Americans: They don’t want you to see the animal cruelty that occurs every day behind the closed doors of the state’s factory farms and slaughterhouses.
But Mercy For Animals isn’t giving up the fight. Animals need you to tell the Iowa Tourism Office that you won’t visit a state that covers up animal cruelty.
Although Iowa’s newest “ag-gag” bill passed at lightning speed, Mercy For Animals was quick to respond.
With only a few days to mobilize, we contacted more than a thousand Mercy For Animals supporters in Iowa and provided them with tools to contact their local representatives. We sent an official statement of opposition to Iowa politicians and called on our thousands of Hen Heroes volunteers to sound the alarm. Despite the public outcry, Iowa’s governor signed this legislation to ban undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses. If you care about animals and transparency in our food system, make your voice heard. Tell the Iowa Tourism Office that you won’t visit the state and spend your consumer dollars in Iowa as long as this horrible law is in place.
Along with other amazing activist groups, Mercy For Animals has been at the forefront in defeating ag-gag initiatives. With your support, we will continue to shine a light on animal cruelty, protect our investigators, and bring mercy to suffering animals.
China Takes Major Step in The Fight Against Dog Meat!
The impact of animal rights activism in china can be seen most clearly in the crackdown on dog meat festivals, which prohibits the selling of the traditional festival meat. Just recently, the two major governing bodies in China, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC), put forward a legislative proposal that would classify dogs as companion animals.
The new classification gives them elevated status, which includes protection from abuse and cruelty. Most importantly, this change would grant them legal protection from being slaughtered for food. If ratified, the new legislation would, in effect, put an end to the centuries-long tradition, and be an enormous win for the country’s animal rights activists.
The measure has been met with immense praise by animal advocates, and will undoubtedly face challenges with government traditionalists. The Chinese government has taken an active role in animal and environmental leadership so far, and proponents of the new law believe this is the next step in China’s emergence as a moral, as well as economic world power.
Even if the measure is defeated, there would still be cause to hope. With such a far-reaching measure even being considered by the legislative body this time, the question becomes not whether China will outlaw dog meat, but when.
Pet Store in Iowa Busted For Pretending to be a Non-Profit Organization Selling ‘Rescue’ Dogs
Chicago has an ordinance in place since 2015 called the Companion Animal and Consumer Protection Ordinance, which makes selling non-rescued dogs, cats, and rabbits in stores illegal. Yet it was found last year that purebred and designer pets were being sold as ‘rescue’ pets in Chicago stores. Tim Miller, the Iowa Attorney General‘s office conducted a nine-month investigation recently and found that the dogs being supplied to such stores are coming from a common source: Hobo K-9, a non-profit dog rescue.
The problem with this, however, is that Hobo K-9 was started by J.A.K.’s Puppies, a for-profit corporation that sells purebred and designer mix dogs. Even more suspiciously, both the non-profit organization and for-profit business operate out of the same storefront. All J.A.K.’s puppies are sold to suburban pet stores at 61 days old. Between January 2015 and November 2017, 71 percent of the dogs sold were purebred and 29 percent were designer mixes.
Similarly, between September 2016 and December 2017, Hobo K-9 exported 73 percent pure bred and 27 percent designer mix puppies to rescues labeled Pet Luv Pet. These puppies were also all younger than 16 weeks old, which is extremely rare in dog rescue work. But wait, there’s even more suspicious activity here—J.A.K.’s puppies wrote several large checks to Hobo K-9, which is why the report filed by the Attorney General’s office states, “it appears they must claim to ‘rescue’ puppies from themselves — or from the for-profit puppy mill industry in which they participate.”
We just learned that seven wolves were killed in the remote northern Lolo region
of the state. The killings are intended to boost elk numbers so that hunters
will have more elk to shoot.
This
is just another example of the deadly risks to wolves when they lose federal
Endangered Species Act protection.
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The
Interior Department is moving forward with a plan to strip gray wolves of all
protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
As
their latest and most heinous attack on our nation’s wildlife, this is nothing
short of a death sentence for countless wolves.
We’ve seen what happens when premature delisting leaves wolves to the mercy of
anti-wolf politics and politicians that are unwilling to protect them. In
Northern Rockies states such as Wyoming and Idaho, thousands of wolves have been
killed since losing ESA protections.
If
this disastrous plan goes forward, decades of hard-won wolf conservation
progress could be destroyed, and the future of gray wolf recovery would once
again be in jeopardy. Defenders
of Wildlife will do whatever it takes to keep this from happening, but we
urgently need your help.
It’s
not too late to stop this despicable proposal. Defenders is ready to fight back
for wolves:
Wolves
are counting on you to stand up for their continued protection, and to speak out
against a delisting that could halt or even reverse decades of progress.
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Take Action to Help Save Animals All Over the World Right From Your Phone. Be a part of the next victory for animals by taking action on urgent alerts using PETA's free iPhone app. Help win more victories!
Vital conservation programs that protect tigers, elephants, rhinos, and countless other species need your help. Many of these species are already on the edge of extinction and U.S. government programs that help conserve wildlife are under threat from the budget proposal released by the Administration this week.
Please join the New York City Bar Association's Animal Law Committee for Endangered Species Act Under the Trump Administration.
When: March 28, 2019 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Where: New York City Bar Association
42 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036
Don Lichterman
Sunset Corporation of America (SCA)
Sustainable Action Network (SAN)