Six petitions, please take action; some only for US friends

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1. Please click HERE to help protect wild horses and burros

2. Please click HERE to speak out about maltreatment at UCSF

3. Please click HERE to urge USDA to pull license of cruel roadside zoo

4. Please click HERE to help stop bullfighting

5. Please click HERE to end elephant tourism in Thailand

6. Please sign HERE to make donkey roping illegal

1. Background | IDA

The Senate recently confirmed Sally Jewell as the next Secretary of the Interior. This could be a positive change from her predecessor, Ken Salazar, who failed to deliver on his promise to reform the federal wild horse and burro program. Salazar, a rancher, defended other ranchers to the detriment of wild horses and burros.

During Salazar’s tenure, the Bureau of Land Management removed more than 35,000 wild horses from public lands. Jewell is known as an outdoor enthusiast and conservationist and IDA is hopeful that her appointment will be good news for wild horses and burros, but she needs to hear how important this issue is to you.

Jewell has already pledged to “pursue effective and ecologically sustainable policies” for management of America’s wild horses and burros. Please take a moment to urge her to keep that promise!

2. Background | IDA

The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) has a long-standing and shameful record of animal neglect and mistreatment at its animal labs.  Despite the $92,500 they were fined in 2005 by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture to settle violations of the Animal Welfare Act, more than 100 additional violations of federal animal welfare laws and guidelines have recently been exposed.

These involved the agonizing fate of a female monkey who, apart from her multiple invasive brain surgeries in a Parkinson’s study, suffered further extreme distress due to painful complications from a piece of plastic acrylic left in her head for two years.  Another monkey was subjected to multiple invasive brain surgeries and was deliberately deprived of food so that he would perform tasks while locked in a restraint chair. He lost 25 percent of his body weight. In another horrific incident, experimenters placed live newborn mice inside a freezer meant for dead animals.

UCSF’s animal abuse must not go ignored and they must be held accountable.

3. Background | PETA

Following a lawsuit brought by two local citizens—with the support of PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund—Jambbas Ranch, a squalid roadside zoo in North Carolina, has been found to be in violation of state cruelty-to-animals laws. The court found that Jambbas’ treatment of Ben, a bear Jambbas kept confined to a tiny, barren pen made of concrete and chain-link fencing, caused him to suffer in violation of North Carolina law. The court also noted that Jambbas even failed to meet Ben’s most basic veterinary, dietary, and environmental needs.

Fortunately, Ben has been given a chance at a new life at the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary in California, where he is thriving in a vast natural habitat—one that is measured in acres, not feet and inches. He can now splash in his very own pool, rub his back on trees, and sleep soundly in a large straw nest or under oak trees.

But hundreds of animals are still languishing at Jambbas. In fact, inspectors routinely find animals in dire need of veterinary care at Jambbas—and sometimes even dead animals. And despite the cruel conditions that caused Ben to suffer in violation of state law, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to renew Jambbas’ Animal Welfare Act (AWA) license year after year. Enough is enough. The USDA must take action. Now that Jambbas has been found to be in violation of cruelty laws, the USDA has no excuse. The AWA gives the agency clear authority to revoke a license when there are violations of cruelty laws, and it must act on that authority immediately.

Please take a moment now to join PETA in politely urging USDA officials to revoke Jambbas’ license immediately, before even more animals suffer.

4. Background | PETA

Bullfighting is shameful, violent animal abuse dressed up as “sport.” Yet, despite growing condemnation of this cruel tradition, the Spanish government is currently considering whether or not to recommend that bullfighting be protected as a national cultural pastime.

Such a move would be a huge step backward and could provide the legal basis for overruling existing bans on bullfighting in Catalonia and the Canary Islands. Bullfighting has been on the decline for years, with attendance decreasing and bullrings closing across the country as more and more people put animal welfare first. Seventy-six percent of Spaniards say that they have no interest in this barbaric ritual, and the industry survives only because of huge subsidies.

Spain is a country rich in history, architecture, cinema, art, and culture. We need to let authorities know that protecting bullfighting will damage Spain’s reputation and can only have a negative impact on the tourism industry, which is so important to the country’s economy.

Please write to Spain’s ambassador to the U.S. and ask him to oppose protection for bullfighting. The government’s decision is imminent, so take action today!

5. Background | Force Change

Target: Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Goal: Protect the endangered Asian elephant by prohibiting the illegal smuggling of Burmese elephants into Thailand.

A recent film by the Ecologist Film Unit exposing the violent and illegal trade of endangered Asian elephants from Burma to Thailand raises the need to act now to save these animals from a life in brutal captivity and likely death. After viewing the film here please sign the petition below asking the Thai government to enforce the law on illegal elephant smuggling. At least 100 elephants, mostly calves, are taken from Burmese forests and traded illegally to supply Thai elephant tourist camps. The journey for the calves and their families is horrific. For every calf taken, approximately five elephants in its family group are shot. The calves then undergo a ritual known as the phajaan, where the calves are tied up, starved, and beaten until a fear of humans is deeply ingrained in them. It is estimated that only one in three elephants survives this torture. Those that do, are than smuggled into Thailand.

The elephants that reach Thailand are subjected to living in captivity, often having their pictures taken with tourists none the wiser to what they have endured. The Thai tourism industry is doing very well and fueling the demand for elephants. A baby elephant can fetch anywhere from $21,000 to $31,000. When traveling toThailand, it is not advised to boycott the camps, as this would lessen the monies available to care for the elephants, but to report suspicious operations. Action needs to be taken at the government level for true change to occur.

Traditionally, attention has been given to the African elephant sought after for its ivory tusks. However, the Asian elephant population is in critical danger. Already listed as endangered, it is estimated that there are 25,000 to 35,000 left in the wild, far fewer than those in Africa. Burma’s population is second only to India with approximately 5,000 elephants. If trade continues as it is, the population could be decimated within ten years.

By signing this petition you are urging the Thai government to tighten and enforce laws against illegal smuggling of elephants into Thailand.

6. Background | Change

Donkey roping is torture. Not only does it inflict serious damage to donkeys physically, but also causes mental trauma. Physical damage includes rope burns to the legs and neck, crushed tracheae, broken legs, and death. Donkeys often become difficult to handle and extremely fearful of people after being roped. This terrible practice needs to be stopped in Texas. The only way to do that is to show the support of the people to stop it!

once upon a planet so blue,
the sun shone brightly,
her job to do.
then darkness fell,
the sun did what she can,
but she was helpless against
the cruelties of man.
so help her find her shining rays,
and show the world
a better way.

Karen Lyons Kalmenson