Wayne Pacelle: A Humane Nation

Sea Lions be Dammed

Our team is still bracing itself and documenting the seal hunt on the ground in Canada and conveying to the world the absolute horror of this archaic slaughter.

But even as we try to cope with the slaughter of baby seals in this nursery—a mass killing abetted by the government of Canada—we cannot relent in any of our other work. You count on us to keep hundreds of balls in the air, including on other pinniped issues. Last week, we filed a lawsuit to block plans by our own federal government to kill or capture over five years as many as 425 sea lions living near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, which divides Oregon from Washington.

The charge leveled against the sea lions is simple: fish-eating sea lions eat fish. It's hard to imagine that that's a capital crime, but there's been a long-standing concern about salmon runs and finger-pointing galore, even though the salmon run that sea lions feed on is expected to be up this year by 200 percent. The fish do indeed have a hard time navigating the giant dams built to harvest hydropower, and now the sea lions are asked to pay the ultimate price for our manipulations and degradations of the natural world.

My colleague John Balzar, The HSUS's senior vice president for communications, put the matter into perspective in a column in The Oregonian last week. Please take a moment to read it. John was the former Northwest bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, so he's familiar with natural resource conflicts in Oregon and Washington and has as keen an eye as any observer of the region.

Bearing Witness

Posted by Rebecca Aldworth

Today I saw defenseless baby seals slaughtered without mercy on Canada’s ice floes. It is with a very heavy heart that I write this, following eight unbearable hours of bearing witness to the slaughter. 

© The HSUS/Kathy Milani
A sealer, moments before clubbing a seal.

I understand why the Canadian government has fought so hard to stop us from observing the hunt this year… While the my government is busy telling the world that this year’s slaughter will somehow be more humane, we have proved today it is the same hunt we have always filmed.

This is my 10th year bearing witness to Canada’s commercial seal hunt, and nothing has changed—the killing is every bit as cruel as it has ever been. I did not see one sealer follow the supposedly new 3-step killing process, and many sealers failed to even check to see if seals were dead prior to impaling them on metal hooks and dragging them across the ice floes.

I watched helplessly from above as one by one, the seals were brutally clubbed, stabbed with hooks and dragged across the ice as they struggled. There are few words to describe how hard it was to see the same pups we filmed just days ago meet such a barbaric end.

© The HSUS/Marcus Gyger
Sealers drag a seal March 29.

Nigel Barker and his film crew were also at the hunt today. Nigel’s words capture so well all of our thoughts at the end of this terrible day. He said, “I witnessed with my own eyes, my own camera and my own video crew blatant violations of the rules and regulations by sealers. Several weeks ago, I documented the birth of the seal pups or ‘white coats,’ and, earlier this week, photographed the beautiful silver, speckled two-week-olds, and today the mass killing of every young seal in sight in the most brutal and barbaric fashion. I will never forget what I have seen and will never stop until it ends.”

But even as we filmed the killing of the seals, we thought of other deaths. Today’s tragedy of three sealers drowning—and one still missing—when their boat capsized in the hazardous ice was just another reason why Canada’s commercial seal hunt should be ended for good. Each year, sealing vessels are ruined by the treacherous ice, sealers are injured—and some even die. In many ways, the sealers are also victims of this brutal hunt.

We call on the Canadian government to immediately take action to end this needless slaughter through a generous sealing license retirement program. A sealing industry buyout would not only save the seals, but it could save the sealers too.

In the meantime, the European Commission holds in its power the ability to right an international wrong. By ending its trade in seal products, the EU can remove the financial incentive for these sealers to kill the pups. I can only hope that this year will be the last slaughter we will have to witness.

Unwanted Observers

Posted by Rebecca Aldworth

Once again, the Canadian government is doing everything in its power to block documentation of the commercial seal hunt. Today, as sealers maneuvered their vessels through the ice floes, searching out baby seals, our permitting nightmare continued. We received a call from fisheries officials at 10 a.m., informing us we would receive permits to observe the seal hunt for the day. However, two hours later as we waited in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office, we still had no permits in hand. As the weather worsened, it became clear our window of opportunity to document the hunt this afternoon was closing fast.

Today's frustrating series of events proves to independent media and parliamentarians just how desperate the Canadian government is to cover up the cruelty of this slaughter. In coming here, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International face seemingly insurmountable obstacles at times. From the efforts of the Canadian government to thwart observation, to the physical assaults by sealers on the ice floes, this is one of the most difficult events on Earth to film.

But we will be here as the hunt opens again tomorrow. Our cameras will show the world what happens when seal hunters are allowed to club, shoot, cut open, and skin hundreds of thousands of baby seals for their fur. Please stand with us as we release our first videos and photographs from the hunt tomorrow. Take a moment now to watch our video about what we're up against, and see how you can help us save the seals.

Talk Back: Sympathy for Seals

Readers have sounded off in the run-up to this year's Canadian seal hunt. Among the comments we've received:

Thank you, HSUS, for attempting to help create a seal watch industry. About 10 years ago, I had the privilege of traveling to the ice floes of Canada to see the mother seals and their pups, and it was the most beautiful, spectacular trip I have ever taken in my life. To be out on the ice, watching them interact with a backdrop of nothing but ice and sky, hearing them call to each other, was truly breathtaking. The only thing that ruined it for me was the knowledge that many of these same seals would die at the hands of sealers shortly after we returned home. I contacted many Canadian government officials at that time urging that they establish a seal watch industry rather than a seal slaughter industry. Hopefully The HSUS will be able to make this a reality now. Bless you HSUS for all that you do for animals; I am so proud to be a member and supporter. —Sharon Deming

I for one would gladly come to the ice floes of Eastern Canada to witness in awe the beauty of these beautiful seal pups. I have made it abundantly clear to the tourism department that until this slaughter is stopped, I will not spend one penny or set foot in the Maritime provinces. —Linda Simard

I would be the first in line to be able to watch the seals in their natural habitat. The slaughter has to end now; it is one of the most heartbreaking acts I have ever known. The only way I would ever visit Canada is if they would stop the slaughter of the seals. Thank you for everything you do for them and for standing up for these beautiful creatures. God bless all of you for all you do! —Brandi

I am completely appalled by seal slaughtering. My friends and I have boycotted restaurants that buy from Canada. I wish we could do more. I hope and pray that one day Canada will stop and provide seal watching instead. I would buy a ticket for that any day. Thank you HSUS for all your hard work. —Annette

My heart goes with everyone involved in documenting the seal pup slaughter. Hopefully with such a talented photographer on board, the images brought back will be compelling enough to wake the world up to what is going on up there. My stomach is in knots anticipating what will happen there soon. Be safe. And know that there are many of us wishing you only the best in your quest. —Lisa J.

I've been crying for the past hour since I found this site. I haven't been able to watch any of the videos as I know that will make me physically ill. It saddens me beyond belief to know that this type of "hunt" could be condoned by any civilized human—for any reason. It seems that only humans can take such beauty and innocence and completely defile it. —Jessica Edwards

No Cameras Permitted

I am heartsick about what's about to occur in Canada—the slaughter of baby seals that is set to start tomorrow. But I am grateful for the presence of Nigel Barker and my HSUS colleagues who are there to document what occurs and to broadcast the images to the world. And I am especially grateful that our community of animal protection supporters—now millions strong—is focused on the task of ending this slaughter and participating with us in a campaign to achieve that end.

I've asked Rebecca Aldworth, our director of Canadian wildlife issues and a native of a rural community in Newfoundland, to offer first-hand dispatches on my blog for the next few days. Here's her first report.

© Marcus Gyger
Rebecca, on a March 25 visit to the harp seal nursery.

Today brings unbelievable news.

Twelve sealing vessels have already left the Magdalen Islands, and many more are gearing up to go later today so they can be in position to kill baby seals when the hunt opens half an hour before dawn tomorrow. Yet at this time—less than 16 hours before the seal hunt will begin—the Canadian government is refusing to issue observation permits for tomorrow morning to anyone, including journalists.

They say that heavy ice is causing problems for the vessels, and they cannot guarantee the sealers will reach the seals by the time the hunt is opened. But as things stand right now, if the vessels do reach the seals—and there is a good chance they will—the hunt will go on without witnesses. Which is exactly what the Canadian government wants.

Observation of the commercial seal hunt is guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And in the 10 years I have documented this slaughter, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has never refused to issue permits based on the idea that sealers “might not be sealing.” From where we stand, this is yet another desperate attempt on behalf of the DFO to block observation and documentation of the commercial seal hunt.

© Marcus Gyger
Pups like this one are targets of Canada's seal hunt.

Notably, even as the DFO is refusing to allow observers to document the seal hunt, Canadian media is reporting that yet another delegation of sealing industry lobbyists have been sent to Europe by the Canadian government to try to ensure the EU does not ban the seal product trade.

The Canadian government has tried to tell the world the hunt is going to be more humane this year. The fact that they are already trying to stop journalists from filming it is a strong indication they know exactly how cruel this hunt will be.

To know that in just hours the pups we saw two days ago will be clubbed, shot, and skinned for their fur without witnesses is almost too much to bear.

Money Crunch Claims Pets

We at The HSUS have long argued that there's a link between the fortunes of animals and other pressing social issues. When someone abuses an animal, for instance, it is often a precursor to other forms of violence to come. Or if a downer cow is abused and funneled into the food supply, there is a greater threat to public health.

Well, the issue cuts in many ways. When people are in economic distress, or facing a financial loss, that often has repercussions for animals. Human and animal lives are entangled in our culture, and when there is crisis that affects one or the other, there's usually an impact to be felt elsewhere.

© The HSUS/Petros

We are seeing this principle at work right here in the United States with the foreclosure crisis. Facing financial crisis and foreclosure, families are being forced out of their homes. And pets are turning out to be the unexpected victims of poor financial planning and larger economic forces.

Feeling the financial squeeze, some families are trying to make ends meet by sacrificing pet care or by relinquishing or even abandoning their pets. USA Today featured a story about this yesterday, with Sharon Peters reporting that animal shelters in areas with high foreclosure rates are seeing an increase in relinquished and abandoned pets. While shelter-relinquished animals have a chance at finding a new home, other pets—those left abandoned in homes or apartments, or turned lose to fend for themselves—face a grimmer fate.

In response to the current crisis, and requests from the animal sheltering and rescue group community, we’ve launched the Foreclosure Pets Fund to provide grants to shelters, rescue/adoption groups, and animal care and control agencies to assist families in caring for their pets during these tough times. All of these agencies are feeling the squeeze. Our HSUS program was mentioned in yesterday’s USA Today story and, within minutes of reading about the fund, Pilot Travel Centers contributed a generous gift of $5,000. We hope others will add to the fund so we can provide even more support to shelters and rescue groups helping foreclosure victims and others who are in financial crisis. If you’d like to assist families and their pets during these trying times, consider a special contribution to the fund.

Members of Congress are taking action to help as well. Last week, Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), joined by HSUS staff, held a pet food drive for Delaware families affected by the crisis. We are also spreading the message that when a family loses their home, they must take responsibility for the animal. Animals are not chairs or desks to be left behind, nor are they objects to be casually relinquished. They are living beings, and we have a responsibility to care for them, even in times that may be challenging and difficult.

There are resources available on our website and many local programs to help find pet-friendly rental housing and low-cost pet care. Even when times may seem bleak, there must be alternatives to relinquishment and abandonment. We wouldn't do it to our kids, and we shouldn't do it to our companion animals.

Expressions of Affection

See a slideshow of the winning photos.

When we put out the call for our Spay Day USA pet photo contest, I knew the competition would be brisk. But who would have thought more than 30,000 entries would be sent through humanesociety.org! 

The grand prize winning photo beautifully captured the bond between a cat named Gomer and his human companion Gabriella Pyle. But it was no easy selection, and there were many other animals who could have readily claimed the first prize.

The photos and stories are sure to brighten your day, and each of them showcases the contest’s theme—how our pets enrich our lives. From the sleek white cat Wally who lifts his caretaker’s spirits, to the playful horse Bailey who produces laughs “each and every day,” to the noble Great Dane Zion, whose owner writes: “I suffer from anxiety and depression and Zion has helped me to calm down and have a reason to push through.”

Take a look—and enjoy. And if you didn't participate this year, be on the lookout for next year's competition.

Emergency Ready

Our Emergency Services team stands at the ready to respond to natural and human-made disasters. Last week's floods In the Midwest prompted us to sound the alarm bell. Here's a report from Missouri from Scotlund Haisley, our senior director of Emergency Services.

We were answering a call in southern Missouri wading in three feet of water and heard a faint meow. We made our way toward the sounds and found cats left on the porch and one deceased kitten. They hadn’t eaten for days, left abandoned to fend for themselves.

© The HSUS
A stranded horse is led out of the Missouri floodwaters. Support
our crisis response work with a gift to the Disaster Relief Fund.

It had rained and then rained some more. And the ground just wasn’t absorbing it fast enough. It wasn’t a tragedy at first but for that kitten it ended up that way. In all, 13 counties in Missouri needed help with animals. Those helped by us and other agencies included cattle, horses, cats, dogs, goats, chickens, and small pocket pets.

Several shelters had to be evacuated and the animals were able to be transferred to the Humane Society of Missouri. They had the resources and space to house the animals. And then I saw something that gave me hope. People were being sheltered with their pets. They realized that, in large part, they are in control of their destinies in disasters and that survival depends almost wholly on the efforts of individuals to be prepared.

By watching weather reports, having pet medicines, leashes, food, bottled water, and the same provisions for yourselves handy. By obeying evacuation orders and knowing that now pets can be taken along—thanks to the PETS Act of 2006 that mandates local communities have a plan to house pets in disasters. Many people died in Hurricane Katrina and the floods following because they didn’t want to leave pets behind.

Seeing your world buried in water is beyond what anyone should have to bear. But we were comforted by seeing that many of these people in Missouri last weekend had saved themselves and their pets. Their pets somehow steadied them, gave them something to focus on besides their own discomfort. They were caring for their companions and for a few moments in time, that seemed to be enough. We can’t control the weather or fate or whatever deity you believe may be out there. 

But starting over with your animal companion beside you, well, that’s a head start that many in Hurricane Katrina never had.

Youth Hunters an Endangered Species

As a child, I had an instinctive fascination with animals. I had all of our encyclopedias dog-eared to the animal entries, and I could name most of the world's major mammals by my early teens. As a young adult, one of the most memorable periods of my life was a four-month stint at Isle Royale National Park, a 210-square-mile archipelago in Lake Superior that was a home to moose, wolves, and foxes. As with almost all other U.S. national parks, sport hunting was strictly forbidden there, and you could actually get a glimpse of the animals because they were not particularly skittish. That experience solidified my view that humans had a place in nature, but it was to be a respectful and unobtrusive one.

© iStockphoto
Values toward wildlife are shifting.

But culture is a powerful influence—and we live in a diverse nation. When young people are taught to hunt by parents or grandparents, that's an influence that's hard to resist. Hunting is a rite of male passage in some families, and even some communities, and there's pressure to conform. And once people accustom themselves to the idea, they then develop a belief system to support that behavior.

I was reminded of this in reading a recent story in The New York Times about efforts in West Virginia to reverse the trend of kids not taking up hunting. One hunting advocate featured in the story said that when he was a kid he and his classmates would leave their rifles in the principal’s office so they could hunt squirrels and groundhogs just after the last bell rang.

The story focused on the efforts by industry and the state to pull kids back to the sport of hunting, because so many kids are interested in other recreational activities. The West Virginia legislature approved a bill to allow hunting education in schools—a controversial program even in a major hunting state given the rash of school shootings nationwide and the fear of guns in the hands of emotionally troubled young people. Even the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a newspaper in one of the biggest hunting states in the country with readership that crosses into West Virginia, said in an editorial, "If a social custom is in decline—an expression of free choice—then arguably it should be left to decline. The real loser here is the educational process, which surely has better things to do than teach hunting."

The hunting lobby and its allies in arms and ammunitions manufacturing are concerned about a future loss in profits, but it's a bit of a culture war they are fighting, too. They value hunting, and they think that kids should have experiences similar to their own. There's an ideological hue to their campaign—an attempt to validate their own upbringing and favored recreational pastimes. As such, the industry is pouring enormous resources into a nationwide campaign to eliminate minimum hunting ages for children.

© iStockphoto
HSUS programs teach respect for wildlife.

At The HSUS, we've always preferred that kids take a walking stick or field glasses into the woods rather than a weapon. For years, we’ve taught students how to respect their wild neighbors through materials like KIND News in K-6 classrooms, coloring books, and study and activity guides for middle- and high-school students. Last year, we took efforts to engage youth in helping animals a step further when we started our Mission: Humane program.

In the Shoot to Save Wildlife project, kids and teens head outdoors holding HSUS cameras to capture images of wildlife they encounter—from a pigeon on the ledge of an apartment building to geese grazing on a school campus. The photos are then used on flyers and posters as part of student-led public awareness campaigns about living peacefully with these animals. In all Mission: Humane projects, students are active in community service as they learn academics tied to National Education Standards.

At the end of the day, the hunting industry is going to have a tough time bucking the trend, despite its handsome investments and zeal. We are seeing the growth of animal protection, the increasing popularity of Animal Planet and other forms of popular entertainment that promote respect for animals and nature, and an expanded set of experiences that kids can tap into in a global communications era. This new social complexity will tempt the imagination of young people and make hunting seem a rather archaic pursuit, even in those communities where it has been such a strong tradition.

Cockfighters Left Squawking

Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cockfighters. That's the inescapable message sent during a rather remarkable week of enforcement activities throughout the nation against illegal animal fighters.

Within the last week, there were at least six major cockfighting busts, including a two-year investigation coordinated by federal authorities that netted more than 60 individuals in a cockfighting and narcotics ring spanning from southern Oregon to Puget Sound in Washington. Busts also occurred in California, Colorado, North Carolina, and Texas, where authorities arrested more than 200 people for illegal cockfighting.

© The HSUS/Guzy
A bird seized at a 2007 raid on a Virginia cockfighting pit.

But the biggest news was the comprehensive sweep in the Northwest, where authorities raided 28 separate sites, with more than 500 law enforcement personnel involved in this case during its course.

“This long investigation and the resulting indictments demonstrate the close relationship between cockfighting and drug-trafficking in the Pacific Northwest. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will vigorously enforce the Federal Animal Welfare Act and the gambling and narcotics statutes in punishing and deterring this criminal conduct,” stated U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut, whose office is leading the prosecution (you can watch Immergut's comments at a news conference here). More than 50 people have been charged under the federal statute that The HSUS helped to pass last year, making interstate transport of fighting animals or cockfighting implements a federal felony. The authors of the upgraded federal law—Reps. Elton Gallegly of California and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and John Ensign of Nevada—have to be pleased to see this law having such an effect, especially in their regions.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Inspector General—which did the crucial investigation on the Michael Vick case and which has worked diligently and seriously on animal fighting cases—coordinated the multi-agency operation. “As evidenced through this investigation, animal fighting can certainly develop into a large criminal enterprise,” said the Office of Inspector General's Special Agent-in-Charge James L. Mendenhall. “The OIG will continue to pursue substantive allegations of animal fighting, and will work in concert with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to that end.”

There is a subculture of lawlessness in the dogfighting and cockfighting world—with animal cruelty entangled with other criminal behavior. And it's not the good old days where law enforcement looked the other way, and where lawmakers set down measly penalties for animal fighting. The HSUS has been methodically strengthening state and federal laws against animal fighting—it's a federal felony, and a felony in the vast majority of states—and many in law enforcement, including the USDA Office of Inspector General, are taking their enforcement responsibility with the utmost seriousness.

The power of the state is being marshaled to crack down on animal fighting in America. That day is here. And the animal fighters must take heed, or face the consequences.

March 14: Four men from Minnesota were pulled over in Colorado, returning from California with 27 roosters in their vehicle. All roosters were seized and the four men arrested as these are believed to be fighting cocks.

March 14: Another cockfighting raid in California, this one in the Mira Loma area of Riverside County, led to the arrest of one person and the seizure of 113 live roosters, and the discovery of 7 dead roosters and a cockfighting pit.

March 15: The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina raided a cockfight, arrested 12 people and seized 12 live birds. Dead birds were found at the crime scene.

March 15: A major cockfighting raid in Navarro County, Texas led to the arrest of nearly 200 people. There were 300 roosters seized, along with $170,000 in cash. Again, there were dead birds at the crime scene. 

March 15: Federal, state, and local agents raided 28 different sites and broke up massive cockfighting rings that stretched from southern Oregon to the Puget Sound in Washington state. Authorities made 63 arrests, including charges under last year's upgraded federal animal fighting law. At least 700 roosters, $100,000 in cash and 50 guns were seized.

March 16: A cockfight was broken up in Madera County, Calif. About 50 people were present, and all but two escaped. Authorities found 30 birds, including 25 that were already dead.

Nim Chimpsky: Yes, that's right—Nim Chimpsky

It doesn't take an advanced degree to conclude that other animals, particularly mammals, have real smarts. But during the last 20 years, there's been a raft of publishing on the commonsense conclusion that animals think and are capable of sophisticated cognition.

When I first got involved in animal protection, I read the late Donald Griffin's book "Animal Thinking" (1985). Griffin's work was path-breaking and his collective works are an answer to the reductionist scientists who thought that all animal behavior was driven by evolutionary preprogramming.

It seems, more and more, that the debate is settled—and decidedly so in favor of our recognition of animal cognition. This month, National Geographic had a cover story about animal thinking. Animals solve problems, create and use tools, show cognitive complexity and flexibility, and retain memories. Dolphins, apes, and elephants have a sense of self, being able to recognize themselves in the mirror. Some animals can recognize individual faces and remember them longterm. There is even a dog in Austria who can recognize several hundred words of vocabulary.

And last month there was a biography published about Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was the subject of a language acquisition study in the 1970s.

Nim had been part of a famed experiment in interspecies communication at Columbia University, one that sought to teach American Sign Language to a chimpanzee to refute the linguist Noam Chomsky’s claim that language is exclusively a human trait.

Nim’s story represented an important chapter in the study of animal minds, but as Elizabeth Hess shows in "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human," it also had larger meaning in the world of animal protection and beyond.

Hess gives voice to many of the people who lived with Nim, took care of him, taught him and loved him. The bonds they formed were moving, and it’s clear that these relationships meant something to Nim, too, for he was a highly social creature.

From the vantage of 30 years, however, it’s fair to say that Project Nim was not a success, and that among its conclusions we can offer was the failure of certain of its principals to do right by Nim. All too often, he was at the mercy of human ego, envy, intrigue, and power struggles. Personal, scientific, and financial difficulties bogged the project down.

The book traces Nim’s uncertain path from the primate research center where he was born, to the Manhattan brownstone, Columbia University classroom, and New York suburban villa where he learned to sign, to the biomedical laboratory where he might have ended his life in a study of the hepatitis vaccine.

© The HSUS
Lulu, one of three chimps who live at
Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch.

That his story didn’t end there is largely the result of intervention by The Fund for Animals and Cleveland Amory, who ran a campaign to get Nim transferred back to the breeding facility of his birth, and then negotiated his transfer from his owner, the Oklahoma scientist William Lemmon. In 1983, Nim moved to Black Beauty Ranch, where he soon gained a new companion, Sally. In 1997, after Sally’s death, Black Beauty took in three more chimps in need of homes—Kitty, Lulu and Midge—and they became Nim’s companions. They’re still there, enjoying the great care of our dedicated staff.

I had a special interest in Nim because I saw him dozens of times at Black Beauty Ranch, where he lived until his death in 2000, struck down at the relatively young age of 26 by a coronary occlusion. It was a tragic death to those who worked with him and loved him. And there was a larger wrong, for Nim, who had been through so much and who deserved a chance to grow old at Black Beauty.

Even in death, however, Nim’s story remains important, for it raises big questions, questions about the general use of primates in biomedical and psychological research, questions about the captivity care of such animals, and questions about our larger duty to animals.

The HSUS is deeply engaged with these questions. Our Chimps Deserve Better campaign addresses the challenge of bringing the use of chimpanzees in biomedical research and testing to an end. Our Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, operated in partnership with The Fund for Animals and renamed in honor of its founder, cares for chimpanzees cast off by others. Our efforts on behalf of the Captive Primate Safety Act are designed to prevent the misfortunes that so often result when chimps and other primates are kept by private parties who lack the skills to properly care for them.

In all of these activities, I like to think, we’re extending Nim’s legacy.

Calendar of Compassion

If you are part of The HSUS, we want you to do more than just make regular donations. We want you to be a participant in a collective effort to achieve societal change for animals. That will only happen when we have a mass movement of people demanding political, corporate, and cultural reforms. More specifically, we want to you be involved as a political advocate, a humane consumer, and an ambassador of our ideals, spreading awareness about animal cruelty and urging others to join our movement.

One tremendous way to know that you are part of a larger movement, and also to build your awareness and your skills, is to attend and participate in some of our major events. The Humane Society of the United States conducts a series of events every year that engage and train thousands of people and recognize talented individuals for their work for animals. These events provide a variety of opportunities to join us, meet our staff, network with others who care about animals, celebrate the role of animals in our lives, and learn how to make an even bigger difference for animals. I hope you’ll make plans to join me at one of these extraordinary events in the coming months.

Upcoming Events

The Genesis Awards March 29 Animal Care Expo 2008 May 14-17 National Conference on Animals in Disaster June 3-6 Taking Action for Animals July 19-21 For more information about any of these events, email events@humanesociety.org.

The Genesis Awards
The Genesis Awards, held March 29 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, pays tribute to outstanding works in television, film, print and the arts for raising public understanding of animal issues. The star-studded ceremony draws representatives from the media, entertainment, social, business and humane communities and bestows awards by a host of celebrity presenters. The event is taped for broadcast to expose millions of viewers, and has a celebratory theme—showcasing people who use their talents to make change.

“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” the TV documentary “Planet in Peril,” and National Geographic magazine are among this year’s nominees. And Hayden Panettiere, star of NBC’s “Heroes,” will be honored with the Wyler Award (named after Genesis Awards founder Gretchen Wyler, who passed away last year) for drawing worldwide attention to Japan’s whale and dolphin slaughter. Tickets for the event, which start at $300, can still be purchased through next Monday, March 24.

Animal Care Expo 2008
The biggest animal protection conference in the nation, Animal Care Expo trains, empowers and motivates people who work in animal sheltering, care, control, and rescue. More than 1,500 professional animal workers and volunteers from coast to coast and six continents attend Expo annually in search of new ways to help animals in need.

This year’s conference will be held May 14-17 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World® Resort, Florida in Orlando. We’re offering 48 educational sessions on everything from improving pit bull adoptions to reuniting lost pets to implementing spay/neuter programs. I’ll be kicking off the event with a look at the state of animal protection, followed by keynote addresses from Patrick McDonnell, HSUS board member and creator of the Mutts® comic strip, and Berkeley Breathed, Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the Bloom County comic strip and author of the book “Flawed Dogs.”

National Conference on Animals in Disaster
Hurricane Katrina underscored the need for every community to have plans for animals in disaster. But The HSUS has been hosting the National Conference on Animals in Disaster long before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. The conference—held this year from June 3-6 in Sacramento, Calif.—is designed to improve future disaster preparedness and response. The event provides an invaluable opportunity to speak with leaders in the animal disaster response and planning community, learn how to become a National Disaster Animal Response Team (NDART) volunteer, and gain ideas for implementing disaster plans for animals in your own community.

Taking Action for Animals

© The HSUS
Network with other advocates at Taking Action for Animals.

Taking Action for Animals is an exciting educational conference designed to motivate, inform and inspire anyone who'd like to make a difference for animals. The annual event brings together seasoned animal activists, along with those just beginning their journey into the world of animal protection. You can learn the latest ideas and tactics from dozens of presenters on a range of issues, meet hundreds of other advocates, and leave with the tools you’ll need to take action back home.

This year’s conference will be held July 19-21 in Arlington, Va. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) will provide the keynote address, while the musical political satire group Capitol Steps and comedian Carol Leifer, writer for "Seinfeld,” "The Larry Sanders Show," and "Saturday Night Live,” will provide entertainment at the banquet dinner.

Please think about coming to these events, and recruit others to come. We know you won't be disappointed—and these events just might change your life.

To Farm Animals' Defense

The wheels of justice turn slowly, it’s said, but they still do turn. When The HSUS created its Animal Protection Litigation section in 2005 and brought on outstanding lawyers from all over the country to form what is now the nation's largest animal protection litigation program, we knew we were bringing a tremendously enhanced capability to interpreting and enforcing laws to protect animals. But we knew that we'd have to exhibit patience and persistence, and exhibit both a strategic and opportunistic approach in our legal work. We're now working on dozens of cases at any one time, and have racked up more than two dozen legal victories since 2005. Our recent lawsuit to keep sick and injured “downer” cattle out of the food supply may be getting the most attention right now, but recent pulses of action on two other major cases on our docket have been on my mind.

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For nearly four years, The HSUS and other groups have invested in a legal battle in New Jersey to stop the systemic mistreatment of farm animals in that state. The case is built upon the state Legislature's requirement, adopted in 1996, that the New Jersey Department of Agriculture develop "standards for the humane raising, keeping, care, treatment, marketing, and sale of domestic livestock." When the agency released its final regulations on the subject in June 2004, however, it specifically authorized many factory farming practices that are demonstrably cruel, declaring them "not inhumane," and sanctioning the very sorts of cruel confinement and deprivation that the New Jersey Legislature had sought to prevent.

Our argument, simply put, is that practices which are inhumane should not be endorsed simply because they are commonly employed by agribusiness interests. Confining calves raised for veal or breeding sows in enclosures so small they cannot even turn around is at odds with any commonsense notion of humane treatment. Colorado State University animal scientist and ethicist Bernie Rollin filed a “friend of the court” brief on our behalf in the case, and has aptly noted that "Common sense tells us that animals who are built to move need to move..."

The case was initially rejected by the lower courts, but our legal team kept at it, and in July of last year they convinced the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear the case. Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument from both sides, and a ruling is expected in the coming months.

The European Union is phasing out many of these cruel practices, and a number of states have recently taken action on HSUS-initiated reform efforts. Florida and Oregon have outlawed gestation crates, while Arizona has outlawed both gestation and veal crates. Last month, The HSUS and other groups submitted nearly 800,000 signatures in an effort to qualify an initiative petition for the November 2008 ballot to phase out the use of veal and gestation crates and battery cages. With major companies in different sectors of the food industry—including Smithfield Foods, Wolfgang Puck, and Compass Group—making major animal welfare pledges, the momentum is on the side of reform. New Jersey's Supreme Court Justices would not be breaking new ground by ruling in our favor, but affirming a basic principle of decency in the care of animals raised for food.

The fight to get the New Jersey case all the way to the state Supreme Court is a good reminder of the importance of perseverance in our work, and the need to apply all the tools at our disposal—education, media, legislation, litigation, and others—to secure the reforms that animals so badly need.

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Not every fight will go our way, at least not initially. We suffer setbacks now and then when our education efforts do not immediately spur the public and corporations to reform, when our legislative initiatives fall achingly short of passage, or when courts refuse to see the law our way. That was the case on March 5, when a lower court judge ruled against us in a case we filed to bring poultry within the modest humane protections of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. This was a disappointment, because we had survived a December 2005 motion to dismiss the case, and because of the nearly 10 billion chickens and turkeys slaughtered each year who stand to benefit from the case.

We filed this suit because we believe that poultry, representing 95 percent of the animals used for food in the United States, plainly belong in the class of animals covered by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Right now, 50 years after passage of the Act, these animals don’t have any protection under federal law—and that's just wrong. We'll persevere in the case, and press ahead in advancing this needed reform—going back to Congress if necessary to correct this gap in the interpretation of this law. With our political team and our litigation unit, backed by a powerful membership 10.5 million strong, we not only have the strength to press ahead, but also the determination never to relent.

Cat-alyzing Change

I had just graduated from college in 1987 when the legendary Cleveland Amory published "The Cat Who Came for Christmas," his now-classic tale of Polar Bear, the stray cat he got himself dirty rescuing from an alley one snowy night in New York City. About 18 months later, I found myself with the incredible opportunity to work for Cleveland and also Marian Probst at The Fund for Animals as their executive director. As our professional relationship and personal friendship developed, I also had the opportunity to get to know Polar Bear, who in short order would become one of the most famous and best-chronicled cats of the 20th century.

Even before writing the book, Cleveland had a special reputation as a lover and champion of cats. But the book's fabulous commercial success—a number one bestseller translated into more than 21 languages, and then the second and third installments in his trilogy, "The Cat and the Curmudgeon" and "The Best Cat Ever"—thrust Cleveland into the slot as the world's greatest advocate and defender of cats.

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Cleveland and Polar Bear are never far from my thoughts when it comes to HSUS work on cat issues, and I am mindful of the many lessons both taught me through the years. A survey of our membership several years ago revealed that 57 percent of our members have cats, and a recent estimate suggests that there are 88.3 million cats in American households. They are, numerically speaking, America's number one companion animal, and the people who love them and care for them are the heart and soul of this organization.

Today, nearly 10 years after Cleveland’s death, the most pressing issue in the feline welfare arena is the presence of countless millions of feral cats, the offspring of lost or abandoned household pets, or other feral cats who are not spayed or neutered. Fortunately, for the cats, there are a legion of self-sacrificing cat allies and advocates who help these creatures in need. These folks have been pioneers in the practice of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, where feral cats in specific communities are humanely managed, rather than trapped and killed. TNR is an idea whose time has come, and The HSUS strongly supports this active, humane management strategy.

Our March 2006 policy statement on TNR makes this support plain, but we’ve also made our commitment real by publishing works like Margaret R. Slater’s "Community Approaches to Feral Cats" and Bryan Kortis’ "Implementing a Community Trap-Neuter-Return Program," designed to help cat advocates succeed with TNR programs in their own communities.

As part of our collaboration with Neighborhood Cats, Bryan Kortis and The HSUS’s Nancy Peterson provide daylong training sessions for TNR advocates through Humane Society University. We’ve also provided financial support to Neighborhood Cats and other groups to advance their work on TNR.

I’m pleased to report, too, that at our Animal Care Expo in May, we’ll debut a new CD/DVD on how to run a good community-wide TNR program.

We are also working hard on SafeCats, a program designed to keep household cats safe and indoors (Cleveland wrote in "The Cat Who Came for Christmas" about how outdoor cats live a fifth as long as indoor cats), and on our general spay and neuter work focusing on feline overpopulation. The HSUS has also done its best to bridge the gap with individuals and organizations in the birding and wildlife rehabilitation community, who view cats as an exotic species predating upon birds and other native wildlife. We've argued that a two-pronged program that focuses on 1) people keeping their household cats indoors and 2) cat allies and humane organizations managing outdoor colonies through TNR offers the best opportunity for maximizing public participation and helping cats and wildlife.

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We’re not alone, of course, and I’m personally grateful to see Alley Cat Allies, Alley Cat Rescue, Neighborhood Cats, Best Friends, the ASPCA, and other groups working so hard on this front. A major challenge like this requires that kind of organizational unity, along with the contributions of literally thousands of volunteer cat advocates on the front lines in communities across the nation.

In many communities, feral cats are not welcome, and they’re sometimes demonized by public officials. This happened just the other day, in an Iowa town, where, unfortunately, The HSUS’s role and comments were misrepresented in a poorly edited story that was widely circulated. That situation has been resolved, with an offer of Trap-Neuter-Return assistance being accepted by the local government. But it reminds us that the issue is a challenge in communities throughout the nation. We need to do even more to defuse local controversies surrounding the presence of feral cats, and to address them humanely and responsibly. And we will. Cleveland Amory wouldn't have it any other way.

Talk Back: Focus on Farm Animals

Since the release of The HSUS's investigation into the abuse of downed dairy cows at a California slaughter plant, readers have been encouraged by the attention being paid to the treatment of animals raised for food. Among the comments we've received:

This is a huge step forward for animals! By exposing the inhumane treatment of these poor "food" animals, The HSUS has put the issue smack-dab in the public's face, where it belongs. People who consume animal products need to be educated on how these creatures are treated—and this is a start. With better information out there, people may start making more informed and humane choices. Keep up the great work, HSUS. —Joan McKenna Van Rijswijk

I am so happy to see that the cruelty that is so rampant in the meat industry has been brought to light. I read one of the most important books this summer called "Slaughterhouse." It was a turning point for me. Of course animals have been abused for years at the hands of slaughterhouses. The whole meat industry is so scary. These are living, breathing, feeling beings. Shame on those who are supposed to care for these animals, but turn a blind eye in the name of the all-mighty buck. I did not watch the video, but saw a small clip on the news, and it brought me to tears. I watch the transport trucks go by with their loads of animals, and I can't stand it. I hope that more of the meat industry takes notice. We are watching you, and we are not going to stand for this horrible treatment of animals. Thank you HSUS for the eye-opening investigation, and for going to bat for animals. —Becky

I have been working as a volunteer collecting signatures for the humane treatment of farm animals initiative in California. I just wanted to let the investigator know that since that video went public, I have had many people tell me that what they saw on TV was so shocking to them that they are willing to readily support whatever measures will help mistreated farm animals, including our initiative. In other words, your hard work has already helped us help other animals. Thank you so much. —Sujatha Ramakrishna

Bless you Wayne for staying with this issue. I am so glad that most of the national media has shown portions of the video to the public. As horrific as these scenes are, people need to see how these innocent animals are treated. I pray that everyone who watched will remember that video when they are grocery shopping or dining out. —Barbara

People who like to believe that animals are well-treated in slaughterhouses are now being forced to face the truth of what brutality can happen in these places. This underground investigation could be the beginning of a more compassionate approach to livestock with ripple effects felt all over the world. As an animal lover and vegan, thank you HSUS. —Nellie Hill

Most Americans live in ignorance of how their food is supplied to their local grocery store. Luckily, we have The HSUS to expose cruelty and abuses faced by innocent animals who feel pain the same way we do. To be honest, I am not a vegetarian but I am seriously considering it and making small changes daily to move to a more compassionate diet. The HSUS needs to continue to expose these abuses and cruelty to mainstream America via the media. The more they can get the message out, the more change can happen. We all need to wake up to the enormity of the sacrifice farm animals make for us on a daily basis. They deserve the respect and dignity to be slaughtered in a humane, pain-free fashion. —John

System Failure

Yesterday, Steve Mendell, the chief executive at Hallmark/Westland Meat Co., appeared before the House Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.). Mendell declined the committee's first request to testify, and appeared at this second hearing after receiving a subpoena from the committee.

In his written testimony, Mendell admitted that terrible animal cruelty occurred at his plant—and that it took The HSUS to uncover it. But he also wrote that no downer cows got into the food supply.

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HSUS video footage played a fundamental role in the hearing.

Chairman Stupak would have none of his denials. He directed committee staff to play two HSUS videos on the large screens at the hearing and asked Mendell, and the rest of the crowd, to watch. What followed were 10 minutes of hushed silence as the legislators, attendees and Mr. Mendell watched appalling animal abuse. Mendell had not taken the time to view the second video, even though it had been on our website for weeks.

After watching the videos, Mendell was forced to concede that his claims in his written testimony were false.

Mendell also claimed that the workers at the plant were required to do "extensive" training on humane handling. This was another Mendell obfuscation.

Our investigator received no legitimate training. The most extensive "training" he received was actually some coaching that workers lay down their tools of torment during the period when third-party auditors were coming to the plant the next day.

With training like this, God help the poor animals. This "training"—once the auditors completed their white-glove tour—did absolutely no good for the hapless animals.

According to the investigator, the tools used by the plant to mislead inspectors and auditors included posting signs at the unloading dock that electric prods were not allowed, even though prods were repeatedly used at the facility, and instructing employees not to use electric prods while auditors were present at the facility, but not otherwise limiting their use at other times.

As addendums to his written testimony, Mendell presented two recent third-party audit reports, and Hallmark not surprisingly passed with flying colors. Again, based on The HSUS's investigation—which everyone now concedes uncovered gross abuses of animals and the illegal slaughter of downer cows—these audits have as much value as the paper they are printed on.

So, here we have five USDA inspectors who found no problems. An "extensive" training program that did not stop some of the worst cruelties at a slaughter plant that this nation has ever seen. And third-party audits—from established firms in the field of slaughter plant auditing—that did nothing to sniff out abuses of power and animals or disrespect and disdain for the law.

The abuses at the plant only came to an end because of the HSUS investigation. The question now is, how many other plants with the same sort of USDA inspections, internal training, and outside audits have the same nonsense going on? If the hollow controls exhibited at Hallmark are an indicator of what's going on in the industry—and after all, it is the very same U.S. Department of Agriculture and the same auditing companies at work at slaughter plants throughout the nation—nobody can say for sure.

A Hand for Horses

In January I responded to a query from a reader who asked, when rehoming horses, what are the available humane alternatives to auctions and slaughter. I said that there is a growing nationwide horse rescue community that The HSUS is working to support and foster, both directly and through the Homes for Horses Coalition, which we helped to found. We continue to provide financial support to model horse rescues as well, with our most recent grant going to the Kentucky Equine Humane Center in Nicholasville, Ky.

And we are undertaking several other initiatives to improve the welfare and lives of equines in America.

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We have just gone to press with an exciting new book, "The Humane Society of the United States Complete Guide to Horse Care." The Guide will be available in early spring, and will be the cornerstone of our "Horses: Companions for Life" educational program, which will also provide informative articles, website stories, brochures, and classes on equine care and the responsibilities of horse ownership.

At our 2008 Animal Care Expo this May in Orlando, Fla. we will offer two equine welfare workshops for members of the animal care and sheltering community, including a presentation on the work of the Homes for Horses Coalition. Expo is a great conference and if you've never attended, you should think about doing so.

And planning has now begun for an HSUS Equine Cruelty Investigation training course for animal control and law enforcement officers. Too often a lack of familiarity with equine care and cruelty issues hinders these public servants from becoming effectively involved in the disposition of such cases. We want to help turn that tide by providing the crucial expertise needed for successful investigation of equine cruelty cases.

I'm happy to report that our equine protection efforts are being met with much enthusiasm and support by HSUS members and constituents. Among the biggest of our program supporters is Mari Hulman George, chairman of the board of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For the second time, Mari has donated special VIP packages to attend some of the most prestigious races the Speedway will hold in 2008—the Indianapolis 500, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and the Inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP. These packages are being auctioned on eBay through this Friday, March 14, and the proceeds directly aid our efforts to help at-risk horses. If you're a racing fan, a horse lover, or an HSUS supporter, take a look at these VIP packages—previous winners have raved about the experience.

I'll continue to keep you updated on our growing Equine Protection programs and new opportunities for you to help us help America's horses.

Taking it to the House

At The HSUS, there's never a dull moment. We are still intensely focused on