IDA E-news - 4/27/05

Table of Contents:
1. IDA's May 2005 Auction for the Animals
2. Public Service Announcements From IDA
3. Encounter with Hikers Endangers Mountain Lions
4. Bring Kei the Wolf Home
5. Bear Bile Harvesting: Caged Cruelty
6. Big Game Hunters Make a Financial Killing by Donating "Trophies"

1. IDA's May 2005 Auction for the Animals

Support IDA's mission to defend the rights, welfare and habitats of animals during IDA's Auction for the Animals on eBay. The auction gives you the opportunity to help IDA help animals while having fun bidding on a wide selection of over 250 elegant, exciting and unique items valued at more than $45,000 that have been donated to IDA for this very special online fundraising event. Auction items include fantastic travel and accommodation packages, special celebrity memorabilia, and tickets for great entertainment and sporting events.

Beginning on May 1, you can view the auction items on http://www.ebay.com/ida . Once you find an item that you like, click on the link to view its description, the current bid price, and how much time is left until the bidding ends. Place your bid and keep an eye on it to make sure that, by the time the bidding ends, it's YOURS. The auction will run in three waves, one wave per week, with new items being added May 1st, 8th and 15th. Visit http://auction.idausa.org for more details.

We are still accepting donated items to sell during the auction, so if you have an item that you would like to contribute, please contact Nicole Otoupalik at (800) 338-4451. All donations are tax deductible. If you already sell on eBay, now is a great time to designate 10-100% of your own auction proceeds to IDA by registering at http://www.missionfish.org/, the partner of eBay Giving Works.


2. Public Service Announcements From IDA

IDA has produced many powerful public service announcements (PSAs) that bring a message of compassion for animals to television audiences nationwide. In our latest 30-second PSA, champion vegan bodybuilder and IDA Spokesperson Kenneth G. Williams urges compassion for animals while a short video montage shows how cows, pigs and chickens suffer on factory farms. The PSA will also be part of a DVD compilation co-produced by IDA and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). You can view the PSA at http://www.idausa.org/kgw_frame.html .

IDA also has PSAs about adopting and saving animals and one about caged birds (featuring poet Maya Angelou). With World Week for Animals In Laboratories (WWAIL) happening this week, now is a great time to order our vivisection PSA (featuring primatologist Jane Goodall) to air on your local network affiliate, public access station, or college campus bandwidth. Or you can order a copy to play on a portable TV during demonstrations. All of our PSAs are available in both VHS and DVD format. Contact alicia [at] idausa.org to order yours today.


3. Encounter with Hikers Endangers Mountain Lions

A family hiking in Tenaja Falls, Calif. came upon some unexpected residents of the forest recently when they spotted a couple of mountain lions. The hikers took the right actions to avoid a confrontation by waving their arms, shouting and moving slowly away, and were not attacked.

Many times, when humans do come into contact with mountain lions, it is the mountain lions who face the greater danger. Authorities often overreact to their presence by hunting them down and killing them in the name of preserving public safety. However, there is no reason to do this because mountain lions will not harm people as long as hikers know the correct way to respond. All public areas where mountain lions live are clearly marked, so people can be prepared ahead of time for a rare meeting with these animals. Right now, it is important that we let the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Game know that they must not kill the mountain lions simply because they met some humans. Mountain lions are an important part of the regional ecosystem, and have an intrinsic right to live in their natural habitat.

What You Can Do

If you live in California, please call Wildlife, Fish and Game Public Relations officer Lorna Bernard at (916) 653-0991 to politely let her know that these mountain lions should be left alone, and that Californians want wildlife to be protected, not killed.


4. Bring Kei the Wolf Home

Kei, a North American Timber Wolf, lives alone in a barren concrete enclosure at the Okinawa Children's Zoo in Japan. She was brought there in 1992, when she was less than four months old, and has lived a lonely, solitary life ever since. Unlike other wolves who live in packs, Kei never experiences the joys of companionship and belonging. When not eating or sleeping, she paces her enclosure in boredom, her natural need to explore wide-open spaces constantly frustrated.

Fortunately, there is still hope for Kei. The Rocky Mountains Wolf Sanctuary has agreed to take care of Kei if the Zoo will relinquish her, and a campaign is underway to convince them that it is in Kei's best interest to live out the remainder of her life a natural habitat with other wolves. Please use your voice to help Kei return to where she belongs.

What You Can Do

Visit http://www.keithewolf.com/action.htm to learn about the many ways that you can help bring Kei home, including signing the petition, sending her a belated birthday card, and writing polite letters to Japanese officials urging them to do what is best for Kei. Here's a poem by 15-year-old Sam McCreesh to inspire you to action:
One day Kei will return home and her misery will be ended
Until then we will fight for her release - will you?
One thing's certain - we won't give up until things are mended
Please spare some time in your life to help Kei too


5. Bear Bile Harvesting: Caged Cruelty

Why are thousands of bears in China, Korea and Vietnam kept in small cages with crude metal devices implanted in their stomachs? So the bile can be milked from their gallbladders and made into medicine. Briton Jill Robinson found this out firsthand when she strayed from her tour group's field trip to a Chinese bear bile farm. The shock and horror she felt when she saw dozens of bears crowded into cages in a dark basement compelled her to take action, so she founded Animals Asia and started a sanctuary for bears rescued from bile farms.

Animals Asia's campaign to shut down bear bile farms has been enormously successful. The Chinese Government has closed more than 40 bear farms since 2000, and released 185 bears to Robinson's care. The bears come to Animal Asia's sanctuary malnourished and terrified with infected wounds, but most recover after a few months of intensive veterinary attention and rehabilitation.

Even though herbal and synthetic remedies are just as effective and far less expensive than traditional medicines made from bear bile, demand remains high for this cruel product. Bear bile medicines fetch the highest prices in Asia, but are also illegally sold in some U.S. cities with large Asian populations.

What You Can Do

1. Learn more about this issue by reading two articles that recently appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle:
- "State battles lucrative bear bile trade": http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/25/MNG9ACEIJF1.DTL
- "Freeing China's caged bile bears
Animal activists aim to curtail trade in traditional remedy": http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/25/MNGFECEIVO1.DTL

2. Visit Animals Asia's website (http://www.animalsasia.org/index.php?module=2&lg=en) to find out how you can hasten the bear bile industry's decline and support Animal Asia's work with rescued bears.


6. Big Game Hunters Make a Financial Killing by Donating "Trophies"

Did you know that hunters can claim huge tax deductions for killing rare animals if they donate the stuffed and preserved corpses to non-profit organizations, such as museums, for "educational" purposes? It's true. When hunters write the value of these "trophies" off on their taxes, American taxpayers are actually paying them to kill animals on safaris and expeditions. Such subsidies actually give wealthy hunters a strong incentive to kill the largest, fittest and rarest animals because they are worth the most money. On top of this, trophy animals are often deliberately appraised at many times their actual market value, allowing hunters to claim a much larger deduction than allowed by law.

Over the years, thousands of dead animals collectively valued at millions of dollars have been donated to non-profits, yet few even seem to be on display "educating" the public. Noticing this, the Senate Finance Committee recently held a hearing on the subject. Its chairman, Charles E.Grassley (R-Iowa), says, "The phoniness of this kind of donation calls out for congressional action," and added that this tax loophole is "in the Finance Committee's cross hairs." Click here (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7385621/) to read an article on the controversy.


Socially Responsible Shopping in Support of IDA

The Vegetarian Site promotes veganism and animal rights by supporting a different non-profit each month, and IDA will be their charitable beneficiary throughout the month of May. This means that IDA will receive 10% of all of their sales for the entire month of May.

All of the products offered by The Vegetarian Site are vegan and made by socially responsible brands. They offer a wide variety of men and women’s vegan shoes, books, videos/DVDs, personal care products, clothing, belts and accessories. They sell their wares at comparably low prices, and feature a great number of sale items as well.

Please visit their online store at http://www.thevegetariansite.com/cgi-bin/miva?Merchant2/merchant.mv to shop in support of IDA during the month of May.

Help Someone Kick the Meat Habit with FARM's Meatout Monday Newsletter

If you know someone who says they'd like to cut meat out of their diet but thinks it's too hard, then tell them about Meatout Mondays, a free weekly e-newsletter designed to help those who don't want to quit "cold turkey" kick the meat habit one day at a time - starting with Mondays! Easy and fun to read, Meatout Mondays encourages individuals to make changes at a pace that is comfortable for them, and is an excellent tool for introducing vegetarianism to anyone.

Every week, Meatout Mondays includes tasty vegan recipes, new product and book reviews, important health information, and inspirational stories of people who have changed their lives for the better by cutting animal products from their diets. The latest Meatout Mondays tells the inspirational story of Howard Lyman's conversion from fourth-generation cattle rancher to vegan advocate extraordinaire. Click here (http://www.meatoutmondays.org/05-04-25.htm) to read the most recent issue.

Please visit http://www.meatoutmondays.org to review past issues and to subscribe your friends and family members. Meatout Mondays is a free e-newsletter, and individuals can easily unsubscribe at any time.