Factory Farming in the News

The NY Times today has an interesting article about Dairy Farming titled "Even Dairy Farming Has a 1 Percent" [drawing by Adam Davidson].

It made me think a bit about how Animal Issues are tied into so many other socio-political issues that directly impact animals AND humans. Check it out and let me know your thoughts:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/magazine/dairy-farming-economy-adam-davidson.html?_r=1&ref=magazine

Farm Sanctuary President Gene Baur to Speak at NYC Bar

Gene Baur is going be speaking at the
NYC Bar on March 15th at 6:30pm.

Who's Gene Baur? Check him out here: http://farmsanctuary.org/index.html


It's a free event and a great way to get to meet attorneys in
NYC who are interest in Animal Law and related issues!

Hope to see you there!

Emily Lawson

The Struggle of Sled Dogs

Hello everyone!

I hope the new year and semester finds you well! I wanted to post about this particularly heated issue surrounding the Iditarod race. If you don't know what the Iditarod is, its a 1161 mile sled race across Alaska. It has been held for the past 38 years Each sled is pulled by 16 dogs. There are frequent blizzards, causing white out conditions, and temperatures are known to drop as low as -100 degrees F. It is the most popular sporting event in Alaska, and the racers are generally considered some of the biggest sport celebrities in the State.





As this is the New York Law School Student Animal Legal Defense Fund blog, I hardly need to tell you that I am particularly opposed to this race. Any sport, in my very personal opinion, that involves forcing an animal to over exert itself in this way is condemnable to me, but this again, is my opinion. What has really raised eyebrows about the Iditarod's treatment of the dogs before the race. I have posted the ALDF link to the story, which also has links to the USA Today story on it as well as the full report of the event at issue. I'll warn you that the report is particularly upsetting. I have also posted the wikipedia link to the Iditarod and the Iditarod's website so you can maybe better understand the history, advertising, marketing, and intensity of this event. If nothing else, it will give you the other bias.

If you find yourself opposed to this event and these acts, I implore you to send the letter from the ALDF link. This letter will then be send to all the sponsors of the Iditarod. The race relies on its sponsors to find the event and so far, since the cruelty to the dogs has come to light, sponsors are already pulling out from funding the event. These dogs hold a special place in my heart, and I am particularly outraged by this whole situation and have been in long opposition to the Iditarod. These recent events only solidifies for me what I already knew to be wrong. Please see for yourself, and if you agree that this cannot be tolerated, do your part to let the people who need to know know.

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5154/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5388

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race

Thanks

General Interest Meeting

Hello Everyone!

The semester is winding down and finals are just around the corner (like you need me to tell you that). In preparation for next semester, SALDF is going to be having a general interest meeting this Thursday at 1pm in room W302. This will be a very informal meeting and basically just to guage interest and brainstorm some future ideas for the organization and hopefully get them into action for Spring 2011!! Bagels with vegan cream cheese will be served! Hope to see you all there.

For Your Consideration

Okay, so its getting cold out again and that means that mice are starting to make their way off the streets and into the walls of our apartment buildings and ultimately (gasp) into our homes!

Now before you run out and buy the traps at your local hardware store, consider this:
While no one wants mice running around in their personal space, they are living creatures and the average traps kill by either painful asphyxiation or by breaking their little bodies.

I myself prefer to release them outside and at least give them a shot at surviving the winter. So here is what I do:

1)Get a toilet paper tube and crease two lines to form a flat sided tunnel.

2)Put a treat on one end of the tube: A cracker and dab of peanut butter works great.

3)Get a tall (at least 20 inches) bucket. A trash can works well.

4)Balance the tube precariously on the edge of a table or counter with the treat hanging directly over the tall sided receptacle.

5)The mouse will scurry to the treat and fall into the trap.

Then you can take the bucket outside and toss the little critter by some garbage or set it up outside somewhere with some food. Too much work? Maybe, but I just wanted to throw it out there.

This mouse trap was created by Adam Pash and was found off Lifehacker.com

Animal Rights State to Watch: Missouri

This election season, animal rights advocates should be watching Missouri very closely. Missouri is home to the only animal rights ballot measure this year, and it could be a game changing victory for dogs everywhere. Proposition B, or the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act will require breeding facilities to comply with common sense rules regarding the safety and health of the dogs they produce and care for.

This is a huge deal, because Missouri currently produces 1 out of every 3 puppies sold in pet stores each year.

The act would cover any breeding facility with ten or more intact females and would require that each dog have:

1. Sufficient food and clean water;
2. Necessary veterinary care;
3. Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements;
4. Sufficient space to turn and stretch freely, lie down, and fully extend his or her limbs;
5. Regular exercise; and
6. Adequate rest between breeding cycles.
   

The act also limits the number of intact dogs over 6 months of age at any one facility to 50.

This act would ensure what all reputable breeders already know, practice, and do. Healthy puppies must come from healthy mothers, and healthy mothers need exercise, space, veterinary care, quality food and water, and rest between their litters.

Puppies from pet stores are not good deals, and people should encourage adoption from shelters, breed specific rescue, or from a reputable breeder (breed specific rescues keep a list of breeders they consider reputable.)

For more information, please go to: Yes on Prop. B

Please encourage your Missouri friends to vote YES! on Prop. B!

NY Passes the First Animal Abuser Registry in the Nation!

This is really big news and a big step in the right direction! Check out this article from CBSnews posted by Barry Leibowitz:

You've probably heard of Megan's Laws, designed to keep sex offenders from striking again. Now there's a law created to prevent animal abusers from inflicting more cruelty - or moving on to human victims.

Suffolk County, on the eastern half of Long Island, moved to create the nation's first animal abuse registry last week, requiring people convicted of cruelty to animals to register or face jail time and fines.

"We know there is a very strong correlation between animal abuse and domestic violence," said Suffolk County legislator Jon Cooper, the bill's sponsor. "Almost every serial killer starts out by torturing animals, so in a strange sense we could end up protecting the lives of people."
The online list will be open to the public, so that pet owners or the merely curious can find out whether someone living near them is on it. Some animal abusers have been known to steal their neighbors' pets.

Cooper is also pushing legislation that would bar anyone on the registry from buying or adopting a pet from a shelter, pet shop or breeder.

The law was prompted by a number of animal abuse cases in recent months, including that of a Selden woman accused of forcing her children to watch her torture and kill kittens and dozens of dogs, then burying the pets in her backyard.

Animal welfare activists hope the law, passed unanimously Tuesday in the suburban New York City county of 1.5 million people, will inspire governments nationwide in the same way Megan's Law registries for child molesters have proliferated in the past decade.

A spokesman for county Executive Steve Levy said he intends to sign the legislation. It then requires a six-month review by state officials before it goes on the books, said the spokesman, Dan Aug.

More than a dozen states have introduced legislation to establish similar registries, but Suffolk County is the first government entity to pass such a law, said Stephan Otto, director of legislative affairs for the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

The Suffolk County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will administer the database, to be funded by a $50 fee paid by convicted abusers. All abusers 18 or older must supply authorities with their address, a head-and-shoulders photograph and any aliases. Convicted abusers will remain on the registry for five years. Those failing to register face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

As Fred Surbito took his Yorkshire terrier, Sasha, in for grooming at a Farmingville pet store this week, he applauded the legislation.

"It's very, very important," he said. "If you don't love an animal, you should not have an animal. An animal is part of your family. Like your children, they should never be neglected or harmed. Anybody that does should never own a pet again."