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TELL CONGRESS TO LEAVE THE ESA INTACT:
When Congress returns from the August recess, the U.S. House is expected to consider two bills -- H.R. 1662 and H.R. 2933 -- that could deal crippling blows to the nation's cornerstone wildlife protection law, the Endangered Species Act (ESA). H.R. 1662, the so-called "Sound Science Bill," would require government agencies to give greater weight to some kinds of scientific data over others. The ESA already requires the use of the "best available science" in species listing and critical habitat decisions. H.R. 1662 would not make the use of science more rigorous for ESA decisions; it will only delay decision-making and could undercut the use of the best science. This will only benefit those who have an interest in reduced protections for species and will inevitably, perhaps irreversibly, harm those species needing protection.

The other major threat to the ESA is H.R. 2933, a bill that seeks to reduce the net habitat protection for endangered species. The bill would make it difficult for government agencies to designate critical habitat for imperiled species, even though habitat loss is one of the chief causes of species declines. The bill also removes any enforceable deadline for critical habitat decisions, so species could be lost forever before habitat protections are even considered. Both of these bills would dangerously undermine the ESA.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Please contact your U.S. Representative and urge him/her to oppose both HR 1662 and HR 2933 if they are brought up on the floor of the House of Representatives. Please also contact your two U.S. Senators and urge them to oppose any similar effort to undermine ESA in the Senate. All federal legislators may be reached through the U.S. Capitol switchboard, at 202-224-3121.

To identify your U.S. legislators, visit The Fund for Animals' action site , or call The HSUS at 202 955-3668.

 

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TELL LONDON FOG TO FORGET THE FUR:
London Fog's fall collection has taken an ugly turn this year, towards the sale of fur and fur-trimmed garments. London Fog's new line of fall coats features the use of mink and fox fur, representing a disturbing departure from the company's past, exclusively fur-free fashions. As a leading retailer of outerwear and as a fashion trendsetter, London Fog's decision to integrate animal fur -- the product of inexcusable cruelty -- into its wardrobes sets a terrible precedent and represents the suffering and deaths of untold numbers of animals. Every full-length fur coat requires the deaths of at least 18 foxes, 40 mink or 40 rabbits. Each and every one of these animals suffers a terrible death. Wild-caught fur animals can linger endlessly in the grip of a steel-jawed leghold trap before being clubbed to death or suffocated by the trapper. Animals on fur farms suffer equally horrendous deaths when they are anally or genitally electrocuted, after spending a lifetime enclosed in barren, wire cages.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Contact London Fog executives and urge them to discontinue all fur and fur-trimmed items from their clothing line. Let them know that you are one of the many consumers who prefer cruelty-free shopping:

President Richard McCaffery*
London Fog/ Clarement Product Development
2820 14th Ave
Markham. Ontario
L3R 0SN
Company phone number: 800-877-8878
Email: info@londonfog.com

* Postage from the U.S. to Canada is 80 cents.

 

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CALIFORNIANS: SPEAK UP FOR DUCKS AND BIG CATS:
In California, two animal protection bills -- A.B. 1857 and S.B. 1520 -- are winding their way through the legislature and need your help to pass the final hurdles to becoming law. Both A.B. 1857 and S.B. 1520 are expected to be voted on very soon, possibly within the next week.

Assembly Bill 1857, which will ban the declawing of captive, wild cats, passed the California Assembly and is now headed to the Senate floor for a vote. If passed, A.B. 1857 will go a long way towards discouraging misguided individuals from acquiring big cats like tigers, lions and cougars as "pets." These animals invariably suffer in captivity as their natural impulses to roam and hunt are thwarted, and the fact that mutilations like declawing are required to control them is further testament to the folly of keeping them in captivity. Declawing, which removes portions of the bone in each toe, is also particularly cruel to larger cats who, because their greater weight, can suffer permanent lameness when their paws are surgically deformed.

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV), and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians (AAWV) all agree declawing big cats is ill-advised, and they officially oppose the procedure because complications can arise that can cripple or even kill the animals.

Also expected for a final vote any day is Senate Bill 1520, to ban the force-feeding of ducks and geese to produce foie gras. S.B. 1520 passed the Senate and also passed in an Assembly committee earlier this year (see HUMANElines Issue 306 ), and has just one vote left before becoming law. If passed, it will set a precedent that may pave the way for similar farmed animal protection bills in other states.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
 

1. Please call, fax and e-mail your California state senator immediately and urge him or her to support A.B. 1857 to ban the practice of declawing wild cats. Also, contact your state assemblyperson and ask that s/he vote YES on SB 1520, to ban the cruel force feeding of birds for foie gras production.

2. Please also contact Governor Schwarzenegger and urge him to sign A.B. 1857 and S.B. 1520 into law when they come to his desk.