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DON’T LET ORV OVERUSE KILL OUR NATIONAL FORESTS:
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is seeking public input on a new proposal to amend regulations regarding the use of motorized off-road vehicles (ORVs) in the national forest system. ORV use in wildlife habitat is often disastrous for ecosystems because it can tear up the forest floor and stream beds. The destruction of stream beds and their surrounding land areas can end up degrading water quality, destroying habitat and altering stream flows. ORVs running through forests can also crush the nests and young of animals like ground-nesting birds and turtles. And the sheer disturbance of wildlife areas caused by ORVs can alter the movements of many animal species, with largely unknown consequences for reproduction and survival.

Although the USFS' new, proposed ORV rule includes several positive provisions (such as strengthening law enforcement), it lacks several important provisions to make it truly effective in protecting wildlife from the devastating effects of ORV over-use, including clear guidelines outlining where ORVs may and may not tread within the national forest system.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Send your comments to the USFS by Monday, September 13th asking it to add the following provisions to its final proposed ORV rule:
 

1. The requirement that each Forest in the National Forest System completes ‘ORV route designations’ within 2 years of the rule’s implementation.
    
2. The requirement of a site-specific analysis of environmental impacts before any ORV routes are designated.
    
3. The inclusion of snowmobiles under the definition of “off-road vehicles.”
    

Send your letter to:

 

Please be sure to label your comments with “Proposed Rule for Designated Routes and Areas for Motor Vehicle Use (RIN 0596-AC11).”

 

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VOTE ON SWEDISH FUR FARM BAN DRAWS NEAR:
A Swedish fur farming ban that has been in the works for more than a year (see HUMANElines Issue 280 ) is expected to come up for a vote in the Swedish Parliament sometime this fall. Earlier this year, Swedish activists began a campaign to collect more than 100,000 signatures favoring a ban to present to key politicians. Now, activists in Sweden are asking animal welfare advocates worldwide to write to the Swedish Prime Minister asking him to support the ban.

If the Swedish fur farm ban passes, other European countries, such as Norway, are expected to follow suit, adding their names to the growing list of European countries—including Great Britain, Scotland, most of Austria, and Northern Ireland—that have already banned fur farming.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Send your polite letters to Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, asking him to support a ban on fur farming in his country:

 

*Please note that a letter mailed to Sweden from the U.S. requires an 80-cent stamp.

Activists are also encouraged to send letters to the Swedish embassy in their country asking them to support a fur-farming ban. In the U.S., letters can be mailed to:
 

 

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UPDATE: NEW LAW SPELLS DOOM FOR LOUSIANA HOG-DOG FIGHTS:
In February, we reported on the proliferation of cruel "hog-dog rodeos"-- bloody spectator events conducted in many Southern states in which trained fighting dogs are set upon penned hogs to attack, mutilate, and sometimes kill the animals (see HUMANElines Issue 284 ).

On Wednesday (8/18), Louisiana's Times-Picayune reported on the efforts of The HSUS to increase awareness of Louisiana's newly-enacted law banning hog-dog fights. The law, which went into effect on Sunday (8/15), makes it illegal to organize, conduct, promote or attend a spectator event in which it can be "reasonably foreseen the canines or hogs would be injured, maimed, mutilated or killed." It is the first such law passed in the U.S., and it follows a nationwide outcry over the release of a graphic expose showing the cruel and brutal nature of hog-dog fighting.

Charles ''Chuck'' Harris Jr., of Clinton, LA disagrees that there was a problem, but he is apparently taking no chances. He told The Associated Press last month that he will no longer stage hog-dog events. ''It's gotten so it's just not worth it. I may get 20 or 30 people. Everybody's scared because of this new law.''

 

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To receive directly, call 202-955-3668 or email humanelines@hsus.org For more information on legislation, how to find your legislators, or past HUMANElines, go to http://www.hsus.org/ or http://www.fund.org/