Just Like Us

99%.

This statistic refers to the percentage of a chimpanzee's DNA that matches human DNA. Our seeing so much in common with them has led to everything from dressing them in tuxedos and making them ride tricycles to using them for medical experiments, and a host of other horrors in between. We gawk at them in zoos, and say, "His eyes look so human!" and we watch documentaries on chimps and gorillas and we're fascinated with their intelligence.

For all our fascination with these beings, however, we treat them horribly. We torture them, we imprison them, we breed them for our use and then kill them. It's shameful, and the time has come to end the abject cruelty and wanton humiliation to which these creatures are routinely subjected. They provide little or no use to us for medical testing (their systems are different enough that very little benefit is derived from testing procedures and medications on them), and the conditions they endure in labs would make any decent person cringe in horror. They suffer a similar fat in many zoos, and in various "entertainment" venues, where isolation and abuse literally drive them insane. Just as humans are driven insane in solitary confinement, when tortured repeatedly, and given no hope for escape from various forms of confinement. Just like us. Here's how the famous heart surgeon, Dr. Christian Barnard, described his experience with chimps in a lab:

"I had bought two male chimps from a primate colony in Holland. They lived next to each other in separate cages for several months before I used one as a [heart] donor. When we put him to sleep in his cage in preparation for the operation, he chattered and cried incessantly. We attached no significance to this, but it must have made a great impression on his companion, for when we removed the body to the operating room, the other chimp wept bitterly and was inconsolable for days. The incident made a deep impression on me. I vowed never again to experiment with such sensitive creatures."

Of course, we can't count on all doctors and scientists -- and the corporations that employ them -- to be this compassionate. Especially when there's money to be made. One of the largest producers and users of primates for research is located in our own backyard, in Denver PA. Click here to find out about COVANCE, and their history of abuse. Their facilities around the world have been repeatedly cited for animal cruelty, but because their use of the animals for research has remained legal, little has been done to stop them and the many labs like them. Of course, the only people defending the use of apes (and other animals) in research are those who benefit financially from it. Citizens who defend it are simply misinformed as to its benefit to humans, as there is NO need to continue using animals for medical testing. Computer models, existing data, and human test subjects eliminate the need to use animals. PERIOD.

Might there be hope? Possibly, with your help. The Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA), which was sent to the Energy & Commerce Committee in March of this year, could put an end to much of the abuse great apes suffer in labs. If this became law, it would do some really great things -- that is if the pharmaceutical lobbies (and their puppets in Congress) don't see to it that it's amended to death. GAPA would:

• Phase out the use of chimps and other great apes in invasive research in the US (much of Europe has already done this -- AGAIN, we're behind the curve).

• Release 500+ chimps "owned" by the federal government to sanctuaries, permanently.
  

• Make it illegal to breed federally-owned chimps. Note that the NIH (National Institutes of Health) has already banned this within their organization -- that ought to tell the naysayers something, right?
  

PLEASE call your US Representative (click HERE to obtain their contact info) and ask him or her to co-sponsor HR 1326, the Great Ape Protection Act (GAPA). As we said, it was referred to committee in March, and needs to be released for a vote, without significant amendment. Great Apes CANNOT continue to be used for research -- they may share 99% of our DNA, but at a molecular level, their bodies are very different, and thus their use for studying disease and the effects of medication, etc... is of little value. There is NO reason to continue torturing these creatures.

When you call your House Rep, be brief, polite, but firm. You want him or her to support/co-sponsor HR1326, and you're aware that his or her refusing to do so would indicate (A) no concern for the humane treatment of these creatures, (B) no interest in real medical facts, which do not support continued use of these animals, and (C) that he or she is more obligated to the pharmaceutical lobbies and their corporate campaign funding than to the constituents who cast their votes. You will be asked to give your address, to show that you are in fact a constituent, but you won't have to do more than simply make a statement asking for support for HR 1326. The call will take just a few minutes, and it could help sway important votes and get GAPA passed when it comes up for a vote.

For more information, visit www.PCRM.org/GAPA.

When Worlds Collide

Very late on Sunday night, while driving my brother back to the University of Delaware (in Newark), a very large owl swooped down low, flying on the right side of my car, and I hit him. I never saw him swooping in -- my brother spotted him at the very last second, and then we both heard the horrible thud. I was sure he was dead and probably flung into the dark embankments along the pitch-black, narrow, and curvy Route 896, but we went back and found him, luckily alive and on one of the few wide shoulders of the road -- so we were able to pull over and place him in the car. I called ORCA (the Organization for Responsible Care of Animals), who told me to put the owl in a box and bring him back to Lancaster, where a wildlife rehabilitator would take him in the morning.

The owl spent the night in a box in my mom's bathtub (her cats are more low-key than mine -- mine would have been yowling and banging on the bathroom door all night), and ORCA did come to pick him up Monday morning. He had gone from lying in the box to sitting up, his big orange eyes staring straight ahead, so I was hopeful that his injuries were minor or would be able to be healed.

Later in the day, the wildlife rehabilitator, a raptor specialist affiliated with the Bird Refuge of York, returned my call (I'd left a message asking for an update, even if it was bad news). She told me the owl was still sitting in his cage, getting anti-inflammatories and fluids, and that she wasn't surprised he hadn't tried to fly up to a perch yet. She said he had no fractures she could find, and that he'd either recover, or if he had major internal injuries, he'd be gone in a couple of days, succumbing to whatever might be lurking in his head or body from the impact with my car. So we wait.

I can't tell you how awful I feel about hitting him. I know I didn't even see him, and I know my hesitation to go back and find what I assumed would be his shredded body along side the road is understandable, but I just hate that my big stupid car and I were on the road and got in his way. Most people would think he got in my way, that he was the one swooping onto the road when a car was coming and should have "known better," or that he's "just an owl." I've heard similar statements from people when accidents involving everything from deer to cats to squirrels have been discussed, so I know how many people think in these situations.

I say that we're the ones who are in the way and that we should know better. No, I can't spot every set of glowing eyes along the road at night, but I can be more vigilant. I can drive the speed limit (or below it, on roads like 896 that are posted at too high a speed limit for the conditions), and I can keep supplies for a possible collision (box, flashlight, blankets, gloves) in my car. I can avoid roads that have a lot of wildlife along them at night, if possible, and I can warn others to take these precautions, too.

If you think vigilance won't work, consider that after my collision with the owl, I saw 2 deer, a ground hog, 3 foxes, and then once back in Lancaster City, 2 cats running along and in the road. The state of hyper-attentiveness that the collision placed me in allowed me to see these creatures and to slow down (and in the case of the cats, to stop and yell "Out of the street, kitties!" at them) and prevent another tragedy. Of course, my brother, Joshua, who has an excellent sense of humor, commented that "Hey, we've still got lots of room in the car, if you hit anything else" -- when we spotted the deer. It was a good tension-breaker, because we were both feeling awful about the owl.

Anyway, I'll post whatever news I get about the owl as soon as I have it, and I ask each of you reading this to please think of the owl and ask the universe, God, St. Francis -- whomever you tend to speak to about these things -- to help him heal and fly up to that perch and then one day soon, fly back into the wild, where he belongs. And please keep your eyes peeled, especially at night, for creatures along the roads. Because they're not in the way, WE are.

The End of the Pigeon Shoot - Finally?

This morning's Intelligencer Journal editorial, "In Our View," came out and said it - voicing the position held for a very long time by the vast majority of central Pennsylvanians: End Pigeon Shoots.

From the national outcry when the "sport" was demonstrated in the 1900 summer Olympics to recent days when the local Hegins Pigeon Shoot and a similar shoot at the Philadelphia Gun Club have been interrupted by protests and visits by animal cruelty officers, the time has come for legislators to listen to their constituencies, and hopefully, their consciences - and make it illegal to tie a bird down and shoot at it or release birds from cages and fire upon them as they attempt to fly away.

Any live shoot of any trapped or otherwise confined bird is NOT hunting -- and for this reason, hunters have nothing to fear, as all other forms of licensed hunting are exempt from the bills. Here's the first paragraph of the House version:

"(c.1) Use of live animals or fowl for targets at trap shoot or block shoot prohibited.--
(1) A person commits a summary offense if that person willfully organizes, operates or conducts a trap shoot or block shoot in which live animals or fowl are used as targets."

Pretty straightforward. To read the whole bill, click here.

NOW... as for the bills. Callers, get the numbers straight -- when you call your State Senator, say you want him or her to support SB 843, and for the House, it's HB1411. Below are links to use to obtain your state legislators' contact info. And, as we always remind you, please don't email -- please CALL your legislators, as calls are always taken and logged. Emails are ignored, deleted, and those read are not always logged or passed along to the legislator. Calls and faxes make much more of an impact.

Find your PA House Rep: http://www.house.state.pa.us/

Find your PA State Senator: http://www.pasen.gov/

In both web pages, you'll enter your zip code into a box in the upper right corner to find out who represents you. Once the name/s appear, click them to be taken to the legislator/s page/s to obtain contact info.

Please call and let them know you want them to support these bills. Even if you know your legislator is already on board, make the call -- it helps them to know that their current stance is supported by the electorate (you, their voters), and they can then tell their fence-sitting (or wrong-side-entrenched) colleagues, "Hey -- I'm getting so many calls in favor of banning the pigeon shoot. I think it's time we all just put an end to this. Whaddya say?"

When calling, please remind them that you're a voter, and that you'll be remembering who voted to support these bills when you cast your vote in the next election. While we, the animal protection community, have no money for big-time campaign contributions, we can turn an election through voter education -- letting the voters know who we were able to count on to put an end to an atrocity that has been a source of shame for Pennsylvania for far too long.

Representative James Casorio Calls for More Serious Animal Cruelty Charges

IMPORTANT PRESS RELEASE

07-01-09 -- Casorio Calls for More Serious Animal Cruelty Charges

By: Representative James E. Casorio (D-Westmoreland)

For Immediate Release

HARRISBURG, July 1 - State Rep. James E. Casorio Jr. said today that officials in York County should file serious animal cruelty charges against a dog owner who allegedly shot three of his dogs.

The owner, Carl Herbert Kline of Seven Valleys, Pa., allegedly shot three of his dogs inside his home while intoxicated. Two of the dogs were killed and dumped in a cornfield; the third was found bleeding in a crate. Kline has been initially charged only with "discharge of a firearm in an occupied structure," and is currently free on bail.

"The complete lack of responsibility and respect for life demonstrated in this case merits very severe animal cruelty charges at the very least, yet the initial charges do not even acknowledge the most serious aspect of the crime," Casorio said. "This person deserves a long, long prison sentence, not a slap on the wrist."

While the incident is still being investigated and additional charges could be filed, Casorio said the case unfortunately is indicative of the response in many areas of Pennsylvania to animal cruelty.

"Too often, charges against people who kill or injure animals intentionally are either never brought, or are treated as an afterthought," he said. "But more and more people have had enough. They are demanding that we get tougher with criminals who kill and abuse animals not just because of the innocent lives of animals that are destroyed, but also because these crimes are indicative of the potential for serious crimes against people.

"A person who can get drunk, shoot his own dogs inside his own house, then dump them in a field obviously has little regard for the safety or welfare of anything -- or anyone -- around him, and is a danger to society."

Casorio said it is frustrating for state officials and the public who are pushing for improved animal welfare and cruelty laws in Pennsylvania when those laws are not used to punish to the fullest extent possible the people who break them.

"These are serious, disturbing crimes, and need to be treated as such," he said.

Casorio, D-Westmoreland, was prime sponsor of Pennsylvania's improved commercial kennel law (Act 119 of 2008), which institutes new health and welfare requirements for dogs in large, commercial kennels in Pennsylvania, and improves enforcement against the owners of these kennels where dogs are mistreated or neglected.

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Please take time to contact Rep. Casorio (click here) to thank him for taking this stand. We must support the legislators who support animal protection. Please also contact your legislators to ask them to add their voices to this call for more charges and stronger penalties. To find your legislators, click here:
http://www.lohvpa.org/legislation.html#findlegislators

Penalties for Animal Cruelty

Our current poll asks if PA's animal cruelty penalties are sufficient. Right now, it's 100% saying no, they're not. What are they, you ask? Well, as of 1995, when PA made animal cruelty (some forms thereof) a felony, here they are:

Animal cruelty is only a felony if (A) the victim is a zoo animal (for the 1st offense) or (B) if it's the second offense and the victim is a dog or a cat. Even then, it's only a 3rd degree felony. Also, the cruelty must be determined to be deliberate, so something that the perpetrator's attorney can make look like it was accidental, borne out of ignorance, or unintended will allow the person to escape serious penalty. First offenses on dogs or cats are considered misdemeanors (virtually no penalty or fine whatsoever). So in PA, if you want to beat your dog or throw a litter of puppies in the trash, you can only do it once and not really pay the price for your sadistic behavior. Second time, if they catch you, you may be in trouble.

Read a current article about the demand for tougher penalties by clicking HERE. (thanks to North Penn Puppy Mill Watch for sending the link)

The maximum jail time for a 3rd degree felony conviction is 7 years, and the maximum fine is $15,000. As we've seen in recent puppy mill cases, the sentences are much lighter -- in terms of jail time (virtually none is ever given) and fines (they're rarely over $1000 per incident). MOST of the cruelty cases that make it to court in PA end up being treated as misdemeanors, which is why while it LOOKS like a lot -- 7 years, $15,000 -- you never see that happen. It's all hinging on the abuse/cruelty being intentional -- and a good defense attorney and a "yeah, it's just a dog" judge will combine to assure the abuser a very light sentence.

So, yes, PA's animal cruelty laws are NOT sufficient, nor is the zeal with which judges apply them as they are. The "it's only an animal" mindset is quite prevalent, even in the minds of judges, who should know better. As stated in an earlier post, even if you don't care about animals, the studies prove over and over that people who are cruel to animals will eventually turn that sadism on people -- in the form of domestic abuse, crimes that involve assault or weapons, and in extreme (but sadly, not rare) cases, murder. A capacity for cruelty NEVER remains something that someone only exhibits toward animals.

PLEASE contact your legislators -- in the PA House and Senate -- and let them know that you want PA's laws to be tougher. And when there's a cruelty case in your area, contact the judge to let him or her know you want the toughest sentence possible to be given if the person is convicted. You also want to remind the judge that a lenient approach in determining the intent of the abuser won't be tolerated by the voters. That's the up-side of PA having judges be elected, rather than appointed. The voters get to speak and have an impact on the judicial branch of our state government.

Not sure who your state legislators are? Visit our legislation page for links to find out:
http://www.lohvpa.org/legislation.html#findlegislators

To find contact info for a judge who'll be deciding an animal cruelty case in your area, simply Google his or her name, and you'll find the number for their offices. A call to the judge (NOT an email) is best -- and you'll probably end up talking to an assistant, and that's fine -- the point of your call WILL be passed along.