Friday, April 2nd, 2004
PAWS
Actionline
A weekly opportunity
to make a difference
for animals
PAWS Campaign Against Circuses That Use Performing Animals
Important Links
PAWS Animal Cruelty Resources and Links
Legislative Links
Washington State- House of Representatives
- Senate
Federal
- House of Representatives
- Senator Maria Cantwell
- Senator Patty Murray
Vote Smart is an excellent resource for all sorts of legislation.
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PAWS Mailing Address:
PO Box 1037
Lynnwood WA, 98046
PAWS Physical Address:
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Lynnwood, WA 98037
Support Prevention Of Animal Cruelty Month
Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month is observed during the month of April each year. This is an appropriate time of year to become knowledgeable about your local, state and federal animal cruelty laws, and to think about steps you can take to help prevent animal abuse.
Animal cruelty laws, and the agencies responsible for investigating cruelty complaints, vary from state to state. Cruelty can range from neglect (failure to provide food, water, shelter or necessary medical care) to intentional abuse, torture or death. Studies by the F.B.I. and U.S. Department of Justice have also proven that violence against animals is often a precursor to violence against people.
If you witness animal neglect or abuse, please visit the PAWS web site at www.paws.org/help/report for information on how to report the incident to local law enforcement. This link also contains the Washington State animal cruelty statute.
In honor of Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month, here are some suggestions for helping to protect animals:
- Adopt, don’t buy! Adopt a companion animal at your local shelter, rather than purchasing from breeders or pet stores.
- Eat a vegetarian or vegan diet. Contact PAWS Humane Educator, Sheridan Thomas, for a free vegetarian starter kit, (425) 742-4009, ext. 258 or sheridan@paws.org
- Plant native vegetation in your backyard to encourage wildlife.
- Refrain from attending animal circuses, rodeos and other venues with performing animals.
- Buy cruelty-free cosmetics and household products. For a list of companies that do and don’t animal test, go to: www.peta.org/mall/cc.html
- If you live with a companion animal, be a responsible guardian by providing it with annual veterinary check-ups. Make sure your companion animals are spayed or neutered to reduce the pet population, and urge your friends to do the same.
- Support animal shelters, rescue groups and other organizations working to protect animals through volunteering and donations.
- If you would like assistance researching local, state and federal animal cruelty statutes, contact PAWS Advocate, Tamar Puckett, (425) 742-4009, ext. 257, tamarp@paws.org
Easter Isn't Always Fun for Rabbits
Many people bring rabbits into their homes as pets during Easter time every year. Although rabbits can make wonderful companions (just like dogs and cats), people often get these animals without fully understanding the commitment necessary to care for them. Consequently, shelters are flooded with bunnies in the weeks and months following Easter and sadly, many of them are euthanized.
PAWS urges people to not buy rabbits, ducks, or chicks as Easter gifts. Every year at this time, "pet" stores display the cute and cuddly animals in the hopes that consumers will want to bring them home for the kids. But despite their looks, all of these animals require more care and attention than most other companion animals.
The ASPCA offers this great idea if your family is set on getting a rabbit- give a chocolate bunny or a stuffed toy for Easter and, if they're really serious, a book on rabbit care. If you are still intent on bringing a bunny into your life, and believe that you are fully prepared to care for them, head to your local shelter or rescue group, where many wonderful rabbits are waiting for new homes, just like yours. Shelter staff will be able to give you the advice and information you need to make sure your family provides a good home for a rabbit (keep in mind though that children and rabbits do not always make a perfect match).
Visit this link of the PAWS website for more information and facts about these amazing, sweet animals: www.paws.org/work/factsheet/advocacyfactsheets/rabbits.html
Two Species Became Extinct Last Month!
The following article from the Los Angeles Times (Monday, March 15, 2004) addresses two tropical birds, the Mariana mallard and the Guam broadbill, that have recently been listed as extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The sadness of this event is intensified by the fact that these poor birds have ceased their existence on our planet with little awareness by the public.
One by One, the World Is Becoming a Lonelier Place
by Joshua Reichert
Published on Monday, March 15, 2004 by the Los Angeles Times
Original link - www.commondreams.org/views04/0315-04.htm
(If you would like to comment, send a letter to the editor to: letters@latimes.com.)
Last month, with little fanfare, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
removed two tropical birds, the Mariana mallard and the Guam broadbill, from
its list of species that are endangered. The birds are extinct, having
joined a growing list of animals that have disappeared from the face of the
Earth.
The announcement that these two birds, which were native to the
islands of the western Pacific, had vanished forever elicited little attention.
Their numbers had been declining for decades. And few people, other than
the most avid bird enthusiasts, even knew what they were or had ever seen
them. So there will be few who will mark their passing with the same nostalgia
or sense of loss that might accompany the disappearance of a better known
species like the snow leopard, the Siberian tiger or the black
rhinoceros - all on the brink of the same abyss.
The fact that the extinction of these two creatures was virtually a
silent one is a tragedy. Both were the product of millions of years of
evolution. Both were connected to a larger network of species that interrelate
and depend on one another in many ways that still remain a mystery to
science. And both succumbed to the same types of human-induced pressures that
threaten so many other animals in this country and elsewhere in the
world: habitat loss, over-hunting and the introduction of nonnative species
against which they have little or no defense.
Many would ask why we should care that these two birds are no longer
here. The answer is that we now know enough about how the world is put
together to recognize that each species on Earth plays a role in nature. When one disappears, it is a harbinger of trouble. Just how or when or if the
extinction of one species will affect us in any material way is
difficult to know.
However, there are stark examples of how our disregard for other life
forms has imperiled our own survival. Take, for example, the case of Easter Island. This remote, barren island in the South Pacific, which is best known for its huge, mysterious stone statues, was once covered by a subtropical forest. But its Polynesian inhabitants eventually deforested the island, driving most of its tree species into extinction along with every species of native land bird. With no wood available to build boats for fishing, and the soil so depleted that crops could not be grown, an estimated 90% of the human inhabitants died of starvation.
There are many different reasons why we should rail against extinction.
Biologically, because each species is part of a larger, complex assemblage
of living things, we should strive to protect them all, particularly because
we don't understand how each piece fits with the others. There is also
a moral reason. It is that Earth's creatures, great and small, are not
simply here for our benefit but are here with us in the world. As such, we
have a fundamental responsibility to treat them all with respect and a sense
of stewardship.
We are clearly failing in this task. There are more than 12,000 species
of animals and plants that are known to be threatened, 1,816 of which
reside in the United States. And the list gets longer every year. From the earliest days of life, many species have come and gone. To a certain extent, extinction is a natural event. Up until modern times, it is believed that
one to two species per million vanished annually. We are now losing them far faster, at a rate that is estimated to be up to 1,000 times as high as in the past. Indeed, many scientists believe that by the middle of this century an astonishing 25% to 50% of all existing species will be on the path to extinction.
We have both a practical and an ethical responsibility to ensure that
this does not happen. Every species that disappears represents one less
strand in that remarkably intricate web of life of which we are a part and which
ultimately sustains us. There were no bells that tolled the departure of the two Pacific birds. But they should have tolled for us, as a sad reminder of what we have lost and as a warning for the future.
Joshua Reichert directs the environment division at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
