IDA's e-news: 9/07/05

Table of Contents:
1. Update on IDA's Project Hope Hurricane Relief Efforts
2. Endangered Species Act Under Attack
3. World Farm Animals Day Is Coming October 2nd
4. Burglar Kills Dog In Oven
5. Elephant Appreciation Day to be Observed September 22nd
6. Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due


1. IDA's Project Hope Hurricane Relief Efforts Continue
Rescue Team Helps Animals in Desperate Need in Mississippi Towns
Devastated by Storm

For days, Project Hope Director Doll Stanley helped with relief
efforts in Jackson while waiting to get her animal rescue team
into the areas of Mississippi hit hardest by Hurricane Katrina.
While her efforts were helpful in Jackson, Doll knew the
situation was far worse further South, but was held back by
authorities. Today, the National Guard gave them permission to
pass on the highway, and they set out in a small convoy of three
vehicles to deliver food, water, medical supplies and assistance
to the people and animals who need it most.

>From the emergency relief center at the County Fairgrounds in
Jackson, the Project Hope team drove to Kiln, Miss., in the
southwest region of the state in Hancock County. Along the way,
they delivered bales of hay and truckloads of dog food for the
many desperately hungry animals and picked up stays they found
running loose in the streets. They have made an arrangement with
a group in Houston, Texas called Citizens for Animal Protection
that has agreed to take in as many animals as needed to help
free up shelter space in Louisiana and Mississippi. As the
Project Hope team passes along the lonely highways, they
continue rounding up stray dogs and cats and will transport them
to Houston in the next few days.

After a food delivery to a volunteer fire department, the team
headed to Waveland, one of the hardest hit areas in the state,
and a small town called Pearlington where it is reported that
many animals are roaming the streets, separated from their
guardians. Doll promises to keep us updated on her activities in
these critical areas, and sends a thank you to all those who
helped fund her efforts.

What You Can Do

Donate to IDA's Hurricane Katrina Animal Relief Fund to support
our rescue efforts in Mississippi. Click here (link to
development piece) for more details.


2. Endangered Species Act Under Attack
"Recovery Act" Seeks to Eradicate Protections for Animals and
Habitats

The Endangered Species Act has protected threatened wildlife and
critical habitats in America since 1973, but may soon become
itself extinct. Backed by profit-driven mining, timber and oil
interests, Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) has submitted an
amendment to the Endangered Species Act that would severely
limit its ability to preserve key species and calls for the
Act's repeal in 2015.

The title of the amendment - the Threatened and Endangered
Species and Recovery Act of 2005 - is especially ironic because
it makes the Government's responsibility for helping species
recover from near-extinction an option rather than a
requirement. Without the support of recovery efforts, many
endangered animal populations will shrink, leaving the few sole
survivors to propagate the species in a single small area. The
amendment also proposes to remove protections from all
endangered species in countries outside of the U.S., eliminate
independent governmental review and oversight, and give the
Secretary of the Interior the power to reject federal
scientists' findings if their recommended actions conflict with
governmental regulations.

While these provisions are serious enough to threaten the
survival of the Endangered Species Act, Pombo's amendment would
also expire the Act on October 1st, 2015. This would effectively
kill the Endangered Species Act and result in the permanent loss
of many unique and irreplaceable species.

What You Can Do

- Contact your Representative in Congress and urge him or her to
oppose the Threatened and Endangered Species and Recovery Act of
2005. Click http://ga0.org/campaign/saveESA to send your
Representative an automatic email or use the information below
to contact his or her office.

Representative
Thelma
Drake
U.S. House of Representatives
1208 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0001
(202) 225-4215

- Click http://www.sw-center.org/swcbd/press/Pombo07-08-05.html to read
a thorough critical analysis of the Threatened and Endangered
Species and Recovery Act of 2005.


3. World Farm Animals Day Is Coming October 2nd
IDA Co-Sponsors Day of Action to Raise Awareness and Promote
Compassion

Mark your calendar, because the 22nd annual World Farm Animals
Day takes place on Sunday, October 2nd, offering a wealth of
opportunities for animal advocates to work together on behalf of
the billions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and other animals
slaughtered every year for food. Coordinated by Farm Animal
Reform Movement (FARM) and co-sponsored by IDA, People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Compassion in World
Farming UK (CIWF), World Farm Animals Day brings global
attention to the plight of animals raised and killed for food on
factory farms.

Last year, thousands of activists in 400 communities throughout
all 50 states in the U.S. and 30 other countries promoted farm
animal welfare through leafleting, information tables, feed-ins,
film screenings, electrifying marches, solemn vigils,
proclamations by elected officials, billboards, factory farming
exhibits, vegetarian festivals, animal rights conferences and
more. This year promises to be just as exciting. Check out
http://www.wfad.org to see what activists are planning in your area and
around the world, get ideas for your own activity, or officially
register your event. If you organize an event, FARM can help you
by providing guidance, materials and contacting the media for
publicity.


4. Burglar Kills Dog In Oven
Year-Old Rat Terrier Burned to Death at 400 Degrees Fahrenheit

After her house was robbed, Savannah, Ga. high school teacher
Angela DeLettre came home to find the house in disarray and one
of her two dogs missing. She called the police, who conducted a
thorough search of the property and found Zoe, a one-year-old
rat terrier, burned to death in the oven.

Authorities later arrested Alexander Davis, 19, on an anonymous
tip for the burglary, and recovered items stolen from DeLettre's
home from his car. The defendant is being charged for both the
burglary and Zoe's death, and has forfeited the option to hold a
preliminary hearing on the case. Prosecutors will therefore
present the case against Davis in a grand jury.

What You Can Do

Contact Chatham County, Ga. District Attorney Spencer Lawton and
ask him to prosecute Davis to the fullest extent of the law for
cruelty to animals.

Spencer Lawton
District Attorney
133 Montgomery Street
Savannah, Georgia 31401
Tel: (912) 652-7308
Fax: (912) 652-7328 or (912) 447-5396


5. Elephant Appreciation Day to be Observed September 22nd
Celebrate by Raising Public Awareness About the Plight of
Elephants in Zoos

Thursday, September 22nd has been declared Elephant Appreciation
Day, and as part of our campaign to get Earth's largest land
mammals out of cramped zoos and into spacious sanctuaries, IDA
encourages everyone to take some time to help elephants held
captive in zoos. Elephants in zoos commonly suffer a host of
ailments directly attributed to severe lack of room and
unnatural living conditions. Most zoos keep elephants in
enclosures of less than one acre for their entire lives, despite
that in the wild elephants typically travel between 30 and 50
miles a day (there are 640 acres in a single mile). Pachyderms
were built for prolonged movement, but zoos keep them treading
the same hard surfaces for decades, causing physical and
psychological disorders and shortening their natural lifespan.

What You Can Do

Spend some time on September 22nd speaking out on behalf of
elephants suffering in zoos. Visit IDA's elephant campaign
website at http://www.savezooelephants.com/youcando.html to learn about
how you can make a difference for the elephants in your
community or around the nation.


6. Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
Clarification of Article on Project Guyana

For readers of last week's e-news, we would like to correct an
oversight in the story about IDA's involvement in Project
Guyana, a collaborative conservation and education venture. This
traveling education program is spearheaded by
Massachusetts-based Foster Parrots ( http://www.fosterparrots.com ),
which has now saved nearly 225 square miles of habitat in Guyana
from wildlife trapping and logging. IDA is proud to have
contributed to this important effort, but we want to ensure that
Foster Parrots is fully recognized for its leadership of this
successful program.

With contributions from IDA and the World Parrot Trust, Foster
Parrots has purchased a secondhand Land Rover to be outfitted
with a TV, DVD player and generator. This mobile education unit
will enable educators to teach villagers in remote areas of
Guyana about conservation and habitat protection. Foster Parrots
helped one village develop a flourishing eco-tourism business in
exchange for the villager's promise to end all hunting of
wildlife for the export trade and to protect their fragile
forests from logging. A film telling the story of this
enterprise will be shown in many villages as a working model
that villagers can follow to establish their own earth-friendly
eco-tourism ventures.

Click http://www.fosterparrots.com/NLAUG05.html to read Foster
Parrots' August e-newsletter article on Project Guyana. For more
information on this program, please visit
http://www.fosterparrots.com/etguyana.html .

Help Animals Survive: Donate to IDA's Hurricane Katrina Animal
Relief Fund

To those who have donated to IDA's Hurricane Katrina Animal
Relief Fund, thank you for your compassion and concern in this
time of desperate need. Millions of people and animals have been
impacted by the devastation of the most destructive storm to
ever hit the U.S. IDA is honored to be able to provide some
assistance during this critical time by raising funds for rescue
and relief. We are also fortunate to have IDA staff and
volunteers on the ground in one of the most heavily affected
areas.

IDA's animal relief team, led by Project Hope Director Doll
Stanley, was one of the first to arrive at the emergency aid
center set up at the county fairgrounds in Jackson, Miss. Over
the last week, they have secured thousands of dollars in donated
supplies (most notably from the local PETsMART), including food
and carriers to house and transport the animal companions of
refugees at the center and strays brought in from off the
street. The Project Hope team and other animal rescue groups are
waiting in Jackson for approval to enter the hardest hit areas
in southern Mississippi on the Gulf Coast. Hopefully, they have
been able to enter these areas today and bring food in for the
animals lucky enough to survive the storm.

Please support their crucial work by donating to IDA's Hurricane
Katrina Animal Relief Fund. Money is needed for transportation,
to feed animals and volunteers, and to repair the damage done by
the storm at the Project Hope sanctuary. IDA also hopes to build
up an emergency animal relief fund so that we will be able to
respond immediately whenever disaster strikes.

IDA will give any funds that exceed the Project Hope team's
expenses directly to the Louisiana SPCA in New Orleans, which
has been hit hard by the storm. To donate, send checks made
payable to IDA with a note reading "for hurricane relief" to:

In Defense of Animals
131 Camino Alto
Mill Valley, CA 94941

Click https://secure.ga3.org/02/idadonations to donate online
using your credit card. Please indicate "hurricane" in the first
name field in the "in honor of" section of the form.


Help Someone Kick the Meat Habit with FARM's Meatout Monday
Newsletter

If you know someone who says they'd like to cut meat out of
their diet but thinks it's too hard, then tell them about
Meatout Mondays, a free weekly e-newsletter designed to help
those who don't want to quit "cold turkey" kick the meat habit
one day at a time - starting with Mondays! Easy and fun to read,
Meatout Mondays encourages individuals to make changes at a pace
that is comfortable for them, and is an excellent tool for
introducing vegetarianism to anyone.

Every week, Meatout Mondays includes tasty vegan recipes, new
product and book reviews, important health information, and
inspirational stories of people who have changed their lives for
the better by cutting animal products from their diets. The
theme of this week's Meatout Mondays is peaches, which are
currently in season. Click http://www.meatoutmondays.org/05-09-05.htm
to read the latest issue.

Please visit http://www.meatoutmondays.org to review past issues and to
subscribe your friends and family members. Meatout Mondays is a
free e-newsletter, and individuals can easily unsubscribe at any
time.


The Cat Therapist Shares Her Wisdom

Every month, Carole Wilbourn, the Cat Therapist, answers
questions and offers advice on how guardians can enrich their
relationships with their beloved feline companions. Click
http://www.idausa.org/cat_therapist/index.html to read the latest
edition of Cats on the Couch. Men: the deadline to enter
Carole's "Men and their Cats" contest has been extended to
November, so there's still time to enter. Also visit Carole's
Cat Store at http://thecattherapist.com/cat_store.htm to
purchase a copy of her classic book, "Cat Talk: What Your Cat is
Trying to Tell You."