Animal Cruelty Petitions!!

Groundbreaking news from Spain has brought groundbreaking discussion to international media this week. The Spanish Parliament's environment committee has passed a resolution granting limited rights to great apes. The Sunday, July 13 New York Times ran a lengthy and thoughtful article on the issue, written by Donald G. McNeil Jr. An edited version of that article also ran in the Monday, July 14, International Herald Tribune. On Tuesday, the most widely distributed newspaper in the US, USA Today, ran a piece headed, "Activists pursue basic legal rights for great apes; Spain first to vote on some freedoms." And on Monday, July 14, the New York Times ran a supportive editorial. That editorial appears in today's Thursday July 17, International Herald Tribune. Also the views of Peter Singer, who co-founded the Great Ape Project, were put forward in the July 17 edition of the Shanghai Daily.

The Sunday New York Times piece, by McNeil, is headed "When Human Rights Extend to Nonhumans." ("Week in Review" page 3.) In the Monday International Herald Tribune it is headed, "Which kinds of rights do nonhumans deserve?" It tells us:

"The committee would bind Spain to the principles of the Great Ape Project, which points to apes' human qualities, including the ability to feel fear and happiness, create tools, use languages, remember the past and plan the future. The project's directors, Peter Singer, the Princeton ethicist, and Paola Cavalieri, an Italian philosopher, regard apes as part of a 'community of equals' with humans.

"If the bill passes -- the news agency Reuters predicts it will -- it would become illegal in Spain to kill apes except in self-defense. Torture, including in medical experiments, and arbitrary imprisonment, including for circuses or films, would be forbidden.

"The 300 apes in Spanish zoos would not be freed, but better conditions would be mandated."

McNeil makes some pointed statements on the issue. He writes:
"We like to think of these as absolutes: That there are distinct lines between humans and animals, and that certain ''human'' rights are unalienable. But we are kidding ourselves."

And he notes:

"Meanwhile, even in democracies, the law accords diminished rights to many humans: children, prisoners, the insane, the senile. Teenagers may not vote; philosophers who slip into dementia may be lashed to their beds; courts can order surgery or force-feeding.

"Spain does not envision endowing apes with all rights: to drive, to bear arms and so on. Rather, their status would be akin to that of children."

And McNeil includes an interesting comment on the upside of the slippery slope, from PETA's Ingrid Newkirk, who calls the Spanish vote, ''a great start at breaking down the species barriers, under which humans are regarded as godlike and the rest of the animal kingdom, whether chimpanzees or clams, are treated like dirt.''

You'll find that article on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/weekinreview/13mcneil.html and
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/13/europe/rights.php

Adam Cohen's commentary on the issue is headed, in the Monday July 14 New York Times, "What's Next in the Law? The Unalienable Rights of Chimps." (Pg 14) It is headed simply "The rights of chimps" in the Thursday, July 16, International Herald Tribune (pg 11). The thoughtful piece criticizes some animal rights activism, but also challenges its opponents. Cohen writes:

"Much of the opposition to animal rights is really economic. The campaign against the anti-cruelty referendum that will be on the California ballot this November - to prohibit keeping calves, hens and pigs in inhumanely small cages - is being financed in large part by egg and meat producers."

[Note: I will write more about this extraordinary initiative to ban many forms of cruel caging throughout California in the coming weeks. For now, please go to www.YesOnProp2.com to start learning about the historic campaign, and to https://secure.hsus.org/01/chf_2020 to help combat the meat producer's financing.]

Cohen's piece is well worth reading, and as papers note how many people go to an article, please check it out at http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/16/opinion/edadam.php and/or
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/opinion/14mon4.html and check it out.

Tuesday's (July 15) USA Today article, by Jeffrey Stinson, is headed, "Activists pursue basic legal rights for great apes; Spain first to vote on some freedoms." (Pg 7a.) It includes a welcome idea from Frans de Waal, a professor at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Atlanta's Emory University. (Note -- In expressing appreciation for his comments, I do not mean to condone his keeping of chimpanzees in captivity for us to study.)

We read:

"He says comparing chimps to children or mentally handicapped people is a false argument. The psychology of an adult chimp is more akin to a human adult than a child, he says. But activists equate adult apes and children because they cannot function on their own in society, he says."

[Note: While noting the strength of the legal argument in comparing chimps to children, I discuss, in "Thanking the Monkey" (p253 ) the falsity of truly equating the abilities or sensitivity of an adult monkey, who could fend for a whole family in the forest, with that of a human child. I am pleased to see that issue at least touched upon in the USA Today article.]

You'll find the full USA Today article on line at
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-07-15-chimp_N.htm
You can comment at the bottom of that page. Many of the current comments tend towards the inane, so I hope many animal advocates will go to that page to raise the level of discussion. And please keep the issue alive in the paper with a letter to the editor. USA Today takes letters at http://tinyurl.com/hvsuz

The article on the issue by Peter Singer, a force behind the campaign, is on The Shanghai Daily website at http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=367030&type=Opinion
Please check it out, and comment below it.

Some of the most thorough discussions I have come across on legal rights for great apes are in the works of Steven Wise. In his book "Rattling the Cage" Wise argues that great apes should be given the right to "bodily liberty and bodily integrity." He bases his argument on their similarity to our species. Yet he suggests in that book, and makes it clear in his next book, "Drawing the Line," that indeed we hope for a slippery slope. He suggests that granting rights to the great apes will help tear down an arbitrary wall between human and other animals and start to open the door to more possibilities. (Check out http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738204374/dawnwatch) In the opening chapter of Thanking the Monkey I cite some of Wise's work, and that of others on the issue of rights. And I also discuss my own views -- that in human society we need not expect other animals to have exactly the same legal rights as humans, and, importantly, that the respect for their lives tha
t we offer need not be dependent on what we believe to be their level of humanness.

It is just wonderful to see this discussion in leading papers. Please keep it alive with letters to the editor.
The New York Times takes letters at letters@nytimes.com and the International Herald Tribune takes letters at letters@iht.com

Please be sure not to use any comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. The Times and Tribune make clear that they are looking for original responses from their readers.

I have covered only a few places the story appeared. Why not keep an eye out for this issue or anything that could be linked to it in your local media, and send a letter to your editor? Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

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Date: Thu Jul 17 12:36:40 2008

Today, Friday, July 11, CNN Headline News is running a wonderful little story about chimps being retired to "Save the Chimps" in Florida: "CNN's John Zarrella reports on chimps once used for research enjoying island retirement."
You can watch the video on line at
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/living/2008/07/10/am.zarrella.chimps.retire.cnn
or at this Tiny URL
http://tinyurl.com/6bfkjb
CNN notes the stories that get the most hits. When animal friendly stories prove popular, we will see more of them, so please take a quick look.
The story is lovely, and has reporter John Zarrella ending with a sweet quote from Save the Chimps founder Carole Noon:
"Why all this for the chimps? It is simple, Noon says, 'Because they deserve it.'"
Please take just a moment to thank Headline news for the wonderful coverage. Go to
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form4a.html?4

You can learn more about Save the Chimps at www.SavetheChimps.org

[Thanking the Monkey note: Though at the time of publishing I did not name the sanctuary in the book, Ron and Thoto, whose touching retirement story begins on page 261 of Thanking the Monkey, are at Save the Chimps in Florida.]

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

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Date: Fri Jul 11 13:30:31 2008

Next weekend is a good one for DC! The Taking Action for Animals conference is happening from July 19-21. Then on the night of 21st I have a book reading at Olsson's at 7pm followed by a launch party and COK fundraiser at Java Green at 8:30. (See www.ThankingtheMonkey.com and click "readings" for details.)

The TAFA conference is at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. There are still tickets available, and even cheap flights from the West Coast (check Virgin America and Alaska for starters).

It is described on the website, http://www.takingactionforanimals.org as "an annual conference and trade show that brings together seasoned animal activists as well as those just beginning their journey into the world of animal protection."

They forgot to mention it's a lot of fun! I have been before -- it is. It is heartwarming to spend a full weekend completely surrounded with likeminded folks who want to make the world a better place.

I am speaking on Saturday at 2pm, on "Taking Animal Issues to the Mainstream Media" and will be signing books later that day, as well as at Java Green on Monday night. There are 75 wonderful speakers. The website front page announces the following, then lets you click on the "speakers" link for more:

Gene Baur, president and founder of Farm Sanctuary, author of Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds about Animals and Food
U.S. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), 2007 Humane Legislator of the Year
Jarrod Cooper, safety for the Oakland Raiders
Karen Dawn, founder of DawnWatch, author of Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals
Rory Freedman, author of Skinny Bitch and Skinny Bitch in the Kitch
Jana Kohl, author of A Rare Breed of Love: The True Story of Baby and the Mission She Inspired to Help Dogs Everywhere
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States
Joe Trippi, political consultant, author of The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet and the Overthrow of Everything
Stephanie Vance, The Advocacy Guru at Advocacy Associates, author of Government by the People: How to Communicate with Congress

Please go to http://www.takingactionforanimals.org/ to learn more and to register. It is going to be a wonderful weekend!

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

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Date: Wed Jul 9 18:34:53 2008

The Monday, July 7 Washington Post has a wonderful front page story headed "Saving Michael Vick's Dogs
Pit Bulls." The subheading is, "Rescued From the Football Player's Fighting Ring Show Progress in an Unprecedented Rehabilitation Effort."

The reporter, Brigid Schulte, writes:
"Of the 49 pit bulls animal behavior experts evaluated in the fall, only one was deemed too vicious to warrant saving and was euthanized. (Another was euthanized because it was sick and in pain.)

"More than a year after being confiscated from Vick's property, Leo, a tan, muscular pit bull, dons a colorful clown collar and visits cancer patients as a certified therapy dog in California. Hector, who bears deep scars on his chest and legs, recently was adopted and is about to start training for national flying disc competitions in Minnesota. Teddles takes orders from a 2-year-old. Gracie is a couch potato in Richmond who lives with cats and sleeps with four other dogs."

Schulte notes the great work of groups such as the Utah based animal rescue group Best Friends (www.BestFriends.org) and the wonderful San Francisco based pit-bull rescue group BAD RAP -- an acronym for Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls (see www.BadRap.org )

The heartwarming article is well worth reading, and is accompanied by touching photographs. As papers note which articles get the most clicks, please check it out at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/07/06/ST2008070602429.html
or at this Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/6zecqm
and then spread the word by sharing the link (or forwarding this email with the link) rather than cutting and pasting the whole article.

It is vital that those in the media who do animal friendly articles get positive feedback, so please send reporter Brigid Schulte a thank you for this animal friendly story, at
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/staff/email/brigid+schulte/

And, importantly, please keep open the discussion of animal adoption, or pit-bull rehabilitation, or any other loosely related animal issue, by sending a letter to the editor appreciative of the front page pit-bull story, then making whatever you are inclined to make about animals. The Washington Post takes letters to the editor at letters@washpost.com

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.

I send thanks to Lawrence Pinsky for making sure we saw this article.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

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Date: Tue Jul 8 02:33:03 2008

The urgent plight of Jenny, the lone elephant at the Dallas zoo, has been in the news this last week. Jenny
has had a rough life, including years of solitary confinement. Her plight improved somewhat an elephant named Keke came to live with her, but Keke died over a month ago. The good news is that rather than replace Keke, the Dallas Zoo has decided to close its elephant exhibit. Those new to animal advocacy may not be sure why that is good news, as they may know little of the suffering of elephants in captivity. You can learn more about it in "Thanking the Monkey," where I cover it extensively, or from "In Defense of Animals" (www.idausa.org) a group that does superb work in the field of animals in entertainment. The bad news is that the zoo has decided to send Jenny to a Safari Park in Mexico, where she will not be under USDA regulation, and, most importantly, which currently has no other African elephants. The wonderful Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee (see www.elephants.com ) is eager to take Jenny but the zoo has so far refused to let her go there.

The weekly Dallas Observer covered the story in detail at http://www.dallasobserver.com/content/printVersion/1019230
Check it out, and please consider a letter to the editor in support of sanctuary in Tennessee. The paper takes letters at http://tinyurl.com/5rer9g

The station WFAA did an excellent and thorough story on the issue. You can watch it on line at http://tinyurl.com/5olo6z . You can also read the story at that link. Please take at least a quick glance, as stations notice which stories get the most web clicks. And most importantly, scroll down to the bottom of the story where you can click to email reporter Jason Whitely, and send him a quick note of thanks. Positive feedback encourages follow-ups and similar coverage. It is vital that Jenny's plight stays in the news.

Finally, terrific Dallas activist Margaret Morin, has asked us to please contact the Dallas mayor. She writes:
"We must convince the Mayor and the City Council to stop this transfer to Mexico and send Jenny to an elephant sanctuary instead. Please keep calling them until they do the right thing by Jenny. If his office tries to direct your call to the Zoo, please firmly advise that you want Mayor Leppert to make the decision."

Even if you have already called, please call again, as she writes: "I learned Friday that after we spent 10 days flooding the Dallas mayor's office with telephone calls, his office just decided to start counting the calls/emails on Friday. So, we have to do it all over again! Anything you can do to help before this becomes old news will be much appreciated."

Here is his contact information:

Mayor Tom Leppert
Dallas City Hall
1500 Marilla Street, Room 5EN
Dallas, TX 75201-6390
Main Phone: (214) 670-4054
Fax: (214) 670-0646
tom.leppert@dallascityhall.com

Last year, after years of public pressure, The Anchorage Zoo finally moved dear Maggie to the PAWS sanctuary in California. Polite public pressure works. Activists Margaret Morin, Catherine Doyle and others are doing great work on this issue
(check out http://www.idausa.org/news/currentnews/nr_080626.html to learn more) but they badly need our help. Let's see another happy ending here! We can help Jenny, and all the other elephants in captivity, as every retirement to sanctuary sets a precedent.

Yours and the animals'
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

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Date: Sat Jul 5 16:49:30 2008

On Tuesday, July 1, the San Francisco ABC talk show "View from the Bay" did a segment on cruelty free products. I was featured talking about soy milk, Earth Balance, Vegenaise and cosmetics not tested on animals, which one can buy at Whole Foods. You can watch the clip on line at:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=view_from_the_bay/everything_else&id=6239248
or at this Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/4fo2e7
Buster and Paula look fabulous.

It is important that shows get positive feedback for animal friendly coverage -- it encourages them to do more of it. So I hope people, particularly those in the Bay Area (though feedback from anywhere is helpful since the video is posted on the web) will send the show a quick thank you. The show takes comments at
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/feature?section=view_from_the_bay&id=5788598
or at this Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/5zl7vg

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php


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Date: Wed Jul 2 15:52:16 2008

I will play DawnWatch catch-up again later this week, as the last few days have been crazy with San Francisco book launch stuff. (If you are in the Bay Area please come to the champagne reading and launch tonight at "The Usual Suspects" -- information is at www.ThankingtheMonkey.com under "readings". And please let your Bay Area friends know about it).

But I am thrilled that Jungle Friends, besides doing beautiful work and attracting great media, have also sent out a terrific alert about that media, and have even included that vital information about getting in touch with ABC to send thanks for the coverage. Please do! Positive feedback for animal friendly coverage encourages more of it. Here is the Jungle Friends alert about the segment airing tonight, Tuesday July 1, on ABC's Primetime at 10pm.
-----------
Dear Friends of Jungle Friends,

We are thrilled about the segment airing Tuesday on Primetime! The segment will discuss the phenomenon of monkeys as surrogate children and how its popularity is a growing problem. The story should also get a mention on Good Morning America and World News Tonight.

At Jungle Friends we have quite a few monkeys who were purchased as surrogate children, including our most recent arrival, Andy <<a href="http://www.junglefriends.org/monk_andy.shtml">http://www.junglefriends.org/monk_andy.shtml> , a 7-year-old brown capuchin.
Angelle Sampey, a famous motorcycle racer, purchased Andy when he was just a few weeks old. Angelle tells her story on her website. You can read about her life with Andy and how she ultimately had to give him up at this link Saying goodbye to Andy. http://www.goangelle.com/Andy_and_Jungle_Friends.html

Primetimes David Muir interviewed me and Angelle here at Jungle Friends. I think David was truly shocked when he learned of the atrocities people commit when attempting to make a monkey into a child pulling them as babies from their natural mothers arms when they are just a few days old, extracting all of their teeth, amputating fingers, tail docking, shock collars, well, on and on.
Please send this post to everyone you know and post on your website or blog.

After watching Primetime, please contact ABC to let them know how the segment made you feel and thank them for bringing this shameful practice to light.
ABC Feedback http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3271346

(End of Jungle Friends alert)
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Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

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Date: Tue Jul 1 17:36:10 2008

Over the weekend, the WISC-TV show "For The Record," in Madison Wisconsin, aired a debate on primate testing. Scientists, ethicists and animal advocates, including Rick Bogle from the Primate Freedom Project (www.PrimateFreedom.org ) took part. It was an excellent discussion, which examined important issues surrounding the proposed expansion of a primate lab. As one of the guests makes clear, animal testing is the status quo, so a balanced discussion of it can only help the animals. I recommend watching the debate, which you can do on line at
http://www.c3ktogo.com/news-video/?mgid=16862

Most importantly, please express your appreciation for the air time to Neil Heinen, who is the host and editorial director of the show and also the editorial director of Madison Magazine, which has a huge story on the issue in its June edition. "Letters to the editor" regarding the show go to him at
nheinen@wisctv.com

Positive feedback for serious attention given to animal issues encourages shows to follow up, and to cover similar topics in the future.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php


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Date: Mon Jun 23 21:46:53 2008

Talk show hosts trying vegan diets -- Oprah, Ellen -- have been in the news lately. Now another phenomenon is getting a lot of press: vegan athletes. The ESPN website has a huge feature telling us about slugger Prince Fielder, football player Tony Gonzalez, fighter Mac Danzig, baseball player Pat Neshek and ultra-marathon runner Scott Jurek. The July issue of Men's Fitness includes Mac Danzig in their magazine list of the world's 25 fittest men, and also gives us a splendid web feature on him.

The ESPN piece, by reporter Jonah Keri, starts off with a discussion of some problems Prince Fielder has had on his new diet, but then looks at the other athletes who have been doing beautifully on vegan and veggie diets. It is a fascinating read, which you will find on line at:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keri/080616 OR http://tinyurl.com/54qquh
At the bottom of the article you can sign in and comment. The more enthusiastic comments on a piece like this, the better! So please write.

Then here is what the Men's Fitness July issue says, on page 111, about Mac Danzig:

"With an aggressive style and well-rounded scrapping skills, Danzig decimated the competition on season six of The Ultimate Fighter, Spike TV's hugely popular reality show featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) aspirants. Now a contender in the UFC's highly competitive lightweight (155lb) division, Danzig doesn't mind having to shed human blood to win a fight, but he can't tolerate that of animals -- he's been a vegan since 2004. "Meat just started grossing me out" says the Las Vegas-based fighter. "I was about a month from a fight and decided I was going to cut out all meat. I won that fight and went on a 12-fight win streak."
(The magazine also has Mac demonstrating the UFC workout II on page 121.)

Also, the Men's Fitness website has posted "Special, exclusive interviews with nine of the 2008 MF 25" and Mac Danzig is on the front page. Check out: http://www.mensfitness.com/fitness/288?page=1

Guys, I hope those of you doing wonderfully on plant based diets will take this opportunity to make sure that the Men's Fitness letters page gets lots of notes praising Danzig and the coverage. Men's Fitness takes letters at letters@mensfitness.com

My thanks to Kaz at the San Antonio Vegetarian Society for making sure we knew about the Men's Fitness piece, and to many folks for forwarding the ESPN link.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php

Thanks Kaz!


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Date: Sat Jun 21 19:01:05 2008

Something for all of us pit lovers, from National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition" Saturday, June 21, 2008:

"Dog trainer Mathina McClay talks with Scott Simon about her work with one of the rescued pit bulls from Michael Vick's dog fighting ring. She has trained the dog, Leo, to be a cancer therapy dog."

You can listen to the brief piece on line at:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91769901&sc=emaf
or http://tinyurl.com/3ezf8z

And please take just a moment to send a thank you, at http://www.npr.org/contact/
Positive feedback for animal friendly coverage encourages more of it.

My thanks to Dallas activist Margaret Morin for making sure we knew about the piece.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php


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Date: Sat Jun 21 16:50:40 2008

Ringling Brothers circus is in Las Vegas this week. Reporter George Knapp, from the I-team on KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate, has put together a two part series on the animal welfare battle against the circus. The segments aired Monday and Tuesday this week (June 16 and 17).

You can view both segments on line at http://www.lasvegasnow.com/global/story.asp?s=8500317 where you can also read much of the text. It includes evidence of animal cruelty, such as "undercover videos recorded of circus trainers using the infamous ankus, or bullhook, a combination club and metal hook which can inflict considerable pain and injury." We learn that "Ringling's own vets talk of elephants with multiple abrasions and lacerations from the hooks -- wounds that were covered up with makeup known as wonder dust." And we hear of the deaths of four baby elephants. One was Kenny:
"One baby elephant named Kenny was bleeding and sick but was forced to perform anyway. He died."

Please click the link above to show your interest. You can watch or read the full story and then, please, at the bottom of the page click the link where you can "Email your comments to Chief Investigative Reporter George Knapp" and take just a moment to send him a quick thank you. A positive response to stories about animal cruelty issues encourages follow-ups, and similarly themed stories.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php





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Date: Wed Jun 18 16:42:48 2008