Issue: Spring 2014

Table of Contents

• Please make a donation to bolster our animal advocacy efforts. All memberships include a subscription to the print version of Action Line magazine.

  

  Your contribution will support all of FoA's programs including:
  1. Affordable spay/neuter program
  2. Anti-fur and anti-hunting campaigns
  3. Interventions to defend wolves, deer, horses, geese, bears, prairie dogs and other wildlife
  4. Wildlife protection projects in Senegal
  5. Chimpanzee conservation in West Africa
  6. Vegan educational projects
  7. Ocean mammal rescue and release efforts
  8. Primarily Primates sanctuary support

• Visit our online store to view all of our available products. 

  

  Wolf T-shirt Available Here                                       Spider Monkey T-shirts Available Here

   

  

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• Friends of Animals has received kind donations in memory of the following individuals:

   

  Ellin Dawson

  Ethel Wegodsky

  Catherine Costanza

  Gerald Yandle, Jr.

  Andrew Grosser

  Dorothy Cuomo

  Cindy Smith Dwyer

  Midge Day

  Donna Pawlowski

  Calvin W. Harvey

  Cindy Lee Dunlap

  Jay Wescott

  Theia Poczabut

  James R. Creighton

  Marjorie Hope Sams

  Janet Patricia Kerruish

  Janet Fleming

  Mr. & Mrs. William Maur

   

  Paul

  Buster Moore

  Stinky Pudding

  Rosie

  Samantha

  Mojo

  Sophie

  Boo

  Katie

  Bear

  Molly

  Blackpaw Buddy Rugburn

  Kaluha & Black Bear

  Sparky

  Bud

  Orson

  Dandy

  Cody

  Buster

  Pecky the Pigeon

  Duke

   

• CORRECTION: In the winter issue of Action Line, we did not properly credit Don Barnes for his role in getting the Project X chimps released to Primarily Primates.

   

  Setting the Record Straight about Project X chimps

  I liked some of the winter Action Line, however I did not like the article “Animals in Entertainment,” specifically the reference to the movie Project X. 

  Tell you why: Bob “the consummate egomaniac” Barker had nothing, nada, zilch, to do with those chimps coming to Primarily Primates PPI—that was entirely my doing. 

  As you may remember, I was the technical advisor for that movie (even listed in the credits). When I found out Twentieth Century Fox intended to sell those chimps back into the movie industry, I threw a fit. I managed to get them sent to PPI (along with a veterinarian) and a check for $25,000 made out to PPI to defray costs of upkeep.

  I'm not looking for fame or prestige at this point in life, but I don't want Barker getting any more credit than he deserves…and he does deserve a lot of credit for all the good work he's done for other animals including those at PPI, I grant that.

  Barker got involved in Project X only after a trainer stepped forward with information about how the chimps were treated.  Twentieth Century Fox never allowed me on the set, and due to my extreme gullibility and naiveté, I trusted them. I was wrong to do so.  Barker then implicated me in mistreating the animals and went on to proclaim, “Once a vivisector; always a vivisector.” 

  I still have a lot of good friends in the movement and would like to set the record straight rather than wonder whether I took credit in the past for something I didn't do.

  Don Barnes

  Via e-mail

   

   

  No Such Thing as a ‘Little’ Dairy

  I commend Denise Roa for moving toward a plant-based diet (thanks to FoA's influence), but I am dismayed that she hasn't taken the next step to give up that little bit of dairy (Action Line, Autumn, 2013).  Adopting a vegan diet is clearly an effective way to reduce animal suffering, and this interview offered a golden opportunity to point out that consuming even a “little dairy” contributes to that suffering.  

  Dairy cows, after all, are repeatedly impregnated to get them to produce milk, and their offspring are either killed for their meat or put into replenishing the dairy cow population. Those that become dairy cows, like those before them, will live confined until their milk production declines.  Once that decline occurs, they will be killed with their remains going into the production of meat by-products, fertilizer or glue. 

  The dairy industry, based as it is on female animal biology, also carries implications beyond animal rights–implications that reflect our society's pernicious institutionalized sexism.  A “little dairy,” therefore, goes a long way.  I hope Ms. Roa comes to see this, and as a result, adopts a vegan diet.

  Joy Bush

  Via e-mail

   

  COEXISTING WITH BEAVERS

  After reading your article on beavers in the Winter 2014 edition of Action Line I wondered if you were aware of Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife based in Dolgeville, NJ.

  I have been in contact with B.W.&W. on several occasions when there have been conflicts between beavers and humans.  This wonderful organization wants to save beavers, wetlands and wildlife in New York, across the U.S. and overseas. 

  Beryl W. Dickson

  Schenectady, NY

   

   

•  

  Cheers

  SEED OF LIFE

  Cheers to Seed of Life, a Victoria, British Columbia health food shop, for ceasing sales of seal oil capsules. The new owner, Peter, made this decision shortly after taking over the store.  FoA had been boycotting the location since April 2011 as part of our Canadian campaign to encouraging cities to locate, letter-write and boycott stores selling seal oil capsules, a product of the bloody annual seal slaughter off the East Coast.  Thanks, Peter, for setting a great example, and hopefully more Canadian stores will follow suit.  Canadian readers, look in your local stores, and if you find seal oil capsules, please report back to Dave@FriendsofAnimals.org.

   

  BARENAKED LADIES

  An encore and Cheers to Barenaked Ladies, Heart, Willie Nelson, Cheap Trick and other performers for cancelling their Sea World shows after watching Blackfish, which exposes the dark side of keeping killer whales in captivity and questions the safety record at marine parks.  We first highlighted the cruelty of marine mammal captivity by supporting Stan Minasian’s documentary A Fall from Freedom.  It’s great to see bands acting responsibly, and doing the right thing. Let’s hope and encourage more follow suit, and watch the popularity of marine zoos decline.

   

   

  Jeers

   

  AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION

  Jeers to the American Humane Association, which oversees animal safety on film sets and gives its “stamp of approval.”  According to a One Green Planet report, films are approved but we find out afterwards animals were harmed while being trained on and off-set, which isn’t factored into the rating.  Please write AHA and demand they strengthen their policies, expanding their programs to include what happens off-set and tracking animal trainer practices prior to filming as well.  The vast majority of abuse occurs in the training prior to them being on set.

   

  You can contact their offices here:

  American Humane Association
  Film and Television Unit
  11530 Ventura Blvd.
  Studio City, CA 91604

  Call: (818) 501-0123

  Email: filmunit@americanhumane.org

  AHA President Robin R. Ganzert: robing@americanhumane.org

   

  TIME MAGAZINE

  TIME Magazine receives a big Jeer for boldly declaring deer as “pests” on its Dec. 9, 2013 cover. Animals are never pests, they’re just doing the best they can amongst the ever-expanding human population.  If populations are out of balance, it’s commonly due to our own actions — in the instance of deer, we’re killing off predators (like wolves), and providing food for them in our cities.  We have no one to blame but ourselves, and instead need to learn to live in peace with wildlife.