Long Beach, CA, Passes Mandatory Dog Spay and Neuter Ordinance

Paws Up!

To the City Council of Long Beach, California, who voted unanimously for the mandatory spay and neuter ordinance for dog owners.

Long Beach, CA, is considered one of the “most walkable cities” in America. The idea of spending a day outdoors may bring to mind bike riding, rollerblading or jogging with your four-legged friend. Soon, residents strolling through Long Beach won’t be seeing many strays in the area. According to a recent news article, the city of Long Beach recently passed an enforced pet population control ordinance. This ordinance will require all dogs over the age of 6 months to be spayed/neutered. There is already a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for cats in Long Beach. The new ordinance will go into effect October 1, 2015. 

Pet overpopulation is a real problem in the United States that strains tax-funded animal shelters and contributes to the deaths of millions of animals each year. The problem arises from pet owners who do not set aside time or money to have their pets spayed or neutered. One might say, “I want to give an animal a loving home, but I do not have the money to get him/her spayed or neutered.” While these people may have good intentions, spay/neuter is a vital part of responsible pet ownership. In many cities, local animal shelters and nonprofits work with owners to provide low-cost spay and neuter surgeries.

 Take Action: Long Beach Residents, contact the city council and thank them for passing this ordinance.  Non-Long Beach Residents, please contact your local city council and encourage them to pass a similar ordinance.

California Bans Confinement Crates for Hens and Other Animals

California has banned the use of confinement crates for egg-laying hens and other farm animals.

Paws Up!
To California legislators for passing a statewide ban on confinement crates.

As of January 1, 2015, California has banned the use of confinement crates for egg-laying hens and other farm animals under Proposition 2. This law, initiated in 2008, has given egg producers six years to comply with the new standards, which requires hens to be able to “stand up, lie down, turn around and fully extend their wings.” Calves raised for veal and pregnant sows are also included in Proposition 2, which states “a person shall not tether or confine any covered animal on a farm, for all or the majority of any day, in a manner that prevents such animal from lying down, standing up, and fully extending his or her limbs.” Furthermore, veal and sow gestation crates are now banned in the state of California. Companies such as Burger King, Kroger, Safeway, and McDonald’s have also joined in phasing out the use of these gestation crates.

Take Action: California residents, thank your legislators for passing a law that will end the use of inhumane cages and crates for farmed animals. Residents of other states, contact your legislators to express your support of laws that require humane care of farmed animals.

Orcas in Captivity

California is taking the lead the way for freeing captive orcas.

The Orca Welfare and Safety Act (AB 21240) that was before the California Assembly is now awaiting study. The bill would make it illegal to hold in captivity or use wild or captive-bred orcas for performance or entertainment purposes.

For marine life, especially orcas, the ocean is their habitat. Capturing them and putting them into an oversized swimming pool for our entertainment is putting their physical and psychological lives at risk. For instance, when confined to a tank, these sea mammals develop stereotypies. With little space and no stimulation, they can be seen swimming in static patterns around their fish bowl for hours at a time. They also develop skin problems from living in heavily chlorinated water and suffer from ulcers and pneumonia as well as self-inflicted injuries.

Orcas are highly social and form complex societies headed by females. The average lifespan for a female orca is 50 years and a male 30 in the wild. In captivity, they rarely live beyond 20 years. In addition, in the wild, they can travel up to 100 miles daily. There has been enough documentation of the extreme lives orcas live in captivity and none of it supports continuing the practice.

California residents, please contact your legislators and urge them to support this bill.

Gillnets Kill

All sea turtles living within American waters are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

California legislators have before them AB 2019, a bill that would ban drift gillnet fishing in waters off California. Gillnets, which may be a mile long, snare more than their intended target, and also trap sea turtles, sperm whales, dolphins, sea lions, and other non-targeted fish. Some of those trapped are endangered species and must be saved from further destruction.

California residents, please contact your legislators and urge them to support AB 2019.

 

Elephants Safe in LA

The use of bullhooks on circus elephants is now prohibited in the city of Los Angeles.

Paws Up!
To the Los Angeles City Council for banning the use of bullhooks on circus elephants.

The Los Angeles City Council “voted unanimously to prohibit the use of ankus or bullhooks, which is a tool used by animal trainers at circuses to keep large elephants in line, starting in 2017.”

Bullhooks are inhumane tools of the circus trade and need to be outlawed across the country. But bullhooks are really only one part of the problem. Circuses in general are abusive to animals. Learn more about the degradation animals experience in circuses and roadside shows.

Take Action: California residents, thank the leaders in Los Angeles for taking a stand to protect elephants in circuses. If you live outside LA, let your council members know you want them to follow Los Angeles’s lead. And never, never support a circus that promotes animal shows.

Herb Wesson, President
Mitchell Englander, President Pro Tempore
Los Angeles City Council
City Hall
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Ban on Lead Shot a Hit

The use of heavy metals in lead ammunition is unregulated in most U.S. states, causing harmful effects to wildlife and the environment.

Paws Up!
To the California State legislature for enacting and Governor Jerry Brown for signing into law a bill that bans all lead shot in ammunition used by hunters.

According to a news story, “Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 711 into law on October 11, making California the first U.S. state to ban the use of lead ammunition for all hunting purposes.”

The article further states, “The heavy metal’s many harmful effects have led to its ban from sources such as paint and gasoline. But lead ammunition remains one of the largest unregulated sources of lead in the environment,…”

Take Action: California residents, thank your legislators and your governor for protecting wildlife in your state by banning all lead shot in ammunition used by hunters. Residents of all other states, contact your legislators to urge them to enact similar legislation. Banning lead shot in ammunition doesn’t just protect wildlife, it protects all life.

Foie Gras Still off the Menu

A California ban on the sale of foie gras continues to be upheld despite a challenge through the Court of Appeals.

Paws Up!
To the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for upholding California’s ban on the sale of foie gras.

Foie gras is no delicacy and the state of California knows that. It banned the sale of the product in the state and now a court of appeals has upheld a challenge to that ban.

Foie gras, French for “fatty liver,” is the food product that results from ducks and geese being force fed to increase the size of their livers to the point of exploding. Considered a delicacy by some, foie gras is manufactured in an inherently inhumane manner. Ducks and geese have their mouths forced open with a metal tube that is then shoved down their throats. Feed is forced into them numerous times a day through these tubes until their livers become engorged. Some birds die before they can be slaughtered at three months of age because they develop a condition known as hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver disease.

Take Action: Thank the court for upholding California’s ban. Additionally, never order or serve foie gras. It is not a delicacy; it is the product of animal abuse.

The Honorable Alex Kozinski
Chief Judge
c/o Office of the Circuit Executive
U.S. Courts for the Ninth Circuit
P.O. Box 193939
San Francisco, CA 94119-3939

Amtrak, Stop Selling Circus Tickets

Circuses should highlight the amazing things human bodies are capable of doing, not exploit animals.

Amtrak has been selling discounted tickets to Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s shows in California this summer. Circuses that showcase wild animals often engage in abusive methods of training and confinement of them. There is nothing spectacular under the big top when wild animals are the main attraction.

Tell Amtrak you disagree with their offering discounted tickets to circuses that feature wild animals. Suggest instead the corporation focus on circuses that celebrate the human’s ability to produce death-defying acts rather than on circuses that bring death and destruction to wild animals.

Joseph H. Boardman, CEO
Amtrak Corporate Headquarters
4300 Garden City Dr.
Washington, DC 20005

Factory Farmed Animals Win Some/Lose Some

Paws Up!
To a California legislator for withdrawing an “ag-gag” bill.

Paws Down!
To the Tennessee legislature for passing one.

“Ag-gag” laws are being considered in many states in order to provide protection for those that commit inhumane acts upon factory-farmed animals.

“Ag-gag” laws are being considered in many states. These laws are meant to interfere with undercover investigations of factory farms. They end up protecting employers and employees of factory farms who are abusing the animals in their care. These laws also destroy freedom of speech and the public’s right to know what happens to animals raised and slaughtered for food.

According to a news story, the author of California’s ag-gag bill (AB 343) withdrew the bill. However Tennessee passed such a bill in both houses and has sent it to the governor for signature.

Take Action: Tennessee residents, contact your governor and urge him not to sign the Livestock Cruelty Prevention Act (HB 1191/SB 1248).
California residents, let your legislators know you are not in favor of any bill that interferes with the pursuit of truth in the factory farm industry.

Ships and Whales Don’t Mix

Paws Up!
To the International Maritime Organization for protecting whales in California waters.

According to a news story, “Ship traffic off the California coast will be re-routed under new rules designed to protect slow-moving endangered whales from ship collisions.

“The International Maritime Organization has approved vessel lane changes on approaches to San Francisco Bay and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and in the Santa Barbara Channel. The changes take effect [in 2013].”

“Slow-moving whales are highly vulnerable to ship strikes because many of their feeding and migration areas overlap with shipping lanes. In 2007, four whales (all blue whales) were killed by confirmed or likely ship strikes in and around the Santa Barbara Channel, NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] said. In 2010, five whales (two blue, one humpback, and two fin whales) were killed by confirmed or likely ship strikes in the San Francisco area and elsewhere along the north-central California coast.”

Blue, humpback, and fin whales are protected by the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

Unfortunately, every year there are ship collisions with endangered whales.

Take Action: Take a moment to thank the International Maritime Organization for protecting these endangered species.

Koji Sekimizu, Secretary-General
International Maritime Organization
4, Albert Embankment
London
SE1 7SR
United Kingdom
Tele. No.: +44 (0)20 7735 7611
Fax No.: +44 (0)20 7587 3210
Email: info@imo.org