April 30, 2013 | News & Information
The headlines of stories this week about the Cracker Day rodeo at the Volusia County Fairgrounds in DeLand were about a woman who was trampled and gored by a bull, but what we found more interesting was a statement by a spectator.
John Weideman-Beal told WESH Ch. 2 that before the bull was released from the chute he saw something odd: “I saw one of the handlers reach down in there, and I don’t know if they cattle-prodded it or what, and it went from a little ornery to bucking, kicking and shewing, and I said, ‘That is one crazy bull. Somebody is going to get hurt.’”
It’s common for rodeo organizers to talk about “mean bulls” and the bucking “instinct” of bulls. It’s less common for a member of the public to spot the bucking straps, electro-shock prods or the tail-twisting that provoke animals into displaying wild behavior.
April 23, 2013 | News & Information
Last week, a man in Lee County was arrested on animal cruelty charges after it was discovered he had branded his dog and docked the dog’s tail without anesthesia. Lee County Domestic Animal Services veterinarian Suzanne Vazzana explained that branding can cause “considerable pain and suffering.”
We hope that if this individual is found guilty that he receives the maximum penalty and loses custody of the dog. But it is a sad reflection on how society views animals that tail docking and branding are among the painful mutilations commonly suffered by cows in the beef and dairy industries in Florida, without any action from law enforcement.
Cows, like the dog in Lee County, suffer third-degree burns from branding. Cows, like all animals, are protected under Florida’s anti-cruelty statute (828.12). Unfortunately, it would be very difficult to convince a prosecutor to file criminal charges against a farmer for branding or cutting off the tail of a cow.
We look forward to a day when dogs and cows are no longer treated differently under the law.
April 16, 2013 | News Releases
For Immediate Release: April 16, 2013
(Kissimmee, FL) — On Tuesday, April 16 the Kissimmee City Commission will consider an ordinance to prohibit the public slaughter of animals. The proposed ordinance is in response to citizen complaints about the butchering of wild pigs and other hunted animals in public view. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) has sent a letter to commissioners urging them to reject the ordinance.
“The killing and butchering of an animal– whether the unfortunate animal is a wild pig, deer, cow or a chicken– is horrible to witness, but that is exactly why it shouldn’t be hidden behind the walls of a slaughterhouse,” said ARFF Communications Director Don Anthony. “We urge the City of Kissimmee to either reject the proposed ban on the public slaughter of animals, or ban slaughter completely in the city.”
Paul McCartney famously said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.” Although that is an exaggeration, it is true that animal slaughter in plain sight, along with the cries of animals and the smell of blood, would be a powerful reminder of the individual animals behind the meat on people’s plates.
For animal advocates working for a future without slaughterhouses, that day might come faster if it was impossible for meat eaters to hide from the slaughterhouse.
*ARFF’s letter to the city commission is available upon request
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April 12, 2013 | News & Information
We were shocked this week to see the news that an elephant traveling with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had been shot during a stop in Tupelo, Mississippi. Thankfully, the injury was not life-threatening and Carol the elephant is expected to recover. We hope those responsible for this horrible crime will be quickly identified and arrested.
Animal activists in South Florida may recognize the elephant victim. Carol was one of three elephants who, beginning in 1989, performed daily at the Swap Shop flea market in Fort Lauderdale. After 15 years, the flea market ended its financial support and the circus was evicted in 2005. The campaign against the Swap Shop circus was one of ARFF’s longest.
In 1990, Carol crushed a circus worker to death in the parking lot at the Swap Shop.
When Carol recovers, we hope that she does not rejoin the circus. Carol has suffered long enough. She deserves a peaceful retirement, free from constant travel chained in the back of a truck, and safe from random shootings!
March 29, 2013 | News Releases
For Immediate Release: March 29, 2013
As Florida marks five centuries of European influence, the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) is making the case that it’s time to welcome wild pigs as a Florida animal.
Although Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon may not have had pigs with him when his ships first landed in Florida in April 1513, it’s believed that he brought pigs to Florida on his return trip eight years later. Descendents of these pigs (as well as pigs from Hernando de Soto’s 1539 expedition) roam, root and reproduce across Florida today. Florida was likely the first state in the continental United States to have pigs.
“This year there will be events and exhibits celebrating the introduction by the Spanish of horses, cattle and oranges to Florida,” said ARFF Communications Director Don Anthony. “We want to take this opportunity to remind people that pigs have also been in Florida for (almost) 500 years.”
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) considers wild pigs, and every plant or animal that “did not historically occur in Florida,” to be non-native. This designation may not mean much for cracker horses or oranges, but it has been used as justification for horrible acts of cruelty against wild pigs.
“In Florida hunters use packs of dogs, and primitive weapons like knives and spears, to chase down and kill wild pigs,” Anthony said. “Such cruel acts would not be allowed in the pursuit of deer or other ‘native’ animals in Florida.”
ARFF is calling on the FWC to end the use of dogs to hunt wild pigs, prohibit the use of inhumane weapons, such as spears and swords, and prohibit castration by hunters of young male pigs without anesthesia.
Visit ARFF’s website– www.arff.org/wild-pigs –for more information about wild pigs in Florida.
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March 22, 2013 | News & Information
This week it was announced that circus owner Hugo Liebel had agreed to pay $7,500 to settle charges that he repeatedly violated the Animal Welfare Act in his treatment and handling of animals, including an elephant named Nosey. It was a case that ARFF had been closely following. It’s hard not to be discouraged by such a small fine.
But there are signs that people are becoming more aware of the suffering of elephants and other animals in traveling circuses. Last weekend, ARFF protested the Cole Bros. Circus in DeLand. Following one of the shows, a man who went to the circus with his son spoke on camera about the elephants. “It seemed a little awkward to see them being controlled like that, out of their natural environment,” the man said, and added that he went online during the show and learned that the circus has a horrible history. He thanked activists for being there. View the video here.
March 7, 2013 | News & Information
In 2008, ARFF objected when the City of Orlando announced plans to import a group of swans to Lake Eola Park to be added to the already large number of swans on the lake. ARFF criticized the plan as irresponsible, primarily because Lake Eola is a busy, urban park that is a poor environment for captive animals. Park visitors feed the swans everything from white bread to Cheetos, and the birds are susceptible to becoming victims of human cruelty (the swans have had their wings clipped, a permanent amputation that prevents them from flying very well and escaping from danger).
This week we learned of another in a long list of incidents in which swans at Lake Eola were victims of cruelty. Orlando police are looking for a man who released his dog from its leash to attack a swan. The bird was euthanized after suffering severe injuries.
In January 2012, a man was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals after he grabbed a swan and carried the bird out of Lake Eola by the neck. In July 2011, police followed a trail of feathers to the home of a man who had taken a swan from the lake. In October 2010, at least six swans were stolen by a man who had intended to sell the animals. In June 2009 police arrested a man at the park for grabbing two swans by the neck. We could go on…
It’s clear that the City of Orlando is unable to protect the swans at Lake Eola Park. Contact Orlando’s Mayor and ask that the city never again purchases swans for Lake Eola.
Mayor Buddy Dyer
Email: buddy.dyer@cityoforlando.net
Please share with us any responses that you receive!
February 21, 2013 | News & Information
Last week the “Python Challenge” wrapped-up without making much of a dent in the population of snakes in the Everglades. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) hasn’t said if they’ll hold the event again next year. But unless the agency changes its hands-off approach to the exotic pet trade, there may be a “Tegu Challenge” or “Tarantula Challenge” in Florida’s future.
While Florida struggles with already established populations of reptiles such as pythons and iguanas, pet stores and breeders continue to carelessly sell exotic snakes, lizards and spiders to anyone who wants to buy them.
Because of Florida’s subtropical climate, animals like the tegu, a lizard native to South America but popular in the pet trade, are able to thrive in the wilds of Florida after escaping from captivity or being dumped by irresponsible pet owners.
It is clear that the pet trade is at the root of the problem, and any real solution must target the source. It is time to ban the breeding and sale of exotic animals as pets in Florida. The FWC might argue that they could not have foreseen the Burmese python problem, but there is no excuse not to act to prevent future problems.
You Can Help
Please contact Florida’s state wildlife agency and urge them to ban the breeding, sale and private possession of exotic animals– to protect animals and the environment.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Email: Commissioners@MyFWC.com
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January 17, 2013 | News Releases
For Immediate Release: January 17, 2013
(West Palm Beach, FL) — The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) is calling for the retirement of an elderly Asian elephant who will perform at the South Florida Fair beginning January 18.
This year’s fair features “Elephant Encounter,” a show that travels with two elephants owned by Bill Morris of Gibsonton, Florida. ARFF believes that one of the elephants, Cora, is over 60 years old. She may be the oldest elephant still traveling and performing in the United States. Elderly elephants often suffer from arthritis and foot and joint problems that are made worse by confinement.
“Cora has spent more than five decades performing in circuses and at county fairs. She deserves a peaceful retirement,” said Don Anthony, ARFF Communications Director. “We are pleading with Bill Morris and the South Florida Fair to take Cora off the road and allow her to spend her remaining years free from the stresses of traveling and performing.”
Violent, physical abuse remains a common method of training and controlling elephants in circuses and traveling shows. In 2003, Bill Morris was filmed cruelly using a bullhook on Cora (the video is available on ARFF’s YouTube page: www.youtube.com/AnimalsFlorida).
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January 11, 2013 | News & Information
On Thursday, WFTX-TV/FOX 4 (Cape Coral) reported on the announcement by United Airlines that it would no longer transport monkeys destined for laboratory experimentation. When contacted by the TV station for comment, the president of Primate Products, Donald Bradford, said, “another airline turning its back to the fight against diseases and the suffering they cause means animals utilized in that fight will endure days and days on trucks instead of a two to three hour trip on airplanes.”
We’re not sure if Mr. Bradford was being intentionally misleading, or if he badly needs a geography refresher (and of course, we disagree with his claim that animal experiments are necessary in the fight against disease)? Primate Products is a Miami-based corporation that imports monkeys from countries such as China, Cambodia and the Phillipines for use in research and testing. Obviously you can’t truck monkeys from China to the U.S., and the trip by air from those countries takes much, much longer than two or three hours. The grueling, long-distance trips can be extremely stressful experiences. It is not uncommon for monkeys to die even before they make it to a laboratory.
We suspect that Bradford is aware of the true significance of United Airlines announcement. There are a dwindling number of airlines that continue to be involved in the cruel primate trade. Without airlines, Primate Products’ import business grinds to a halt.
Air France is one of a small number of passenger airlines willing to transport monkeys destined for research. You can help by contacting Air France and urging them to end their involvement in the transport of monkeys to laboratories.
Jan Krems, Vice President, The Americas
Air France-KLM Cargo
Phone: (877) 247-9247
Email: jan.krems@klmcargo.com
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