Those of you that have been receiving our Updates for a while may well remember the one of 17th December 2003. We were pleased to be able to report then that the majority of Euro MPs had backed a call for the banning of dog and cat fur within Europe.

For reasons known only to themselves, the EU Commissioners have delayed implementing this democratic decision. If they do not act before the end of this EU Parliament in May, Declaration 17 will become automatically shelved.

At ITD we try to avoid making political comments of any kind. This is however an exception. Should they not implement a ban that has the backing of the majority of democratically elected Euro MPs and of European citizens, the EU Commissioners will show themselves to be not only ineffectual, but unfit for the position of trust that they hold.  Although they may be replaced in the next Parliament, they will have displayed dishonour and contempt for the citizens in whose name they supposedly act.

Please read the report from the Daily Record below, then email the Commissioners expressing your outrage at their inactivity.


RED TAPE HOLDS UP BAN ON FUR TRADE
Apr 17 2004
 

CAMPAIGNERS are facing a race against time to ban the evil trade in cat and dog fur.

Euro MPs finally backed a ban on the imports of household pet skins last year following a lengthy campaign led by the Daily Record.

But despite winning the support of a majority of MEPs, the ban has been caught up in Euro red tape with less than a month before the European Parliament breaks for the May elections.

Scots Euro MP Struan Stevenson has hit out at the European Commission who he claims are trying to stall the ban for political reasons.

Our campaign highlighted the shocking trade in the furs of cats and dogs, which are brutally killed and skinned by furriers in China, Thailand and South Korea before being imported to Europe.

MP Stevenson said: 'It is now up to the Commission to draft the legislation and put it before the Council of Ministers who can then approve the ban.

'But, even although it would only take five minutes for them to write up the legislation proposal to go before the Council, they still haven't done it and it could all soon be too late.'

Send emails to the Commissioners  below:

Antonio.Vitorino@cec.eu.int; David.Byrne@cec.eu.int ;
Erkki.Liikanen@cec.eu.int; kabinett-fischler@cec.eu.int ;
Frits.Bolkestein@cec.eu.int; Margot.Wallstrom@cec.eu.int ;
Mario.Monti@cec.eu.int; Michaele.Schreyer@cec.eu.int ;
Neil.Kinnock@cec.eu.int; Pascal.Lamy@cec.eu.int;
Poul.Nielson@cec.eu.int;Romano.Prodi@cec.eu.int,

Viviane.Reding@cec.eu.int

Sample email, but PLEASE write your own if possible.


Dear Commissioner

I was dismayed to learn that Declaration 17, which was endorsed by a clear majority of Euro MPs in December 2003, has not yet been acted upon by the Commissioners and, as a result, may not become a Directive.

Declaration 17 calls for the ban of the reprehensible trade in dog and cat fur and has the support of the majority of EU citizens. This support was reflected in the votes of their democratically elected Members within the EU Parliament.

You must be aware that, should you not act upon this within the current life of the EU Parliament, Declaration 17 is likely never to become legislation. I therefore urge you to take a few minutes from your busy schedule to draft the paperwork required to put this before the Council of Ministers, thus allowing the wishes of the European people to be enforced. The democratic process demands no less.

Yours sincerely

Name/email address

Please write a letter to the Mayor of Sanuki City to revoke a permit he issued to an organization that promotes dolphin-assisted therapy.

Background:
Sanuki City, located about 500 km southwest from Tokyo in Kagawa prefecture, planned to proceed with a "dolphin healing center" project using dolphins from the drive fishery in Taiji. The City built facilities for that purpose and started an "experiment" to determine whether dolphins can survive in the poor environment used by the "healing" business. ASK Japan Corporation (ASK Japan), the owner of the dolphins, entrusted by Sanuki City,cared for the dolphins.
Two out of five dolphins already died last year because the environment where the facilities are located is not suitable for dolphins' health.

After receiving strong worldwide protests and petitions, the Mayor of the City decided to stop the project and not include it in the budget for the next fiscal year. Working with more than 40 worldwide organizations and nearly a thousand individuals, we urged the Mayor to close down the facilities.

Update:
1)When the Mayor decided to withdraw from the "healing" business, he made it clear that one of the reasons he stopped the project was due to the poor environment for the dolphins; he was also informed about the cruelty involved with the drive fishery. Unfortunately, the Mayor decided to lease the facilities to continue the dolphin business, giving Japan Dolphin Assisted Therapy Association (JDAT) a permit to use the facilities.

2) JDAT and ASK Japan began working together to purchase a four- to- five-year-old male dolphin caught by the drive fishery in Taiji. On March 26, 2004, the dolphin was moved to Sanuki and put into a special sea pen there.

3) On April 1, 2004 JDAT and ASK Japan started their new dolphin business using Sanuki's facilities which they newly named "Dolphin Center." They display dolphins to visitors and also carry out Dolphin Feeding and Dolphin Assisted Therapy for autistic children.

4) They plan to build new facilities (budget of 30million yen) near the present facilities so they can expand the dolphin "business" into the winter season.

Please send an E-mail or fax to:

Mr. Shinya Akazawa, Mayor of Sanuki City
5385-8, Shido, Sanuki-shi, Kagawa-ken,
769-2195 Japan
E-mail: hisyo@m.sanuki.ne.jp   
Fax: +81-87-894-4440

  Director of Marine Mammal Project
Elsa Nature Conservancy, Japan
P.O.Box 2, Tsukuba Gakuen Post Office
Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki-ken, 305-8691 Japan
Tel & Fax: +81-29-851-1637
E-mail: pah03724@nifty.ne.jp

Mr. Shinya Akazawa, Mayor of Sanuki City
5385-8, Shido, Sanuki-shi, Kagawa-ken,
769-2195 Japan
E-mail: hisyo@m.sanuki.ne.jp   
Fax: +81-87-894-4440

  Dear Mr. Shinya Akazawa,

  Please revoke the permit to use City facilities for dolphin business.

  We, the undersigned, urge you to revoke the permit to use or lease Sanuki facilities for dolphin display and business.

When Sanuki City decided to stop the "Dolphin Healing Center" project and not include it in the 2004 fiscal year budget one of the reasons was that the Seto Inland Sea, where the facilities are located, is not suitable for the dolphins' health. We applauded your decision, and expected that Sanuki City would begin an administration that shows kind consideration to wild animals.

You understood that the environment at this location is very poor for dolphins causing stress and health problems. You were already aware of how the dolphins were cruelly captured and the trauma and suffering they experienced being caught in the drive fishery. Despite this, you have decided to continue to support the dolphin "healing" business by leasing City facilities to Japan Dolphin Assisted Therapy Association.

You declared, evading responsibility, that Sanuki City would not participate in this matter. However, Sanuki City is directly participating by leasing City property for this business.  As Mayor of the City, you are responsible for business carried out in City facilities. You cannot evade, shift responsibility, or deny your direct involvement and support of this cruel,unnecessary business. Issuing a permit to use dolphins in City facilities shows that you actively support and join the animal-abusive business.

As you know, dolphins in the facilities were and will be supplied from the drive fishery. This means that you supported and will continue to support the cruelest capture that will likely sharply decrease to extinction the number of dolphins around the Japanese Sea. You should realize that your decision and action to allow this business in Sanuki directly contributes to the destruction of the ecosystem and aggravates the natural environmental balance.

We strongly urge you to revoke the permit and work to stop the dolphin business immediately.

We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Name/Country

Slitting a lobster down the middle so that it can be eaten alive over 20 minutes or so whilst suffering unimaginable pain, curling its claws in agony, defies belief. To attempt to justify this atrocious torture by calling it an Oriental "tradition" is inexcusable. This practise has already been banned in many countries where it has surfaced, and I strongly urge you to voluntarily remove this obscenity from your menu.

Yours sincerely

Name

Email address

_____________________________________________

CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS PROMOTING IDITAROS DOG TORTURE

From the Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

According to the Los Angeles Times, Claremont Unified District board member Joan Presecan promotes the Iditarod to children by visiting schools and helping teachers develop lessons about the Iditarod dog sled race. Because the race has a long, documented history of dog deaths, illnesses and injuries, it is a violation of the letter and the spirit of California's Humane Education Law for teachers to promote the Iditarod.

Please tell the district's superintendent to follow the law by instructing her teachers not to promote this barbaric race.

EMAIL: drsmith@chs.cusd.claremont.edu

Sample letter to personalize:

Dear Dr. Smith:

According to the Los Angeles Times, Claremont Unified School District board member Joan Presecan is promoting the Iditarod dog sled race. The Iditarod has a long, documented history of dog deaths, illnesses and injuries. By allowing the Iditarod to be promoted in your schools, you are violating the letter and spirit of the Humane Education Law of California: "233.5. (a) Each teacher shall endeavor to impress upon the minds of the pupils the principles of morality, truth, justice, patriotism...and the meaning of equality and human dignity, including the promotion of harmonious relations, kindness toward domestic pets and the humane treatment of living creatures...." Please follow the law by instructing your teachers not to promote this barbaric race and all the evils associated with it.

In the Iditarod, dogs are forced to run 1,150 miles, which is the approximate distance between Los Angeles and Vancouver, Canada, over a grueling terrain in 8 to 15 days. Dog deaths and injuries are common in the race. USA Today sports columnist Jon Saraceno called the Iditarod "a travesty of grueling proportions" and "Ihurtadog." Fox sportscaster Jim Rome called it "I-killed-a-dog." Orlando Sentinel sports columnist George Diaz said the race is "a barbaric ritual" and "an illegal sweatshop for dogs." USA Today business columnist Bruce Horovitz said the race is a "public-relations minefield."

The Sled Dog Action Coalition (SDAC) was founded in 1999 to educate America about the exploitation of sled dogs in Alaska's annual Iditarod dog sled race. The SDAC and its efforts to educate people about the brutalities associated with the Iditarod wa