One bunny had a broken jaw and was missing its tail. Three more wound up at the home of a Cottage Grove employee after a co-worker said her kids couldn’t keep them. “Video at end of this post”!
Heather Crippen of Red Barn Rabbit Rescue says that those were a few of the results of a previous “animal scramble” at the Cottage Grove Rodeo.
Bunny at recent animal scramble. Photo Scott Becstead/HSUS
Crippen started Red Barn with her daughter and runs the small rescue out of her farm in Creswell. She says with 50 rabbits already and a waiting list of 20 more, she wants to avoid more hurt and homeless bunnies. She has been asking the rodeo, which will take place July 12-13, to sponsor a different event for children.
Rabbitsare fragile and the event stresses, sickens and even kills them, she says. In the animal scramble last year, and at a recent one at Myrtle Creek in Douglas County, rabbits were tossed out of trailers or pickup trucks and into an arena where hordes of children were unleashed to chase and catch them.
Red Barn’s video of the 2012 scramble shows bunnies getting stepped on and, Crippen says, paralyzed with fear. If the kids catch a rabbit at the event, they keep it. An attendee at the Myrtle Creek scramble was reported to have said to his child, “You going to catch us a rabbit? Going to help dad butcher it?”
Crippen has offered to donate money to the Cottage Grove Riding Club (CGRC) for a different, animal-friendly event, such as one that hides money and prizes inside plastic eggs. The rodeo and scramble are a fundraiser for the riding club. At press time, the rescue’s offer has not been accepted.
CGRC president Kelli Fisher says the event benefits the community and it gives children “the opportunity to experience raising their own animal.”
Red Barn has discovered that the scramble is subject to USDA regulations. “They have to get licensed and inspected,” Crippen says. “Many of the regulations are for the protection and safety of the rabbits.” And she says she was told the rodeo only recently applied for the license, so she’s not sure how they will get approved in time.
Crippen emailed the club in May, asking that this year’s event be removed, saying she has heard from PETA and other groups that want to protest the scramble. Crippen wrote that Red Barn has tried to discourage protest and “we prefer a professional approach to this disagreement.”
The riding club responded with a letter from attorney Milton E. Gifford, who alleges that Crippen’s email “threatened that there would be protests and picketing.” He tells her that she does “not have the right to videotape any portion of the rodeo” and calls her email “veiled threats” and says she will “be held personally liable for intentional interference with business relations.” Fisher says, “I and our board consider Red Barn and its members to be cruel, hurtful and a threat to our families.”
Scott Beckstead, Oregon director for theHumane Society of the United States, has been supporting Crippen’s efforts to end the scramble. He says…
“It is our position that this event is inherently cruel to the rabbits, and promotes unhealthy attitudes about pet ownership by awarding live animals as ‘prizes.’ Rabbits are delicate, sensitive little creatures, and turning them loose in a rodeo arena to be chased by a throng of children subjects them to an unreasonable risk of terror, shock and injury.”
Beckstead says that rabbits are the third most common animal at shelters and humane societies, and events such as the scramble strain those resources. Crippen and Beckstead have met with Faye Stewart, the Lane County commissioner from Cottage Grove, and Crippen spoke to the County Commission on June 4 about her concerns over the animal scramble. Fisher says CGRC is working with the local Humane Society chapter to improve the event.
South Douglas Rodeo’s “traditional” rabbit scramble is a youth event for children under the age of six years old. The children as lined up on the fence while rabbits are dumped into the arena from the bed of a truck. On go, the children sprint and chase down their prey, a living “prize” that will come with a small baggy of food and a sticker with care instructions.
Share your thoughts about the “Rabbit Scramble” and send your opinion to the South Douglas Rodeo.
Although the court held that ALDF lacked standing to be a plaintiff in the case, it nevertheless confirmed that our clients—Louisiana residents and taxpayers—do have standing to challenge illegal actions by the government, in this case the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
In ruling on the merits, the court agreed with ALDF’s argument that Michael Sandlin cannot receive a grandfather permit to continue to keep Tony because Sandlin does not meet the legal requirements for such a permit. As the court put it:
The record establishes that on August 15, 2006, Tony was not owned by Michael Sandlin; rather, he was owned by Tiger Truck Stop. Additionally, on August 15, 2006, the ownership and possession of Tony by Tiger Truck Stop and the possession by Michael Sandlin in Iberville Parish was in violation of a local ordinance, and thus, illegal. Although that local ordinance was amended in 2009 retroactive to August 15, 2006, the amendment to the ordinance did not change the fact that on August 15, 2006, neither Tiger Truck Stop nor Michael Sandlin legally possessed or legally owned Tony. Only an individual who legally possessed an exotic cat (such as a tiger) and who could prove legal ownership of that exotic cat is entitled to a permit for that cat. Accordingly, that part of the judgment of the trial court granting a final/permanent injunction against DWF, enjoining it from issuing any new permits to Michael Sandlin and/or Tiger Truck Stop for the tiger (“Tony” microchip #477E201A4C) now located at Tiger Truck Stop in Iberville Parish is affirmed.
The decision marks a significant step towards Tony’s freedom, as the second-highest court in Louisiana has confirmed that the Department erred when it issued Sandlin a permit. Sandlin’s lawyer has said she intends to seek rehearing of the Court of Appeal’s decision, as well as review by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Sandlin also has his own lawsuit to invalidate the state’s big cat ban. But rest assured ALDF will fight every step of the way to make sure Tony ends up in a reputable sanctuary. We still have a long road ahead, but we’ve cleared a major hurdle and have earned this moment of celebration.
District Attorney Janetta Hicks explains that’s because “Mr. Sappington’s conduct was not a violation ofNew Mexicolaw.”
She writes that Sappington killed the horse for his own consumption, which is a commonly accepted agricultural and animal husbandry practice; it’s also excluded from the state’s extreme animal cruelty statute. The state also reviewed federal laws, and determined that Sappington also acted in accordance with those slaughtering standards.
“The was verified through the interview with Mr. Sappington, video clips of Mr. Sappington actually processing and storing the horse after shooting it, and recovery of horse meat packaged for human consumption,” Hicks writes.
Even so, Hicks, in her letter, also pointed out the video clip featuring Sappington’s incendiary comments and the abrupt manner in which he killed the horse “demonstrated infectivity as well a poor judgment.”
For many, the day signifies hope – a new season, a fresh start, a promise of a good year. Millions of fans from all over the nation flock to stadiums to cheer on their favorite baseball heroes. Many of these fans are children who look up to the athletes as role models and emulate their behaviors.
Undoubtedly, the Tigers, like so many other animal enthusiasts in the U.S., did not realize that cub photo ops represent the very opposite of “hope”.
Not only do the photos send the wrong message that handling a wild big cat and treating it like a “pet” is an acceptable thing to do, and frighteningly, despite the fact that 17 adults and 5 children in the U.S. have been killed and nearly 300 other people have been injured by captive big cats within recent years, many people added comments to the Facebook posting that express enthusiasm for owning a tiger, but these photo op’s also represent less than a hopeful situation for the poor cub.
After all, he was brought to the ballpark by Dade City‘s Wild Things Zoo, a private zoo that shamefully allows the public to swim, bottle feed and cuddle with tiger cubs and has repeatedly been cited by theUSDA due to poor veterinary care, improper cub handling, and unacceptable fencing, among other disturbing issues.
Dozens of U.S. traveling zoos and roadside exhibitors profit from charging the public a fee to pet and pose with tiger cubs and other large big cats.
People don’t realize when they patronize these facilities that they are contributing to a huge public safety and animal welfare problem that exists in the U.S. today.
After the cubs grow too big and dangerous for handling, all too often they could be kept in someone’s backyard; sent to aroadside zoo; bred incessantly to further fuel the cub handling trade, or could even be killed.
In one notorious incident of severe cruelty, investigators found more than 90 dead tigers, including 58 cubs stuffed into freezers, on the property a self-professed animal “rescuer” who charged admission for people to visit the tigers.
This is why passing theBig CatsandPublic SafetyProtection Act – a nationwide ban on private big cat ownership and breeding that will soon been reintroduced in Congress-is so important.
The Detroit tigers now have a key opportunity to use their national voice to turn this around and pledge that they will, in the future, choose not to pose with tiger cubs because they would never knowingly want to support an industry that thrives off the exploitation of big cats.
This would be a most appropriate way to kick off a season of hope. -TC
“Please let me point out, that at no time, have I ever said Tony is abused or cruelly treated. My issue & that of most advocates for Tony, is simply his living enclosure & it’s site at the truck stop. Please see the videos & sign the petition at the end of this post…thank you!”
GROSSE TETE, La. — The Americantruck stop is a promise of certain reliable’s a shower, a warm meal, some small talk at the counter, a 24/7 source of diesel, beef jerky and cigarettes
Tony, a Bengal-Siberian tiger, is kept on the premises at the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La. Web sites have been created urging Tony’s removal, letters have been written, and public officials have been lobbied
The truck stop here just west of Baton Rouge offers all those things, but as most southern Louisianians know, it has another less standard feature: a 550-pound Bengal-Siberian tiger.
Tony is only the latest in a line of tigers to live here. Thirteen cubs were born at the truck stop, and several adult tigers brought in, including a white tiger named Salena who died of pancreatic cancer in the early 2000s and is now stuffed and sitting in the Tiger Cafe atop the salad bar.
Tony, who is 12 years old, spends his days draped languidly on top of his cinder-block den or pacing around the grass in his 40-foot-by-80-foot caged enclosure on one side of the parking lot, seemingly as unriveted by the truckers as they are by him. “The enclosure gates have been filmed open many times, but Tony often prefers to paces back & forth in his concrete enclosure.His enclosure may be large for a tiger living in a yard, but size is nothing…it’s what’s in it that makes all the difference. There is nothing for Tony to do nor any natural foliage to make it appear more like his natural habitat. Tony does not have a swimming pool, although Mr. Sandlin has been quoted several times, saying it is a pool; it’s a horse feed trough or something similar. Irrelevant of what it is, it’s way too small for Tony to sit in never mind swim; In all the years I have been advocating for Tony’s move, i have never once seen him dip so much as a toe in that water trough & I’ll bet nobody can find any evidence of him being in it (apart from possibly when he was a young cub)!”
He also appears unmoved by his role at the centre of a costly and complicated legal dispute, pitting claims of property rights against animal rights and prompting regular news reports about his impending removal. The legal fight has gone on for years. Tony remains.
“It’s become more of a liability than an asset,” said Michael Sandlin, 50, who has run the truck stop for the past 25 years. “But it’s not the money. It’s the principle.”
The Tiger Truck Stop has long been a thorn in the paw of animal rights organizations and many animal lovers generally. Web sites have been created urging Tony’s removal, letters have been written, public officials lobbied. Robert Barham, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, described “cases of mail from every state and a host of foreign countries.” Still, he said, state veterinarians sent to inspect Tony invariably returned with reports of good health. “Good, I’m glad some vets have seen him, but was it a routine check or did he have bloods, scans etc. to check his internal organs are not being effected by the air born fumes? I would sure like to see a copy of that report!”
Matthew Liebman, a lawyer for theAnimal Legal Defense Fund, based in California, acknowledged that Tony’s situation was not the worst he had ever seen, though he and others worry about the tiger’s constant exposure to exhaust and diesel fumes.
“The bottom line for us is that tigers don’t belong in truck stops,” Mr. Liebman said. “I think it reflects a pretty commodified, objectifying view of animals that we don’t support — that they are objects of entertainment, that they are gimmicks to sell gasoline.”
In 2006, the state passed a law that put limits on “big exotic cat” possession, but allowed anyone who owned such a cat at the time to be grandfathered in. Mr. Sandlin, who had kept tigers here for nearly two decades, was granted a permit for Tony. But in a 2011 trial, lawyers for the animal defense fund showed that a parish law that was on the books in 2006 prohibited keeping exotic animals and argued that he should not have been exempted from the new law. The judge agreed and ordered Mr. Sandlin’s state permit revoked.
Mr. Sandlin, who still has a federal permit, has appealed the decision, and has also filed a separate lawsuit arguing that the state law itself is unconstitutional because it is applied unevenly and leaves too much discretion to enforcement officials.
Still, he has been looking for a retirement home for Tony. This search generated its own outcry when he said he was leaning toward a wildlife park in Oklahoma owned by a man who calls himself Joe Exotic, but whose real name is Joe Schreibvogel.
Mr. Schreibvogel’s park has attracteda good deal of controversy itself and is being investigated by federal officials for 23 tiger cub deaths. Although this was found to be tainted formulae. But Mr. Sandlin said he believed that it provided good care, and did not trust others to know what was good for Tony. “Now with Joe Exotic becoming bankrupt, how will this effect Tony, will Mr Sandlin still prefer to move him their, will he still be able to move him their or will he choose an accredited sanctuary; which Tony deserves. Joe Exotic has been asking for donations to build Tony an enclosure, for some time now. He has been quoted as saying, it would be off the usual track visitors take, so Tony can be private! Yet Mr. Sandlin say’s Tony is used to noise??? I have just found the same article on Joe Exotics new web page; the name of the park has change to The Garold Wayne interactive Zoological Park:-http://www.gwpark.org/Tony-The-Tiger.php
“He’s used to the noise from the Interstate and the trucks,” Mr. Sandlin said. “He’s used to people coming up here and looking at him.”
“To tear him away from this,” he said, breaking off, then added, “I think it would be very cruel because that’s what he’s used to.”
Mr. Sandlin and his opponents see the world rather differently. The phrase “animal rights activist,” particularly if it means someone who would ban the private ownership of exotic animals, is to Mr. Sandlin a disparagement on its face. (A T-shirt for sale in the truck stop store reads “Animal Rights ActivistsTaste Like Chicken.”)
But he takes no offence when critics deride him as a purveyor of roadside entertainment. He considers himself an ally of the travelling circuses that occasionally stop here, and he allows the elephants to graze out back. “Why when he has plenty land at the back, did he build the enclosure at the front; if it was not for monetary gain?”
The idea of a tiger truck stop had been his father’s, but opening one here seemed particularly apt given that the mascot of nearby Louisiana State University is a tiger. (The university keepsits own tiger, Mike VI, in an enclosure next to the football stadium.) “Yes, & you want to see his enclosure in fact I will post a video of it at the bottom so you can see the difference!”
So in 1988, Mr. Sandlin arrived from Houston with Toby and Rainbow, he a mostly Bengal mix, she a pure-bred Siberian. In 2000, after the sale of a tiger truck stop owned by Mr. Sandlin’s father in West Texas, Toby and Rainbow were joined by Tony and Salena. “But didn’t Toby & Rainbow end up at a tiger sanctuary?”
In the ensuing years, the United States Department of Agricultureissued several citations to the truck stop, among other things for allowing cubs to run loose around the office. Mr. Sandlin paid a fine and sold all the tigers but Tony.
About 35 people work at the truck stop, including a sister of Michael Sandlin’s; a brother-in-law; a niece; a nephew; Mr. Sandlin’s mother, Virginia, who handles billing; and his domestic partner of 26 years, Scott Holbrook, who is the vice president of the truck stop as well as the video poker manager. “No mention of the person that cares for Tony, cleans his enclosure or feeds him then?”
There is also a middle-aged man named Ray Jackson, who buses tables at the restaurant and who will sing on command. Seeing him outside the Tiger Cafe, Mr. Sandlin said the word and Mr. Jackson stopped immediately and sang “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross.”
“People get a kick out of that,” Mr. Sandlin said.
For now, there is the wait for a ruling. An immediate change is unlikely even then, but as a breed, the tiger truck stop’s days may be numbered.
“There are certainly some substandard roadside zoos,” Mr. Liebman said. “But this is the only truck stop tiger I know of.”
UPDATE (15) Aug 11, 2011: Mike VI, the LSU Bengal Tiger Mascot’s HABITAT
My dear friend Cloversweed has around 40 videos of Tony, taken personally with no editing. What you see is what you get.Check out the ones that show no water in the so called pool, & the one with a live kitten sat in Tony’s feed area…Cloversweed has captured a lot of evidence to suggest that a truck stop is not the right place for a Tiger to live. Please visit her Channel:-http://www.youtube.com/user/cloversweed
Uploaded on 13 Aug 2011
Mike, the LSU Bengal Tiger Mascot taken Aug 11, 2011 Mike the Tiger has one of the finest habitats in the USA. Mike’s HISTORY follows, but first please read the NOTE I have posted below concerning Tony, the “truck stop tiger”.
UPDATE #34 (01.22.13):Tony, “the Truck Stop Tiger”- A Trucker’s Opinion.Vid2
Published on 23 Jan 2013
1. NOTE: You will see ALL TONY in Video One and Tony does not look good at all… http://youtu.be/_oW85GzKEWg PLEASE READ video description in Video ONE.
2. In this video, Video 2 of 2, Tony had just returned back to his concrete bed and this truck driver came over to try to get a picture. This gentleman also expressed his feelings/concerns about Tony’s situation. I found his views interesting.
3.TONY UPDATE: On Tuesday, February 19, 2013 the courts will hear ALDF’s oral arguments in the appeal to free Tony. http://aldf.org/article.php?id=2233#…. *Video ONE has been submitted to our ALDF contact and we certainly hope can be used in this hearing.
UPDATE # 35 (01.22.13):Tony, “the Truck Stop Tiger” Vid 1 OF 2
“Related articles; this is the latest, I have so many posts & videos of Tony; if your interested in reading any, just type “Tony the tiger” into the search icon; on the first page of my blog!”
“There are 2 news pieces in this post! Now, just about everybody knows Mr. Michael Sandlin, who owns & displays Tony ‘The truck stop tiger in Louisianan Animal advocates, the ALDF & Mr Sandlin have been at the centre of a costly court case concerning Tony. Advocates say a truck stop is not a good place for a tiger to live, which I agree with! I have posted several videos of Tony, taken by my good friend Mary! But what does this have to do with Joe Exotic; who has just filed bankruptcy??
Well, Sandlin is a good friend of Joe Schreibvogel & last year, Sandlin was quoted as saying “if he was forced to move ‘Tony the truck stop tiger’ he would send him to G.W Exotics ( now called G.W. Zoo ) So I was wondering, if it actually came down to Mr Sandlin having to move Tony the tiger, would he still go to Joe Exotics?? I don’t know what the legal stance would be, moving yet another tiger into a zoo, with a lawsuit hanging over their head? G.W. Exotics were even asking for donations, to build Tony a suitable enclosure!!
Just six weeks after a federal judge ordered him to pay a Florida animal sanctuary nearly $1 million to settle a lawsuit, a Wynnewood man who goes by the name Joe Exotic has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
Joe Schreibvogel, who also goes by the namesAarron Alex and Cody Ryan, lists debts totaling $1.2 million, most of which are traceable to the judgment handed down in February by a judge in Florida.
Schreibvogel, who operated what is now the G.W. Zoo in Wynnewood from the late 1990s until February, in court records lists assets of $127,739. Roughly half of that total is in the form of vehicles used to run the animal park.
Schreibvogel lists 43 tigers and five black bears as personal property. Records show the carnivores are worth an “unknown” sum of money.
Schreibvogel also owes more than $30,000 to attorneys who worked on the trademark infringement case, records show.
An affidavit signed by Schreibvogel and filed in federal court states he “became unemployed on Feb. 26, 2013, and I am not receiving any monthly income.”
During a recent interview with The Oklahoman, Schreibvogel said he would file for bankruptcy protection because he didn’t have the roughly $1 million the judge in Florida ordered him to pay the owners of Big Cat Rescue.
Schreibvogel and Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin have been publicly feuding for years over their philosophical differences on the exotic pet trade.
The suit involved Schreibvogel’s use of logos and images that were similar to those created and owned by the Florida animal park.
In the suit, attorneys for Big Cat Rescue alleged Schreibvogel and his associates launched a “counter-campaign of disinformation, misinformation and disparagement” aimed at damaging the credibility of the Florida organization.
The sanctuary’s lawyers claimed Schreibvogel used a logo and other artistic elements “confusingly similar” to materials trademarked by Big Cat Rescue.
Schreibvogel admits he did model a logo for Big Cat Rescue Entertainment — one of the many businesses he’s formed over the years — after the Florida sanctuary’s design, but said he didn’t realize it was wrong to do so.
“We thought we were in the clear,” he said. “We thought they only owned ‘Big Cat Rescue’ with a cat jumping over it.”
Schreibvogel, known for performing magic shows and bringing tiger cubs to shopping malls for paid photographs with the public, said a new company is running the G.W. Zoo. He said he will continue to house his animals at the facility, just off Interstate 35 in Wynnewood.
“They’re my animals … I’m still licensed to exhibit,” he said. “By law, I do not have to be a (business) to exhibit.”
WYNNEWOOD, Okla., April 3 (UPI) — An Oklahoma man who goes by the name “Joe Schreibvogel or Joe Exotic” filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay nearly $1 million to settle a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Joe Schreibvogel also known as Joe Exotic of Wynnewood said he has debts amounting to $1.2 million, most of which are attributable to a judgment filed against him in February by a federal judge in Florida, The (Oklahoma City) Oklahoman reported Wednesday.
He also owes in excess of $30,000 in attorney’s fees for the trademark case.
From the late 1990s until February, Schreibvogel operated what is now the G.W. Zoo in Wynnewood, The Oklahoman reported. He listed assets valued at vehicles and other assets of $127,739, plus 43 tigers and five black bears as personal property, which are worth an “unknown” amount, the newspaper said.
The trademark infringement case stems for a feud between Schreibvogel and Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin in Florida. The case involved Schreibvogel’s use of images and logos similar to those designed and owned by Big Cat Rescue.
Schreibvogel said he modeled a logo for one of his businesses, Big Cat Rescue Entertainment, after the Florida business’ logo, but said he didn’t realize he did not have the right to do so.
“How can anyone think, shoving a gavage (pipe or tube) down the esophagus, of geese or ducks then force feeding them with, typically, corn boiled with fat (to facilitate ingestion) so the birds liver becomes over enlarged; so it can then be eaten as a delicacy… is totally beyond me! Of course it’s bloody cruel & barbaric, no other animal that I can think of is force fed via a tube to make any part of their body fatter for human consumption. Yes animals are given extra grain & even growth hormones but they are not force fed it via a bloody pipe…it’s savage & uncalled for; we kill enough animals to meet the demand for meat or other animal body parts! Do we really have to force feed a bird in constant chronic pain from the tube…just for a delicacy?? What will they come up with next, pickled eyeballs, coated in vinegar daily, to get that perfect crunch?? One could say, this is almost as bad as bear bile being taken from a bear!!
Goose being force-fed so humans can dine on their enlarged livers!!
“Look at the disgusting filthy gavage (pipe) & other equipment; there is no wonder so many birds die of disease. While force feeding is required to meet the French legal definition of “foie gras”, producers outside France do not always force feed birds in order to produce fattened livers that they consider to be foie gras, instead allowing them to eat freely, termed ad libitum. Interest in alternative production methods has grown recently due to ethical concerns in gavage-based foie gras production. Such livers are alternatively termed fatty goose liver, ethical foie gras, or humane foie gras.”Source-Wikipedia
“During feeding, efforts are made to avoid damaging the bird’s esophagus, which could cause injury or death, although researchers have found evidence of inflammation of the walls of the proventriculus after the first session of force-feeding. There is also indication of inflammation of the esophagus in the later stages of fattening. Several studies have also demonstrated that mortality rates can be significantly elevated during the gavage period.”Source Wikipedia
The ALDF (the same anti-foie group that sued Napa restaurant La Toque) had argued that foie gras is “a diseased product unfit for human consumption,” and asked the court to step in and order the USDA to “remove foie gras from the American food supply.”
In the ruling (warning: PDF), U.S. District JudgeOtis Wright explains his decision to dismiss the case: “Plaintiffs‘ voluminous submission of technical papers and data supports the Court’s view that Plaintiffs are challenging a scientific conclusion and not a legal one … this is an issue falling squarely under the USDA’s discretion by law.”
Although selling and producing foie gras is still illegal in California, the ALDF is not entitled to judicial review on this case so, for now, the rest of the country can rest easily knowing their foie is safe. “For those who partake in this delicacy…I hope it fxxxxg chokes you!”
The USDA has yet again let a chronic violator of federal animal welfare standards get away with little more than a slap on the wrist.
PLEASE Help save NOSEY A Very lonely Elephant Who Deserves Freedom
Just days before Hugo Liebel was set to face a hearing on March 26, 2013 for 33 violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), the USDA announced it had reached a settlement.Instead of revoking Liebel’s license and handing down a maximum penalty of $330,000, the USDA settled with the agreement that Liebel would pay a meagre civil penalty of $7,500 and cease and desist from violating the AWA.
This settlement is a shocking disappointment and a pathetic excuse for government oversight.
For decades, Liebel has blatantly ignored his legal responsibilities and the well being of the elephant Nosey, and other animals he uses for circus shows. The 33 charges described years of mistreatment including failure to provide veterinary care for the weight loss and chronic skin condition of Nosey, chaining her so tightly that she could not move or lie down, and handling her in a way that was dangerous to her and to the public. The charges also included an incident involving a critically endangered spider monkey who escaped and was not recaptured for 10 days.
With your help, IDA has monitored Liebel for years, documenting numerous, flagrant violations of the AWA as he dragged Nosey and other animals around the country to give rides and perform.
IDA submitted multiple complaints with supporting evidence to the USDA, urging the agency to take action to protect Nosey and the public. When the USDA finally filed charges against Liebel in 2011, IDA hoped the agency was finally taking meaningful action to help Nosey. But yet again, the USDA squandered this opportunity to hold Liebel accountable for ignoring the law.
As long as Nosey remains with Liebel, her suffering will continue.
Tell Sec. Vilsack that you are outraged by the USDA’s settlement with Hugo Liebel. Remind Sec. Vilsack that with this settlement, Nosey’s suffering will continue as long as she remains with Liebel. Urge Sec. Vilsack to order the USDA to confiscate Nosey. Then call him, also!
1:14 little movie about NOSEY. On behalf of Nosey let USDA know how you feel:
JUDGE JANICE BULLARD 1-202-720-4443. 1-202-720-9776 (fax)
USDA atty COLLEEN CARROLL colleen.carroll@usda.gov
“More of what I was saying in an earlier post…what have they got to hide that warrants a new laws to keep customers in the dark?? If I still ate meat or dairy products…it would make me all the more suspicious about what they have to hide!!! If a company has to have an Ag-Gag rule, it’s safe to say something is going on that they don’t want the public to know about. How can you be sure the meat you have on your plate wasn’t ridiculed & abused sick MF’s wanting a bit of fun; before it was slaughtered?? By having these stupid new law‘s, they are almost admitting their guilty of something!!
There’s only one way to make these company’s pay for keeping their abuse behind closed doors; SIMPLY don’t shop at the places they supply!!
Only buy food from sources who have installed CCTV policies; at least you know they do not have anything to hide. Choose organic meat, I know it might be a tad more expensive but animals on organic farms eat organically grown feed, aren’t confined 100 percent of the time (as they sometimes are on conventional farms), and are raised without antibiotics or synthetic growth hormones. When shopping for organic foods, always look for the USDA seal on any kind of packaged food. For meat and dairy, this seal ensures you’re getting antibiotic- and hormone-free products. When buying meat or produce that isn’t packaged, look for a sign stating that it’s organic, or ask the store clerk.
Chickens raised for food spend their lives in dirty sheds with tens of thousands of other poultry. The intense crowding often leads to outbreaks of disease and unsanitary conditions.
The chickens are pumped with hormones to grow so large that their legs and organs can’t keep up, making heart attacks, organ failure, and growth deformities common.
The corporate-friendly American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—also infamously responsible for pushing Stand Your Ground and Voter Suppression ID laws—is lobbying this and similar laws in six states. The laws will criminalize the filming of animal abuse at factory farms, as well as punish those that lie on job applications to get hired.
“This, I think, is a good example of just how much this industry has to hide,” said Paul Shapiro, spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). “You know you’ve got a lot to hide when you want to make it a crime merely to take a photo of what you are doing.”
Bills are being considered in California, Nebraska, Tennessee, Indiana, Arkansas and Pennsylvania. Other states like Minnesota, Vermont, and North Carolina are expected to consider similar laws.
Videos exposing the suffering of slaughterhouse animals have already sparked many states to pass similar laws to what ALEC is pushing. In Iowa, for example, an “Ag-Gag” law makes it a misdemeanor to infiltrate farms, and Utah bans unauthorized photography in farms.
The benefits of eating organic food go straight to the farm, where no pesticides and chemical fertilizers are used to grow the organic produce shipped to grocers. That means workers and farm neighbors aren’t exposed to potentially harmful chemicals, it means less fossil fuel converted into fertilizers and it means healthier soil that should sustain crops for generations to come.
For individuals, organic food also has benefits. Eating organic means avoiding the pesticide residue left on foods, and it may even mean more nutritious varietals, though research into that subject has yielded mixed results. While there are few if any proven health impacts from consuming trace quantities of pesticides on foods, a growing number of people take the precaution of avoiding exposure just in case, particularly in the cases of pregnant women (growing babies are exposed to most of the chemicals that mom consume) and the parents of young children.
But organic food can cost more, meaning many families are loathe to shell out the extra cash for organic produce on every shopping trip. That’s what makes the Environmental Working Group‘s annual list of the dirty dozen foods so useful. The group analyzes Department of Agriculture data about pesticide residue and ranks foods based on how much or little pesticide residue they have. The group estimates that individuals can reduce their exposure by 80% if they switch to organic when buying these 12 foods.
The USDA and farm and food industry representatives are quick to remind consumers that the government sets allowable pesticide residue limits it deems safe, and the produce for sale in your grocery store should meet those standards. Watchdogs like Environmental Working Group see those limits as too liberal, and see the dirty dozen list as a teaching tool to educate consumers about the benefits of organic food.
Even Environmental Working Group says that the benefits of eating fresh fruits and vegetablesoutweighs the known risks of consuming pesticide residue. At TheDailyGreen.com, we always favour educating consumers so that we can make the decision for ourselves.
Note: The 2011 dirty dozen list reflects testing data from the 2010 harvest, and because some pesticide use is dependent on weather conditions that vary by farm, it may not reflect the pesticide residue on produce in your grocery store.
That’s why we include not only those fruits and vegetables on Environmental Working Group’s current list, but produce that has made the list in the past, as well as information about pesticides used to produce meat, dairy and some other favourite foods that aren’t on Environmental Working Group’s latest dirty dozen list.
In general, tree fruits, berries, leafy greens dominate the list. Since the USDA tests produce after a typical household preparation, fruits and vegetables with thick skins that are removed before eating (melons, avocado, corn, etc.) tend to have the lowest amounts of pesticide residue.
If you don’t see a favourite food here, checkWhats On My Food, a project of the Pesticide Action Network that makes the same USDA pesticide residue testing data available in an easy-to-use database.
Visit the link below, then click “NEXT” at the bottom of the page. There are 20 pages in full, starting with the worst…Apples, then Celery!!
What’s On My Food?:- This is a brilliant & easy way to find out how many pesticide residues are left on your food.
Pesticides – A Public Problem …on our food, even after washing; …in our bodies, for years; …& in our environment, travelling many miles on wind, water and dust.
This is a searchable database designed to make the public problem of pesticide exposure visible and more understandable.
How does this tool work? We link pesticide food residue data with the toxicology for each chemical, making this information easily searchable for the first time.
Use the tool, share it with others: we built it to help move the public conversation about pesticides into an arena where you don’t have to be an expert to participate.
At Pesticide Action Network (PAN), we believe that pesticides are a public health problem requiring public engagement to solve. We want you to have the information you need to take action based on a solid understanding of the issues. What’s On My Food? builds on PAN’s 28-year tradition of making pesticide science accessible
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
You can find out more about me & this blog by reading "ABOUT THIS BLOG" on the menu (when i finish it) lol
PLEASE NOTE.....
Not all of my posts will be current news, or even about animal abuse! I do like to share other animal news, uplifting stories or videos; some that are funny or just touch the heart!
If I have anything to say on any post, you will see it in bold blue writing. I try to remain a lady, but it's hard to contain my anger & emotions at the some of the stories I post; I don’t have a heart of stone, tears stain many articles I write!
Lastly, my apologies for any errors; I am learning whilst posting, so if you find anything that doesn't work or a broken link, sorry, I'm only human!!!!
ABOUT THESE POSTS
I would just like to make readers aware, that I search for stories on the internet; regards animal abuse etc. I copy stories etc. from the internet; assuming these stories are correct at time of publishing. Having said that, sometimes the press get it wrong! So I just want to add that at the time of me posting a news story, I presume all the facts seem present & correct.
Please note....all people mentioned in this blog, are presumed innocent, until proven otherwise, in a court of law.
Error: Please make sure the Twitter account is public.
Flag Counter Added May 2012
Face Book – Please Take Notice
For anyone wishing to connect to me via my Facebook page...PLEASE NOTE, ONLY PEOPLE I ADD AS ANIMAL ADVOCATES CAN SEE MY WHOLE PAGE...I do this out of respect for those friends I have who do not wish to see graphic images, videos or links of animal abuse!
As 99% of my page is animal related; anyone not in the above group of friends; will only see a limited amount of posts!!
DUE TO ANIMAL HATERS...I WILL ONLY ADD PEOPLE WHO CAN PROVE WHO THEY ARE via Facebook, Wordpress, Twitter etc. & WHO HAVE A GENUINE INTEREST IN ANIMAL WELFARE... i.e. if your Facebook page has absolutely nothing to do with animals, I see no point in joining my page. My Facebook is solely for animal welfare, I am not interested in playing games etc. I don't mean to sound rude but I am not interested in the amount of friends I have, its the quality of those friends that count.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND REQUESTS FOR YOUR FRIENDS TO JOIN. I do not want anyone to be upset by graphic images etc.
My aim is to educate & raise awareness to the horrors animals face, at the hands of humans, every day, around the world!!
We can not hope to achieve better laws, to protect animals, unless we unite as one, to speak up for those who are voiceless!!
.
DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS BLOG - SOME PICTURES & VIDEOS CAN & WILL BE VERY GRAPHIC - SO PLEASE, VIEW THIS BLOG AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
STOP ANIMAL ABUSE 
You must be logged in to post a comment.