Animals Advocate Fall 10

8/8/2019 Animals Advocate Fall 10

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While the Words British Petroleum maynow be forever linked with oil spill andenvironmental disaster, the Animal LegalDefense Fund refuses to let BP add animalcruelty to the companys hall of shame. InJune, we joined a coalition of animal pro-tection and conservation groups concernedabout reports that BPs cleanup efforts were

resulting in sea turtles being burned alive,and together we filed a lawsuit and motionfor a temporary restraining order againstBritish Petroleum America, Inc., BritishPetroleum Exploration & Production andBritish Petroleum PLC for being in viola-tion of federal laws.

As if the recent disaster along the ecolog-ically sensitive Gulf Coast werent badenoughwith heavy crude oil gushingfrom the seabed, spreading across thou-sands of square miles and onto fragileshorelinesofficials from the Coast Guard

and BP had likely turned the catastrophe

into a flaming nightmare for sea turWeeks after the April 20th explosion sinking of BPs Deepwater Horizon which unleashed the worst oil spill in history, workers began corralling somthe thicker oil on the waters surface burn boxes and torching it. Experts smitted testimony that in the process

turtles trapped in the burn boxes were libeing incinerated.Five species of threatened or end

gered sea turtles live or breed in the Gand as the Deepwater Horizon oil whemorrhaged an unthinkable (uncountable) amount of oil fromdepths, hundreds of turtles and otmarine animals died from the saturatmany by suffocation. But BP and the CGuards risky clean-up methods, andthreat they posed to sea turtles, werunconscionable. These animals sur

t tagALDF files suit to prevent BP from burning alive endangered sea turtl

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2 WheN i tell PeoPle thAt the lAW vieWs animalsas property much like a desk or chair theirreaction is usually one of surprise, if not shock.Thats because it is obvious to most peoplenowadays that animals are sentient; meaning they have feelings, both physical feelings, lipain and cold, and emotional feelings, like fear and joy. But it was not always so. For centries, scientific, philosophical and religious tenets supported the notion that animals weessentially living machines. Centuries of legal doctrine merely followed suit.

Today, this gap between our understanding of animals as complex social, biological asentient beings, and our legal classification of them as property, provides both our greate

challenge and our greatest opportunity. The challenge is that since property cannot harights, or interests, under the law, it is extremely difficult and often impossible to represeanimals in court. Thats what makes ALDFs work so important. Until there is a fundamenchange in the law, we need dedicated, creative lawyers to come up with legal strategies to prtect animals under our current laws.

On the other hand, as our understanding of the complexity and sentience of nonhumanimals has evolved, so too must our laws. History shows us that as our understanding ancompassion grows, our ethics and morals change and, ultimately, our laws as well. Two centries ago, it may have seemed impossible that the law would forbid slavery. A century agmany would not have imagined that women would win the legal right to vote. And it was lethan 50 years ago that our laws finally put an end to legal segregation (though battles contiue to be fought for equal treatment for people under the law).

As in all these other movements, the law will one day catch up to our social values regaring animals and recognize that animals have inherent rights that deserve to be protected. Balso like these other movements, that change will not happen without lawyers willing to figfor it. For more than 30 years, ALDF attorneys have led the charge, using the law to save livabolish cruel practices, assure animal abusers are brought to justice and, ultimately, to pathe legal road to a more just future for animals under the law.

For the animals,

Stephen Wells, Executive Director

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3leNdiNG her CeleBrity stAtus to a critical issue,actress Ashley Judd recently joined thousands ofother ALDF supporters in asking KentuckyGovernor Steve Beshear to protect the stateshomeless animals through tough enforcementof the Humane Shelter Law. Regular readers ofThe Animals Advocatewill recall that ALDF hasbeen urging Kentuckys 120 counties to safe-guard their animals. In the past two years, wehave filed lawsuits against Robertson and Estillcounties, both of which operated animal shel-ters that failed to comply with the statesHumane Shelter Law. The law, which sets mini-

mum standards that counties must meet in car-ing for their homeless animals, was passed in2004, but it comes without an enforcement pro-vision. Ashleys signed petition to GovernorBeshear notes, As a supporter of the AnimalLegal Defense Fund, I strongly urge you to stepin and end the suffering of all innocent animalsin Kentucky by pressing the legislature to actand have the state take back responsibility foroversight of these shelters.

In the absence of enforcement, it has takenintervention by ALDF to get counties to makecritically needed improvements to their shel-ters. Gravely ill and injured animals have beenleft to languish in their cages with no medicaltreatment, often facing attack from other ani-mals who are housed with them; unalteredmale and female animals were housed togeth-er, resulting in pregnancies and exacerbatingthe overpopulation crisis; and dogs wereforced to relieve themselves, sleep and eveneat their food directly off of the same filthykennel floors.

Though born in California, Judd was raisedin the Bluegrass State and is a graduate of theUniversity of Kentucky, where she can oftenbe found rooting for the schools basketballteam. In signing ALDFs petition, she request-ed that the governor take swift action to givethe Humane Shelter Law the teeth it needs tomake a difference for animals. You can help!Please add your name to our online petitionby visiting www.aldf.org/kentuckypetition.

sn sa PwAshley Judd joins the fight to help Kentuckys homeless animals


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4BACK ANd Forth she roCKs, bobbing her head

and swaying from side to side. But Chai, a31-year-old Asian elephant confined to theWoodland Park Zoo in Seattle, isnt doing thisfor fun. She is exhibiting stress-induced behav-ior typical of animals who are literally goingcrazy because they are restricted to spaces toosmall for their physical and psychological wel-fare. This is just one reason the Animal LegalDefense Fund is representing two Seattle tax-payers in their lawsuit against the city. In addi-tion to Chai, the zoo currently holds two otherfemale elephantsBamboo and Watotoandall three are afforded less than a single acre of

land on which to live. The worlds largest landmammals, elephants are migratory animalswho may cover as much as 50 miles a day inthe wild, foraging for food and water and get-ting the physical and mental stimulation that iscrucial to their health.

The lawsuit, filed in King County SuperiorCourt in June, argues that taxpayer dollarsshould not be used to subsidize the animalcruelty routinely practiced as part of the ele-phant exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo. TheCity of Seattle provides the zoo with millions

of dollars every year, all collected from taxes.Essentially, this lawsuit highlights the citysmisuse of tax dollars to support an illegal activ-ity, says Bruce Wagman, ALDFs chief outsidelitigation counsel. It is subsidizing animal cru-elty with the citizens money. The detriment to

the elephants constitutes a waste of pu

property because the elephants are undercare. The suit cites both the state anti-crulaw prohibiting the infliction of pain and fering and part of the Seattle Municipal Cwhich states that it is unlawful to keep an mal in quarters that are injurious to the andue to inadequate protection from heacold, or that are of insufficient size to perthe animal to move about freely.

Nancy Farnam and Mary Sebek, the suits plaintiffs, assert that the zoos inaquate facilities do not meet the physical psychological needs of the captive elepha

The lack of extensive walking space andharsh ground they walk on, for example,led to chronic foot and joint problems forelephants. These problems range from rtively minor cracks in their nails to cripposteoarthritis and abscesses and infectthat cause significant pain and require mcation and even surgical intervention.

CAPtive CrueltyConfined to a barn for 16 hours a day

at least half the year, and forced to stand

hard, unnatural surfaces most of the tiBamboo, Chai and Watoto suffer from a vety of other captivity-related ailments, incing infertility, aggression and stereotyprepetitive behaviors, such as swaying and ping, which are distinct signs of psychologinjury. A fourth elephant from the zoo, was shipped to the St. Louis Zoo for its bring program in 2002. The zoo successfimpregnated Sri, but her full-term fetus din utero, and she has been carrying deceased fetus in her womb for more tfour years.

In the wild, female elephants live their wlives in large extended family groups, and relarly bond with groups that may include hdreds of other elephants. They are able to idtify one another, engage in complex social rals, help their injured and ill and mourn tdead. They are supported and educatedtheir elders and their social group throughlife, and they depend on that structurehealth and welfare. But the elephants inWoodland Park Zoo have been depriveevery aspect of normal life. After being borthe wild, all four elephants were taken f

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lies and their natural environment, shippedthousands of miles to a strange environmentand forced from a young age to spend the restof their lives in captivity.

I was shocked to learn how much theWoodland Park Zoo elephants had sufferedover the years at the zoo, says Farnam. I hadno idea, and when I found out, I felt responsi-ble to try to do something. Brutal treatmentand severe confinement turned Bamboo from

a friendly, sweet-natured elephant into anaggressive one. Bamboo, 43, was captured inThailand and has lived in zoos since she was ababy. After being labeled a problem elephantbecause she did not like being mistreated,Bamboo was moved to another zoo for lessthan a year, where she spent most of her timealone, and was eventually returned to theWoodland Park Zoo.

As the lone African elephant at the zoo,Watoto, 41, cannot interact with others of herspecies. Indeed, both she and Bamboo spendmuch of their time in complete isolationan

unnatural and stressful state for any elephant.Because she and Bamboo do not get along,they are kept apart all the time by confiningone or the other to the elephant barn or theshower stall in the barn, or by placing them inseparate small yards in the outside enclosure.

The social isolation is cruel deprivation byitself, and their physical problems simply addto that distress. Standing on these hard sur-faces has contributed to the osteoarthritisthey suffer. Watoto is also plagued by chronicintestinal problems, which have caused leth-

argy and serious blood-related problems; in2008, the zoo locked her in the barn alone forweeks while she recovered.

Zoo life has been even crueler to Chai, whohas been subjected to nearly 60 invasiveattempts at artificial insemination, all of themunsuccessful. Zoos prize baby elephants, asthese popular animals drive up tickets salesand donations. Chai suffered multiple mis-carriages, each one resulting in physical andpsychological pain. In 1998, she was sent tothe Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield,Missouri, to be mated with a bull elephant.

Dickerson zoo keepers beat Chai, and theUnited States Department of Agriculture (theagency charged with enforcing the federalAnimal Welfare Act) eventually fined the zoo$5,000. The mating was successful, however,and Chai was returned to the Woodland ParkZoo, where she gave birth to a female calf.Attendance quickly doubled when Chais babywas put on display. The zoo held a contest toname the baby elephant, and among the16,000 entries, zoo employees suggested shebe named Casha-Cow.

The winning name was Hansa, and the calf

eventually developed a habit of eating dirt at the

zooa behavior most likely caused by deficientdiet or psychological distress. Instead of address-ing her needs, zoo staff beat Hansa with a stickcalled a bullhook, which has a sharp steel prodon one end. Bullhooks are routinely used by cir-cuses and many zoos to punish and control ele-phants, especially when trying to teach themto perform tricks. Her immune system weak-ened by the constant stress, Hansa died fromelephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV)

in 2007. She was six years old.The zoo continues its attempts to breed

Chai, despite knowing that newborn calves atthe zoo wi l l be exposed to herpes ,since Watoto has tested positive forthe virus and Chai and Bamboo also may becarriers. Eighty-five percent of elephantsinfected with EEHV die. The disease causesan incredibly painful death from massiveinternal hemorrhaging and heart failure.

seeKiNG solutioNsThe premature and gruesome death of

Hansa from a deadly virus and the zoos con-tinued attempts to expose another baby ele-phant to the same virus only confirmed to methat life at the zoo hasnt been a healthy, happyexistence for these elephants, says Farnam.

Mary Sebek, who has been advocating onbehalf of the Woodland Park Zoo elephantswith her two daughters since 2007, sees thelegal system as the best chance these animalshave. When we raised concerns about theelephants environment with the zoos CEO inearly 2009, she completely dismissed us, she

says. When we asked to meet with her, shedidnt respond. So I knew it would take some-thing more to help the elephants, and thatwas a lawsuit.

As scientists understanding of elephantsand their needs has developed over the last fewdecades, its become clear that confining themto zoos and circuses is simply inhumane inalmost every situation. One option for captivepachyderms has been to allow them to retire toa natural-habitat refuge such as the ElephantSanctuary in Tennessee, where these highlyintelligent, sensitive, social animals live out

their remaining years under special care amidthousands of acres of protected environments.Confined to facilities that are woefully

inadequate for their needs, Bamboo, Chai andWatoto continue to suffer physically and psy-chologically at the Woodland Park Zoo. ALDF,along with plaintiffs Nancy Farnam and MarySebek, hope that a successful lawsuit willmean that the City of Seattle ceases to fundthe cruelty on display. One need only witnessthe repeated movements of Chai, constantlyrocking back and forth from stress, to realizethat these animals are suffering and do not

belong in captivity.


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from beneath oil slicks because they are visual-ly similar to the long mats of sargassum sea-weed they instinctively seek for food and cam-ouflage. As BPs cleanup vessels corralled largeoil patches for burning, doomed sea turtlescaught in the mess likely had no way to escapethe crude oil as it was set ablaze. BP contrac-

tors preparing burn-off measures even blockedthe efforts of wildlife rescuers struggling tosave the turtles.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund, along withthe Animal Welfare Institute, the Center forBiological Diversity and Turtle Island RestorationNetwork, took legal action against BP, filing a suitin US federal court that charged the oil giant withviolating the Endangered Species Act and theterms of its lease with the United States govern-ment for the Deepwater Horizon facility, whichrequires BP to comply with all federal environ-mental laws. In addition, the temporary restrain-

ing order we sought demanded an immediatehalt to any burns without sufficient precaution-ary measures to protect the turtles.

As the news about the oil spill spread, webecame increasingly alarmed about the impactthat this disaster is having not only on endan-gered species, but on all of the many and variedcreatures who live in the Gulf, explains ALDFfounder Joyce Tischler. The media seemedfocused on the impact on the local residents,the fishing and shrimp industries and the envi-ronment, but no one seemed focused on the

plight of the animals. BP has desecrated theirhome and food sources and robbed them of ahealthful, natural environment. We will proba-bly never know the full number of marinecreatures who die or are permanently impactedbecause of this catastrophe.

BP has already likely killed or otherwiseharmed hundreds of rare Kemps Ridley,

leatherback, loggerhead and other speciesea turtles through its use of controlled buor as a result of contamination from thespill itself. We are concerned, not only abthe five species of endangered turtles andpotential for their total extinction, but for the individual turtlestheir suffering their lives are important, adds TischThroughout the process of dealing with oil spill, the interests and protection of

animals must be considered.Tischler is also alarmed by another aspec

the cleanup effort. To add insult to injury,says, BP also used unprecedented amountdispersants that may be causing significant ational harm to all of these living beinChemical dispersants are sprayed from airand break up the oil into tiny drops, makingoil more water soluble. But even if, as BP clathe chemicals are not dangerous, by converthe thick sludge into droplets, dispersants mthe oil less visible, thus masking the full envimental impact of the spill and helping to l

the companys legal and financial liabiTischler is among those who believe the unpedented amount of chemicals being appliethe Gulf is reckless at best. The use of thtoxic dispersants may prove to be one ofworst decisions ever made, she says.

The good news is that as a result of our lawBP and the U.S. government agreed to work biologists, animal advocates and the rescue cmunity to ensure that turtles and other maanimals are safely removed from the burn before any future burns are carried out. In

meantime, ALDF has filed the 60-day advanotice that is necessary to bring suit underEndangered Species Act, in case we should havsue again. Stay tuned, as ALDF is also exploother needs for wildlife protection in the Guthe wake of this catastrophe.

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studeNt stANdouts

lAst FAll At lAW sChools across the country,Student Animal Legal Defense Fund(SALDF) chapters channeled their creativeenergy toward seeing which chapter couldraise the most funds for ALDF. The winning

chapter was the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, where animal law stu-dents sold baked goods and goody bags for dogs and cats. Also, our SALDFchapter put on a Thanksgiving Donations Drive, where we gathered items forlocal shelters along with monetary donations that went to ALDF, says KatieC. Galanes, SALDF chapter president. ALDF founder Joyce Tischler traveledto John Marshall to thank the SALDF members and give an inspiring talk onhow the field of animal law has developed over the decades.

Our sincere appreciation to all the SALDF chaptersyou are the future of ani-

mal law! For more information about SALDF, please visit www.saldf.org.

Report on Kangaroo Harvesting. This reconcludes, The realities of the kanga

industry: extensive and alarmingly unhygipractices, unacceptable suffering of young garoos and the manufacture of false hope kangaroo harvesting will alleviate environmtal degradation in rural areas.

The hunting of kangaroos is an outand should be stopped. If you want to lemore about the plight of kangarooAustralia and what you can do to help, plcheck out the Voiceless website at www.voless.org.au.

Read more of Joyces reports from Austral

www.aldf.org/blog.

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ALDF v. Keatingis filed, ultimatelysecuring permanent custody of seven

horses rescued from abusive NorthCarolina owners who allowed them

to starve nearly to death.ALDF intervenes in a meat industry lawsuit thatsought to overturn a California ban on using sickand disabled animals in the food supply.

ALDFs first annual National Justicefor Animals Week honors prosecutors

and law enforcement who go above

and beyond for animals.A Nebraska man is sentenced to jail

after kicking Max the kitten down thestairs. ALDF assists County AttorneyTiffany Wasserburger with the legalchallenge of preventing Max from

being returned to his abusers home andallowing him to be adopted by a loving new family.

Oregon authorities seize a puppynamed Sierra from a man who beat

her regularly. ALDF attorneys placea lien on the dog for the cost ofhelping her recover from her mul-

tiple fractures so that she can be perma-nently adopted into a safe new home.

After ALDF ranked New Brunswickas one of the best places in Canada to

be an animal abuser, the NewBrunswick Legislative Assemblyunanimously approve a new law

making that provinces maximum finefor animal abuse the highest in Canada.

ALDF submits an amicus curiae briefin U.S. v. Stevens, urging the U.S.

Supreme Court to recognize that theprevention of cruelty to animals is acompelling government interest.

After ALDF assists with forensic testingon dead Chihuahuas found in his home,

a hoarder in Dearborn, Michigan ischarged with cruelty to animals.ALDF and partners launch a series

of symposia designed to help implementthe National Research Councils recommendationthat the country move toward more humane, effi-cient, and effective non-animal toxicity testing.

ALDF represents a disabled Californiawoman filing a complaint against

the owners of a mobile homepark who are attemptingto evict her after nine-

teen years of residence

because her therapy dog Mannyis not an approved breed.

A settlement inALDFs lawsuit

against EstillCounty, Kentuckymeans critical shel-

ter improvements for thecountys homeless animals.

2009 hgg

CurreNt AssetsCash and cash equivalents $1,036,065Investments 2,793,189Accounts and grants receivable 760,990Prepaid expenses and other current assets 183,433Total Current Assets $4,773,677

NoNCurreNt Assets

Property and Equipment, net $918,953Total Noncurrent Assets $918,953 $5,692,630

liABilities ANd Net Assets

Current liabilities:Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $207,092Accrued payroll liabilities 95,434Mortgage payablecurrent portion 10,042

Total Current Liabilities $312,568Long-Term Liabilities:

Mortgage payablenoncurrent portion 625,435Total Liabilities $938,003Net assets:

Unrestricted 3,982,603Temporarily restricted 772,024

Total Net Assets $4,754,627 $5,692,630

suPPort ANd reveNue

Donations $2,509,14

Foundations and estates 841,13

Interest and dividends 53,47Realized gains on investments 1,95

Net assets released from restriction 650,78

Other 91,76

Total Support and Revenue $4,148,26

eXPeNses

Programs:Legal $2,480,83

Public Education 936,06

Administration 183,17

Membership development 523,85

Total Expenses $4,123,92

Increase in unrestricted net assets 24,33

Decrease in temporarily restricted net assets (354,78

Unrealized gains on investments, net 717,34

Increase in net assets 386,89

Net assets at beginning of year 4,367,73

Net assets at end of year $4,754,62

FiNANCiAl rePort 2009A copy of ALDFs full audited financial statement may be obtained by writing to ALDF or visiting aldf.org.

report

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This August, ALDF Founder & General Counsel Joyce Tischlertoured Australia with the Australian animal protection instituteVoiceless for their 2010 Animal Law Lecture Series. Joyce reported

from her travels; in one blog entry, she shared some of what shelearned about the plight of kangaroos in Australia.

As i trAvel throuGh AustrAliA, I am meeting many fascinating andknowledgeable people. Marilyn Mills, of Wildlife Advocate, Inc.,runs a sanctuary for kangaroos and described several of the kanga-roos who have become treasured members of her extended family.She told me of their intelligence and sweet natures and lovingly

showed me photos of some of her favorite kangaroo friends.The commercial hunting of Australias beloved national icon,the kangaroo, is an embarrassing and cruel chapter in this countrys current history. Adult kanroos are killed to be eaten by humans (also for pet food) and their skins are made into soccer shand other products. Kangaroo hunting is carried out at night in the rural areas where kangarare found. The quota for 2009 was 4 million kangaroos. Mother kangaroos commonly care for kangaroo children (called joeys) at once: a baby who is in her pouch and an older joey who trels alongside the mother. Joeys stay with their mothers for up to two years. By law, the adult kanroos are supposed to be shot in the brain, but even the most experienced hunters miss a clean spretty regularly, leaving wounded kangaroos to die slowly and painfully. Additionally, when moer kangaroos are shot, the law requires that hunters club the joey to death; they are considecollateral damage. Each year, 440,000 joeys are clubbed to death with steel pipes.

I also spoke with kangaroo expert, Dr. Dror Ben-Ami, PhD, the author of A Shot in the Dar

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Animals Advocate Fall 10