| Newsletter: September - October 1997 |  |
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ARFF Newsletter: September - October 1997
The city of Wellington in Palm Beach County is a community of horse lovers.Unfortunately,
in June, the Thunder Ranch began holding a rodeo one weekend each month
in Wellington.Mike Ellsworth, director of the ranch, hopes the rodeo will
become a regular stop on the professional rodeo circuit. ARFF held demonstrations in July and August against the rodeo at Thunder
Ranch, bringing the message to rodeo patrons and to the general public that
the violent abuse of animals for entertainment has no place in our society. At ARFF's August demonstration, we extended an invitation to Mr. Ellsworth
to experience for himself one piece of standard rodeo equipment: the electric
prod.To ensure a violent burst from the chute, electric prods are commonly
applied to a bull or a horse's hind quarters.ARFF provided an actual electric
prod at the demonstration; not surprisingly, Mr. Ellsworth was not up to
our challenge. Challenge the city of Wellington to enact basic protections for animals
in the rodeo.The city of Pittsburgh passed an ordinance in 1990 that prohibits
the use of "painful devices" such as electric prods, sharpened
spurs, and flank or bucking straps, and requires that a veterinarian be present at all rodeos.ARFF has provided Wellington
with a copy of this landmark ordinance.Encourage the mayor and the city
council to follow Pittsburgh's example and pass this most basic of animal
protection measures.Write to: Kathy Foster, Mayor City Council (at the same address): Dr. Carmine Priore, Vice Mayor Thomas Wenham Michael McDonough Paul Adams In June, the City of Naples received a proposal to add a second carriage-horse
company to city streets.Tony Castellitto of the Calvary Carriage Company,
which operates a mule-drawn buggy in Ft. Myers, applied for a permit to
offer rides in Naples seven days a week, year-round, using mules in summer.
ARFF Cruelty-Case Coordinator Susan McCullom traveled to Naples, August
6, for a meeting of the city council to speak in opposition to expanding
the carriage-horse industry.ARFF member and Naples resident Ann Douras also
spoke before the council. The heat and humidity of Florida summers, vehicle fumes, and the constant
pounding on the hard pavement of city streets makes life dismal for horses
in the carriage business.After much discussion about these issues and concerning
the safety of carriage-horses, it was decided by a close vote (4-3) that
Mr. Castellitto would not be granted the 3-year license that he had requested,
but instead would be issued a one-year license with a promise to look at
the whole issue again before the year is up.Naples mayor Bill Barnett and
city council members Fred Tarrant and Bonnie MacKenzie voted against granting
of the license.The Naples Daily News and Fox TV Ch. 10 interviewed Susan
McCullom outside city hall after the meeting. Thank Mayor Barnett and council members Tarrant and MacKenzie for their
vote against the expansion of the carriage business in Naples.Explain that
a ban would be the most effective means to protect horses and keep the city
streets safe for people. Many cities nationwide, including Deerfield Beach
and Pompano Beach, Florida, have passed ordinances prohibiting carriage-horses
from city streets.You may want to mention the recent death (August 8) of
a carriage-horse following an accident in Boston, the most recent of numerous
deaths of carriage-horses in cities across the country. Write to: Mayor Bill Barnett and Council Members The Youth Deer Hunt is a special hunt sponsored by the Florida Game and
Fresh Water Fish Commission (GFC) for eight- through fifteen-year-old children.This
bloody program was initiated in 1985 and is held annually in October at
two federal wildlife refuges in northern Florida. The sale of hunting and fishing licenses in Florida continues to steadily
decline.Less than 2% of the state's residents are licensed hunters.It is
clear that the youth deer hunt is a recruitment tool by the GFC to reverse
this trend of dwindling support of blood sports.Research indicates that
people who do not begin hunting before their late teens will most likely
never hunt at all. Help ARFF bring our message of compassion and respect for animals to
the GFC, and to the children themselves.Join our protest against the Youth
Deer Hunt on behalf of our wildlife and our children. If you are interested in joining a field protest against the youth hunt,
please call the office for details. Friday, October 10, 1997, 1:00 P.M. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Northeast Regional Office Lake City.Directions: Hwy. I-75, Exit #82, Route 90 East, six miles.Building
is opposite the airport.From U.S. Route 441, take 90 East, three miles to
building. Mark your calendars!Join ARFF for a fun-filled afternoon to honor World
Farm Animals' Day 1997.Admission includes door prizes, a delicious vegan
barbecue lunch, live music by Neil Kaplan, old-time games (like sack races
and three-legged races) with great prizes, face painting, Classic Karate
martial arts demonstration, and more!Cost of admission is $10 for adults,
$8 for children under 12.All proceeds benefit ARFF's mobile spay/neuter
unit.Reservations must be pre-paid and received by September 25. Date: Sunday, October 5 Time: 12:30-3:30 P.M. Location: Quiet Waters Park, Deerfield Beach Directions:I-95:Exit #37, Hillsboro Blvd.Hillsboro west 2 miles to Powerline.Left
(south) on Powerline 1/2 mile to SW 4th Street (entrance to park).Turn right.Sawgrass
Expressway:Pay last toll.Next light is Powerline.Left (north) on Powerline
1/2 mile to SW 4th Street (entrance to park). Turn left. Picnic is in Shelter #1.Bear right after entering park.Look for signs
indicating shelters.There is a park admission fee of $1 per person (children
under 5 free) ARFF's school program continues to reach young people throughout South
Florida with a message of respect for all animals.High school students and
elementary school children have the opportunity to actively participate
in the program.Thanks to Neil Kaplan and Janice Pinto for their unfailing
generosity in helping with our elementary school play.Since July, ARFF's
educational programs have reached approximately 750 children and young adults. ARFF's interactive elementary school play, "Share The World,"
is becoming increasingly popular.In order to keep up with the demand, we
need volunteers to play the mother monkey and the elephant.A guitarist and
singer, and a costume-maker are also needed.Call Susan at ARFF if you can
help. "By sharing your talents, expertise and knowledge in this way, you've
provided the opportunity to affect the habits and attitudes of young people
for generations to come." -Grade 5 teacher, Indian Trace Elementary School, Ft. Lauderdale. "I would like to thank you for coming to my school . . . . Because
of your speech I took all the red meat and chicken out of my diet.I always
wanted to be a vegetarian and because of your speech and information I finally
decided to try it." -Lauren Wanger, student, Olympic Heights High School "Thank you for coming to Olympic Heights High School.You made
me . . . think of all the animals that are being killed everyday just to
support our unhealthy diets." -Stephanie Paff, high school senior November 21-23: Miami Book Fair. November 24: Broward County Fair, 5:00 p.m. to midnight. Saturday, January 17: Scout Day, St. Lucie Nuclear Plant, 9 a.m. to noon. If you would be available to help staff a table at one of the above events,
please call the ARFF office. Vegetarian Events, under the direction of long-time activist Chas Chiodo,
will be conducting workshops, presenting videos, and preparing vegan (absolutely
no animal products) meals in small towns in northern Florida and the Panhandle.For
the tour to be a success, help is needed in finding locations, promoting
the event, and with set-up.Contact Chas for further details: (904) 454-4341 Florida-based Frookie Company, known for their wonderful vegan cookies,
has recently started advertising the circus along with its cookies.As part
of a promotional tie-in with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus,
the cookie company is encouraging people to go to the circus. Please let the Frookie Company know you won't be eating their cookies
until they end their association with Ringling Bros. and animal exploitation.Write
to: Mr. Randye Worth, Executive Vice President Again this year, Sears & Roebuck is sponsoring the U.S. tour of Ringling
Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (you may have seen the television advertisements).Educate
Sears to the facts about the suffering and abuse performing animals must
endure.Write to: Mr. Arthur Martinez, CEO Florida is home to a large segment of the greyhound-breeding, -training,
and -racing industries.The abuse and neglect these animals suffer at all
phases of their lives is reprehensible.U-Haul International has decided
to remove greyhound-racing artwork from U-Haul vehicles.Assure U-Haul that
their step has not gone unnoticed in the animal-protection community.Also,
send thank-you letters to American Airlines for their decision not to promote
Florida's dog racetrack's in American's in-flight films.Tell them that their
gesture strikes a strong note for sensibility and compassion.Write to: John Shoen, CEO Robert Crandall, Chair Call or write for our new anti-greyhound racing brochure, "Let's
Put a Spotlight on Greyhound Racing." When ARFF members Tania and Robert Kelso noticed a sign in the window
of a local market advertising the sale of ostrich meat, they sent a letter
to the store management asking them to reconsider carrying such meats.ARFF
sent a letter as well to the manager and owner explaining the suffering
behind this new "exotic" meat. The Kelso's were pleased to see recently that the sign had been removed
from the store window.Upon inquiring, they were told that the market is
no longer selling the meat of ostrich.Joanna's Bakery, on S. Dixie in Miami
sells French bread, flavored coffees, and many other fresh goods- stop in
and thank them for their compassionate decision ARFF On-The-Air can be heard every Sunday at 6:00 PM on WAXY 790 AM (unless
preempted for sports broadcasts). Audio copies of these interviews are available for $4 from ARFF.Call
the office for details.Thanks to Harriet and Eric Rickenback of Rickenback
Realty in Aventura, Florida for their sponsorship of ARFF On-the-Air. Tampa 7/10: ARFF spokesperson Les Inglis addressed a meeting of the GFC
against allowing hunting in bird sanctuaries. The Wildlife Care Center in Ft. Lauderdale has many wonderful non-native
animals available for adoption including pigs, rabbits, reptiles, parrots,
cockatiels, hamsters and guinea pigs. Tell your friends to call the Center
rather than going to a pet store if they can provide a loving home.For more
information on adoptions, call Heather Ruiz, Adoption Coordinator, at (954)
524-6344. House Bill 575, which would restrict canned-hunts, has been carried
over to the '98 legislative session where it is now before the Water and
Resource Management Committee. H.B. 575, introduced by Rep. Barry Silver, would make it a third degree
felony to kill or wound an exotic mammal, or non-game bird that has been
restrained or released in the presence of a hunter, or in an enclosure of
500 acres or less. Help us ban these unfair and inhumane hunting facilities!Especially if
you have not previously written, it is important that the chairman of the
committee, Rep. John Laurent, continues to hear from people urging him to
support H.B. 575.Ask him to allow the bill to be heard and passed successfully
out of committee.Write to: Rep. John Laurent, Chair Huntingdon Life Sciences, a contract research company which operates
a laboratory in New Jersey, is under investigation by the USDA concerning
allegations of cruelty to animals. In Britain, the company's license to operate as a laboratory is in danger
of being revoked after a television documentary aired which showed lab employees
physically abusing animals.In light of the controversy, trade in the company's
stock on the New York Stock Exchange was suspended. Ask Congress to make sure the USDA does a thorough investigation of the
allegations of animal abuse and neglect at Huntingdon Life Sciences in New
Jersey, andprovides to the public a full report of their findings.If cruelty
to animals is found, ask Congress to pressure the USDA to prosecute the
facility to the fullest extent of the law. The following Florida legislators are on the House Appropriations Committee
(this committee decides how much funding the USDA receives): Rep. Bill Young
(10th District), Carrie Meek (17th), and Dan Miller (13th).The following
Florida legislators are on the House Agriculture Committee (this committee
is responsible for the disposition of USDA funds): Rep. Charles Canady (12th
District) and Rep. Mark Foley (16th).Florida residents should write to each
of the Florida committee members, especially if you are from their district.Send
letters to: The Honorable ___________ 
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida |
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