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COVID Relief Bill, Big Cat, Santa Anita & Animal & Wildlife Welfare Show is now playing at Sunset TV

  • Writer: Don Lichterman
    Don Lichterman
  • Mar 11, 2021
  • 8 min read
The Following topics are shown at Sunset TV on this week's Animal & Wildlife Report Show!
Animal & Wildlife in COVID Relief Bill

The $1.9 trillion COVID relief package passed by Congress on March 10 includes provisions for animals, according to the Humane Society for the United States (HSUS). Certain outlines within the bill improve surveillance and trade protections for animals.

President Biden is expected to sign the bill once it lands on his desk.

According to HSUS, these are the specific animal welfare-related activities included in the bill:

  • $300 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture monitoring and surveillance of animals susceptible to the virus.

  • $95 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for activities to proactively prevent pandemic spread by wildlife and crackdown on wildlife trafficking, including endangered and at-risk species.

  • Of this, $20 million would go toward wildlife inspections, interdictions, and investigations, as well as related activities to address wildlife trafficking;

  • $30 million would be allocated for the care of captive species listed under the Endangered Species Act, rescued and confiscated wildlife, and federal trust species living in facilities that have lost revenue due to the pandemic;

  • $45 million would go toward strengthening early detection, rapid response, and science-based management for wildlife disease outbreaks before they become pandemics, and expand capacity for early detection of zoonotic diseases that might jump the species barrier in the United States.

  • $10 million for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development for certain COVID-19 prevention, preparation, and response activities, including vaccinations, economic and food security stabilization, and disaster relief. These activities can also include zoonotic disease monitoring and surveillance. Congress is now considering the Preventing Future Pandemics Act (H.R. 151/ S. 37) (H.R. 151/ S. 37) which would bolster similar USAID and State Department programs to address the threats and causes of zoonotic disease outbreaks.

“The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is primarily designed to provide relief to the American people, protect them from further risks of infection, and prevent additional suffering, death, and economic losses stemming from the pandemic. We are excited that members of Congress, at our urging, also acknowledged the close link between public health and animal welfare by allocating millions of dollars to properly regulate or restrict businesses and trades that exploit animals most susceptible to contracting and spreading diseases. This includes the wildlife trade, in which millions of wild animals, including endangered and at-risk species, suffer every year, and mink fur farms. Since the onset of the pandemic last year, nearly 20 million mink have been gassed to death globally on infected fur farms,” Kitty Block and Sara Amundson wrote in their blog on the relief package.

Sign this petition calling for an end to fur farms in the United States.

Big Cats

"Tiger King" brought the cruel realities of big cat exploitation to the public eye. Behind the drama of the show, big cats were treated like unfeeling property and forced to interact with the public. The owners of big cats often do not provide proper veterinary care, nutrition, housing or behavioral enrichment. They then go on to breed more animals who continue this vicious cycle, while the ones who’ve grown too large for customer encounters are discarded, often sold as pets. The Big Cat Public Safety Act will stop this.


The Big Cat Public Safety Act (H.R. 263) will prohibit physical contact between big cats of any age and the public and will ban the possession of these animals as pets. Lions, tigers and other big cats deserve better than small cages and empty lives. They're meant to roam in the wild, free to live their natural lives. These animals are not entertainers for the public, nor are they companion animals suited to life as pets.


Another Horse Dies At Santa Anita Race Track, The 11th Since Late December - a Brakkton Booker Post and Article...

Horses run in the fourth race at Santa Anita Park in front of empty stands, Saturday, March 14 in Arcadia, Calif. Racing at the facility has been suspended since March 27 because of the coronavirus.

The racehorse M C Hamster was injured during a three-furlong workout along the dirt track at Santa Anita Park this week, fracturing a front left ankle. She was later euthanized. In a vacuum, this would be a sad event.

But given the Arcadia, Calif., racetrack's recent history, the four-year-old filly's death becomes all the more appalling.

M C Hamster's death is the 11th horse fatality at the track since racing began in late December, according to the Associated Press. The news service also reports the injury happened on just the second day of training has been allowed at the track since last week because of rain. As NPR has reported there were at least 49 equine deaths at the prominent Southern California racetrack between July 2018 and June 2019. Of those the vast majority of them, 39, were disastrous breakdowns while training or in the midst of a race.

Messages left by NPR for Santa Anita officials were not immediately answered. An email and phone message left at Hansen Racing, which trained M C Hamster have not yet been returned.

Santa Anita has been closed for racing since March 27, following a directive from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, citing the coronavirus. The facility was permitted to remain open for training if weather permitted, the Los Angeles Times reports. The paper also notes that M C Hamster's last race was a fifth-place finish at Turf Paradise in Arizona on Feb. 24. "Since that race, she worked twice at Turf Paradise and was moved to Santa Anita, where she worked four furlongs March 30 and had the second fastest time of 63 horses at that distance. On Wednesday, her time of 35.20 seconds was the fastest of 35 horses going three furlongs," the LA Times said.

The paper also said track officials are scheduled to meet with the local Health Department over the weekend to see about reopening the track for racing, but without fans.

The L.A. District Attorney's office in December issued a 17-page report on the horse deaths at Santa Anita. It made dozens of recommendations to improve safety at the track and to identify preexisting conditions in racehorses.

But ultimately the D.A.'s office found no wrongdoing on the part track officials.

"After a thorough investigation and review of the evidence, the District Attorney's Task Force did not find evidence of criminal animal cruelty or unlawful conduct relating to the equine fatalities at Santa Anita Park," the report.

The Great Farm Sanctuary Tour

Go on a live virtual tour of 10 farmed animal sanctuaries (including Animal Place!) from New York to Hawaii all in one day! The event takes place this Sunday, February 14th. Enter to win prizes and see amazing rescued animals from all over the country in the comfort of your home. There's no better way to feel the love this Valentine's Day! You’ll only need one ticket per household/viewing device! This means your entire household can join the fun for the price of one! Register now!

Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.  Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

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  • Important Films, TV & Videos

  • Privatization & Corporate Responsibility

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  • Labeling & Transparency

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ANIMAL RESCUES WELFARE, CRIMES & ABUSE

  • Animal Crimes & Abuse

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  • Animal Testing & the Animal Testing Weekly Report

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  • The Ultimate Wildlife Rescue Guide

  • Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries

  • Moving Giants

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PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE

  • Stop Wildlife Crime

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  • Whales & A Whale of a Week!

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GOVERNMENT & POLITICS, ELECTIONS, BILLS & LAWS

  • Latest Polls Of The Georgia Senate Runoffs

  • Let My People Vote

  • Let America Vote

  • Presidential Platform on Animal Issues with Joe Biden

  • Presidential Platform on Animal Wellness and Protection

  • New Jersey is the Humane State


Animal Testing Weekly Report, Hazel, Cosmetics Tests, University of Bath, Virginia Tech, #1016, WNPC

  • Writer: Don Lichterman
    Don Lichterman
  • Dec 15, 2020
  • 6 min read

While it’s true that the Environmental Protection Agency committed to ending all mammal testing by 2035, we refuse to sit by silently for 15 years while millions of animals are subjected to chemical testing and killed. Our leaders can—and must—move up that deadline. And with new leadership taking office in January, we need to get ready to turn up the heat both at the EPA and other agencies that regulate animal testing.

PETA has obtained video evidence documenting the misery of animals used in forced swim test experiments in University of Bath laboratories. The university continues to use the unethical and worthless test, despite learning from PETA that it has no scientific value. Take Action

Don't Let Cosmetics Tests on Animals Sneak in Through the Back Door

The use of animals for cosmetics testing is banned across the EU. Yet animals are still being poisoned and killed in tests for cosmetics ingredients.


Back in 2013, people all over Europe celebrated when the ban on animal testing for cosmetics came into full force in the EU. But under the guise of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation, authorities are still demanding that cosmetics ingredients be tested on animals under certain circumstances.


This is a blatant violation of both REACH and the EU Cosmetics Regulation.


An EU court ruled that only humane, non-animal methods can be used to satisfy safety-assessment requirements for cosmetics ingredients, reasoning that the purpose of testing is irrelevant in deciding when the ban on sales of animal-tested cosmetics ingredients is triggered. Yet animals continue to suffer and die in such tests.


The EU Cosmetics Regulation ban must be upheld – cosmetics ingredients should not be tested on animals under any circumstances.


His designation was number 1016—but they called him Harvey.

This sweet and friendly beagle was one of hundreds of dogs who spent their days inside a stainless-steel cage at a laboratory and the only time he left his cage was for cruel and painful testing.


One day, Harvey was let out of his cage for a few minutes to run around on the floor—those brief moments of freedom were “the best life he knew.”


And then they killed him, disposing of him like nothing more than trash.



Harvey is far from the only one. According to the most recent reports, nearly 60,000 dogs are used in testing and research in the United States each year, with an estimated 6,500 more reported as being held in laboratories but not yet used. And with nonanimal methods generating data that is more relevant to human biology, we have better science to make these regulatory decisions—and prevent the use of dogs in these horrid tests.


Thanks to pressure from HSLF and other animal-welfare groups, the Environmental Protection Agency has committed to ending all mammal testing by 2035. In addition, a bill has been introduced in Congress, the Alternatives to Animals for Regulatory Fairness Act of 2020, which will allow drug companies to bypass the Food and Drug Administration’s cruel and pointless dog testing mandate.


Although these are steps in the right direction, the fight is far from over. We can’t just sit and wait another 15 years—an entire generation of dogs—as millions of animals are sentenced to the same fate as Harvey.


If our leaders don’t move up their deadline to end these horrifying practices, they will condemn even more animals to a lifetime of suffering. But we intend to use all of our strength with the new administration and the new Congress so we can spare these animals—but we need you in the fight.


My name Is Hazel.

Rabbits need you in their corner

Have you ever had a nightmare in which you're being chased—in which fear floods through you as you run and struggle to get free but you know there's no escape?


Humans can wake up from a bad dream, but for many rabbits, the terror never ends. And they're right to be afraid—because their gentle nature is exploited by humans who experiment on them, eat them, dismember or skin them, hunt them, abuse them for entertainment, or subject them to other forms of hideous cruelty.


PETA is paving the way for rabbits to be treated with the compassion and respect that everyone deserves. Please help us spare more animals in 2021.


From a gentle purr to raised ears, there are many ways to spot a content rabbit. Just like us, they're social animals—you may have seen them taking in the morning sunshine and nibbling the grass. Yet these simple freedoms are denied to rabbits who are bloodied and poisoned in invasive experiments … neglected as "pets" or treated like props in traveling exhibits … confined and violently killed for their flesh … or even strung up and ripped apart or decapitated for the fur on their backs.


We know how to help rabbits. Now, we need you beside us to have an even greater impact as we work to persuade regulators to embrace non-animal research methods, halt plans for cruel farms where animals are warehoused in filth, stop the buying and selling of fur, and more. Please help out today to help create a kinder world for rabbits and all other animals.

What You Can Do

Please speak out for animals used in cosmetics testing by sending a message to the European Commission and the European Chemicals Agency asking them never to allow cosmetics ingredients to be tested on animals. You can also search for cruelty-free companies here.


"Corporations are people, my friend."

Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.  Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.


The Sustainable Action Network (SAN) is a leading global non-profit organization (a Don Lichterman non-profit organization) dedicated to building a global community....

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
ANIMAL RESCUES WELFARE, CRIMES & ABUSE
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Moving Giants, Priyanka is safe, Removing Arya's Last Symbol of Slavery, Elephant in the Room!

  • Writer: Don Lichterman
    Don Lichterman
  • Dec 9, 2020
  • 8 min read
Elephant Translocation Documentary Moving Giants Wins Big At Wildlife Conservation Film Festival

Network for Animals’ elephant translocation documentary, Moving Giants, has won Best Wildlife Conservation Film at the 10th annual Wildlife Conservation Film Festival (WCFF), held in New York in November 2020.


Moving Giants is a dramatic and emotional South-African-produced documentary that tells the story of the capture and translocation of Tembe and Sundu – two rare giant tusker elephant bulls identified for a critical task.

Elephants at Addo either have small tusks or none at all because all the big tuskers in the Addo area were hunted out more than a century ago. Tusks play a vital role for elephants. They use tusks to protect their sensitive trunks, to forage and dig, and for attracting females. NFA pledged to help Addo’s elephants get tusks back, and thus a mammoth translocation plan was set in motion.


Network for Animals (NFA), together with South African National Parks (SANParks), began the massive task of moving Tembe and Sundu from the Tembe Elephant Park, in KwaZulu-Natal, to Addo which is 1,600 kilometers away, where they would breed and reintroduce the gene for big tusks.

Highly specialized teams and technology came together to track and dart the massive creatures. But, even with the best team and the best technology, things can go seriously wrong. At the end of two long days, only one bull made the journey to Addo, while the other had to be released back to his capture site after the darted giant responded negatively to sedation.


During the ground-breaking 11-minute long documentary – directed by Joanna Higgs, presented by Luke Barritt, and produced by GoTrolley Films for NFA – viewers were on the edge of their seats as they watched the team’s colossal efforts and compassionate approach to ensure the survival of elephants in Africa.

“Winning this award marks an incredible achievement for all of us at NFA. It is also a tribute to every one of our supporters who have placed elephant conservation across Africa on the highest priority list. Moving Giants is just one example of how the generosity of the human spirit is working to protect and conserve vulnerable animals,” said David Barritt, executive director of NFA.


“As a South African, I am also immensely proud of the fact that this award demonstrates that our film makers can compete with the best in the world and win.


I would also like to personally thank Jo Higgs and the team at GoTrolley Films for helping portray the work NFA does in such a professional, powerful and creative way.”

Barritt said that Moving Giants emphasised the importance of elephant conservation. “Elephant populations throughout the continent are in crisis with numbers plummeting 90% in the past century and by a third in the past 20 years alone. Voracious poaching continues despite a near-total ban on trade in ivory. Tragically, 20,000 elephants are slaughtered each year – an effective rate of one every 30 minutes. More elephants are poached than born putting this exquisite species in very real danger of extinction. Unless something changes, elephants will disappear in the next few decades. Elephant conservation efforts have never been more important than they are right now and we will never stop working to protect them.”

Director Jo Higgs added that her and her team were delighted by the recognition the documentary has had. “’This award means a lot to the team at GoTrolley Films,” she said. “Directing the film was really a privilege. Network for Animals does incredible work for animals around the world and we were very proud to be able to craft a story that made some of that important work more visible.” Be A P{art of this Now

Jai spent the past 40 years walking thousands of miles in chains throughout Punjab, to Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and finally to Rajasthan. His painfully infected wounds have rendered him immobile and nearly lame. He desperately needs immediate medical care at our Elephant Hospital, but we need your help first. Due to this criminal neglect and unthinkable cruelty, the Forest Department has seized the poor elephant. They are giving us an opportunity to mount a rescue operation and bring him to safety and provide lifetime care. Jai needs compassionate people like you to stand up for him when no one else will. Because his condition could become critical, we’re trying to rescue Jai in record time. Our goal is to have him in the Elephant Ambulance and on his way to freedom no later than Thursday. Will you please help Jai now?

Mahima Sharma - Indian Laws Protecting Elephants

India boasts of a rich cultural heritage and has one of the strongest laws of the land that prevent the abuse and exploitation of animals. It is the law which accords the revered position of the National Heritage Animal of the country to the Asian Elephant! By all means, the Asian elephant is granted the highest protection, legally, and as a Schedule I protected species of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. There is an absolute prohibition on the poaching, trafficking and trading of elephants, inviting a hefty fine and incarceration of up to 7 years.

Once captured from the wild, elephants can never be reintroduced to the wild again. [Photo (c) Wildlife SOS/Mradul Pathak]

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, clearly lays down the laws that protect the elephants in India. The State Forest Department works actively in each state to protect the forests and wildlife and become the first responders in the case of any untoward incident that involves wild animals.

When an elephant is owned illegally, the State Forest Department has the authority to order the immediate seizure of the elephant and rehabilitate the elephant to a recognised elephant camp for long-term care and treatment. However, when an elephant is legally owned and there are reports of ill-treatment and abuse, then the Forest Officers, after inspection of the condition and a complete medical check up, decide on the subsequent confiscation and rehabilitation of the elephant.

PROJECT ELEPHANT The Government of India has further established Project Elephant under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MOEFF&CC) to monitor and regulate the welfare of both wild and captive elephants. Project Elephant was established in 1992 with the overarching aim of providing technical assistance to the protection and management of the population of wild elephants in India.

On the occasion of World Elephant Day this year, Project Elephant released a detailed report on the best practices for management of human-elephant conflict in India. The report laid down the details of how various new practices have been introduced to make sure that the human-elephant interactions are effectively controlled.

  • The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, was amended in 2002 and banned the sale of captive elephants which were not registered with the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. If an elephant is owned without being declared, the Forest Department has the authority to cease the elephant on the grounds of illegal ownership.

  • Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 talks about the prohibition of hunting of the animals listed under Schedule I, II, III, IV. The elephant is a protected species under Schedule I and so is the sloth bear! Hunting of animals listed under these Schedules will invite heavy punishment and incarceration of up to 7 years.

  • Section 40 (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits the acquisition, possession and transfer of a captive elephant without the written permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State.

  • Section 42 reinstates that the Ownership Certificate can be issued to the person who has the lawful authority of the captive animal listed under Schedule I and II.

  • Section 48 (b) clearly states that no wild animal under Schedule I and II can be captured, sold, purchased, transferred and transported unless the Authorised Officer does not certify the lawful possession of the same.

  • Section 40 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, also talks about the mandatory issuance of Transit Permit (TP) by the State Forest Department when an elephant is being transported from one state to another. Additionally, TP has to be issued by each state from which the elephant will pass through including the state in which the elephant will be finally going to.

LOOPHOLES: The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, makes the exception of live elephants being “gifted” or “inherited” to people, wherein the owner has 90 days to declare this “inheritance” to the Forest Department. This clause is misused by elephant owners involved in illegal trafficking and exploitation of elephants, which allows the trade to flourish.

There are state-recognised Elephant Camps where elephants are cared by the Forest Department. [Photo (c) Wildlife SOS/Mradul Pathak]

As a responsible citizen of the country, it is very important to know the important laws that protect India’s elephants from brutal captivity and keeps their numbers steadily growing in the wild, where they rightfully belong. Captive elephants can never be reintroduced to the wild as they are forced to lose their wild spirit after being subjected to repeated thrashings, starvation and torture to be “controlled” by humans, all through their life. Additionally, these elephants are repeatedly beaten to be disciplined and end up with severe physical and psychological scars.

Each elephant on the roads, in the temples, in the entertainment and tourism industry has been illegally poached from the wild. These elephants are isolated, restrained and fed an unhealthy diet that increases the risk of pulmonary and gastrointestinal diseases. Brutal captivity also causes severe psychological trauma, and they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder that is characterised by constant head bobbing and swaying and is termed as “stereotypic behaviour”.

If you love elephant, you will never ride them! Be a part of the change and visit www.refusetoride.org and sign the petition!

Removing Arya's Last Symbol of Slavery

One of the most fulfilling aspects of a successful rescue is the removal of the bell from an elephant. Most elephants in India used in the tourism, recreation or begging industries are forced to wear a bell, an age old practice that was used to alert people to the presence of the elephant on a crowded street.

Arya joined the Wildlife SOS elephant family this past summer. The blind and traumatized elephant has made steady progress as she becomes more comfortable with her new surroundings. The removal of her bell is a symbolic celebration of her newfound freedom. Join us in a moment of joy and reflection for Arya!

Priyanka is safe and living in peace

And, for more than 40 years Priyanka spent her days on the busy streets begging for scraps at the hands of her cruel owner. She was forced to give rides for money, even as her feet were burned on hot pavement and her back was deformed by a heavy saddle. Losing all hope, Priyanka faced constant fear of beatings, traffic, hunger, and chains. GIVE TO SAVE INDIA'S WILDLIFE

Once she arrived at Wildlife SOS, Priyanka’s many physical injuries were treated, but the emotional damage she suffered still haunts her. Priyanka is now well cared for, is loved, and lives in peace and safety at a Wildlife SOS sanctuary, thanks to compassionate people like you.

Please support Wildlife SOS and our mission to rescue and help elephants in need. With your help we can save more elephants like Priyanka! Don’t wait, please give today! What you give today will impact who we can save tomorrow

Our companies are known for creating products that enhance people's lives. Through Sunset Corporation of America and its companies, we’re equally dedicated to improving lives.  Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

The Sustainable Action Network (SAN), A Don Lichterman non-profit organization dedicated to building a global community raising awareness of corruption, injustice and the need for action across a full range of issues impacting people and animal/wildlife welfare around the world, such as conservation, climate change, campaign law, lobbying, government action and rescue work. SAN’s vision is to create safer world, free from political, environmental, and social oppression, where all the inhabitants of Earth can live in harmony within their own natural environments. Our commitment extends to helping local communities, fostering better educational systems, supporting the arts and culture, helping disadvantaged youth, protecting and improving the environment, animal welfare, wildlife issues and encouraging employee volunteerism.

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
ANIMAL RESCUES WELFARE, CRIMES & ABUSE
PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE

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