Animal Writings

This will be a "living post." I will add to it over the next several days, so please check back periodically. As always, I appreciate your comments, opinions, and constructive criticism.

Sometime between now and election day, read the following article: Humane USA endorses John Kerry for President. A humane organization's endorsement of Kerry is not news; they're all doing it. I want you to read the article because it points out some of the ways in which President Bush's decisions have been deplorably and willfully anti-animal. Bush may be great in other policy areas, but a strong case can be made that animals in the U.S. have suffered more under his presidency than any other presidency in the country's history. And you should expect more of the same, probably at an accelerated pace, if he is re-elected.

Here's one of the most disturbing excerpts from the article:


It gets worse:


Mr. Hogan has so little respect for animals that he guns them down for fun. He puts a higher value on a selfish award than on animals' basic desire to live. That President Bush would appoint this person to be second in charge of wildlife "services" shows a real contempt for animals.

Only six percent of Americans hunt, and a much smaller percent trophy-hunt. Bush is thumbing his nose at the majority of voters, who eschew hunting and favor non-violent wildlife management approaches. The Safari Club is an extremist group. Its members cherish the opportunity to kill an animal; those who kill the most are rewarded.

President Bush frequently informs us that he receives his instructions from God. Did God say, "find someone who gets a thrill from killing my magnificent creatures, and put him in charge of their welfare?" I don't think so. Just like I don't think God told Bush to repeatedly lie to the public about weapons in Iraq or linkages between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God implores us to show mercy, to treat animals as well as people with kindness. In our relations with animals, we should take a cue from the good shepherd in the Bible who lays down his life for his sheep. As God's appointed stewards of Creation, we should strive to be like Jesus and sacrifice our hedonistic urges for the good of those that would suffer from them. Trophy hunting is a flagrant violation of God's will. It needlessly causes suffering and destruction of that which He created, and ignores His calls for compassion and humility.

President Bush repeatedly declares himself to be a compassionate believer in the Almighty, but then assigns an avowed animal killer to manage wildlife protection and refuges. I would rather a person just admit flat out that he doesn't follow the Bible, rather than go through the charade of conspicuous piousness and then do whatever the Hell he wants.

Make no mistake, John Kerry has his considerable flaws. His attempt to prove his manhood (again) by shooting at some terrified geese was pathetic. At least when Dukakis rode shotgun in the tank, looking like a spaceman cartoon, he merely embarrassed himself. No animals were harmed, at least not intentionally. Kerry resorted to a particularly cowardly form of violence in his quest for approval from who are impressed with that sort of thing.

What a waste of life. Everyone lost. Hunters could tell the whole thing was staged. The 94 percent of Americans who don't hunt were turned off. The geese paid the ultimate price for being unwitting political pawns.

Maureen Dowd, in the New York Times, wrote:


Idiotic.

Nevertheless, if animals could vote, it would be Kerry in a landslide. Kerry has a long and consistent record of voting to preserve wilderness, wetlands, and other habitat, which, after all, is where most animals live. Hunting down an innocent, defenseless animal may be heartless, but in terms of numbers it's no contest: habitat loss is the number one destroyer of animals, and affects a million times more species than hunting, which continues to steadily dwindle in popularity.

Last year, before becoming the vice-presidential nominee, John Edwards took a public stand against factory farming. Not because of animal rights — that would be a miracle — but because of its horrible environmental impact. Don't expect anything like this from Bush, who has staffed the upper echelons of the USDA with ex-agribusiness executives and lobbyists.

Republicans: hopefully you're not still believing your party's promises for smaller government. In recent years, they've been worse than Democrats at reckless spending. However, there is one bloated and perennial government boondoggle in which each party seems determined to outdo the other: agricultural subsidies. Oh, the senators and representatives will talk, in a self-congratulatory way, about how they're helping the family farmer, but these payouts rarely if ever filter down to the little guy. Investors, corporate VPs, and well-endowed universities make out great, while the chicken-plant workers and hog farmers continue to barely scrape by. I want to point out: as much as I am sickened by the inhumanity of pigs confined in metal crates, it is powerful companies like Smithfield and IBP that have made it nearly impossible to treat pigs — or any other farm animal — with a modicum of decency and still make a profit. I feel for the pigs; at the same time I have sympathy for the small farmers, who, next to the pigs, are at the bottom of the ladder.

Kerry and Edwards at least indicate some commitment to slowing down the increasing hegemony of the big meat-processing conglomerates. I'm all for that, even if it's a baby step. It will help animals, help the environment, and help small farmers. Without hesitation, I'll embrace any relief for the billions of animals that have suffered too long from the intense confinement and terrible living conditions of factory farms.

Last item. Kerry and Edwards voted against a $2 million subsidy to mink growers. Mink processing is so barbaric, I almost can't believe such a thing was proposed. Mink farms are nothing more than legalized brutality. The mink are prevented from any contact with water, their natural home that they strongly desire. They are stuck in tiny cages that give them virtually no side-to-side movement; there's barely enough room to stand. The minks are electrocuted to death — slowly, on a wet surface while voltage burns through their body. The whole thing is like something out of the Crusades. That our tax dollars would help finance such brutality is disgusting.

To make matters worse, the mink industry is currently being investigated by the Justice Department for price-fixing. Giving money to an industry that tortures animals and cheats consumers? Bill Bennett, Michael Moore, Charles Krauthammer, Michael Kinsley, church leaders, consumers union: where is the outrage?

It's about time that the fate of animals was considered as part of the election process. They suffer or thrive as a result of our policies. And when I say "suffer" I mean "suffer." It's not just a figure of speech. When we pave over their home, or stuff them in tiny cages of deprivation, they suffer basically like you or me. Like the abused dog in the animal shelter that can bring a tear to the most avid hunter's eye. Please think of these American residents when you vote. They need their freedom and well-being, too.

Animals' ideal candidate is nowhere on the landscape — yet. In the meantime, if you want to act on their behalf, your choice is between an incumbent who shows contempt for their welfare and a challenger who is merely ambivalent. Hold your nose and vote not so much for Kerry but against Bush.

I'll give you my vote. In return, could you please do the following:

  — Remain steadfast on the factory farm moratorium.
  — Ditto for subsidies to any fur-farming operation. That's obscene.
  — We get it already. You're Rambo. Now put down the shotgun.

Articles about Ronald Reagan, the Green Party, a city councilman, a pig farmer, religion, the continuing horror of fur, progressive companies, the animals I live with, personal frustrations and hopes, and some amazing quotes. Thank you for reading my blog. I hope that I can continue to provide thoughtful, informative, and inspiring information about animals and our relationships with them. Please vote for the candidate of your choice tomorrow. Vote on local initiatives, too. See you Wednesday.

Paige Patterson is president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Here is an excerpt from his biography on the seminary's web site:


From an article about Mr. Patterson in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Sept 28, 2003:


At the "Sportsman's Safari" in Lavaca, Arkansas, Mr. Patterson showed off photos of his "trophies" (animals that he had killed). He emphasized the importance of boys owning and using guns (presumably on animals), and becoming a "real man."

Here is my reply to Mr. Patterson:

Dear Mr. Patterson:

Jesus did not hunt. Neither did any of his disciples. Hunting is not a sport. The animals are unwilling participants that want to be left alone. They do not have defenses against the hunter's weaponry. In a sport, you do not try to kill your opponent.

Isaiah reminds us that God's ideal is harmony between all species. Hunting profoundly violates that ideal. It destroys creatures that have a will to live, that derive enjoyment from life, that form strong bonds, that have dignity, that deserve to live. The lion, leopard, and buffalo have intrinsic, not just utilitarian worth. They are endowed with the breath of life. They are declared good by God independent of how they may benefit humans. They are given "nefesh chaya", a "living soul" in the original Hebrew bible.

Killing for fun is vile and cheapens the lives of our magnificent co-travelers. Getting enjoyment from unnecessarily killing God's creatures dishonors God. Real men do not destroy defenseless animals. They have compassion and exercise their privileged position as a moral agent with kindness and respect for all.

I agree that dads are important. My Dad, who celebrated his fiftieth wedding anniversary this year, taught his three sons to treat animals nicely, not to take their lives. We are grateful for that lesson.

I believe you when you say you are a dog lover. Please be a lion, leopard, and buffalo lover, too. They have the same basic needs and emotions as dogs.

Most animals are social. They form lasting relationships with others. When you kill an animal, you are likely killing another animal's best friend. Animals of many species grieve demonstrably and deeply when they lose a companion.

Mr. Patterson, you have made animals suffer immeasurably. But there are infinite ways that you can make it up them. The reconciliation starts by putting down the gun and seeing the animals with new eyes. Then you may realize that being a man and following Jesus has nothing to do with asserting physical dominance, and everything to do with showing mercy toward all of God's Creation, from the tiny sparrow to the mighty buffalo. The real trophy is seeing the animal go free, exalting in its happiness, and thanking God for the privilege.

"There is a sufficient amount of hurt in this world without doing anything to cause any more." -- Paige Patterson

"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain..." -- Isaiah 11:19

Montanta Democratic candidate for governor Brian Schweitzer, while pandering to hunters and ranchers, as all candidates out West are required to do, voiced his intent to end a ban on game ranches. That's where "hunters" pay money to shoot captive, fenced-in animals. "The last time I checked, the game in Montana belonged to you, the public," Schweitzer declared.

Leaving aside the question of whether anyone truly "owns" wild animals, cruelty should not be legalized. Owners of dogs and cats are not allowed to bait their pets with food, lure them into an enclosed area, then shoot them dead. But this is precisely what is done on game ranches. Visitors shoot and kill animals that have no means of escape. Some are shot while peacefully grazing.

Even many hunting enthusiasts do not consider these contrived "canned hunts" to be real hunting. Shame on Mr. Schweitzer for endorsing such blatant and cowardly cruelty.

We do not own these animals. God owns them. We are entrusted to be their benevolent stewards, good shephards. By taking joy in murdering His Creation, we are showing contempt for our common Creator.

You guys rock! The Curse is dead! Down here in DC, we root for the Orioles until about July, once we know it's hopeless, then we root for the Red Sox to beat our nemesis, the Yankees. So there's a lot of solidarity with Sox fans. Anyway, unbelievable comeback; one of the greatest in history.

So whoop it up, you deserve it. Hoist a few in the bars to Ortiz, Schilling, and company. And the whole town. 86 years of toasts to make.

Tomorrow, please remember those that still live under a curse. Hens stuffed into tiny wire-floor cages that barely enable them to move at all their whole life. Foxes and other wild animals denied movement, exercise, a natural diet, and anything else that gives their life meaning, just so they can be somebody's fur trim. Pigs in confining metal enclosures, constantly impregnated but prevented from raising their piglets, which are removed after three weeks, and whose only contact with their mother is receiving milk.

Farm and fur animals — ten billion a year — live dreadful, joyless lives every day. Spread some of your cheer their way. Refrain from eating them or wearing their fur, and you'll spare many of them from great suffering. Order the vegetarian selections at Thornton's Grill near Fenway. Go with synthetics, not the fur stolen from an animal's back. Try the various chicken substitutes in the freezer case at the grocery store, and my favorite, the GardenBurger Riblet. If you don't think it tastes like actual barbeque, let me know and I'll wear a Red Sox hat to work for a week.

Here's another thing you can do: make a new friend for life. Adopt one of the animals at the shelter needing some love. It's a committment but well worth it. You can do it. During the off-season, you can take brisk walks to get acquainted with your new puppy, or adult dog — who will appreciate a new home even more. Or perhaps your lifestyle is more suited to a cat, to grace the fireplace with her sublimeness and purr up a storm when you pet her. (I have a cat that likes to play baseball. Really. He's a southpaw and prefers to smack it down the right field line, but he plays the whole field and can lay down a good bunt, too.)

So, share the love, Boston. You already got a head start. Earlier this year, the Lowell Spinners Baseball Club, affiliated with the Red Sox, cancelled an event that would have exploited zoo animals very inhumanely. The club took the high road and declared that it would not support such cruelty. Good for them.

As awesome as the Red Sox have been, it pales in comparison to the huge positive difference you can make in animals' lives with just a few changes in your habits. You can end their curse tomorrow morning. I urge you to go for it. And best of luck in the World Series!

This isn't about animal rights per se, but I just wanted to give a shout-out to Kettle Foods. I know them best for their potato chips. A group of blue herons in Salem, Oregon knows Kettle Foods as the company that gave them their home back.

When the company built their manufacturing facility, they displaced some of the animals that had been living there. So they made it up to their wild neighbors by planting trees and aquatic plants, and creating a wetlands habitat suitable for a mutltitude of species.

Eventually the herons returned, and they live there today. You can visit them as you walk along along the interpretive trail, built by Kettle, that describes the resident flora and fauna. (Note: do not feed potato chips to the geese.)

In addtion to their wetlands restoration, Kettle uses solar energy in its factory, and reformulates vegetable oil for use as an alternative to gasoline. Something tells me more than person at the company drives a hybrid, too.

Remember, the prized "Good Guys" distinction does not mean that the recipient is a total animal rights convert. Sometimes yes, mostly no. Kettle's recipe page is predominantly non-veg, although they do have one very promising-looking vegetarian entry. The majority of their products are vegan. So, to Ma and Pa and the whole Kettle family, keep protecting those animals, continue making excellent products, and put another veggie recipe on the list, so you can win a Good Guys award next year.

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Bonus: Did you know that potato chips are actually good for you? Not really, but they are tasty.

We moved into our house in 1987. The bamboo was already firmly established. I don't remember exactly when I first noticed the birds singing in the bamboo thicket, but it was probably early on. Every night, a litle before dusk, I hear a symphony in my back yard. It sounds like a hundred birds, but they're invisible, lost in the thick foliage. There's very little warmup; they just launch into the song. And what a song it is. It's a celebration. It's loud and exhuberant, not one mournful note in the bunch. Each rendition is slightly different. The birds improvise, and express what they feel at the moment. Yet all the disparate voices blend into a strangely soothing, often mesmerizing sound.

Although I can't see the birds during their half-hour performance, afterward 30 or 40 take off from the bamboo. Some land in the nearest tree, others travel to farther away spots. It's as if they all gather for the songfest, then go off in their separate directions. Many apparently stay the night in the thicket; I hear them rustling when I take out the trash. Speaking of which, like any respectful audience member, I try not to disturb the musicians when they're performing. If I get too close or make noise, they hush. For just a minute, then they start up again. They're not used to me yet. Or maybe they are, but it's force of habit.

In winter, the sound gets a little thinner; it peaks in the spring. But, rain or shine, the chorus from within the bamboo goes on every evening. It's the longest running musical of all time.

Shortly after settling into our new home, I seriously contemplated removing the bamboo. If you've ever dealt with this plant, you know how aggressive it can be. It sends out underground shoots up to 20 feet long. From the shoots, new bamboo stalks sprout up, growing so fast you can tell the difference from hour to hour. I'm grateful to my procrastination; it saved the bamboo, and the musical tradition that relies on it. These days, I contain new growth so it doesn't take over the yard, but the main grove will remain as long as I live here, and I hope much longer.

Nothing in the ad for the house mentioned the resident musical performances. It was an unexpected bonus. My wife and I feel lucky to be sharing this plot of ground with the birds. We try to be good "land-mates." Except for a couple of times that we sprayed weed-killer on some posion ivy, we've been pesticide-free for seventeen years. We planted trees throughout the yard of various sizes and habits. One corner of the yard is fairly wild, close to its natural state. The birdbath always has fresh water. All in all, I think we've done a good job maintaining our habitat. Do the birds appreciate it? Their nightly symphonies outside our window are more than enough thanks.

"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight."
-- Albert Schweitzer

PETA wants you to order the Burger King "BK Veggie" veggie burger. I think that's the majority view among animal advocates and vegetarians. But some animal rights groups are anti-BK Veggie. From what I can gather, it's because a) the BK Veggie is not vegan, b) it's from Burger King.

I'm with PETA on this one. So what if the BK Veggie or its parent company aren't perfect? The fact that a major fast-food chain is offering a veggie burger as part of its regular lineup is huge. And Burger King is apparently sticking with it; the BK veggie has been on the menu for over two years now.

How is it? It's not the best veggie burger you've ever had, but it's definitely not the worst. It's flame-grilled, and comes with pickles, onions, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and mayo. Leave off the mayo to make it vegan. Mayo's kind of overkill with burgers, anyway. Cheese optional. (You can guess where I stand on that.)

I encourage people to at least try it, for a couple of reasons. One, every time someone orders a BK Veggie, it tells Burger King that they made a good business decision. If they sell enough veggie burgers, it's only a matter of time before the competition adds it to their menus. Your purchase of a BK Veggie helps to mainstream veggie alternatives, especially in the fast-food sector, where it perhaps is most needed.

Also, if you're in line and you order a BK Veggie, you might get the person behind you to order one. You know how people are. They don't want to be the "odd man out." But if they see you getting a BK Veggie, that sort of makes it all right, then they're not the only one.

The BK Veggie breaks new ground. Now, at 8000 easily-recognizable locations throughout the country, you can grab a decent veggie burger. When traveling in the middle of nowhere on the interstate and you see there's a Burger King at the next exit, you know you can get a veggie burger or two.

No, Burger King is not the most progressive company in America. That's obvious. But let's give them credit. Even if you don't particularly like Burger King (or PETA), try the BK Veggie, and if you like it, order it every now and then. You'll influence corporate America's decision on what to offer at fast food restaurants. Today the BK Veggie, tomorrow fake chicken nuggets at McDonalds, patties at Burger King, and spicy sandwiches at Wendy's. That would result in at least a million chickens saved, and a lot of cows too.

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Also... Earlier this year, Burger King pulled its sponsorship of the Universoul Circus, which mistreats animals. So I guess between the BK Veggie and their decision to not promote animal abuse in entertainment, Burger King gets the coveted AnimalWritings.com "Good Guys" award.

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(Look for more on the Universoul Circus and several more "Good Guys" recognitions in the coming weeks.)

"Vegetarianism is unhealthy."

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Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote.

"Six years ago, developers along Alabama's gulf coast were forced to set their luxury condos farther back from the surf in order to protect the dune habitat of the endangered Alabama beach mouse. They fought a legal challenge mounted on behalf of the mouse by the Sierra Club's Alabama Chapter -- but lost.

But when Hurricane Ivan tore ashore in late September, the wider beach front kept the developers from losing everything. 'Thank God for the beach mouse,' civil engineering professor Scott Douglass told the Birmingham News."

With respect to http://www.hirediversity.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=17851, "Home Depot Puts Partners Before Pets."

I'm firmly in favor of benefits to same-sex partners in committed relationships, offended by the notion of an anti-gay marriage amendment, and in general have been a long-time supporter of gay rights. I hate discrimination, prejudice, and twisted, self-serving biblical rationales for either. I also have seen first-hand the terrible suffering that occurs to animals, including pets, and their caretakers. For millions of Americans, their pet is their child. The relationship between human and pet is wonderful, life-affirming, and hugely beneficial to both parties. As a volunteer for two animal shelters, I can tell you that for most people, losing a pet is the most difficult thing they will face in their life.

Some context. We euthanize millions of healthy pets each year in shelters due to lack of homes. Tens of millions of feral cats, the product of abandonment, neglect, and ignorance, live out of dumpsters and evade cars and unleashed dogs. More broadly, we kill ten billion animals a year for food. The vast majority are confined in tiny spaces that allow them virtually no movement, exercise, or normal social activity. Their basic physical and psychological needs are completely denied. Chickens, slaughtered more than any other animal, are not covered by the Humane Slaughter Act. They are alive and conscious but paralyzed and shackled by their feet when their throats are slit. Frustrated slaughterhouse workers, usually paid minimum wages and almost benefitless, take it out on the animals: they squeeze chickens to death, stomp on them, throw them violently against the wall, and blow them up.

My point. We are all connected. It's not people vs. animals. Violence begets violence. Kindness begets kindndess. Suffering is suffering. Mistreated employees are mean to animals. An animal needing love can complete a person and make them happy and well-productive. Can we look the world more holistically rather than creating divisions and contempt between species? Abraham Lincoln said "I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being."

In practical terms, let's see how we can make justice not stop abrubtly at the species line but apply to all beings that can benefit from compassion and suffer from indifference or malice. Perhaps we can start with cafeteria plans that include benfits for partners and pets — the whole family. I don't know that this specifically is the solution, but where there is a will there is a way.

Tarra is a 30-year old artist from Burma. She started painting at 12 years old, showing an interest even then in abstract art. She uses a variety of brushes and colors to create unique expressions of her moods. Typically she lays out the basic pattern, adds splashes or sprinkles of color, then picks up the felt pen to add her signature. She has a limited number of etchings to her credit, also. Some of her works are displayed in museum collections.

Tarra does not use her hands to paint. She uses her trunk. Tarra is an elephant.

More information on Tarra can be found at www.elephants.com/tarra/tarra.htm#painting. After a rough life of being kidnapped from her herd and then performing around the U.S., she became the first resident of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. According to the sanctuary’s web site, Tarra “has been joined by six others of her highly social species. They will live out the remainder of their 60-plus years together at this natural-habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered Asian elephants.”

A set of four 11 X 14 paintings by Tarra art is a baragain at 100 dollars, and adds unique interest to any home or office. Proceeds go toward the sanctuary.

Don't go to "The Fur Salon," on the third floor of Saks Jandel. It's haunted. It's haunted by the dead bodies of animals killed by electrocution. Whose final dark moments were having probes shoved up their rectums and clamps put over their mouths, forcefully, so the burst of electricity could travel from their noses to their tails.

The room is haunted by animals who wanted to live but never could. Animals who were forever trapped in tiny wire prisons, whose every desire was denied. Foxes who couldn't run. Minks who couldn't swim. Rabbits who couldn't hop. Out of the walls of the Fur Salon are the suppressed screams of millions of creatures who went mad from confinement and desolation. Intelligent, curious animals turned into soulless commodities. Animals who paced endlessly from one end of their tiny cage to the other.

The Fur Salon is haunted by piles of carcasses, from animals killed in traps, suffocated, bludgeoned, knifed, crushed, and bled. The garments had hollow eyes and disease. Dead bodies were fed to live bodies. All were killed in a factory.

The animals were once wild. They want their freedom back. They are not happy being fur trim and ear muffs and linings. Their skins are restless, they want their lives returned. The ones you stole. You are part of the machine, the horror that wrecked their lives. They will never forgive you. When you sleep, the broken spirit in the closet yearns to be alive. To have one day of being a fox, or a mink, or a rabbit. The animal he or she was born to be. When you go to work with the dead skin draped over you, pulled off the animal who suffered, the world is dark and wrong. It is not put together. It is merciless and cruel, and the cruelty is on your neck.

The Fur Salon is a room of horrors, a museum of torture. Faceless skins that had a face. Do not go in it. Like the Devil, it wants to seduce you and make you part of the evil. It wants to make you lie to yourself, that the animals don't hurt, that they don't have souls, that they don't cry for mercy. Stay far away, rid yourself of skins. Become kind. Let the sun shine over all creatures. All God's innocent, swift, brave, magnificent creatures.

I'm tired of seeing the photograph entitled "Dovima with Elephants," by Richard Avedon, who recently passed away. I recognize that he was a master photographer, but look at the elephants' legs in that picture. They're chained to the ground. Like so many of their brothers and sisters in circuses and sideshows around the world. I don't care how geat the photograph is — let the elephants go.

Three cheers for multinational textile giant Inditex. The company has decided to go completely fur-free! Inditex owns several store chains around the world. In the U.S., their best-known store is Zara. All fur items are being pulled from the shelves of every store owned by Inditex. This is a bold — and most welcome — move.

I visited the D.C. Zara a couple of weeks ago, right after I heard the good news. Sometimes there's no better way to thank a company than to purchase its products. I would describe the Zara lineup as "European chic." Stylish and sleek, with a dose of international flair. Techno-pop pulsed from the speakers. Alhough it wouldn't have mattered to me if they were playing The Captain and Tenille. I was elated that, against the tide of unscrupulous designers and department stores stuffing animal fur into every imaginable clothing item, Zara was dropping the distasteful material completely. The majority of their clothes are for women, but I had no trouble finding up a smart-looking shirt for myself. I'm planning on going back this weekend and taking my my wife, who is more adept at saying "thank you" to responsible retailers.

Zara is not perfect by any means. There's far too much leather in the stores for me. (Future AnimalWritings.com posts will sing the praises of pleather and other faux-leathers that offer a fantastic cruelty-free alternative to animal skins.) But their total withdrawal of fur from all their stores, worldwide, is HUGE, and they deserve enormous credit. Considering that most of the competition is practically shoving animal fur in consumers' faces, Zara's fur-free stance is all the more remarkable and refreshing.

So if you live in or near Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, New York, or some other city that has a Zara, take a shopping trip to the store and buy something nice for yourself or your hip friend. (The Zara web site has a directory of store locations.) Tell the salespeople and cashiers why they're getting your business. If you can't make it to one of their stores, you can thank Inditex and Zara, respectively, at http://www.inditex.com/en/contact and http://www.zara.com/i04/eng/home.php (click on Customer Service, then Contact). Even a brief, "thank you, on behalf of the animals whose lives you saved, for going fur-free" will mean a lot.

Thank you, Zara!

Last week, Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger signed bill AB 1857, which makes the declawing of big cats, such as lions, tigers, and cougars, illegal in California. This is groundbreaking legislation. California is the first state in the U.S. to disallow this procedure on any animal.

Cats of all sizes need claws. Claws are superbly designed, versatile tools; all cats that have them use them every day. Declawing impairs a cat's ability to perform many core tasks, and degrades its quality of life. Contrary to popular belief, declawing does not make a cat safer. Competent wildlife specialists at animal sanctuaries do not declaw big cats.

Claw removal on big cats, when done for non-medical reasons, is opposed by virtually every veterinary and animal organization in the country (as well as the rest of the world), from the smallest wildlife rehabilitation group to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). It's one of the few issues on which the AVMA and PETA agree.

Governor Schwarzenegger's signing of the bill represents a step forward in recognizing the wrongness of disfiguring an animal for reasons other than medical necessity.

Passage of the bill may also put a damper on the exotic pet trade. Tens of thousands of tigers, lions, leopards, panthers, and other animals that belong in the wild are cooped up in private homes and backyards. Dealers promote favorite "models," like white tigers, and declaw the animals to attract buyers who incorrectly assume that a clawless big cat is safe. Roy Horn, who was nearly mauled to death by the tiger he kept on his grounds, was one of those customers.

Lack of claws may make a cat more, not less, dangerous. There are at least a couple of reasons for this. First of all, claws serve a cat well; they help the cat accomplish a variety of daily activities. Cats use claws to negotiate terrain, to manipulate objects, to exercise their upper body through scratching, and to defend themselves when necessary. Claws are seamlessly integrated into cats' anatomy; they're not superfluous appendages. They're the closest thing cats have to thumbs. Being deprived of them would naturally be frustrating. A frustrated cat may be more aggressive and quicker to anger.

In addition, the front claws specifically let a cat assert itself from arm's length. One quick slash with the claws fully extended can do a lot of damage with little risk to the clawer. Robbed of that option, a cat may have to come in closer and use its teeth in order to make its point. However, that maneuver leaves the cat more vulnerable to a counterattack; hence, the animal may feel more compelled to go for broke. Getting clawed is no picnic, but it might only be a warning from which you can escape. When a several-hundred pound cat goes for the jugular, it's to kill you.

In Governor Schwarzenegger's home country of Austria and many other European countries, invasive "surgeries of convenience" such as declawing are illegal or officially considered inhumane. In the U.S., with its easy, no-questions-asked declawing policies, the procedure has become commonplace, almost expected. About half of American cat owners don't think twice about amputating their cats' claws, and, from my experience, have almost no idea why cats have them in the first place. In Europe, where declawing is universally disdained by the veterinary community, you would never even think of doing such a thing to your cat. And you don't need to. Tens of millions of people in Europe, including the elderly, young children, and immunocompromised individuals, get along fine with clawed housecats roaming their houses.

Veterinarian Jennifer Conrad, head of the Paw Project was a major force behind the bill. She lobbied hard for a ban, and functioned as the "expert witness" who advocated for the cats. Assembly Member Paul Koretz introduced the bill, and is a passionate spokesperson for animals.

With the signing of this bill and the foie gras ban (see article further down), Governor Schwarzenegger has established himself as a friend to animals. Both pieces of legislation set precedents for animal welfare in the U.S. They each shut down an inhumane practice that up to now has been legal across the country. Governor Schwarzenegger deserves praise for these recent decisions. He has my gratitude for resisting the vigorous lobbying efforts by animal exploitation interests to maintain the status quo.

Of course, the most eloquent appreciation the Governor could encounter will come from non-voters. A duck making a graceful landing on a pond, or a magnificent tiger in possession of its exquisite claws. These are Governor Schwarzenegger's constituents, too, and he's represented them well.

I was watching this movie "Contact," and they were talking about what aliens might be like. I can answer that. They're about ten inches high, with four feet and a tail. They're furry, and they've taken over. They landed — millions of them — about 7000 years ago. They sleep 16 hours a day, sometimes more.

You know how cats sometimes seem to stare into empty space? Somewhere out there is a very interesting planet...

(To be continued...)