A Voice for the Innocent

“Excruciating pain.  Lost limbs.  Even death.  These are the results of trapping. . .not only for the wild animals whose furs are stripped from their bodies, but also for family dogs and cats and even endangered species who are ‘incidentally’ caught in the remorseless jaws of leghold traps, Conibear traps, or snares (cable nooses).”  – Born Free USA

As I researched trapping, I found out that the United States catches more wild animals for the fur trade than any other country in the world, with three to five million animals getting trapped each year by commercial fur trappers in the U.S. 

Millions of “non-targeted” animals get trapped as well, including pets and those on endangered species lists.  We call this “collateral damage,” which I’ll address later in this article.

Trapping is used by the fur trade, as well as wildlife control and by the federal government in the killing of native carnivores.  Some states permit wildlife damage control operators to sell the pelts of killed animals, which serves to encourage the killing of animals rather than using non-violent means of problem resolution. 

Types of traps that are used include the body-gripping variety (leghold traps, snares, and Conibear traps).  The steel-jaw leghold trap is a commonly used trap by both commercial and recreational U.S.trappers.  Approximately 89 countries have banned the use of this trap, while here in the U.S., some 8 states have either banned or severely restricted its use (a pretty pathetic number).

Traps cause intense suffering and death to millions of animals every single year.  If the animals are not mercifully killed instantly by the trap, they sustain severe injuries and can suffer from exposure to the elements, dehydration, physical trauma, or fall victim to other predators.  Another fallout from trapping is the number of cubs and pups who are orphaned when their parents are caught and killed.  These orphans cannot fend for themselves or protect themselves from predators, and end up perishing from starvation, dehydration, exposure and attacks by other animals.

Trapped animals are usually clubbed, drowned, suffocated or have their chests crushed, rather than being shot and having the blood stains reduce the value of the pelt.  These methods would be considered cruelty to animals if they were inflicted upon cats or dogs.  Consequently, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the World Veterinary Association, and the National Animal Control Association have declared leghold traps to be inhumane.

While trapping regulations vary widely from state to state and are poorly enforced, some states have no laws whatsoever requiring traps to be regularly checked.  Thus, many animals linger for days suffering tremendously from their injuries.  And while the National Wildlife Refuge System’s original intent was to provide a safe haven for wild animal species, trapping is permitted on more than half the refuges across the U.S.

Trapping is an extremely cruel practice; and despite claims to the contrary, all traps cause horrific injuries and intense suffering to trapped animals.  If you don’t believe this, just try sticking your hand or foot in a leghold or Conibear trap. 

In 2011, Born Free USA conducted an investigation which exposed this highly unregulated, inhumane, dangerous industry.  The investigation bore out that the few existing regulations that monitor trapping are often ignored by trappers who openly use (illegal) snares and leave traps out after the close of the trapping season, continuing to capture animals.  There are no authorities present when traps are set or an animal is killed.  Most states don’t require trappers to report the number of animals they kill.

It’s interesting to note that a branch of the USDA, called “Wildlife Services,” spends $100 million annually on the goal of killing wildlife, mostly because they’re deemed a nuisance to municipalities, farmers or ranchers.  Wildlife Services kills a staggering number of animals using steel-jawed traps, snares and other body-gripping traps, in addition to the aerial shooting of animals and the use of deadly poisons.  These techniques are primarily random and non-selective, which results in the deaths of “non-targeted” species, as well.  Species that are killed include dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, turtles, bears, squirrels, and many others.  Ironically, though Wildlife Services’ work is conducted on behalf of the livestock industry, data show that wildlife plays an insignificant role in livestock losses.

Then, of course, there are also the “damage control trappers,” who each year trap and kill more than four million animals in the U.S. (in the name of game or livestock protection).  Or they may use “nuisance control” for the killings.  Taxpayers should note that many of these animal control programs are funded with our tax dollars.

Earlier in this article, I referred to the collateral damage related to trapping.  Non-targeted animals routinely fall victim to the traps which are set for other species.  Dogs, cats, hawks and many threatened and endangered species often become victims.  A Born Free USA investigator speaking with a trapper reported the following:

“In one of [the foothold traps] we find a fox squirrel, caught by both front paws. [The trapper] released the fox squirrel from the trap. Both of its front legs are stripped down to the flesh by the trap. He doesn’t usually use fox squirrel, though others will use the fur, so lets it go.  At the same time he says it probably won’t survive and that seems the case as it limps off slowly.”  (I’m going to assume that it had to be in sheer agony from its injuries.)

Dogs are the most common non-targeted victims of traps and I read of two incidents (out of many) where a therapy dog for children of disabilities choked to death in a trap (“it took three men to pry the trap’s springs open in order to release Rupert”); and another pet ran home in agony, covered in blood, with his head locked in a Conibear trap.  He died in transit to the vet (“it took four people to get the trap off the dead dog’s head”).

During trapping season, hundreds of thousands of body-crushing traps and snares are baited and set, many of which are not retrieved by trappers at season’s end.  Unretrieved traps are waiting and ready to do their deadly damage, in addition to those traps which are set illegally by other trappers.  While State Wildlife Agencies don’t track data on unintended victims of trapping, Born Free USA does so all across the country and maintains a database of incidents that are reported to them.  This information is used to educate lawmakers and others to help prevent future injuries.

There are steps we can all take to help organizations like Born Free USA on the issue of trapping.  The goal is to expose the truth about this awful practice and to eliminate the cruel devices that are used to inflict suffering and death to both intended and unintended victims.  It is important that legislators and policymakers enact stronger laws and ensure the enforcement of existing protections.  Additionally, we need to urge the use of alternative humane methods of animal control.

You and your friends can be on the lookout for hidden traps when hiking with your dogs. 

Report incidents to Born Free USA at (916) 447-3085 x 208; or www.bornfreeusa.org/trappingreport

You can write letters to the editor of your local paper addressing this issue.

Post signs and prosecute anyone setting a trap on your property, if you live in a rural area.

Don’t buy anything made of fur.

Check out www.bornfreeusa.org, for other suggestions, join their Action Team, or contribute to their funding.  For more information about the gruesome consequences of trapping, go to their Victims of Vanity tab where they provide investigative video and graphics.

The photo below depicts a discarded coyote whose fur was deemed “unsatisfactory” and thus died needlessly and in agony.

In reality, the letters are for Bureau of Land Management; however, based upon what I’ve learned, I think “brutality, lies and murder” might be more fitting.

Over forty years ago, the Wild Horse and Burro Act was signed into law, in response to the wishes of the American people (and over objections by the cattle industry).  The law mandated that wild horses be preserved on public lands.

Forty years later, we have to look back on what a farce that law was and how ineffective it has been towards carrying out its promises. 

In Nevada, as well as other western states, teams of horse hunters are paid a bounty to scour public lands and capture an animal.  The going rate is $350 per captured animal.  I might mention that a couple of these contractors, some of whom had previously worked for the Department of the Interior, have made millions from their buddies in the BLM.  That’s kind of like one hand washing the other; it pays to be in the public sector, I guess.

Wild horses are forced to run across some of the roughest terrain in the west, terrified by the helicopters used to frighten them.  In the process, they smash their hooves on the sharp rocks, some actually running their hooves off.  There have been documented incidents of foals who collapsed after wearing their feet to bloody stumps; some have been left to lie in agony for days before dying or being euthanized.  Many horses die on the spot in the snow-covered terrain during the roundups, while others have perished in the holding pens.  Pregnant mares, as well, have aborted their young.

Though the BLM regularly issues statements as to their intentions to conduct a more humane roundup and be more open to public input, this doesn’t happen.  In fact, more horses are added to the pens of privately owned ranches of BLM-connected friends.  The animals will spend the remainder of their lives in these pens, in misery; or they might get shipped to a slaughterhouse across the border.  In any case, I doubt the public had this in mind when they celebrated the passage of the WHBA.

While the BLM makes a media circus of issuing announcements or providing information sessions, hundreds of horses are being routinely run to death and also die of dehydration, stress and injuries.  There is no refuting the video footage of advocates who have captured the roundups on film.  Here, one can see helicopters smashing into animals, or view hired contractors kicking horses and burros in the head, jamming them with cattle prods, and generally abusing them. . .while government observers stand a few feet away, doing absolutely nothing. 

Why is this happening?  Because the cattle industry wants the public land in order to support privately owned cattle ranches.  Unfortunately, the beef industry doesn’t want horses around and the BLM is only too happy to comply.  Friends stick with friends, especially when there’s money involved.  It’s ironic that though horses are deemed a threat to the land, there are fifty times as many cattle as horses on the range. . .and the effects of long-term livestock grazing are detrimental to our resources.  Many of the studies conducted by panels aren’t going to publish the truth because members have ties to the cattle industry. 

Sadly, there are only around 25,000 horses still left in the wild, with more than 20 million acres of mustang country no longer being occupied by mustangs.  One has to wonder if future generations will still have any wild horses left freely roaming on public lands, or if they will only be able to view their majestic beauty in old western films.

To learn more about the roundups and to view video footage, check out www.wildhorsepreservation.org.  To learn more about horse slaughter, which is where many of these wild horses could end up, click on www.equineadvocate.org.

If you are motivated to do something, you can contact your representatives, or write to President Obama and let them all know that you expect the BLM to handle horses humanely, by helping preserve them on public lands.

You can go a step further and reduce or limit your consumption of beef, which thereby reduces the demand for it and hits the cattle industry directly in the pocket.  Decrease the demand and you impact the supply.

If you’d like to incorporate a plant-based diet once or twice a week, check out my book at www.lvshowgirldiet.com or write me for suggestions at wylderich@cox.net.

Dear (insert name of applicable dairy farm here):

I question how you can claim that your product (yogurt, milk, cheese, etc.) comes from “happy cows.”  How do you know this?  How can you tell that your cows are happy and can you prove this to me?

How can any cow be happy when in order to keep producing milk, she must be continually impregnated?  How happy can a cow be when she is routinely milked to the point of developing sores and infections?  Show me a happy cow after you’ve stolen her baby right after birth; and if it’s a male, you will either send it to slaughter or chain it for months in an enclosure too small for it to even be able to turn around. . .all in order for it to become someone’s veal scallopini.

When these “happy” cows are worn out and no longer useful to you, they are sent to slaughter where they are brutalized and most will be butchered alive, dying piece by piece.

I’m tired of reading your lies and viewing your propaganda-laced commercials; I get enough of it from my government.  I surely don’t need it from the food producers.  Frankly, you offend me with your untruths and fraudulent advertising, because you assume that the public who buys your products is comprised of idiots who can be easily fooled.  You deserve to have a class action lawsuit brought against you for deceptive advertising; and don’t be surprised if you get served one day soon.  It’s already happening among your peers.  You could be next!

As you spit out your lies and deceit about the animals you victimize, I hope you’ll keep in mind that there are more consumers than food producers, and there is power in numbers.  Look out; we’re coming for you, and we will wield our power via our buying choices and the legal system.

 Have a terrible day,

Annoula Wylderich & friends

Growing public concerns about cruel treatment of animals on factory farms has some food sellers labeling products to indicate that farm animals are being humanely treated.  These claims can be misleading and may not be in accordance with what consumers assume.

While some animals might suffer less than others, they still suffer at some point.  The “free-roaming” and “humanely treated” labels provide no assurance.  Hens in cage-free operations are crowded in barns by the thousands.  “Cage-free” doesn’t mean they have access to the outdoors; and “free-roaming” or “free-range” hens who do have outdoor access might likely be restricted, since there are no limits to flock size or definitions on the design of the outdoor area.  Further, the USDA relies solely upon the testimony of the producers (now, there’s a good “fox watching the hen house” analogy).

Male chicks are still thrown live into grinders or suffocated; and all hens in egg production have the ends of their beaks removed with hot blades and NO anesthesia, causing some to die of starvation and dehydration.  This also renders it painful for most of the others to eat and drink.

Ultimately, these birds still go to slaughter, where they experience cruel handling and botched kills where they end up shackled by their feet and likely scalded alive in the de-feathering tanks.  Imagine being hung upside down and going into a scalding hot tub of water head first.  We can’t tolerate the thought, yet we impose this on other feeling beings.

Dairy cows, no matter how the animals are raised, still wear out after just a few years in production due to the physical trauma of being constantly impregnated and producing milk.  Male calves, useless to the dairy industry, are either slaughtered or kept chained in dark crates for months before being slaughtered..  Eventually, all dairy cows are destined for brutal slaughter, no matter how they have been raised.

Ultimately, all factory farm animals experience the same unavoidable, horrific end at the slaughterhouse.  They are bled out by having their throats slit and many are literally butchered alive and die slowly, piece by piece.  No matter how well the animals may have been treated (and it’s a long stretch of the imagination to assume humane treatment), their lives are cut short violently, abruptly and painfully.  According to www.farmsanctuary.org, “When animals are seen primarily as production units or commodities for sale (whether on factory farms or so-called ‘humane’ operations), the animals’ welfare tends to be secondary to economic concerns.”

Clearly, the only way to know we’re not supporting multiple forms of cruelty is to not consume animal flesh or commercial dairy products.  To find great egg substitutes, simply search “egg substitutes” on the web.

We can lead by example and help promote compassion by reducing or eliminating our consumption of flesh and its byproducts.  With so much information so readily available nowadays, it’s easier than ever to switch to a better way of eating that promotes good health and alleviates a lifetime of horrific misery and suffering for sentient beings.

“How smart does a chimp have to be before killing him constitutes murder?” – Carl Sagan.

I have had an affinity and fascination for non-human primates from the time I was a little girl visiting the zoo, and a baby chimp came to the window of his enclosure where I was standing; he planted his lips on the glass near my face to deliver a big, sloppy kiss.  He won my heart, of course.  While back then, I never considered how these sociable creatures might be faring in their captive surroundings, today I know better.  Thus, I don’t support zoos, circuses or any other form of entertainment that exploits these primates or other animals.

Unfortunately, the exploitation goes much further. . .into the dark world of non-human primate use for experimentation.  During my research, I read about countless facilities where negligence was routine, resulting in injury and death.  I read about horrible invasive procedures that truly served no purpose other than to inflict anxiety, pain, terror, and ongoing psychological and physical harm to the victims, many of whom lost their lives in these torture chambers.  Before I describe some of the conditions and treatment of these hapless primates, I’d like to share what I learned about them when they are in their natural habitats.

According to Save the Chimps sanctuary in Ft. Pierce, Florida, chimpanzees are considered our closest relation because we share all but 1.4% of our DNA.  They are extremely social beings and capable of experiencing pleasure, joy, boredom, anger, grief, sorrow, fear, and depression much as we do.  They comfort one another and express themselves by kissing and embracing.  Sadly, they have become an endangered species whose population is rapidly decreasing.

Chimps, along with other primates (monkeys, orangutans) are often stolen from their mothers when young and sold for entertainment or to private owners. . .until they become too big, strong, old or unmanageable.  Consequently, many end up living the remainder of their lives in isolation and neglect, if they are not fortunate enough to be turned over to a proper sanctuary.  Others are sold to research facilities where a horrible fate awaits them.  Chimps in captivity can live an average of fifty years – that’s fifty years of pain and suffering, if the invasive procedures don’t kill them sooner and release them from their hellish lives.

Nearly 1,100 chimpanzees are languishing inside research labs, suffering emotional and physical trauma.  Ironically, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation still utilizing them as research subjects, even though technology has replaced the need for animal testing.  Yes, you read correctly.  Our progressive country is still caught up in archaic and inhumane testing on live subjects.

Following are just a few documented incidents that have occurred in research facilities:

In 2008, thirty monkeys were cooked alive at Charles River Laboratories after a worker left the heater on.  Two others were near death and had to be euthanized;

One year later, at a research lab (run by the same company), a monkey was scalded to death after it was sent through a washer while still in its cage;

Among ivy league universities across the country, notable violations have included primates being forced to go without water for more than 24 hours; baboons were burned and blistered when heating pads were accidentally substituted for warm water units; an investigator noticed that a primate was so thin that his pelvic bones showed and no one had bothered to notify the attending vet of his condition.

Though the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) offers some protection for the wellbeing of primates in research, the USDA has not consistently followed through on requests for investigations into research animal deaths.  It’s troubling to note that of the 26 registered U.S.importers of non-human primates (this group includes universities, zoos and private labs), one of its leading importers is a company that is also one of the biggest violators of the AWA.

In 2000, undercover video taken by an investigator with In Defense of Animals (IDA) at the Oregon National Primate Research Center showed monkeys in various stages of distress, crawling around in their own filth.  Some had bitten off their own flesh; others were despondent or had gone crazy.  Still others were shown strapped down and subjected to painful experiments (torture).  (see www.idausa.org or contact ida@idausa.org for a copy of the video).  Check out www.vivisectioninfo.org.

In information obtained from the University of California San Diego, the USDA, and the website of UCSD researcher Stephen Lisberger, one can read about the 25-year history of invasive surgical procedures that involve the use of primates.  In these sick procedures, their eyes are sliced open and wire coils placed inside.  Screws are drilled into their skulls which later help bolt the victims by their heads to restraining chairs, where they are forced to sit for up to 8 hours daily.  If they don’t perform, they are denied fluids.  After this procedure, the animal cannot sit or stand for several days and must be fed food and drink by hand.  These experiments can last for 3 years or longer for some of the victims.

Experiments such as these are costing taxpayers millions of dollars annually and only serve to cause extreme suffering to higher primates for very little scientific gain.  Do you really want to see your money wasted on this cruelty, while its main purpose serves to subsidize the researchers who insist on utilizing archaic testing methods?  I can think of more important and less cruel ways that I’d like to see my government spend my money.

Wait, there’s more!  Last year, 14 chimps were taken from a facility in New Mexico and transferred to Texas Biomed, where they underwent liver biopsies and other painful procedures.  These chimps are likely in poor health and additionally suffer from their histories of abuse, confinement and isolation.

Recently, a “Special Report” on chimp experimentation by McClatchy Newspapers investigative reporter Chris Adams has been featured in papers and blogs nationwide.  This three-part series, accompanied by video, pictures and graphics, exposes worldwide the mental and physical anguish that chimps are forced to endure in labs.  You can view this report at http://www.mcclatchydc.com/chimps.  This report, based on a lawsuit by IDA against National Institutes of Health (NIH), reviewed the medical records of chimps at the Alamogordo Primate Facility in NM.  The shocking expose reveals a look behind the closed doors – and clearly shows why NIH fought to prevent the release of these records.

While many people might believe that animal testing is necessary, this belief is challenged by a growing number of physicians and scientists who see the negative consequences of using one species to provide information about another species – even one as close to humans as primates.  Often, the result of animal experimentation is harmful to humans or misleading.  According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM.org), scientists note problems with translating data from animal experimentation to human conditions.  Additionally, more sophisticated technology that doesn’t use animals, accompanied by growing concern about animals’ capacity for pain and suffering, is prompting many scientists to choose alternatives to animal testing. 

Animal experimentation is archaic especially in light of all the technological advancements in the biological sciences.  Far more advancement could be made in medicine if funding for animal testing was redirected to physicians for clinical research.

Thanks to the hard work of animal welfare groups and the media, the spotlight continues to be focused on the blatant exploitation of chimps and other primates in research, entertainment, and the pet trade.  Sanctuaries such as Save the Chimps offer permanent homes to rescued chimpanzees so that they can live out the remainder of their lives in peace.  From living in cramped, filthy, windowless isolation and being subjected to abuse, painful and invasive procedures, neglect and suffering. . .these creatures can experience the joy of socializing among their group, feeling the grass beneath their feet, the sun on their backs, playtime and love at the hands of humans (for the first time in most of their lives).  This takes place in a natural island habitat that was created specifically for them.   To learn more about Save the Chimps and how you can help make life better for their residents or even adopt one, go to www.savethechimps.org.  Their wish list includes, peanut butter, jelly, toddler toys, fleece blankets, powdered Gatorade, laundry soap, to name a few items.  Check their site for a complete list.  Last year, I was tickled to send them a box of sunglasses when I learned that the chimps loved to wear them (picture the visual).  Your support helps allow these sweet creatures to live out the rest of their lives in comfort – something they so well deserve after the hell that humans have put them through.

Every one of us can do something, keeping in mind that there is power in numbers.  Don’t wait for the other person to take action. YOU are that other person.  For starters, don’t send money to charities that support animal experimentation.  If the college or university from which you graduated engages in animal testing, let them know why you will no longer donate to the alumni fund.

Boycott companies that conduct testing on animals.

Contact IDA, PCRM or the Doris Day Animal League (www.ddal.org) to lend your support to their campaigns and demonstrations targeting animal experimentation. 

Call (202-224-3121) and ask your senators and representatives to pass the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act (see PCRM.org/GAPA). Urge them to help protect ALL chimpanzees and to list captive chimps as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.  Don’t put this off; time is running out. 

Extinction of chimpanzees has been predicted in as few as 10 years.  We can all help prevent this.  With your involvement, you can help change the fate of suffering primates, prevent further suffering, end the wasteful spending of your tax dollars on animal testing; and ensure that future generations can enjoy these beautiful creatures instead of just reading about them.

As a special courtesy to readers, I have several copies available of  Thinkers of the Jungle, a big, beautiful book filled with color photos and interesting information.  This book retails for $49.95, but I am happy to pass along my savings to you and offer it for only $25.00.  It comes wrapped in cellophane and makes a great gift, coffee table book, or addition to your library.  This offer is first-come first-serve due to the limited number of copies.  Please contact me at wylderich@cox.net to order and make payment arrangements.