Emergency Lobby Day for the Animals

[Guest guest]

MessageDear fellow animal advocates,

 

If you feel like going to Sacramento to speak out for the animals, April 8 is

the day!! Read on. If you want to contact your representatives about any of

these bills, the two Assembly members for San Francisco are Mark Leno and Leland

Yee.

 

Nadine May

 

 

 

 

 

HELP SAVE MILLIONS OF ANIMALS BY ATTENDING HEARINGS IN SACRAMENTO ON THE

MORNING OF APRIL 8TH!

 

Rarely do we have a chance to make a difference

for so many animals in just one day...

 

Southern California activists! We need you too so don't let the distance

deter you! Have the fun of taking a bus from Los Angeles with other animal

activists and staying in a hotel in Sacramento. See below for more details.

 

Hearings are being held at the State Capitol Building on four critical

bills and it is absolutely imperative that animal advocates are there in force.

If these bills are passed, millions of animals would be saved from the

unspeakable cruelty of dove hunting, hound hunting, gestation and veal crates,

and cockfighting.

 

Join Wayne Pacelle of The Humane Society of the United States and Gene

Bauston of Farm Sanctuary and other activists from around the state to attend

these hearings.

 

Opponents are planning to turn out 1,000 hunters to oppose the hound

hunting and dove hunting bills. It is vitally important that the legislators see

a room overflowing with animal advocates wearing pro-animal legislation stickers

so please get there early -- by 7:00AM -- so the room is filled with us rather

than the hunters. Rooms are reserved at a nearby hotel if you want to spend the

night in Sacramento on April 7th.

 

See " B " below for more information about times and locations of the

hearings.

 

A) Contact Your Legislators!

 

It is also critical that we flood our legislators' offices with calls from

constituents about these bills. Call (916)322-9900 to find the names of your

State Assembly Member and State Senator and their contact information. Call your

assembly member about the first three bills listed below (A.B. 342, A.B. 1190,

and A.B. 732) and call your senator about the cockfighting bill (S.B. 732)

 

B) The Bills, and Location and Times of the Hearings

 

All hearings will be held at the Capitol Building on 10th Street and L

Street in Sacramento. Activists should arrive at the capitol by 7:00AM.

 

8:00AM, Room 437, Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee

A.B. 342, the Hounding Bill, will stop trophy hunters from using packs of

radio-collared hounds to chase and kill black bears and bobcats. There are more

bears killed by hound hunters in California than in any other state in the

country.

 

A.B. 1190, the Dove Hunting Bill, will prohibit dove hunting. Millions of

doves are killed each year in California and statistics show that more than 20%

of doves shot by hunters are wounded and not retrieved.

 

9:00AM, Room 126, Assembly Public Safety Committee

A.B. 732, the Veal Crate and Gestation Crate Bill, will prohibit confining

or tethering a pig during pregnancy so that she is unable to turn around freely,

or a calf so that he is unable to turn around freely, lie down with his legs and

neck outstretched, and free to groom himself.

 

9:30AM, Room 4203, Senate Public Safety Committee

S.B. 732, the Cockfighting Bill, will increase the penalty for

cockfighting from a misdemeanor to a penalty of up to three years in prison and

a fine of up to $20,000. Even though this brutal practice is illegal in

California, tens of thousands of operations exist in this state because the

current laws are not strong enough to deter cockfighters.

 

Additional information about the bills will be distributed on the bus and

at the state capitol.

 

C) Transportation and Lodging

 

Bus from Los Angeles

April 7, 4:00PM, Burbank, CA: A bus reserved solely for animal activists

will you pick up in Burbank and transport you to a hotel in Sacramento around

10:00PM. Free overnight parking will be available in Burbank. On April 8th, the

bus will deliver you to the Capitol Building at 7:00AM. The bus will leave

Sacramento in the afternoon on April 8th. Please let Beth know if you are

interested in meeting other activists in Irvine at 2:00PM on April 7th to

carpool to Burbank (Beth's contact information below).

 

Hotel

We have reserved 20 rooms at a hotel about 3 miles from downtown

Sacramento. The rate will be about $62 for the one night (not including tax).

Activists are responsible for paying for their own rooms which can be shared

with up to 4 people.

 

Carpool from the Bay Area

If there is sufficient interest in carpooling, a meeting time and location

may be established in the early morning in the Bay Area.

 

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THE BUS OR HOTEL AND WANT THE DETAILS, please

contact Beth Rosen, Grassroots Coordinator for The Humane Society of the United

States, at brosen or 202 955-3672. Everyone interested in taking the

bus to Sacramento must RSVP by April 5th.

 

D) Also...

 

Arrive early. Show up at 7:00AM to sign in. The sign-up sheet will ask for

your name and address and whether you support or oppose the bills (support!).

Be sure to sign in for each bill.

 

Dress appropriately. Wear what you would normally wear to a business

meeting, religious service, lunch with your grandmother, etc. A good impression

can only help the animals.

 

Be polite. It is critical that you remain calm and thoughtful under any

conditions. Being outwardly disrespectful to the opponents or the legislators

will hurt the animals because the decision makers will focus on your behavior

rather than our important pro-animal message.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you need further information, please contact Katherine Bragdon, of Ballot Campaigns for The Humane Society of the United States, at

kbragdon and she will send your question to the appropriate person.

Please also let Katherine know if you would like to be added to a

database of people who are interested in the potential California ballot

initiative to ban gestation

crates -- these crates essentially keep pregnant pigs in one position for

four years.