DawnWatch: Year end round-up PLUS Vick pit-bull SI cover! 12/25/08

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Thanks to Karen Dawn for all she does to publicize the plight of animals in her nationally read Dawnwatch. Karen is a wonderfully dedicated activist and someone whom I regard as a friend. See below reference to elephant Jenny, who continues to suffer in a tiny enclosure in the Dallas Zoo. Margaret--- On Thu, 12/25/08, DawnWatch <news wrote:It is Christmas, which means before I go have a beautiful veggie meal with myloved ones and then retire for a week, I get to send out my round up of themajor animal stories in the media over the last year. We have had some realadvances, and in the areas we have not seen the change we would

like for theanimals what we have seen is unprecedented coverage of their plight. Before wehave change, we must have exposure and acknowledgment that animal issues matter-- and 2008 has been the year for that. Animal issues have saturated the media.Given how bad the animals have had it, for how long, it's about time theygot some public attention.As I was researching this alert, activist Patty Meehan sent me an article thatexemplifies the shift. It is the cover story of the current, December 28 issueof Sports Illustrated. The final issue of the year, which has, at the top of thecover, the line "2008 -- Best Year in Sports Ever" has an absolutelybeautiful photograph on the cover. And it is not of Michael Phelps or any otherathlete. It is of a gorgeous girl. That's not so unusual for SportsIllustrated but this is not the swimsuit edition. The cover caption next to thephoto of the beauty reads, "Sweet

Jasmine, a pit-bull removed from MichaelVick's property, has found a happy home." The cover story headline is"The Good News, out of the Bad Newz Kennels."The story inside, by Jim Gorant, is superb -- beautifully written and fun --and focuses on the successful efforts of groups such as BAD RAP (www.BadRap.org)and the wonderful sanctuary organization Best Friends (www.BestFriends.org) torehabilitate and find loving homes for Vick's dogs. Check out the gorgeouscover and the full article on line at http://tinyurl.com/a7lypxThere is also a photo gallery, which will have dog lovers gasping and oohingand aahing. Knock yourselves out at http://tinyurl.com/77smckThen, most importantly, please thank Sports Illustrated for this fantasticcover story. The magazine takes letter at letters and asks thatletters include the writer's full name, address and home telephone number.The Sports

Illustrated piece is the perfect final article in a year that inwhich we have seen lots of mainstream media attention paid to the rehabilitationof Vick's pit-bulls. They made the front page of the New York Times back inFebruary! Just a few years ago dogfighting was a serious problem that animaladvocates could not get the media or the public to take seriously. I rememberwhen animal advocates attempted to get Nike to can a commercial that showed twosnarling dogs facing off against each other at the ends of chains held by Nikeclad youths. We failed. But last year Michael Vick and his celebrity broughtthe issue to the media, and the it's horror to the public. While dogfightingcontinues to be a widespread and serious problem, it is no longer ignored. Themedia continue to reflect and reignite the public's concern. And funny,until this year I don't remember seeing stories about pit-bulls other thanabout their

attacks (considerably less frequent than those of other dogs, but occasionally deadly). This year the media has brought usstories of pit-bulls as therapy dogs in nursing homes, and photographs of themin people's laps. Beautiful. Also this year, National Geographic launched a series called"Dogtown" about the work of Best Friends in rescuing andrehabilitating homeless animals. While spay-neuter and adoption, rather thanpublicity, will end the homeless animal crisis, publicity makes people aware ofthe need for both. It is vital. While the economy slump and housing crisis have caused havoc in people'slives, it has been fatal for animals. The media did not forget them. We sawcountless articles on the plight of animals given up to shelters as their humanfamilies were forced to move house, including articles in USA Today, which isthe US's most widely circulated newspaper, and one on the front page of

theWashington Post, the paper read by our nation's legislators. And we haveseen new evidence of the consciousness about those issues at the head of ournation. At his first press conference as president elect, Obama announced thathaving promised his daughters a puppy, he hopes, allergies allowing, to adopt ashelter dog. The media picked up the story and shelter dogs are becoming cool.Thank heavens.Another aspect of political coverage shifted notably in this years electioncampaign in favor of the animals. Year after year we have seen the presidentialcandidates from both parties pander to the National Rifle Association with photoopportunities taken on hunting trips. We saw none of that this year, and duringhis campaign the now president elect, while supporting the secondamendment's "right to bear arms," stated clearly that he does nothunt. Interestingly, the candidate who flaunted her hunting

skills saw them bring herno honor. Sarah Palin's moose hunting was used by the media as a target ofjokes more often than as a respectful reference. And her support of an Alaskanprogram to gun wolves down from airplanes, which was broadcast widely by themedia, played badly through most of society. Compassionate people on both endsof the political spectrum were disturbed by the program and by Sarah Palin'sapparent antipathy towards wildlife. And again, the media reflected andreinforced that concern. Sarah Palin's apparent indifference to animal suffering also made news atThanksgiving, as the media widely circulated a video of an incident they dubbedTurkeygate, in which she was interviewed as a turkey struggled and wasslaughtered on camera just a few yards behind her. Newscasters warned viewersthat the images were upsetting. I was upset that millions of Americans soon toeat turkey would watch that

video and think that the slaughter practices on thatsmall farm, with the birds carefully killed one at a time, were anything liketypical. During the same period PETA captured, and the New York Timespublicized, video of workers at a huge turkey slaughterhouse punching turkeysand stomping on their heads, and even boasting of ramming broomsticks down theirgullets. The New York Times reporter called it "stomach-turningbrutality." If your stomach is strong you can watch that video on line athttp://tinyurl.com/ayos5s. (Having fostered sweet and cuddly Bruce and Emily Turkey over Thanksgiving I can no longer watch such video.) If you are stilltempted by turkey meals I hope you will watch it; we must be guided by our ownmoral compasses, not those of other people, but we should all make informedchoices. While the public outcry over "Turkeygate" seemed odd as most peopleeat turkey, and was perhaps at least

partly just another excuse to mock SarahPalin, I believe it also reflected the beginning of a shift in publicconsciousness or sentiment into an age in which indifference to animal sufferingis no longer acceptable. That the media found the "Turkeygate" videoworthy of extensive play is a heartening sign. If you missed it, you can watchit on line at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPDrC1FjjDk. It is a bit rough, but not nearlyas shocking as the PETA video above, which unfortunately got less play as it wasnot linked to celebrity (unusual for PETA). As Dogtown is bringing attention to homeless dogs, this year the "WhaleWars" series on Animal Planet has brought the horrors of whaling, and theefforts of Sea Shepherd to combat it, into millions of homes. (Go towww.SeaShepherd.org to learn more and help.) The whales are in as much danger asever from the Japanese whalers who, despite an international ban on

commercialwhaling, have slaughtered thousands "for scientific purposes" and thensold their meat for huge profits. But the barbaric industry will have anincreasingly difficult time venturing forth against a growing swell of publicoutrage -- outrage the media can engender. Whale Wars is a great example ofthat, an example that emerged in 2008! For years animal advocates have been trying to publicize the foundation of thepet store puppy industry: mass breeding facilities called puppy mills, in whichthe mother dogs spend their whole lives in cramped cages, never released to eator even defecate, let alone exercise. "Puppy mills" were untilrecently a dirty little secret. But in 2008 Oprah changed that by devoting afull hour to exploring the conditions in those mills and of the sickly puppieswho emerge from them. Public support that folks like Oprah can bring will makechange easier to accomplish.

As we continue to work to get elephants out of deathly small zoo enclosures andinto sanctuaries this year we saw much publicity for the struggle with Jenny,who the Dallas Zoo hopes to move to a wild animal park in Mexico. There shewould have space but no companionship of her own kind, and such company is vitalfor the wellbeing of female elephants who naturally live in Matriarchal herds.Animal advocates hope she will go instead to the beautiful Elephant Sanctuary inTennessee. That battle has been covered by much major media including the NewYork Times. Activists are also attempting to get Billy, the lone elephant at theLos Angeles Zoo, moved to a sanctuary. We have seen some great media coverage ofboth situations, which got a good boost when Lily Tomlin took on theelephants' cause and it was covered in arenas such as "CNN's Issueswith Jane Velez Mitchell." In December, Time Magazine ran a superb pieceheaded "Free Dumbo," which provided information on the shockingly truncated lifespans of elephants in zoos when compared to in the wild. Itincluded this line, "Zookeepers and policymakers who aren't moved byall this suffering might instead be convinced by the simple fact

that it costs afortune to keep elephants so miserable." You'll find that article, byJeffrey Kluger, on line athttp://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1865628,00.htmlThe bad news for horses this year has been that the bans on the US slaughter ofhorses, without the passage of the comprehensive American Horse SlaughterPrevention Act, have led to horses being trucked under unconscionably cruelconditions for thousands of miles to slaughterhouses in Mexico. There they facedeaths by multiple stab wounds to their back that are probably even worse

thanthose that end horse's lives on US soil. But again, at least the sorry fateof horses is no longer a secret -- it was broadcast from many news outlets andon the front page of the Wall Street Journal early this year. The New York Times put the slaughter of mustangs on its front page in July. Butinterestingly, the Los Angeles Times published a front page article this yearheaded, "Plight of the brumbies; Australia's wild horses are being shotto preserve the environment. One woman is determined to save them." Butthere was no such coverage in that paper on the round up and killing of Americanmustangs. The sad fate of race horses was back in the news after the death of EightBelles at the Kentucky Derby. There could be no heroic, or Barbaroic, efforts tosave her as she had broken both front legs. She was killed on the spot. Unlikewith the deaths of the thousands of other race horses who went down

this year,Eight Belles' very public passing at least brought more attention to thecruelty of the racing industry, causing coverage in outlets such as the New YorkTimes and on NPR. We had some great news in November from another racing industry asMassachusetts voters passed a ballot initiative to close the state's dogtracks. For years animal advocates have been watching undercover video fromslaughterhouses showing shocking cruelty to the animals both before and as theyare killed. The media has almost never picked up the story. But this year,reflecting the public's and the media's change in consciousnessregarding animal issues, HSUS undercover video of the slaughterhouse abuse ofdairy cows was covered first by the Washington Post and then by countless othermedia outlets including CNN. The public attention, thanks to the widespreadmedia coverage, was surely a contributing factor in the

closure of that Chinoslaughterhouse following the largest meat recall in US history -- meat from thatplant. In 2008 we saw what may be the biggest breakthrough so far in the history of USanimal welfare campaigns -- the passage of California's Proposition 2. Itbanned sow and veal crates, and battery cages for hens. As California is one ofthe world's largest economies, the ripple effect is expected to betremendous. That's why the national industries poured millions into fightingthe proposition. Polls showed, before the campaign began, that Californians,once they heard about the issues, were highly sympathetic and that theproposition was likely to pass. But until we launched the campaign, the standardtreatment of animals on factory farms had not been known to the public. Themedia coverage that surrounded the proposition was groundbreaking. Ellen hadHSUS president Wayne Pacelle on her show and she

pushed the proposition hard.Oprah, for the first time in the history of her show, devoted a full hour to theunconscionable treatment of animals used for food. You probably remember that in November of 2006, the United Nations released areport headed "Livestock's Long Shadow," which told us that thelivestock industry was responsible for more global warming than any otherindustry -- including transport. Finally, in 2008, that news has got some mediaplay, along with general information about the horrendous impact of thelivestock industry on the environment and on world hunger. Mark Bittman'sNew York Times article, "Rethinking the Meat Guzzler" (January 27)told us that the meat industry has "led to the destruction of vast swathsof the world’s tropical rain forests" and he discussed the havoc itwreaks on streams and rivers. He also us told us that "the majority ofcorn and soy grown in the world feeds

cattle, pigs and chickens. This despitethe inherent inefficiencies: about two to five times more grain is required toproduce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grainconsumption..." You'll find that wonderful article on line athttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.htmlMany of you know that my main focus this year has had to be on the launch of mybook and the publicity around that. I was so pleased that its coverage helpedspread the word about diet and the environment. Access Hollywood covered the LosAngeles book launch and put together a wonderful segment in which actressesJorja Fox, Emily Deschanel, Daniela Sea, Skinny Bitch author Rory Freedman andmyself all talk about "going green and how becoming vegetarian is one ofthe best ways to save the environment" -- or so the Access Hollywood website puts it. You'll find the segment on line

athttp://video.accesshollywood.com/player/?id=251543 . The Access Hollywood website also has a piece from the New York book launch in which Heather Millsdiscusses the impact of our meat and dairy laden diets on world hunger (she alsodiscusses the China dog and cat fur trade). That's on line athttp://www.accesshollywood.com/video_257489 And there is a piece from thatNew York launch party that includes actors Hal Sparks, Persia White and John Schneider as well as awonderful segment in which Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson, now so wellknown from Whale Wars, tells us, "You cannot be an environmentalist unlessyou are vegetarian or vegan." That's on the Access Hollywood web siteat: http://origin3-www.accesshollywood.com/its-easy-going-green_video_646203 ORhttp://tinyurl.com/7ftcghThe book launch was exhausting and took me away too much from DawnWatch but Iwas thrilled with some of the animal

press it engendered. It was particularlystrong in the influential city of Washington DC; the Washington Post ran awonderful story on it and has listed it amongst its "best books of2008" -- something worth knowing if you are trying to talk a friend orfamily member into reading an animal rights book! I end this year-end alert at the beginning of the year, which opened with aJanuary 2 story on the front page of the New York Times telling us that the dietbook "Skinny Bitch" had sold over 850,000 copies. Now it has sold overa million. When it first came out, one had to get into the book to find that therecommended diet is vegan. That is no longer a secret and its divulging has nothampered sales. Ellen covered the book, and after she and Portia read it, theyboth went vegan. Then Oprah experimented with a vegan diet after covering KathyFreston's book "Quantum Wellness." She did a three week vegancleanse.

While she has not yet permanently changed her eating habits, herattitude to the vegan diet was entirely positive. Imagine the effect that had onmillions of families in which college kids coming home for the holidays hadpreviously been questioned, challenged and misunderstood by their families dueto their vegan diets. Now veganism has gone mainstream. That is beautiful news for the animals. For those interested in learning more about the high end of that diet, I willtake a moment here to plug the "Vegan Culinary Experience" web site,which founder chef Jason Wyrick describes as "An Educational andInspirational Journey of Taste, Health, and Compassion." You can on line at http://www.veganculinaryexperience.com/. I am interviewed in thecurrent edition and that piece is on line athttp://veganculinaryexperience.com/KarenDawn.htm .I sign off for 2008 with so much hope, and with joy from

seeing the message ofcompassion for all beings spreading fast and becoming part of mainstreamthought. I send the deepest thanks to each of one of you who writes anoccasional or frequent letter to the media to help spread that word, or whosimply cares enough to take the time to read this newsletter and stay informed.Many of you reading this do much more than that. And every little bit each of usdoes can make a difference, often in ways we will never know.Wishing you a joyous, loving and compassionate New Year, and looking forward toworking together in 2009,Yours and the animals',Karen Dawn(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in themedia and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You canlearn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You mayforward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave

DawnWatch inthe title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwardsDawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signingup. It is free.)Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's newbook, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” andwatch the fun celebrity studded promo video.To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php-------You are d to DawnWatch using the following address: dogs_goodDate: Thu Dec 25 21:10:39 2008