Winter 2019

WINTER 19/20

ACTION LINE

FOA WORKS TO END U.S. ZOO TRADE IN AFRICAN ELEPHANTS PLANT-BASED MILK DRIVES DAIRY INDUSTRY NUTS THE YEAR IN REVIEW AT PRIMARILY PRIMATES

N O C SERVATION TAKING THE CON OUT OF

18 COVER STORY

FoA works to end the U.S. zoo trade in African elephants

6 VICTORY LAP Latest news about FoA's advocacy and achievements 10 SANCTUARY LIFE New habitats, friendships and faces at FoA's Texas primate sanctuary 24 VEGNEWS Plant-based milk is driving the dairy industry nuts and we couldn't be happier 28 WILDLIFE WATCH

Webcams connect viewers to an unedited version of the natural world 32 PET CORNER

Look for love and friendship, not perfection, when rescuing pets 36 LETTERS 37 CHEERS & JEERS

WHO WE ARE Friends of Animals is an international non-profit animal-advocacy organization, incorporated in the state of New York in 1957. FoA works to cultivate a respectful view of nonhuman animals, free-living and domestic. Our goal is to free animals from cruelty and institutionalized exploitation around the world.

Friends of Animals is proud to be a woman-founded and -led organization for more than 60 years.

CONTACT US NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 777 Post Road Darien, Connecticut 06820 (203) 656-1522 contact@friendsofanimals.org WESTERN OFFICE 7500 E. Arapahoe Rd., Ste 385 Centennial, CO 80112 (720) 949-7791 PRIMARILY PRIMATES SANCTUARY P.O. Box 207 San Antonio, TX 7891-02907 (830) 755-4616 office@primarilyprimates.org

OUR TEAM

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Dustin Rhodes [NC] dustin@friendsofanimals.org COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Fran Silverman [CT] fsilverman@friendsofanimals.org CORRESPONDENT/EDITOR Nicole Rivard [CT] nrivard@friendsofanimals.org SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Meghan McIntire [NC] www.twitter.com/FoAorg mmcintire@friendsofanimals.org DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION Donna Berlanda [CT] dberlanda@friendsofanimals.org ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT Donna Thigpen [CT] SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT Shelly Scott [CT] SPAY/NEUTER PROJECT Paula Jensen [CT] spayprogram@friendsofanimals.org

FOLLOW US facebook.com /friendsofanimals.org /primarilyprimates.org

DIRECTOR, WILDLIFE LAW PROGRAM Michael Harris [CO] michaelharris@friendsofanimals.org

Instagram/foaorg MEMBERSHIP Annual membership includes a year’s subscription to Action Line. Students/Senior membership, $15; Annual membership, $25; International member, $35; Sustaining membership, $50; Sponsor, $100; Patron, $1,000. All contributions, bequests and gifts are fully tax-deductible in accordance with current laws.

REPRODUCTION No prior permission for the reproduction of materials from Action Line is required provided the content is not altered and due credit is given as follows: “Reprinted from Action Line, the Friends of Animals’ magazine, 777 Post Road, Darien, CT 06820.”

Action Line is a quarterly publication. Issue CLXXXII Winter 2019/2020 ISSN 1072-2068

IN MY VIEW

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Robert Orabona [CT] admin@friendsofanimals.org

VISIT US www.friendsofanimals.org www.primarilyprimates.org

Twitter @FoAorg

BY PRISCILLA FERAL, PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT Priscilla Feral [CT] www.twitter.com/pferal www.twitter.com/primate_refuge feral@friendsofanimals.org

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Jennifer Best [CO] jennifer@friendsofanimals.org ATTORNEYS Rachel Nussbaum[CO] rachel@friendsofanimals.org Andreia Marcuccio [CO] andreia@friendsofanimals.org Courtney McVean [CO] courtney.mcvean@friendsofanimals.org Stephen Hernick [CO] shernick@friendsofanimals.org OFFICE MANAGER Liz Holland [CO] wlp_admin@friendsofanimals.org PRIMARILY PRIMATES, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Brooke Chavez [TX] brooke@primarilyprimates.org CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jane Seymour [NY] jane@friendsofanimals.org

Printed on Recycled Paper

THE WORLD IS VEGAN! IF YOU WANT IT.

O

n social media message boards, vegans market T-shirts and other items with the message, “The World is Vegan! If you want it.”

That implies that a nonviolent, compassionate world that quits animal farming is possible if vegans continue to inspire and follow the rule of what is right.

It means leaving our comfort zones so that Veggie Pride Parades and assorted animal advocacy conferences or gatherings are not presented as the revolution.

The revolution by which a collective decision is made to transition to a vegan diet necessitates engaging everyone: the vegetarians, flexitarians, the grass-fed meat-eaters, omnivores and protein zealot-carb-haters, who don’t always distinguish between simple carbs and beneficial complex ones.

We must include them in our lives—educate them, dine with them and maybe even cook for them. Living in a vegan bubble isn’t reaching the masses, and it’s not changing a mind one meal at a time.

It's mind-boggling that consumers are eating $3.3 billion dollars’ worth of vegan food, but we aren’t seeing a growing vegan population. That’s because plant-based foods like the newfangled veggie burgers arriving at fastfood chains are also targeted at omnivores. Brace yourselves: Meat eaters are consuming almost 90% of the Impossible Burger.

So how many vegans are there in the U.S.? Since it’s a controversial question, Sentient Media put together a timeline tracking 24 surveys of vegans over the past 25

IF EVERY AMERICAN REPLACED ALL BEEF, CHICKEN AND PORK WITH A VEGETARIAN OPTION, THEY WOULD SAVE THE EQUIVALENT OF 280 BILLION KILOGRAMS OF CARBON DIOXIDE EVERY YEAR—THAT’S THE SAME AS TAKING ABOUT 60 MILLION CARS OFF THE ROAD.

years. The result: Vegans are between 1 - 2 % of the population.

However, more than one-third of U.S. residents are trying to consume more plant-based foods, and some of them are shy of the word “vegan.” They’re prompted by health, compassion and environmental concerns, such as how much water goes into producing a pound of beef and the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from livestock as they burp up methane during digestion.

Today about 5% of residents say they’re vegetarians— the same as in 2012, but the world’s population keeps growing. In a recent diet-based government study that surveyed about 10,000 people, researchers asked participants what they had eaten in the past 24 hours. Of those who identified as vegetarian, 64% had consumed a small amount of meat.

Clearly, the word vegetarian can be misused.

The number of vegans and vegetarians isn’t as important as recognizing the number of doomed animals who are still ending up in slaughterhouses despite the explosion of vegan products.

For sure, consumers are eating less meat, and most everyone says they oppose factory farming, yet 99% of U.S. farmed animals live on factory farms and spend their abbreviated lives in horrid conditions before being killed.

And there’s no refuge in saying one buys organic or free-range egg, meat and dairy products, as slaughterhouses are the same for all.

Whether consumers are eating a small or large amount of meat, they are still fueling the meat industry, and there’s no separating dairy milk or eggs from it. Baby calves and goats are yanked from their mothers and these separations are excruciating—all so that another milk product is created for which there are numerous vegan alternatives (see our vegan milks guide page 26).

On a routine basis, there are articles written exposing the scary effect of eating meat and dairy products on our health. The surge in drug-resistant infections is a health threat, and one of the main causes is farmers who dose millions of cows, pigs and chickens with antibiotics to keep them well enough before slaughter.

Winter 19/20 | 3

REDUCING OUR CLIMATE FOOTPRINT Livestock supply chains account for 14.5% of all human-induced global greenhouse emissions each year.

That’s about the same amount as the emissions from all airplanes, ships, trucks and cars combined. Cattle (beef and dairy) are the main contributor to the sector, representing 65% of emissions. Pigs, poultry, buffalo, sheep and goats each represent between 7 and 10% of livestock sector emissions.

A study published in Scientific Reports in August revealed that if every American replaced all beef, chicken and pork with a vegetarian option, they would save the equivalent of 280 billion kilograms of carbon dioxide every year—that’s the same as taking about 60 million cars off the road.

As the research piles up there’s no denying that pressing toward a vegan culture is the biggest step we can take to save the planet from a warmer future and treat animals with respect.

LIVING IN A VEGAN BUBBLE ISN’T REACHING THE MASSES. During my recent trip to a fitness resort in Mexico, I saw a friend who said spending a week with me there five years ago inspired him to become vegetarian. He said I talked to him in a matter-of-fact way that emboldened his change. This time he said he was going home to become vegan despite his dependence on dairy.

That’s the sign of an unfolding vegan culture, where the decency and joy that comes from eating plant-based food and shunning all animal products takes center stage.

This is what change looks like.

PLANNED GIFTS: Including Animal Advocacy You fuel Friends of Animals’ animal advocacy work – now and in the future.

FoA will be here as long as animals of the world need us, and your planned gifts will help ensure our life-saving programs are available to protect them.

FoA is a nonprofit with a solid record of fiscal responsibility and achievements for domestic and wild animals all over the world for more than 60 years.

For a brochure to assist with estate decisions, please email Donna M. Berlanda, director of administration, at dberlanda@friendsofanimals.org, or call (203) 656-1522.

4 | Friends of Animals

Gifts to a 501c(3) charity typically have tax-deductible benefits. You or your attorney will need the following details: Friends of Animals, Inc. 777 Post Road, Suite 205.

Darien, CT 06820 Tax ID# 13-6018549 Friends of Animals has non-profit status under IRS code section 501c(3)

VICTORY LAP

THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT FOA’S ADVOCACY AND ACHIEVEMENTS

BY NICOLE RIVARD AND FRAN SILVERMAN

FOA INTERVENES TO FORCE FWS TO COMPLY WITH MBTA AND PROTECT BARRED OWLS U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s (FWS) issuance of permits that allow barred owls to be slaughtered is in direct conflict of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), Friends of Animals (FoA) said in a submission to the international Commission for Environmental Cooperation—comprised of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. FoA said the scientific collection permits that allow the barred owls to be killed to study the effects of their absence on the northern spotted owl conflicts with MBTA because the killings do not yield any conservation

benefit to, or scientific understand- being used for anything and the goving of, barred owls. ernment is violating its commitment The proposal also states that log- to protect and conserve these birds. ging companies’ economic interests FWS’ decision works to the advanin old-growth forests has historically tage of U.S. companies, who are givbeen, and still is, the northern spot- en a free pass by not having to reduce ted owl’s greatest threat to survival, their timber harvests to protect the not barred owls. northern spotted owl.”

“FWS has continually violated FoA has brought its arguments an international convention with to the attention of the U.S. courts, its short-sighted experiment to kill but has not yet been successful in thousands of barred owls,” said Jen- putting an end to this senseless killnifer Best, assistant legal director ing. of Friends of Animals' Wildlife Law FWS launched its horrific barred Program. “Barred owls are protected owl removal experiment in 2013 in under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Oregon, Washington and northern and can only be killed in limited cir- California. Federal wildlife researchcumstances. The U.S. government ers have killed at least 883 barred is murdering these birds under the owls from 2015-17, and the latest guise of a ‘scientific use,’ but the “progress” report says “initial experitruth is that the barred owls are not mental removals of barred owls had little measurable effect on occupancy and reproduction of northern spotted owls after the first one to two years of implementation.”

“Friends of Animals hopes its proposal to the Commission for Environmental Cooperation can lead the U.S. to stop killing protected barred owls and prevent any similar actions before they start,” Best said.

“Even amid this lethal experimentation, U.S. government agencies acknowledge the most crucial factor for northern spotted owl survival is habitat conservation. In the meantime, FWS’ short sightedness in its experiments could cost thousands of animals their lives as climate change continues to press species from their natural range.”

FOA TO FWS & WILDLIFE SERVICES: CANADA GEESE SLAUGHTER BROKE THE LAW Friends of Animals is challenging Colorado Wildlife Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Wildlife Services for rounding up and killing 1,662 resident Canada geese from four parks in Denver and having them processed to feed the needy to solve a “goose poop” problem.

In a lawsuit filed in July, FoA states that because the agencies failed to conduct any analysis concerning the health risks associated with consuming the goose meat, the agencies are in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act. Furthermore, the depredation permit issued by FWS authorizing the slaughter does not expressly allow processing and distributing the birds for human consumption, thus violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. “There is no justification for the slaughter of these geese,” said Michael Harris, director of Friends of Animals’ Wildlife Law Program. “Not only is this a short-sighted, ill-informed decision that won’t solve any perceived problems, officials also failed to consider the health risks associated with human consumption of birds that may have been exposed to pollutants and pesticides in the parks before they were killed.”

Canada geese mate for life and

will stay together even outside of the nesting season. As the nesting season passes geese gather into flocks and congregate in open areas for the molting period. During the molt, resident geese lose their flight feathers and remain flightless from mid-June through early July. That’s when officials need to step up their efforts to remove goose excrement from sidewalks, paths and trails in parks, which is the best solution.

“Denver doesn’t have a Canada goose problem; officials seem to have a problem cleaning up after their

feathered neighbors, which is absurd because these days it is easier than ever to institute clean-up programs because of the equipment that’s available,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. “It’s no different than cleaning up after humans who litter in parks. Other municipalities have proven its not only a humane solution, it’s the only one that works.

Moreover, you can’t justify carnage for consumption.”

Winter 19/20 | 7

VICTORY LAP JUDGE VACATES DECISION TO NOT LIST QUEEN CONCH AFTER FOA LAWSUIT A federal judge in August vacated a decision in a case argued by Friends of Animals that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) illegally denied Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for the imperiled queen conch, a distinctive large mollusk known for its flared spiral shell with blunt spikes and pink interior. The ruling overturns the NMFS’ Nov. 5, 2014 decision not to list the conch, a decision advocacy groups said was based on deeply flawed analysis and ignored the agency’s own experts.

The judge’s ruling moves the queen conch back into queue for full and fair consideration under the Endangered Species Act. WildEarth Guardians submitted a petition to list the conch on March 1, 2012. The NMFS’ decision to not list the queen conch failed to recognize the continuing impacts of heavy human exploitation and the fact that 85% of conch populations may already be too small to successfully reproduce. WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals sued the NMFS in July 2016 over the agency’s refusal to protect the queen conch based on threats to the species from pollution, habitat degradation and human consumption.

“If only Floridians and other people would admire the queen conch for its beauty and role in the

8 | Friends of Animals

ecosystem rather than for how it advocate for WildEarth Guardians. tastes as a fritter,” said Priscilla Feral, “We need to take responsibility for president of Friends of Animals. “It’s reining in this demand and get conch infuriating that people feel entitled populations on the road to recovery.”

Queen conch live primarily in to eat them to extinction.”

“Friends of Animals is thrilled seagrass beds, which are important that the court vacated the National ecosystems that provide food, shelter Marine Fisheries Service’s decision and nursery grounds to myriad fish not to list the queen conch,” said and invertebrate species. Some Jenni Best, assistant legal director researchers have compared seagrass for FoA’s Wildlife Law Program. “As beds to tropical rainforests based on more species are headed toward their high productivity, structural extinction, it is critical that people complexity and biodiversity. Queen continue to fight for their protection, conch play a vital role in shaping hold the government accountable these communities, principally by for its duties under the Endangered consuming seagrass detritus (dead Species Act and defeat efforts to chip and decomposing seagrass). The away at the law. This is a perfect loss or substantial decrease of queen example of how Friends of Animals conch may cause significant, harmful and WildEarth Guardians have done changes in the ecosystem.

An estimated 50-80% of all life just that, and we hope that this will lead to lasting protection for the on Earth is found in the oceans. More than half of marine species may be queen conch.”

The queen conch lives at risk of extinction by 2100 without throughout the Caribbean Sea and significant conservation efforts.

Gulf of Mexico, from Bermuda Despite this grave situation, the U.S. and Florida in the northern extent largely fails to protect marine species of its range, to Brazil in the south. under the ESA. Of the more than Conch are prized for their meat and 2,000 species protected under the their large, beautiful shells, and are Act, only about 6% are marine species. commercially fished in approximately Under ESA regulations proposed by 30 countries. The U.S. is the largest the Trump administration, the threat importer of queen conch, importing of extinction for marine species approximately 78% of the queen will increase as new rules consider conch meat in international trade commercial interests above the (about 2,000 to 2,500 tons annually). protection of marine life.

“We destroyed our own conch fisheries in Florida, and now the U.S. demand for conch is depleting fisheries in other countries," added Taylor Jones, endangered species

IN MEMORIAM Friends of Animals has received kind donations in memory of the following individuals:

PHILIP FREUD

PATRICK TRAN

PORKCHOP

BARBRO EVANS

ALL OF THE ANIMALS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPLOITED/ ABUSED BY HUMANS

PATRICIA HAMLET

SELVA

JENNIFER GALLEGO

CHRISTINE STRATFORD

SQUEAKY GELFAND

PAGE GAINES

DAVEY

MARIA CURRO BOLTON’S MOM & DAD

SUNNY

ALICE CHURCHILL NADALEE Y. FARBER ARSTINE COCKER WILLIAM Z. PALLAY DAVE BARRY HELEN J. KITTLESON NORBY

SAMI SILVER PENELOPE WOLFIE

TEEKA BELLE, TOKLAT, MISSY & HAWKEYE GUCCI FIGUEROA ROCKY CHARNECO DOODLE SPIFFY NORA MAXWELL COHEN

KIERA PEPPER

Winter 19/20 | 9

THE YEAR IN REVIEW AT

NEW FACES

PRIMARILY PRIMATES

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICOLE RIVARD

From new habitats and friendships to new faces, our Texas primate sanctuary continues its lifesaving work

52 feet long, 52 feet wide and 30 feet high. Olive and Saffron’s new bedroom space is 20 feet long and heated in the colder months.

Olive and Saffron arrived at Primarily Primates (PPI) in May of 2015 from a university research lab that was closing. Sadly, they were on the verge of being euthanized since they were no longer needed. These two NEW HABITAT FOR females were introduced to the late BABOONS MAKES THEM olive baboon Karibu, who had arrived SWOON For the first time in their lives, olive at PPI in 2008, and they formed a baboons Olive, 14, and Saffron, 15, are social group. Karibu was born in a experiencing grass and trees thanks baboon breeding facility and became to a new habitat created for them that a research subject. At the time of his was made possible by a San Antonio release to PPI, he was at a laboratory in Virginia.

Area Foundation grant.

Olive baboons have a greenish-grey Care staff had integrated two social groups of lemurs, leaving a magnifi- coat covering their bodies. The indicent green space open. The space is vidual hairs are green-grey with rings

10 | Friends of Animals

of black and yellowish-brown, giving the coat a multi-color appearance.

The new space allows Olive and Saffron to mimic their wild behaviors.

In the wild, baboons cover more territory foraging than any other primate.

These omnivorous Old World monkeys sometimes travel 12 miles a day in almost every kind of environment in Africa—from evergreen forest to grassland—foraging for food. When fruit is not available, they settle for grass and seeds. They dig for roots and tubers, overturn stones to find insects and catch lizards and occasionally even hares and newborn gazelles.

Another activity wild baboons spend a lot of time doing is grooming. For them it’s a soothing time that unites all members of a group.

The adult females play the major role,

grooming infants, as well as juveniles, adult males and one another. Their hands are well adapted for this delicate practice, which includes parting the hair and picking off burs, scabs or other matter.

Olive and Saffron were particularly fond of grooming Karibu before he passed away in 2017 just two months after being diagnosed with an aggressive and untreatable form of lymphoma.

“The last year of Karibu’s life was spent cherished by these two females,” said Brooke Chavez, executive director of PPI. “He would just lay there and be groomed by both of them and they would even get in little tiffs over him. He loved every second of it. No one is more deserving of this wonderful habitat than Olive and Saffron.”

From left: Chimpanzee Wanda relaxes in the grass after a summer party celebrating her friendship with chimps Barbara and Shu Shu. Olive baboon Saffron moved into a new expansive habitat (above) that will stimulate her wild behaviors. Rhesus macaque Olivia sips on a bottle.

This year PPI welcomed rhesus macaque, Olivia, who arrived at just three months old. She was purchased as a pet in Texas, but when her owner relocated to Arizona, she was confiscated.

That’s because in 2015 the Arizona Fish and Game Department made it illegal to keep primates as pets.

Vernon Weir from the American Sanctuary Association alerted PPI to the situation, and a judge awarded custody to the sanctuary. Executive Director Brook Chavez then picked her up at the Wildlife Conservation Center in Scottsdale and brought her to the home of two primate experts in San Antonio who cared for her until she was old enough to be introduced to another juvenile rhesus macaque, Phoebe.

Phoebe was born at the sanctuary in September of 2018. Just like other sanctuaries, PPI takes medical precautions to ensure there are no unintended pregnancies. Male monkeys, chimps and lemurs undergo vasectomies when they arrive. A previous veterinarian missed java macaque Monchou. Monchou and snow macaque Amber are Phoebe’s parents.

We think the pairing of Phoebe and Olivia is the start of a beautiful friendship.

Winter 19/20 | 11

NEW FRIENDSHIPS

Above: Grounds manager Tracey Jackson works on the construction of the new baboon habitat. Top photo: One of the seven brown lemurs who call Primarily Primates home.

12 | Friends of Animals

Speaking of friendships, some notable introductions took place at PPI this year.

While it was devastating for Wanda to lose her long-time male chimp companion Beau, a resident of PPI for 22 years, she is fitting in nicely with her new group of females, which includes Barbara and Shu Shu. We’ve observed that chimpanzee females understand that there is power in numbers and will stand up for and defend each other if necessary. Up until recently, the nature of female chimpanzee social relationships was shrouded in mystery. Much of the research focused on the ostentatious behavior of males—from their cooperation to their aggressive competition. Female social roles, to some researchers, were confined to motherhood or sexual attraction to males.

It had been written, in fact, that they weren’t that social at all.

Now we know better—the subtlety of social behavior in female chimpanzees belies a complex set of strategies that allow them to navigate the costs and benefits of group life. Dependable female groups offer stability and perhaps even joy in an unpredictable environments.

Another secret revealed—female chimps are better than males with tools.

We are seeing firsthand the ability of female chimpanzees to go with the flow at Primarily Primates and connect with their gal pals simply because it brings them joy.

Typically, not all chimpanzees have the same importance within their group. There is a linear hierarchical structure where each member has a rank. An alpha male leads the community, but there are other

males too, and they all are above the females, who they try and dominate.

However, with Wanda, Shu Shu and Barbara, camaraderie seems more important than rank.

Perhaps it’s the similarities of their backgrounds—all were exploited by research.

Barbara came to PPI in May of 2005. In her previous life, she was shuffled between many different research labs. Shu Shu got her name from a veterinarian at the now defunct lab that housed some 300 chimpanzees and nearly 300 monkeys who were subjected to intensive biomedical research in areas including reproduction, blood transfusions, hepatitis B and HIV. Prior to her life at a testing facility, Wanda lived in a brothel located in Philadelphia.

Of course, no friendships are without any arguments, but when any tension arises Barbara keeps the peace and will quickly make sure everyone makes amends.

Shu Shu loves nesting but is best known for adoring and carrying around stuffed animals. Wanda loves to take stuffed animals apart; however, she leaves Shu Shu’s precious belongings alone.

At a summer party in the Primadome celebrating their introduction, the three females showed just how social they were—they foraged together in the grass and in a pool filled with berries, unwrapped boxes filled with popcorn and other treats and eventually climbed 25 feet to a cupola where they could rest on a hardwood deck. There, they basked in the sunlight, looking like they were going over the details of the party—just as human ladies would after a night out.

In August, care staff decided that since these females clearly

have each other’s backs, they would introduce Jason to the group, since his former troop mates had passed away. One concern was that Shu Shu might feel intimidated, as Jason, who was owned by the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University before finding refuge at PPI in 2000, had a reputation for being too rough with females.

However, during initial introductions Shu Shu was unfazed—she just looked on with her teddy bear as Barbara and Wanda got to know Jason. It was obvious her confidence was bolstered by her relationship with the other females.

From top: Shu Shu and Barbara love their veggies. The three chimps forage during a summer celebration of their friendship. Wanda shows off her yoga baby pose.

Editor's note: Wanda passed away on Oct. 23 from a heart attack as this article was going to press. She showed no signs of being ill. We will sorely miss her mischievous behavior and overall presence at the sanctuary. She would have been 42 in January.

Winter 19/20 | 13

GOLDEN GIRLS

Below: Capuchin Tootsie Roll's baby photo. Tootsie Roll is now 31 and enjoying her golden years with capuchins Corky and Chrissy.

In a different area of the sanctuary, we have our version of “The Golden Girls.” Well, two golden females and a male, to be exact.

When a traveling roadside zoo in Washington was forced to shutter its doors due to financial difficulties, Primarily Primates provided refuge to four monkeys and a parrot. No one realized one of the monkeys, Tootsie, a female capuchin, was pregnant.

Tootsie delivered her baby but abandoned her child, possibly due to a lack of mothering experiences when she was young. The delicate baby, named Tootsie Roll, had to be removed.

PPI care staff spent weeks nurturing her until she was strong enough to be introduced to other capuchins.

Tootsie Roll, 31, is now in her golden years at the sanctuary, and was

recently introduced to two other older capuchins, Corky, 42, and Chrissy, 39. They occupy a habitat filled with bamboo and hiding places, the perfect place for the trio to enjoy the advanced years of their lives. We know Chrissy is an ex-pet, but little is known about Corky’s life prior to coming to PPI. What we do know though is that capuchins social organizations are characterized by discrete hierarchies of rank between both sexes and different age classes. Both male and female rank hierarchies are correlated with age, with the older individuals typically being higher ranked than younger individuals.

It seems like these three capuchins are happy to share rank equally.

That’s what happens when you’re older and wiser.

VETTING THE CHALLENGES OF CARING FOR PRIMATES

BY FRAN SILVERMAN

If you think it may be a difficult job providing medicine to humans, try providing care for hundreds of animals who can’t vocalize what’s wrong. But that’s the precise challenge Primarily Primate’s new veterinarian says she was drawn to when coming on board to care for the more than 300 animals living at Friends of Animal’s 78-acre San Antonio-based sanctuary.

Dr. Melissa Cavaretta became PPI’s full-time veterinarian in the spring. Cavaretta, a Pittsburgh native, earned her veterinarian degree at the University of Illinois. She had practiced small animal medicine in New Mexico before moving to Texas to work at a wildlife sanctuary prior to coming to PPI. Action Line talked with her about her new job and its joys and challenges.

(Responses have been edited for space and clarity.)

WHY DID YOU WANT TO BECOME A VETERINARIAN? I have always loved animals since I was a little kid. I like their honesty and their purity. They let you know in no uncertain terms how they feel about you.

When I compare humans and animals, animals are lot more stoic than humans are. I think about how I would react if something like the (things they have been through) happened to me. They put on a brave face and go about their existence. They keep going and keep trying to do their best. I appreciate that too. They are not too dramatic.

And I like the challenge of animals, where you kind of have to be almost a detective, trying to figure out from really small cues that you would otherwise not think about that can indicate something is going on, like if they aren’t doing their same behaviors that they normally do, or if they are sleeping more than they normally would.

WHY WERE YOU INTERESTED IN WORKING AT PRIMARILY PRIMATES? I originally came in as a volunteer because I had worked with primates at another sanctuary and I wanted to continue doing that.

I have always really wanted to work with chimps, the great apes. I thought it would be an amazing experience. I think the chance to work with chimps doesn’t come around very often. Don’t get me wrong, I love working with dogs and cats, but I think the chance to work with some of these animals you wouldn’t ever see unless you went to their home (in the wild) to see them is a wonderful experience and I am so grateful I have that chance.

NOW THAT YOU’VE BEEN WORKING AT PPI, WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU THE MOST ABOUT THE ANIMALS AT THE SANCTUARY? The thing that has surprised me the most is the kind of bond they form with their caretakers. You can see how much respect and mutual admiration there is on both sides. That’s something very special. I guess I expected them not to be as accepting of people because some of them have come from situations that were not great. The fact that they kind of accept you, take you in, and are forgiving is really something I wasn’t expecting.

WHAT MISCONCEPTIONS DO YOU THINK THE GENERAL PUBLIC HAS ABOUT CHIMPS AND OTHER PRIMATES? I think that people see them as a source of entertainment and make them do silly things that is not normal behavior and people think that’s entertaining and funny, but I think they should just be appreciated for being themselves.

They are amazing creatures and they deserve to be respected because they exist. They deserve to live their lives.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES FACING VETS AT PRIMATE SANCTUARIES? I think that the hardest part, at least coming from a dog or cat perspective, is that most of the time you can do an exam on them without sedation, without anesthesia and get a lot of information pretty quickly from a physical exam, whereas when you are working with primates you have to sedate them first and there’s always a risk with sedation. So you have to weigh, is what we are going to find out in terms of diagnostics going to help?

Also, you have to really pay attention to specific details. Sometimes it’s just these little tiny things like the color of their gums or if they are eating normally or doing their normal behaviors. And sometimes it’s asking the right questions, which is not always easy to know what the right question is.

HAVE YOU BONDED WITH ANY PARTICULAR ANIMALS SO FAR AT PPI AND IF SO, WHO AND WHY? I like Mandy (a 48-year old chimp who came from a zoo in New Jersey described by Parade Magazine as one of the worst in the nation). We had to sedate her to move her. I had darted her and I thought there’s no way she’s ever going to like me. I’ve burned a bridge with her, but she’s happy to see me every time I go up there. She’s all excited to be near me, and it just makes me feel really good that she didn’t hold a grudge. She’s the sweetest.

Winter 19/20 | 15

GROUPS AGREE OREGON PRIMATES WILL STAY TOGETHER AT SANCTUARY STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY NICOLE RIVARD

A

s an international group, Friends of Animals does not always get to see up close the fruits of our labor.

But in September we visited chimpanzees Emma and Jackson at the Oregon sanctuary they've called home for more than a decade after we intervened and prevented them and the five other primates they live with from being sent to a research lab in Des Moines, Iowa—the ultimate betrayal.

The chimps will now be under the supervision of the newly formed non-profit organization Freedom for Great Apes at the Tumalo-based sanctuary previously managed by Chimps Inc. The resolution was reached after Primarily Primates Inc., (PPI) Friends of Animals’ Texasbased sanctuary, sued Chimps Inc. to prevent Emma and Jackson from being moved from the sanctuary.

Ex-pets Emma and Jackson had been sent to Tumalo in 2006 after PPI was temporarily closed following allegations of animal neglect and misuse of funds. Friends of Animals took over management and oversight of the 78-acre PPI in 2007. In a 2008 settlement Chimps Inc. agreed to secure permanent sanctuary for Emma and Jackson in perpetuity and to give PPI rights to bring the two chimps back to PPI if Chimps Inc. dissolved or needed to find a home for them.

Care staff told us Emma and Jackson invigorated their group when they arrived because they

16 | Friends of Animals

were just 5 and 6 years old. They enjoyed running around one of the outdoor habitats, known as the Big Outdoors, which is nearly one acre in size. There the chimps can also climb a 30-foot, tri-level tower with fire hose cargo nets and telephone poles scaling the sides. An underground tunnel provides a cool retreat during hot summer days and colorful cement structures littered throughout the enclosure serve as great hiding places. There’s even a simulated termite mound.

Like most chimps raised as pets, Emma arrived not understanding chimp behavior and Thiele, who was forced to perform unnatural tricks for the amusement of crowds at Marine World USA during her own childhood, took her under her wing and became a mother figure to her.

Emma now engages in social grooming – the single most important activity in maintaining social harmony among chimpanzees.

Jackson bonded with Herbie, who spent his youth performing at fairs and private parties throughout the Northwest.

He likes to do whatever Herbie does.

Jackson is still a spitfire—his favorite game is chase and his endless energy never fails to exhaust his human and chimp friends alike, especially when he runs around the perimeter of the Big Outdoors.

It meant everything to see all of them interacting.

“Friends of Animals was prepared to take in all the seven chimps at its sanctuary in Texas if

necessary, but we are so glad that Emma and Jackson and the other primates who have been at the sanctuary in Tumalo for 12 years will continue to stay together and have the freedom and privilege of following their own interests and choosing how to spend their time and days as sanctuary residents,’’ said Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral.

Freedom for Great Apes has signed a long-term lease with the owner of the property in Tumalo, Lesley Day, who had stepped down as president of Chimps Inc, in 2017 but owns the sanctuary property.

“I would like to thank all the staff and volunteers at Chimps Inc. for their great work over the last 24 years,’’ said Day, “and express my appreciation to the amazing team at Freedom for Great Apes for stepping up to carry on the vital mission of giving these chimpanzees a safe and comfortable place to spend the rest of their lives together.”

Right: Jackson gears up for a game of chase during which he runs around the perimeter of his outdoor habitat that is almost an acre in size.

N O C SERVATION TAKING THE CON OUT OF

No American zoo has ever reintroduced an African elephant to the wild, and no credible source has ever claimed that they intend to in the future.

Let that sink in.

FoA works to ensure zoo trade in African elephants goes extinct

BY NICOLE RIVARD

18 | Friends of Animals

However, zoos in the U.S. have gotten a free pass from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and been allowed to import live African elephants to lure visitors on the assumption that the purpose is primarily non-commercial and it will benefit the conservation of African elephants in the wild.

The gold standard of conservation, though, is increasing the number of animals in the wild and

preventing habitat loss. Adding insult to injury, three U.S. zoos’ importation of more than a dozen elephants from Swaziland in 2016 supported that country’s corrupt management goals to reduce its elephant population, a scheme Friends of Animals litigated against.

That’s why we were gratified to learn that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in August passed a trade rule banning the exportation of African elephants to captive facilities

Winter 19/20 | 19

Stephen Hernick FoA Wildlife Law Program attorney

“It’s a façade to say that just because zoos are nonprofits, they don’t have a commercial purpose. There’s a lot of evidence that this is a big business; but there’s not a lot of evidence zoos are providing education about elephants and their status in the wild.”

worldwide in almost all cases despite the U.S. delegation's opposition.

Being able to deliver on our goal that the Swaziland elephants would be the last African elephants to be robbed of their families and freedom is rewarding. We had kept the story of the 18 Swaziland elephants (one died) destined for U.S. zoos in the headlines and delivered a public relations nightmare for the zoos involved.

But FoA is not one to rest on its laurels.

In the event CITES changes its decision, or that a U.S. zoo might try and take advantage of an exportation loophole the European Union insisted on that allows a capture and transfer in exceptional circumstances where “it is considered that a transfer to ex-situ locations will provide demonstrable in-situ conservation benefits for African elephants,” FoA wants to ensure U.S. law would still prevent the import of the elephants.

So, in September, we filed a petition asking that FWS revise its permitting regulations governing how it determines whether elephants would be used primarily for commercial purposes.

“FWS has superficially relied on three premises to determine zoos’ imports of wild elephants are not for commercial use: the zoos’ status

20 | Friends of Animals

as nonprofits, their plan to breed animals and their role in educating the public as part of their mission,” said Stephen Hernick, FoA's Wildlife Law Program attorney. “It’s a façade to say that just because zoos are nonprofits, they don’t have a commercial purpose. There’s a lot of evidence that this is a big business; but there’s not a lot of evidence zoos are providing education about elephants and their status in the wild.”

FWS assumes that when zoos donate funds to elephant conservation that it’s helping them in the wild.

But, Hernick points out, a closer look at the money trail reveals zoos aren’t directly involved in conservation of elephants—they are typically donating money to other organizations who are doing the work. And the donation amounts are just a percentage of what zoos spend in other areas.

“The donation is really a paltry amount compared to the money they are spending to obtain and keep these elephants, or that they are receiving from attendance and that they spend on marketing,” Hernick said.

FoA’s petition would require zoos to meet the following criteria (knowing they could never do so) therefore preventing future importations:

• It cannot obtain a captive-bred elephant for a similar purpose • The import will benefit the conservation of African elephants in the wild • The purpose of the import is primarily noncommercial, as evidenced by a detailed analysis of expected revenue signed by a certified public accountant and provided by the importer

EVIDENCE OF BIG BUSINESS The exploitation of elephants in the U.S. dates to 1796 when a 2-year-old female elephant from India became the first to be imported into the country. After arriving in New York, she was exhibited to curious audiences along the East Coast, according to Natural History Magazine.

Old letters reveal the motives of captain Jacob Crowninshield.

Writing to his brothers, he said: “We take home a fine young elephant two years old, at $450. It is almost as large as a very large ox, and I dare say we shall get it home safe, if so, it will bring at least $5,000.”

So, from day one, elephants were brought into this country for commercial purposes.

FoA’s petition points out that Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo set an attendance record in 2016 with more

than 2 million visitors after exhibiting the Swaziland elephants. And the zoo spent $73 million on an African Grasslands Exhibit, the opening of which coincided with the arrival of elephants.

That same year, Sedgewick County Zoos, which also imported the Swaziland elephants, had 125,000 more visitors than in any of the previous six years.

In general, despite increased revenues, conservation funding is always a tiny percentage of zoos’ expenses.

The gross disparity was revealed in the 2011 report, “An Optimal Future for Woodland Park Elephants,” that analyzed how zoos direct money from their turnstiles.

The ratio between the U.S. zoo industry’s in situ conservation donations ($2 million) and money spent on captive elephant programs ($340

million) over the past 12 or so years is $1 donated for every $170 spent on themselves. This shows that only one-half of one cent ($.005) of every $1 spent on zoo elephant programs went to elephants in the wild.

The Dallas Zoo, for example, which also imported the Swaziland elephants, spent $1,149,000 on marketing and $569,000 on conservation/other, according to it's 2017 annual report.

The zoo also spent $6.9 million on zoo improvements and animal acquisition.

ONLY ONE-HALF OF ONE CENT ($.005) OF EVERY $1 SPENT ON ZOO ELEPHANT PROGRAMS WENT TO ELEPHANTS IN THE WILD.

• The elephant will be killed if it is not imported and there is no alternative relocation option in the wild • The import is approved by the CITES Animal Committee, in consultation with the Elephant Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Hernick says the CITES decision and FoA’s petition comes at a critical time because FWS officials confirmed that some U.S. zoos were plotting again to import elephants.

Right: Elephant keeper Patrick Maluy gives Chai, a 13 year-old Asian elephant at the Woodland Zoo in Seattle, her daily dusting before bedtime in this 1993 photo. Zookeepers there tried to inseminate her at least 112 times. She was moved to the Oklahoma City Zoo in 2015 and died the following year at the age of 37 (Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times) Winter 19/20 | 21

The Dallas Zoo then divides that $569,000 among 39 field conservation projects and only two have anything to do with elephants. One is the International Elephant Foundation, a nonprofit created and led by U.S. zoos.

While the Tarangire Elephant project does work to protect migratory corridors for elephants in Tanzania, it does nothing for elephants in Swaziland, where the Dallas Zoo imported elephants from in 2016.

ZOOS BREED BECAUSE OF GREED FoA’s petition also reveals that FWS does not currently examine whether captive breeding programs are aimed at the longterm protection of the affected species. The import of the Swaziland elephants to the Omaha, Sedgewick and Dallas zoos and their subsequent breeding programs were aimed at expanding the captive zoo population, not the recovery of wild elephants.

77% (OF CAPTIVE FEMALE ELEPHANTS IN ZOOS) EXHIBITED IRREGULAR OVARIAN CYCLES OR DID NOT CYCLE AT ALL. ZOOS HAVE ADDRESSED THIS BY EITHER SUBJECTING THE FEMALE TO COUNTLESS PROCEDURES OF ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION OR TRANSPORTING THEM LONG DISTANCES TO BREED.

22 | Friends of Animals

Actually, elephants’ reproductive ability is adversely affected in captivity. A 2016 study of captive female elephants in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums found that 77% exhibited irregular ovarian cycles or did not cycle at all.

Zoos have addressed this by either subjecting the female to countless procedures of artificial insemination or transporting them long distances to breed.

At the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, for example, zookeepers tried to inseminate Chai, a female elephant who spent most of her life there, at least 112 times. She only gave birth after being transported to Missouri to breed with a bull. That lone offspring subsequently died due to the elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus, a disease that almost solely occurs in zoos. (Chai was moved to the Oklahoma City Zoo in 2015 after a bruising political and court fight. Activists had wanted her transferred to a sanctuary in California. She died in January of 2016 at the age of 37.)

The infant-mortality rate for elephants in zoos is 40%, almost triple of what it is in the wild.

ENTERTAINMENT, NOT EDUCATION Zoos like to claim they inspire visitors to act to help elephants and other wildlife, but the research tells a different story.

At the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and several British zoos, studies showed limited knowledge acquisition by visitors and no impact on behavior changes. Studies at the Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand revealed that visitors wanted to see animals, not learn about them.

Other research suggests that zoo visitors instructed on specific, concrete steps to aid wildlife conservation reported three months later that they had not followed even one zoo suggestion.

The zoo industry relies on results from a single push poll it paid for in 2004 to assert that zoo visitors “appreciate” elephants more after visiting them at zoos.

“Appreciate is a vague, non scientific term, impossible to define or measure. It is not science,” writes Lisa Kane, author of the "Optimal Future" report, in a rebuttal to the zoo’s claims concerning wildlife conservation.

David Hancocks, a former director of several zoos with more than 30 years of experience, worries zoos have painted themselves as saviors of the wild. He told National Geographic: “I fear this has instilled a false sense of security in the public mind. Many people now believe they don't have to worry about saving animals, because zoos are doing the job.”

WHY OUR PETITION MATTERS Elephants are dying in American zoos. Not only that, when elephants are stolen from the wild it inflicts great harm on all members of the herd left behind.

In December 2012, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Seattle Times did a first-of-its-kind analysis of elephant fatalities at accredited U.S. zoos for the past 50 years and uncovered 390 elephant deaths.

Most died from injury or disease linked to conditions of their captivity, from chronic foot problems caused by standing on hard surfaces to musculoskeletal disorders from inactivity caused by being penned or chained for days/weeks.

Of the 321 deaths for which the Times had complete records, half were by age 23, though elephants have expected life spans of 50 to 60 years.

Perhaps no one has described why zoos are detrimental to elephants better than the late Dr. Daphne Sheldrick, co-founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a true conservation organization in Africa that works to rescue, rehabilitate and release elephants back into the wild who were orphaned due to human activity. FoA has visited the orphanage in Kenya.

“Elephants should not be confined in captivity, no matter how attractive the facilities may appear to us humans,” Sheldrick said in “An Elephant Never Forgets: Pachyderms, Politics and Policy at the San Francisco Zoo” published in the Journal of Animals Law and Ethics.

“No artificial situation can give an elephant what it needs in terms of space, for 100 miles is a mere stroll for these animals; our 10-year-old orphaned bull having covered that distance in just one day, in search of friends. It is cruel and unethical, and there is nothing educational in looking at a miserable captive in an unnatural setting.”

Friends of Animals couldn’t agree more.

Opposite page: FoA president Priscilla Feral visits the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage in Kenya in the mid-90's and meets some of the elephants and their caregivers. The late Daphne Sheldrick, co-founder of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. © The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Winter 19/20 | 23

PLANT-BASED MILK IS

DRIVING THE DAIRY INDUSTRY NUTS

BY MEG MCINTIRE

AND WE COULDN’T BE HAPPIER 24 | Friends of Animals

C

ashew milk. Almond milk. Hazelnut milk.

Coconut milk.

The increasing amount of non-dairy milk and its soaring popularity is quite literally driving the cruel dairy industry nuts.

The global plant-based beverage market was valued at $11.16 billion in 2018 and is expected to generate $20 billion by 2025, according to Zion Market Research.

The threat to the dairy industry by non-dairy milk, which in addition to nuts can be made from whole grains, vegetables and seeds, is so great that it retaliated by creating deceptive ad campaigns that promote dairy milk as the cleaner, healthier option simply because it only has one ingredient on the label. But consumers, driven by compassion for animals and concerns over food production’s impact on climate change, are not being duped by dairy.

Instead, they are taking notice of the many delicious, healthy, non-dairy milks out there without antibiotics, hormones, environmental destruction or cruelty added.

In the U.S., for example, plant-based milk sales grew 9%, to $1.6 billion in 2018, and plant-based creamers grew an incredible 131%, with $109 million in sales. In contrast, sales of cow’s milk fell 6% in the same time period, according to the Plant-Based Foods Association’s Nielsen retail sales data.

Overall, the U.S. dairy industry has been in a downward spiral for a decade and dairy farms have dropped by half since 2000, from more than 83,000 to about 40,000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The dairy industry’s profit margins are also being squeezed by grocery store owners. As more plant-based milks continue to be introduced, grocers are increasing the fees that they charge to dairy milk brands so they can maintain their spot in the refrigerated aisles.

It’s true that plant-based milks are not without their own controversy. As soy milk, which provides a high amount of protein and is the least processed among plant-based milks, increased in popularity during the end of the 20th century, an anti-soy movement took root.

Concern grew among consumers that 90% of the soy grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered and sprayed with pesticides.

While both of those points are valid, most of the GMO soy is fed to livestock and there are soy milk brands that are certified non-GMO. Regardless of whether this fear of

soy is warranted, it ultimately led to the creation of other plant-based milks—including almond milk.

But even the benefits and environmental friendliness of almond milk, which is low-calorie and high in vitamin E while low in protein, has been questioned in the last few years. While it may seem outrageous that a single almond requires about 1 gallon of water to produce, consider the fact that a single egg requires 53 gallons, a hamburger 660, and a gallon of dairy milk 880 gallons of water to produce, according to Water Footprint Network.

It’s also critical to consider that the production of dairy milk results in much greater greenhouse gas emissions and requires much more land use than any plant-based milks (see chart page 26 for a comparison). Plus, cruelty will always be an ingredient—baby calves and goats are yanked from their mothers. After an excruciating separation, baby calves are slaughtered and consumed as veal.

GREENING THE NON-DAIRY MILKY WAY Beyond the carbon footprint of the actual production of plant-based milks, you might also want to consider how each manufacturer addresses sustainability. Check out a brand’s website to see what they are doing to conserve water, reduce packaging, if they are using organic ingredients and fostering a lower carbon footprint with their employees when comparing brands. One example from So Delicious is an Alternative Commuting Program that rewards employees for taking alternative forms of transportation by collecting and redeeming points for each mile traveled, whether it’s by bike, bus or carpool. The company allows staff to redeem points for gift certificates at sustainable businesses in the local community.

Like many vegan brands, So Delicious' parent company also sells dairy products. However, our research shows that Ripple and Plamil Foods, which make plantbased milk products, are completely vegan businesses.

With an ever-expanding array of plant-based milks from which to choose, there’s never been a better time to try one for the first time or to switch to a new one if you prefer to pass on soy or almond milk.

After all, that famous dairy industry slogan “Got milk?” comes at the expense of animals, the planet and our health. The question everyone should be asking is, “Got plants?”

Winter 19/20 | 25

MILK vs. "MILK"

TIPS FOR MILKING IT WITH

Environmental impacts of different types of milk, per liter

GHG EMISSIONS (Kilograms C02 eq)

3.2

LAND USE (Square Meters)

Try to choose a plant-based milk that doesn’t list any oil as an ingredient. Many refrigerated brands of non-dairy milk do, but most shelf-stable brands do not. These brands also tend to be a little cheaper and easier to buy in bulk.

WATER USE (Liters)

9.0

628

371 1.2

270 1.0

0.9

0.7 0.3

COW

RICE

SOY

OAT

ALMOND

COW

RICE

.07 SOY

0.8

OAT

0.5 ALMOND

28 COW

RICE

SOY

48 OAT

ALMOND

If you’re looking to increase the nutrients you’re consuming in your non-dairy milks, check the nutrition facts when you’re choosing one and look for versions that are fortified with calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12.

Choose a plant milk with the fewest ingredients—or make your own to avoid additives and preservatives. You can make almond, cashew, oat, rice, or quinoa milk easily in your kitchen.

If you’re on a low-fat or low-sugar diet, pay attention to the fat and sugar content of non-dairy milks options. Rice, oat, soy and almond milks are naturally quite rich in fat, but it’s easy to find low-fat or fat-free soy milks. Check sugar levels in sweetened plain and vanilla milks to be sure it meets your diet needs. Many of the chocolate varieties are packed with sugar.

Choose your non-dairy milk based on your main priorities. If you’re looking to replace your coffee creamer, try oat, soy, cashew, or macadamia milk. For cereal, soy or almond milk are good alternatives. If you’re trying to incorporate more protein into your diet, go for quinoa or pea milk.

If you’re baking, check to see if the recipe calls for a specific substitute, and if not, try almond, cashew, or oat milk.

Source: Poore & Nemecek 2018

HERE’S A GUIDE TO SOME OF THE YOUR GROCER’S SHELVES. COCONUT MILK Though it's higher in fat than other milks, coconut milk is still low in calories at 80 per cup, but also low in protein at less than 1 gram per cup. If fortified, it can serve as a good source of vitamin D and can also supply up to 50% more calcium than dairy milk. In addition, coconut milk contains fiber and iron, two notable departures from cow’s milk. It works well in rice, Thai dishes, desserts or smoothies.

HEMP MILK This milk has a grassy and nutty flavor.

It is considered ideal for people who cannot consume gluten, nuts, and/or soy. Hemp milk naturally contains 2-4 grams per 8 oz. cup of protein. One cup contains approximately 83 calories. It has a 3-to-1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids. Other nutrients include magnesium and phytosterols, as well as some calcium, fiber, iron and potassium. It works best in grain-based dishes such as muffins or breads.

HAZELNUT MILK Hazelnut milk is gluten free and cholesterol free and is an excellent source of B1, B2, B6 and vitamin E. The milk is very versatile and can be used just as dairy milk in cooking. It has only 30 calories per cup and contains no cholesterol or saturated fat.

26 | Friends of Animals

YOU MIGHT SEE ON OAT MILK Oat milk’s rich and creamy texture, coupled with its naturally sweet, cereal-milk-like flavor, has made it the new alternative-milk star. It offers 4 grams of protein and 120 calories per cup, which is relatively higher than most non-dairy alternatives. Naturally occurring sugars give this beverage a higher carbohydrate content. Depending on the manufacturer, oat milk could be another viable option for people with nut and seed allergies. It is important, however, to read the label for added ingredients that could be allergens. It foams up fantastically for lattes and works well to thicken sauces, soups and stews. Stirring in a little sunflower or coconut oil increases the fat content, mimicing the texture of heavy cream, making it great for coffee.

PEA MILK No, it doesn’t taste like peas. This newest member of the plant-based milks is made from yellow peas from which the plant protein is extracted and the pea flavor is left behind. Pea milk is high in protein, with 8 grams per 8-ounce cup, and is only 75 calories per cup. It includes a healthy dose of omega-3 fatty acids — the good kind of fat that slows down digestion so you feel full for longer. This milk works great for smoothies, cereal, coffee, etc.

RICE MILK There are not many advantages to rice milk over other plant-based milks, but it is likely the most hypoallergenic of all non-dairy alternatives. Though usually derived from boiled brown rice and brown rice starch, it has no fiber and a thin consistency. It contains roughly 140 calories per cup, and only about 3 grams of fat.

CASHEW MILK With only 60 calories per cup and no saturated fat or cholesterol, unsweetened cashew milk is often considered a good option for those looking for a creamier alternative to almond milk without the fat and calories of canned coconut milk. On the downside, when the pulp is strained from the milk, you lose almost all the fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals from the whole nut. Through fortification, however, cashew milk can offer close to 50% more calcium than cow’s milk and is an excellent source of vitamin D.

QUINOA MILK Quinoa milk is fairly new to the market so it is slightly more expensive than other nondairy milks and can be a little harder to find. It is slightly sweet and nutty and has a distinct quinoa flavor.

It works best poured onto cereal and in warm porridge. One cup contains 70 calories, 1 gram of fat, 2 grams of protein and 12 grams of carbohydrates.

INTO THE WILD Webcams connect viewers to an unedited version of the natural world

BY FRAN SILVERMAN

O

ne of my favorite ways to start a Sunday is watching the end of “CBS Sunday Mornings” because each week it gives viewers a glimpse of wildlife in their environs. For just about a minute, viewers are treated to images of everything from soaring condors to desert big horned sheep to wild mustangs in the Pine Nut Mountains of Nevada—all without the distraction of any human noise.

It’s the most popular segment of the show, but CBS videographers noted in a news report on the segment that it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to capture these moments of wild zen. Humans, with all their noises from cars and planes to leaf blowers and drones, are encroaching

28 | Friends of Animals

on these peaceful moments of nature that the show has been presenting since it debuted in 1979.

This exact issue may be why wildlife webcams have become so popular. The cameras offer viewers the chance to watch nature up close and personal, without the chatter of talking pundits or the noise of human life. You also get more than a minute of peace. Indeed, you can binge watch them for hours, from your computer (at home or work— hey, everyone needs a moment of wildlife watching to help them be more productive at their jobs whether they work at Friends of Animals or an accounting firm).

Webcams have become so popular you can now choose from a

variety of viewing options spanning the globe and species, from kelp to elephants to osprey.

In fact, in 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center requested a review by the United States Geological Survey of best practices for the use of wildlife webcams and an analysis of their advantages in promoting wildlife appreciation. The report gave hands-on tips of the best camera equipment and installation instructions. Surprisingly though, the review found that there weren’t many scientific journal articles exploring whether webcams are helping wildlife by giving the human viewers a better appreciation of the animals and their inherent worth as a species

and the challenges they face, or are turning watchers into chair potatoes who maybe should be going outside more often to see wildlife in their own regions.

Either way, there’s definitely proof that viewers become attached to the animals on their screens.

Thousands of bird enthusiasts were riveted by “The Throuple” of the Upper Mississippi Wildlife Refuge in Illinois—a bald eagle saga reported

by Smithsonian Magazine that involved two males, Valor I and Valor II, who overcame the grief of losing their object of affection, the female bald eagle named Hope, who disappeared, and apparently died. The two buddies found love again with Star, another female bald eagle. There

was rivalry, there was death and then there was peace as Valor I and Valor II each mated with Star and then helped tend to three hatchlings born in April in some kind of wildlife takeoff of “Three’s Company.”

Then there is the very famous D.C. couple, Mr. President and The First Lady—two eagles who have soared to popularity via the National Arboretum’s webcam (formerly known as the #DC Cam). The mated pair nests high up in a Tulip Poplar tree in the Azalea Collection at the Arboretum. The couple returned to the nest in October 2018 and garnered more than 13.5 million views that year. The livestream is financed by The American Eagle Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as Friends of the National Arboretum.

New York University posted a webcam outside the university president’s 12th floor office overlooking Washington Square Park after a pair of red-tailed hawks began nesting on the ledge there in 2011 and kept returning each year to lay eggs and raise their red-tail eyasses. The livestream feed has received more than 793,000 views so far and viewers may also participate in a live chat but unlike the Arboretum, NYU did not give the hawks names.

“The University is pleased to be able to give folks the chance to share in the hawks' daily lives, and those of their offspring, thanks to the happy accident of where they chose to build their nest,’’ it said on its webcam site. “Given the birds’ beauty and the opportunity accorded by the Hawk Cam to observe them intimately as they raise their young, there may be a tendency to project human traits on these raptors, including given them names. NYU does not officially

endorse anthropomorphizing the adult hawks or their eyasses and will not seek to name them.”

The University also cautions viewers that the hawks are birds of prey protected from intervention by state and federal laws and that the raw footage may stream upsetting events in the nest.

“However close you may come to feel to these raptors, it is important to remember that they are wild birds of prey. Red-tailed hawks have evolved over millions of years to cope with all manner of variables in the raising of their young. Nevertheless, should the adult hawk or eyasses encounter a natural problem in the nest, NYU’s position is to let nature take its course, without any intervening human intervention.”

NYU is not alone in having to explain why remaining neutral is important for webcam operators. A New York Post story noted that livestream webcam operators are often pressed to take action to help the animals who are starring in their feeds. Viewers of baby eaglets, for example, pressured wildlife officials in Minnesota to help one of the eaglets who had a broken wing.

The Biodiversity Research Institute in Maine took criticism from cam watchers who wanted officials to step in to help a pair of abandoned eaglets in Hancock County.

But intervening is not what these cameras are about, and viewers must remember that livestreams are not scripted reality television shows. It’s the wild, after all and that means there isn’t always a happy ending.

So, prepare yourself before becoming glued to a livestream of a baby condor, polar bear or some sea kelp. When you go into the wild, anything can happen.

Winter 19/20 | 29

OUR FAVES IN LIVESTREAM BINGING The good news is that there are a lot of livestreams available for viewing wildlife. The bad news is that there are a lot of livestreams available, and not all are great or helpful to animals. You’ll want to steer clear of the ones streaming zoo animals (sorry Smithsonian National Zoo Giant Panda Cam) as they are definitely not offering viewers a glimpse of wildlife flourishing in their own way. There’s also dog and cat rescues or supposed rescues. And then there are the ones of people’s pets (how did they sneak into the stream?) Many homeowners are also capturing video of wildlife in their own backyards, placing webcams on their property and then reviewing the footage to see the wildlife activity happening right outside their doors at night. But I digress. To help get you started, here’s a few of our favorite livestreams (the brown bear one hypnotized me. I’m addicted.)

PUFFIN CAM

NYU RED-TAILED HAWK CAM

Hosted by explore.org, this cam focuses on a puffin burrow on Seal Island, 21 miles off the coast of Maine. Established in 2013, the stream captures the community of puffins who nest and breed there during the spring and summer months. explore.org/livecams/puffins/puffin-burrow-cam

These love birds come back each year to nest on a ledge outside the New York University’s President’s Bobst Library office. Cameras have been placed in areas that won’t disturb the hawks.

The continuous stream is also accompanied by a live chat. ustream.tv/channel/e3uYJSDgmbz

NATIONAL ARBORETUM EAGLE CAM

POLAR BEAR CAM

KEEP PETS OFF THE STREET. SPAY OR NEUTER.

Watch as the polar bears of Manitoba Canada get through their days on this webcam streamed by explore.org. Bear cubs are born in November. When the cubs are strong enough, the bears head for the sea ice, which is disappearing because of climate change, making the footage even more important. explore.org/livecams/polar-bears-international/ polar-bear-tundra-buggy-lodge-south Get a glimpse of Mr. President and The First Lady when they return to nest at the U.S. National Arboretum. The mated pair nests high up in a Tulip Poplar tree in the Azalea Collection at the Arboretum. The First Lady usually lays eggs in February or March. You can also join a live Q&A while viewing. naeaglecam.org/

BROOKS FALLS BROWN BEARS KATMAI NATIONAL PARK, ALASKA Watching the brown bears in the falls of the Brooks River as they catch sockeye salmon jumping out of the water is mesmerizing.

About 2,200 bears live in Katmai Park and the Brooks River bears are most active July-October. explore.org/livecams/brown-bears/brown-bearsalmon-cam-brooks-falls

WALRUS CAM Take a look at walruses along Main Beach, a long, concave beach extending from the northern tip of Alaska's Round Island. The greatest number of Pacific walruses (as many as 15,000!) can be seen at this popular "haulout" location. explore.org/livecams/oceans/walrus-cam-roundisland

Fran Silverman is Friends of Animals' communications director.

Whether it’s human or non- human animals, she believes in being a voice for the voiceless and respectfully sharing the world with all its species.

It is estimated that shelters euthanize more than 1.5 million pets each year. Countless more suffer exposure, starvation and death on the streets. Affordable spaying or neutering is the most effective way to prevent these tragedies. To locate participating veterinarians in your area, go to FriendsOfAnimals.org today.

30 | Friends of Animals

Winter 19/20 | 31

WILDLIFE WATCH

Great EXPECTATIONS

BY DUSTIN RHODES

Look for love and friendship, not perfection, when rescuing pets

A

s an adult, I have had the honor of living with four “perfect” dogs.

One only liked 50% of my friends.

One dog liked chasing tennis balls, eating doughnuts (long story), biting other dogs and us—in that order.

One has a very severe case of anxiety that requires daily medication. And finally, the most recent adoptee is only 75% house-trained, after spending his first few years being bounced around shelters where the bathroom was everywhere.

This is a long-winded way of saying they are perfect to me.

I assumed everyone had low-to no-expectations when it came to cats and dogs, aside from them not being dangerous, until three years ago when I joined the board of a non-profit animal rescue in my community. Since then, I’ve learned quite the opposite—many people have completely unrealistic, impossible expectations about cats and dogs, which perpetuate the cycle of pet abandonment, the need for independent rescues and the many-decadeslong problem of shelters killing healthy cats and dogs.

I’ve come to believe that if we are ever going to effectively conquer pet overpopulation, we need to start with our attitudes about what makes a great pet.

WHAT YOU SEE IS NOT ALWAYS WHAT YOU GET These days, shelters and rescues entice the public to adopt animals by posting super adorable photos on social media with pithy captions of cats and dogs in need of a home.

Everyone oohs and ahs over the irresistible photos, but what happens next is cause for alarm. The public— ostensibly dog and cat fanatics like myself—start the predictable line of questioning in the comments section: Do they like other animals?

Do they like children? Are they house-broken? Aggressive? The list goes on and on.

In other words, what people are looking for are “perfect” cats and dogs, who will behave exactly as we want them to, always, and won’t ever be an inconvenience. And this sets everyone—pets and humans—up for failure.

It’s understandable why someone wants an “easy” pet, but nearly anyone who’s ever lived with a cat or dog knows there are no guarantees.

What an animal acts like in a shelter environment might be completely different than what they act like in your house, around your other pets or even your children. The only thing that’s guaranteed is a pet is going to require time, energy, money, patience and, most importantly, love.

In exchange you get a family member that loves you unconditionally and sees past and through your shortcomings, which is extraordinary. If we’re open-minded, it’s the closest thing we can have to a perfect relationship.

Greg Little, a longtime Friends of Animals member, vegan, accountant, Delaware resident and all-around animal fanatic, tells me that when he adopted his first dog, Yoshi, he was simply looking for “an energetic outdoorsy dog,” but was otherwise not picky.

Winter 19/20 | 33

“I was unprepared,” Little said, adding that he didn’t even know the right questions to ask.

Yoshi had been in the shelter system repeatedly, having been returned by previous owners for unknown reasons. But the shelter where Little adopted Yoshi did tell him that Yoshi didn’t always get along with other dogs.

As it turned out, Yoshi, a mixedbreed, had quite a few behavioral challenges—some more serious than others. Little says that his challenges were noticeable right away.

“He was very reactive towards men while we were on walks; he would bark at all other dogs; he’d bolt out the door and run far away if he had the chance; he’s very fussy when he doesn’t want to do things—especially at the vet’s office, where he has become very aggressive,” Little explained. “He’s also an extremely picky eater and will sometimes go a few days without eating his food, although he’ll eat garbage off the street.”

From my volunteer work at the animal rescue, I can sadly tell you that many people will return an animal for just one of these challenges. In fact, some of the most common reasons people return animals are pedestrian: age, boredom, money, vacations, birth of a child.

I’VE COME TO BELIEVE THAT IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO EFFECTIVELY CONQUER PET OVERPOPULATION, WE NEED TO START WITH OUR ATTITUDES ABOUT WHAT MAKES A GREAT PET.

34 | Friends of Animals

dog that good behavior gets him the things that he wants (attention, toys, treats, etc.).”

Little has also learned the importance of managing expectations and trying to put Yoshi in situations where he can be successful. For example, Little doesn’t take Yoshi to dog parks, because it’s too much stimulation, but makes sure he gets lots of exercise from other activities.

No one should be adopting a pet unless they’ve thought it through and are prepared to make a lifetime commitment. Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if you are really ready: Are you willing to work through “bad” behavior? Do you have the time to have kids and pets? Are you financially prepared to live with a cat or dog, even with the inevitability that they will get older and more expensive? Can you deal with the unknown challenges? These are serious questions that deserve serious consideration.

Development Director Dustin Rhodes is in charge of fundraising at Friends of Animals. He resides in Asheville, North Carolina, a progressive, animal-loving community in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

REAPING THE REWARDS OF IMPERFECTION

EDUCATE YOURSELF AND BE PREPARED TO HIRE PROFESSIONALS If you adopt a cat or dog from a community shelter or rescue, more than likely they know a lot about the behavior of the animal you’re about to adopt—especially the dogs in their care. That’s because shelters are committed to making good matches between dogs and owners and go to great lengths to evaluate personality and behavior (dogs are much easier to evaluate than cats). The tools they use to evaluate behavior are sophisticated but not foolproof.

If you learn that the animal you are interested in has some behavioral challenges, find out if the behavior is manageable and what kind of help is

Maybe, just maybe, in the future, he’ll stop peeing on the corner of the bedroom door. But I am not holding my breath.

available. Some shelters provide free training with an animal behaviorist or trainer or give vouchers toward training costs.

While every community is different, there are now a lot of resources available for dealing with challenging behaviors—including excellent books, free YouTube videos, one-onone training, etc. Ask what the shelter recommends; veterinarians usually have close relationships with trainers and behaviorists and will provide contact information for their most trusted. Find out what the costs are.

To help Yoshi, Little read The Power

of Positive Dog Training, by Pat Miller and, over time, was able to make progress with all of his problematic behaviors—except for his extreme dislike of veterinarians.

The approach Little learned and started utilizing was to reward Yoshi’s good behavior, like when he walked calmly or would stay still when someone came to the door; and ignore his bad behavior.

Little added, “It's so much more enjoyable to have a positive relationship with your dog instead of spending all your time trying to correct things. Ultimately, it teaches the

I could write a dissertation on loving seemingly imperfect animals. Over the past two decades I’ve realized it’s the idiosyncrasies and challenges that have made our bonds deeper and made the reward of loving them even greater.

Little said the same thing of Yoshi: “It's kind of cheesy but seeing him happy and successful feels a little more special than if he was a ‘perfect’ dog.”

Do I like it when my 3-year-old chihuahua, who was adopted and returned to a shelter three times before I adopted him, still pees, occasionally and randomly, in the house?

NO! But I am also madly in love with his spunk, loving personality and friendliness with complete strangers.

It’s his sense of humor that I choose to focus on.

Left to right: Yoshi strikes a pose with a full tail curl. Yoshi visits the koi pond at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. Greg Little takes a selfie with Yoshi in a park by their house in Delaware.

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LETTERS FAUX FUR IS PROBLEMATIC I greatly appreciate your Fall 2019, Action Line issue on fur. I was heartened to learn that fur is out of fashion —a fact I had sensed, but you matched this with numbers.

However, I don't get why anyone needs to wear fake fur anymore than I want fake meat. I love my veggies.

Wearing fake fur (as the natural yeti cape coat pictured on page 18), which looks too much like the real thing could encourage others to buy and wear real fur, which, of course, harms animals.

RICHARD REIS • SILVER SPRING, MD

A MEMBER’S EVOLUTION I have been a supporter of your organization for a long time. I'm pretty sure my vet neutered my previous dog, Pookie (who just recently passed away at 15), at a discount with a coupon you provided back in 2004. I just now rescued a wonderful yorkie poo, who was neutered by the rescue organization prior to my adoption of him.

I do, however, digress. I lived in New York almost all my life until I moved to Atlanta in 1994. New York winters were always brutal for me. I was never warm enough. I am ashamed to say I purchased down coats, a fox coat and a mink coat sometime in the early 1980s, hoping to keep warm, and I must say I did.

However, I am horrified that I ever had a mindset to do that, even back then. Yes, I was younger (in my 30's) but I should have known better.

In 2003, I had minor heart surgery (one stent). I decided to become a vegetarian for health reasons after that.

Now, 16 years later, I like to think I have evolved. I don't purchase any animal products, leather, down, wool, etc. anymore. My love for animals has grown to a much higher level.

I am so happy to read about Intro 1476 in Fall 2019, Action Line and hope it goes through. I am happy to hear the fur district in New York is almost a thing of the past. There is no need to kill animals or make them suffer for 'fashion.’

Fashion can be made without any of that.

36 | Friends of Animals

Thank you for all you do. I always enjoy your magazine. This issue particularly touched me.

MELODY EUCHMAN • MARIETTA, GA

TRAVELS LEAD TO QUESTIONS ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE As usual, I very much appreciate your magazine.

Relating to the article about crueltyfree, cold weather gear, we recently returned from a very popular trip to Iceland. A day trip was to an island farm, raising ducks and geese for their eider down. We were horrified, but it was a local family, very proud of their organization, and a large crowd of tourists. They displayed rooms full of the eider, snatched from the chest of the birds all around us. To whom should a complaint and educational letter be sent? Some official in Iceland? A dilemma often in travel.

Also, regarding wolves, as discussed in article by Jay Mallonee. We have been thrilled by the reintroduction of these magnificent wolves into the west, but while visiting Yellowstone Park in August 2019, learned that their numbers have not been curbed and that they are now often starving in the three states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. There are very few elk, deer and even moose to be seen because they are eaten by the wolves.

We did not believe this, but saw no other wildlife at all during our journey, and local newspapers talked about the problem. It is not just cattle ranchers or hunters who are upset, but also conservationists. Do you know about this situation?

TRISH DAYAN • STAMFORD, CT Editor’s note: What you are describing doesn’t match the science, which shows the Yellowstone ecosystem is much healthier because of the wolves' presence. According to experts, the environment is an infinitely complex place and moose are dying because of parasites and disease. In fact, there is chronic wasting disease running through the deer populations in several western states but that’s certainly not because of wolves or other predators. In fact, predators are thought to be

a potential solution for this epidemic because they can “take out” those who are the most sick and help stop the spread of this disease.

In other words, the more predators the better.

Wolves do have a huge effect on the behavior of prey species, especially elk, who have had to adjust to the presence of wolves since reintroduction occurred. The prey are no longer roaming around wherever they wish and being seen by tourists. They’re hiding now from predators, like they should be.

THE POWER OF FILM I love seeing wild horses, wolves, deer, antelope and other animals in the west.

They belong there.

It would be great to get Hollywood to invest in protecting the west—big name actors like Kevin Costner who did the movie “Dances with Wolves” and maybe Native American actors could get involved.

Travel shows take you to other countries.There are a lot of travel agencies that set up experiences for people who love to take pictures of lions, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, rhinos and other African animals. Could you also see if they could help?

I am glad that real fur is going out of style, but there are some people who hunt deer, rabbits and other animals for meat and then use the hides for clothes.

Doing a documentary on the lives of those animals might also help deter people from killing them for wearing their skins.

CHERYL ALLESHOUSE •ASHLEY, IN

LET’S HEAR FROM YOU! MAIL US: Editor, Action Line Friends of Animals 777 Post Road Darien, CT 06820 E-MAIL US: contact@friendsofanimals.org

CHEERS

JEERS

SUBURB CLEARS THE WAY FOR PENGUINS

JEERS TO WHINING VISITORS OF OCEAN CITY, N.J.

If this seems like it would be unheard of, you are right.

It’s never happened before. Instead of forcing wildlife to get out of the way of humans, a town in Australia moved an entire suburb out of the way for a colony of endangered penguins.

The coastal suburb on the Summerland Peninsula of Phillip Island happened also to be the home of the largest colony of a species of little penguins. In the 1930s, The New York Times reports, 10 acres of land on the peninsula was set aside for the penguins, which became a huge draw for visitors of Summerland Beach who turned out to watch the penguins parade up the beach at night. But the penguin population began to decline as the island became more developed with housing. In the 1980s, the government of Victoria decided to halt further development and buy the built-up properties to remove them and make way for the penguins, who scientists feared could go extinct on the island.

Wildlife watchers can still enjoy views of the penguins from a new visitor center strategically placed in an area where the penguins don’t burrow.

NEW YORK SIGNS DECLAW BAN INTO LAW

Cats in New York will no longer have to undergo painful declawing procedures under a new law. The law bans declawing except for therapeutic purposes. New York is the first in the nation to ban the procedure.

While we are on the subject of New York being a catfriendly state, we also have two thumbs up for the most pet-friendly cities in America.

If you are a pet living in Scottsdale, Arizona, life is good. The city in Maricopa County ranked number one in personal finance website WalletHub’s annual report of the most pet-friendly cities in the U.S. The survey takes into consideration things like minimum pet care provider rate per visit, number of dog parks, pet businesses, pet-friendly restaurants, pet meetup groups, number of animal shelters and pet friendliness of the rental market.

The Top 10 cities for pets are: 1. Scottsdale, Arizona; 2. Orlando, Florida; 3. Tampa, Florida; 4. Austin, Texas; 5. Phoenix, Arizona; 6. Las Vegas, Nevada; 7. Atlanta, Georgia; 8. St. Louis, Missouri; 9. Seattle, Washington; 10. Portland, Oregon.

If dog parks are important to you and your best friend, New York City; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Las Vegas; Henderson, Nevada and Boise, Idaho have the most dog parks per capita.

Their complaints about gulls stealing their chips, pizza and French fries led to the city paying $2,100 a day for the use of trained raptors—four hawks, two falcons and an owl—to scare the gulls away. But as a New York Times article points out, the raptors are certainly capable of killing gulls. And that would be unconscionable.

These beachgoers are likely the same people who have been feeding gulls along the boardwalk in the first place, assimilating them to human food. The truth is because of humans and fishing, traditional food sources for gulls are declining, so they’ve had to adapt and go for other food sources. Gulls are smart and will adapt to feeding from a food source if it remains available. Like other animals, seagulls will continue to return to food sources.

We don’t disagree with the idea that one of the best ways to put nature back into balance is to have predators. However, calling in falconers isn’t the same as letting nature take its course.

One visitor who has been coming to Ocean City for more than 30 years says she has developed a gull-proof system when she orders anything at the boardwalk: Cover the food, stay close to the stalls and never eat anything out in the open.

Modifying human behavior to live in harmony with wildlife instead of moaning about a bird’s existence is just the type of common-sense solution we support.

Winter 19/20 | 37

CANADA GOOSE PIN Protest the Canada Goose company that traps and kills coyotes to make its status symbol, goose down-filled coat. Pin is 3". $3

FOA LIGHTWEIGHT HOODIE

FLIP OFF FUR T-SHIRT

Unisex triblend full-zip lightweight hoodie. Modern fit, hood, front zip, and kangaroo pockets. Designed with a soft refined ribbed triblend fabric. Available in XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL.

"Don't be comfortable in their skin."

Polyester-Cotton-Rayon blend. Unisex sizes XS, S, M, L, XL.

FOA INSULATED REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE Matte Black or Blue

$24 including shipping

$36 including shipping

Shows your commitment to spay-neuter and animal adoption BPA- free, lead-free, chip resistant, leak proof and easy to clean

CATALOG ORDER FORM

SEND TO: Friends Of Animals, P.O. Box 150451 Hartford, Connecticut 0 6115-0451 PLEASE ALLOW 3-4 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY and make sure to include a phone number and email so if there is a problem with an order we can get in touch with you. Twenty-five percent of the total sale price of your purchase will help fund Friends of Animals’ programs. Please note we do not ship outside the US.

18/8 Stainless Steel construction, custom-made by Klean Kanteen ® Electropolished interior, a safe and non-toxic process Holds 20 oz. Double-wall vacuum insulation keeps drinks hot for 20 hours and iced for 50 hours

NAME

Hand washing is recommended for all insulated products $34 including shipping

ADDRESS

APARTMENT #

CITY

STATE

ZIP

QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION / COLOR

SIZE

My check or money order payable to Friends of Animals is enclosed

ANTI-FUR PIN Help get the message across this season. Pin and stickers are 1.5".

Please charge my:

Visa

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PHONE NUMBER AND EMAIL

GENDER

TOTAL PRICE

TOTAL MERCHANDISE ORDER _________________

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Pins: $1 each - Stickers: 50 for $2 SIGNATURE For your convenience, you may fax your credit card order to: 203–656–0267 or shop online at www.friendsofanimals.org.

38 | Friends of Animals

THANK YOU!

Non-profit Org. US Postage P A I D Friends of Animals

777 Post Road • Darien, CT 06820

Break the single-use plastic habit FOA INSULATED REUSABLE WATER BOTTLE

We know our members care about animals and the environment—so we created our new reusable “Don’t Litter” water bottle with that it mind. You can show your support for FoA’s spay-neuter program, which has reached more than 2.7 million cats and dogs, while breaking the single-use plastic habit—a win-win for human and non-human animals.

$34 INCLUDING SHIPPING MATTE BLACK OR BLUE • Shows your commitment to spay-neuter and animal adoption • BPA- free, lead-free, chip resistant, leak proof and easy to clean • 18/8 Stainless Steel construction, custom-made by Klean Kanteen ®

• Electropolished interior, a safe and non-toxic process New York City residents, please contact Council Speaker Corey Johnson • Holds 20 oz. Double-wall vacuum insulation keeps drinks hot at SpeakerJohnson@council.nyc.gov or at 212-564-7757 for 20 hours and iced for 50 hours and tell him to make sure the fur ban bill gets a vote in the Council.

• Hand washing is recommended for all insulated products If you don’t speak up for animals, the fur industry will.