WINTER 2015
ACTION LINE
MONKEY SEE, MONKEY FORCED TO DO NO SCIENCE OR BAD SCIENCE? TAKE YOUR PICK RANCHERS BULLY BLM AND SILENCE IS BROKEN FIGHTING FOR HOME WHERE YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO ROAM
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8 FEATURE Monkey See, Monkey Forced to Do
4 N EWS No Science or Bad Science? Take Your Pick 6 N EWS Victory Lap: The Latest News About FOA’s Advocacy
12 FEATURE Rancher’s Bully BLM and Silence is Broken 18 PHOTO ESSAY Greetings from Wyoming 20 FEATURE Fighting for Home Where Yellowstone Buffalo Roam 24 NEWS Farm to Table: Dining at G-Zen and The Stand in CT Redefines Eating Local 28 RESTAURANT REVIEW Watercourse Foods Becomes Vegan 30 BOOK REVIEW Southern Africa Safari: Beyond the Concrete Jungle 32 LETTERS 33 CHEERS & JEERS 34 FOA MERCHANDISE
Cover Illustration by Marcus Pierno The cover depicts our new anti-fur campaign. Please see page 7 for details.
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. CONTACT US NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 777 Post Road Darien, Connecticut 06820 (203) 656-1522 contact@friendsofanimals.org NEW YORK OFFICE 1841 Broadway, Suite 350 New York, NY 10023 (212) 247-8120 WESTERN OFFICE 7500 E. Arapahoe Rd., Ste 385 Cetennial, CO 80112 (720) 949-7791 PRIMARILY PRIMATES SANCTUARY P.O. Box 207 San Antonio, TX 7891-02907 (830) 755-4616 office@primarilyprimates.org VISIT US www.friendsofanimals.org www.primarilyprimates.org FOLLOW US facebook.com /friendsofanimals.org facebook.com /primarilyprimates.org 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 CLXIV Winter 2014–15 ISSN 107 2-2068
OUR TEAM PRESIDENT Priscilla Feral [CT] www.twitter.com/pferal www.twitter.com/primate_refuge feral@friendsofanimals.org VICE PRESIDENT Dianne Forthman [CT] dianne@friendsofanimals.org
BY PRISCILLA FERAL, PRESIDENT
IN MY VIEW
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Robert Orabona [CT] admin@friendsofanimals.org
HOMELESS ANIMALS NEED THE REAL DEAL
DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Dustin Rhodes [NC] dustin@friendsofanimals.org
Saying you’ve rescued a dog or cat seems to imply sainthood. However, only 30 percent of the animals being rescued by roughly 23 million U.S. residents each year come from shelters or rescue groups, where adoption fees range from $80 to $500 for dogs, and $25 to $100 for cats. The rest shop instead of adopt. And sometimes people who rescue or buy animals from breeders fail to make a lifelong commitment to their cat or dog. Labrador Retrievers are the most popular breed of dogs, and breeders sell puppies for $500 to $1,500. (My adoption fee for a Lab four years ago from a foster home was $250, which included vaccines and neutering.) Bulldog puppies sell for $1,500 to $3,000, which doesn’t stop their owners from posting ads to unload these dogs seven years later. One Facebook posting explained that the once treasured bulldog had to go after a new spouse became allergic to the dog. Other unexpected tragedies that consume owners read like this: “Rosie is 12 years old and losing her home as she nipped at the toddler. No broken skin, but the family is having another baby the end of the month, so Rosie has to go. Rosie is not a fan of other dogs, but healthy, civilized and currently in Delaware. Please share if you know anyone to give an old girl a corner in their heart.” Gasp. Are these people for real? Or this: “Oliver has been my mate for the past five years. After recently getting married [ Oh no, I can feel it coming…] and having a little guy who is 9 months old, I realize that Oliver is simply not going to adjust. If you can find the right fit for this amazing dog, it would be fantastic. He has to go within the next day or so. Thanks for your help.” These people are horrifying. Luckily, groups such as The Long Island Bulldog Rescue in New York exist to take in homeless dogs. LIBR took in 347 bulldogs last year. They euthanized three, one died in foster care, and six remained with the group at year end – an astonishing success record of adopting out 337 dogs of all ages. Some of the dogs who arrive at the rescue group suffer from behavioral issues, which means they need to be adopted by people who don’t have other animals or children. Patricia McLachlan, an LIBR staff member based in Connecticut said, “What I’d like people to know is that instead of looking to adopt a dog for selfish reasons, it would be so nice if more had only the dog’s interest at heart. So many will pass over a senior dog who needs someone to love them for
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT Donna Thigpen [CT] SECRETARY TO THE PRESIDENT Shelly Scott [CT] SPAY/NEUTER PROJECT Paula Santo [CT] DIRECTOR, WILDLIFE LAW PROGRAM Michael Harris [CO] michaelharris@friendsofanimals.org ASSOCIATE ATTORNEY Jenni Barnes [CO] jenniferbarnes@friendsofanimals.org ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Kaylee Dolan wlp-admin@friendsofanimals.org CAMPAIGNS DIRECTOR Edita Birnkrant [NY] www.twitter.com/EditaFoANYC edita@friendsofanimals.org CORRESPONDENT Nicole Rivard [CT] nrivard@friendsofanimals.org SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Meghan McIntire [CT] www.twitter.com/FoAorg mmcintire@friendsofanimals.org EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PPI Brooke Chavez [TX] brooke@primarilyprimates.org DESIGN MSLK Printed on Recycled Paper
the time they have left. I find there’s nothing more rewarding than adopting an old timer.” BEWARE OF ADOPTION SCAMS There are crooks out there peddling non-existent dogs. They package popular young puppies as hot commodities through newspaper ads, but when one shakes the ad down, it’s a scam; stolen credit cards have been used to place the ad, phone numbers and addresses are bogus. These individuals are just trying to swindle naïve people out of money for dogs who don’t exist. In the fall, while skimming classified ads in The Connecticut Post, I noticed a large ad titled “ATTENTION English Bulldog for Sale.” The ad described a 9-week-old male, housebroken puppy with champion lines and a limited registration with AKC. The ad also listed an asking price of $700, followed by a Hotmail address and a non-working phone number. After e-mailing a “Barbara Cooper,” the return e-mail said “their babies had been sold…” but Donald Dias, “a very good friend,” should be written because he had recently left for Sacramento, Calif. with two 11-week old bulldog puppies to care for his son with cancer. I wrote him at another Hotmail address. He sent stock photos of puppies named “Lovely” and “Terry,” and stressed that “the dogs needed a new home and were for sale for $800 each or $1,300 for both, shipping included.” Next, Dias wrote: “I was given the puppies as a birthday gift. How much are you willing to pay for one? Let me know the amount you have, the money is not the problem. I just want a good home for the puppies. I don’t know what you mean by you will need to see them ahead of commitment, cause (sic) as I said before I’m located in Sacramento, Calif…Can you send half of the money and I will ship the puppy to you?” Dias specifically asked for a money gram and the nearest airport with my full address. When I wrote that my friend in Sacramento wanted his physical address to see the dogs, Dias disappeared. After a wake-up call to The Post, the newspaper yanked the ad, and the same action followed after we found and reported identical ads in The Dallas Morning News, The Daily Democrat and a string of other papers across the states. Please don’t be taken in by desperate ads where someone wants to seize your money for animals you’ll never see, and remember to adopt, not shop, and always spay or neuter.
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STORY BY JAY MALLONEE • PHOTOS BY JOHN HYDE
NO SCIENCE OR BAD SCIENCE? TAKE YOUR PICK
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH WOLF MANAGEMENT, FOLLOW THE MONEY...NOT THE SCIENCE.
4 | Friends of Animals
In 2011, I published a scientific paper that reviewed the wolf population data collected annually by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP). It showed that no protocols were used to collect their numbers, which invalidated FWP’s claim that science was used during the process. The paper also debunked their justifications for killing wolves in the first place. Nevertheless, FWP insists to this day that science is always used in their management process and when making policy decisions. Let’s see if that’s true. By killing wolves via public hunts and agency control actions, FWP ignores the available science that demonstrates how predators promote healthy ecosystems. From atop all food chains, predators produce far-reaching effects that ripple downward throughout
ecosystems and influence what diseases will be expressed, what grass species will grow, and the quality of both fresh and salt water. Regardless, wolves are harvested by FWP for money and convenience, like corn. Why? The most obvious answer is because “they can.” Although most of the wolves live in national forests, which the public own, society as a whole has not yet chosen to protect “their wolves.” So wolf managers do whatever suits them. In this case, FWP is currently strapped for money and must continually look for additional sources of revenue. Profits from hunting wolves and other wildlife contribute, and they are making plans to sell conservations stamps to help fund wolf management. However, there is another problem.
Over the past several years it has become more difficult for only five FWP biologists to count, or even sample accurately, the entire wolf population in Montana. Therefore, FWP has no idea how many wolves total live in the state. Nevertheless, they are required by the federal government to maintain a minimum population of 100 wolves that includes 10 breeding pairs. The remainder can be killed. But how many? Who’s counting? As of this year, FWP will use “... hunter observations as a cost effective means of gathering biological data to estimate the area occupied by wolves in Montana...” according to their 2013 annual report. In August 2012, FWP conducted a survey of public attitudes towards wolves. In general, they found that Montanans were intolerant of wolves and dissatisfied with FWP for not doing enough to kill them, and allowing the public to do so. Hunting quotas have increased ever since, along with more relaxed hunting regulations. Now, as a basis for management policy, FWP wants to obtain “objective data” from the people who paid for the opportunity to kill wolves. Data are the infrastructure of any scientific investigation and should be collected using a scientific protocol that controls for and eliminates as much bias as possible. Impressions about wolf abundance from hunters is not science, because FWP has not controlled for bias during data collection.
For example: • The hunters’ expertise of identifying wolves from coyotes under field conditions, especially at a distance, has never been evaluated. • Hunters are not necessarily trained to collect data scientifically, i.e., always measure print size and is it a front or back paw? Is it a partial print? What device was used to measure the prints: a ruler or their finger? • If scat is found, what is the diameter? The size of scats overlaps among wolves and coyotes. Do hunters know the difference? No such qualifying questions or observations are made in the online observation form that hunters and others will fill out. Because they know bias is possible, FWP claims they have a modeling system that will correct for it. But this is after the data has been collected. Models are used by scientists to help interpret raw data but remain simplified reflections of reality, often devoid of the actual complexities involved. Therefore, data collection is paramount, because conclusions based on modeling are only as good as the quality of data being used. In other words, correct for bias during data collection rather than afterwards. So, has FWP learned how to apply their knowledge of science over the past several years? Let’s just say that ultimately, if you want to know what is happening with wolf manage-
ment, follow the money, or lack of it. Money first, science... well, last anyway—or not at all. Jay Mallonee has studied wolves since 1992 and has written extensively about them in his scientific publications, magazines, newspapers and on his website (www.wolfandwildlifestudies. com). This site contains a link to his online petition to end the hunting and trapping of wolves in Montana. The petition is an essay that provides live links to the scientific evidence that shows killing predators degrades ecosystems all over the world. Mallonee also wrote the book Timber—A Perfect Life, an account of his 16-year relationship with a profound canine companion.
Winter 2014 | 5
VICTORY LAP STORIES AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICOLE RIVARD
THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT FOA’S ADVOCACY COMMUNITY SUPPORT RESULTS IN RECORD-BREAKING FUNDRAISER FOR PPI Primarily Primates (PPI), the sanctuary that Friends of Animals has been managing in San Antonio, Texas, since 2007, made history over the summer when it held its most successful fundraiser to date, raising $13,000. The dinner and silent auction event took place at Green Vegetarian Cuisine at the Pearl Brewery location in San Antonio. “This year’s ‘Hoedown’ was our biggest, most successful fundraiser ever,” said Dustin Rhodes, development director for Friends of Animals. “Brooke and Joseph, and so many lovely volunteers, put together a spectacular evening of delicious food, music, dancing and learning about Primarily Primates’ life-saving work. All of the money from ‘Hoedown’ goes for the lifelong care of our 400 plus residents who call Primarily At the 13th Annual Shindig Festival of Vegan Living at the Catskill Animal Sanctuary, people of all ages learned about the benefits of a plant-based diet. One education station focused on cows and the horrors of the dairy industry.
6 | Friends of Animals
Primates home. We’re so grateful to members of the San Antonio community, who came out to show so much love for the sanctuary.” Approximately 145 attendees enjoyed vegan food and bid on 67 silent auction items while enjoying a wonderful Bluegrass band. The crowd spilled outdoors and the weather was beautiful. People even came from Houston and one attendee won an original painting of Jason, a chimp at PPI, for $600. It was painted by local artist Charles Ingram, especially for the event. “We are grateful for the community’s kindness in helping Primarily Primates provide the animals a wonderful life; their support makes all the difference,” added Brooke Chavez, executive director. “Thank you to all of our selfless volunteers, without you, this special day would not have been possible.” In related news, Primarily Primates is joining the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance and being accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries—both of which are the premiere associations of the refuge world. PPI will be able to save more animals who are exploited by the exotic pet trade and the vivisection industry as a result. FOA RAISES AWARENESS ABOUT PLANT-BASED LIFESTYLES In October, Friends of Animals (FoA) participated in the “13th Annual Shindig Festival of Vegan Living” at Catskill Animal Sanctuary in New York and 15th annual World Veg Festival in San Francisco. At the World Vegfest, FoA’s Campaigns Director Edita Birnkrant, presented a lecture entitled “Is it Enough to say ‘End Factory Farming’ or ‘Go Vegan’?” She discussed how a push to “end factory farming” and replace it with “happy meat” by companies like Whole Foods and others who claim to care about animal welfare is really a marketing ploy that inadvertently sabotages the vegan movement. She also talked about why boycotting palm oil can help save orangutans and Sumatran tigers and elephants from extinction, and how a vegan lifestyle goes beyond what’s on your plate and also involves ongoing efforts to peacefully co-existing with all wildlife.
THIS P IG FROM , AMELIA, WAS R A ES HOAR N UPSTATE DER. A NEW Y CUED T THE ORK A FESTI 13TH VAL O NIMAL F A N V GOT T O SEE EGAN LIVIN NUAL SHIN DI AM G, ATT MUD A ENDEE G ND SN ELIA RUN S A OOZE IN THE ROUND IN T H SUNS E HINE
At the Catskill Animal Sanctuary in New York, people of all ages celebrated compassionate living throughout the day by stopping at education stations with rescued animals throughout the sanctuary, like the one that read “Learn About Cows,” where a staff member talked about the horrors of the dairy industry as cows and calves mingled with attendees. Visitors also got to watch vegan cooking demos like spaghetti and ‘wheatballs,’ hear inspirational lectures like that presented by Tim Van Orden who has thrived as a vegan athlete, and buy vegan products like Treeline Cheese, Gone Pie desserts and Fanciful Fox soaps and bath and body items. Sanctuary staff members reported that they had a lot of first-time visitors to the sanctuary and for some of them they tried their first vegan meal. They were also thrilled to see new T-shirts and sweatshirts proudly worn, and for everyone to see the animals who call the sanctuary home as they are supposed to be—free, happy and loved. From our merchandise table, we got a watch Amelia, who came to CAS as a tiny piglet, run around and play in the mud and snooze in the sunshine. Amelia
was rescued from an upstate New York animal hoarder with a long history of horrific abuse. Many deaths by starvation, neglect and injury had occurred at the hands of this woman. Staff members say Amelia runs to greet anyone who calls her name, chuffing and snorting a big hello. For information about Catskill Animal Sanctuary, visit www.casantuary.org. FOA LAUNCHES NEW ANTI-FUR CAMPAIGN In the fall Friends of Animals launched a new antifur campaign comprised of a billboard at 7th Avenue between 48th and 49th Street in New York City, the fashion capital of the world, as well as social media components. The ad theme — #FlipOffFur— uses an image of a fox, a gesture and a hashtag to create a social media trend that takes on fur-wearers everywhere. (see ad page 31) This is the latest of several hard-hitting campaigns encouraging people not to buy fur and to protest the fur industry that condones and profits off of animal pain, suffering and death. Like previous campaigns, the latest one strikes at the heart of attempts to portray fur as glamorous during the key fur-buying season and will be seen by millions of shoppers, tourists and New Yorkers. Winter 2014 | 7
M O NKEY SEE MONKEY FORCED TO DO A recently introduced Senate bill threatens to further legitimize Helping Hands, an outdated and inhumane primate “training facility” located in Boston, when it should be shut down permanently. STORY BY MEG MCINTIRE • ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARCUS PIERNO
8 | Friends of Animals
Situated on a quiet street in Boston, directly between a church and luxury apartments, sits an unassuming grey building set back from the sidewalk and covered by trees. If you were to pay any attention to it, you would most likely guess it was a community center or maybe an administration office for a college nearby. No one would guess that it is, in fact, a training facility where capuchin monkeys are subjected to intensive and abusive training rituals involving reward and punishment techniques that forcibly mold these intelligent and spry primates into “service animals.” Or, as Helping Hands calls it, the “Monkey College.” Created in 1979, Helping Hands: “Monkey Helpers for the Disabled” has spent the last 30 years attempting to convince the public that high-energy, curious and extremely intelligent primates are an acceptable service pet for people with paralyzing disabilities, despite the fact that their needs could just as effectively and easily be met by the use of robotic equipment. “Monkeys are not domesticated animals,” said April D. Truitt, founder and executive director of the Primate Rescue Center, based in Nicholasville, Kentucky. “They cannot be made so in one generation or 20.” After enduring scrutiny and criticism from concerned individuals and groups like Friends of Animals and Primarily Primates during the late 80’s and early 90’s, Helping Hands now goes to great lengths to keep its cruel training methods and internal workings hidden from the public.
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Since capuchins are a highly social species, it is only natural that problems occur when they are forced to spend their lives in almost complete isolation from monkeys like themselves. Repeated attacks on trainers and patients by the capuchin monkeys in the program were reported during 1989 after a zoologist who supervised the training of monkeys for Helping Hands came forward and revealed the truth the organization had been working to conceal. In one interview, the zoologist explained, “These animals, and their human patients, are being totally exploited for a futile and dangerous program.” Disturbing and painful training methods were also disclosed, with previous employees of Helping Hands testifying that electric shock packs were attached around the monkey’s waist during training and “delivered the equivalent of the charge felt in a typical electric cattle fence” whenever it did something deemed undesirable by trainers. Painful and deforming full-mouth dental extractions were also performed on the capuchin monkeys that bit their owners and trainers. Today, Helping Hands has made it very difficult for any member of the public to glimpse its training methods. Based on one of the most recent training guides Helping Hands distributes to “foster parents” and owners of the monkeys, it is obvious the organization intends to distance itself from barbaric training exercises. Now, the guide insists that “love and the comfort of the monkey” are what dictates training practices and “praise, rewards, and timeouts” are the primary tools used
10 | Friends of Animals
in rendering these primates suitable for assistive purposes. Despite whatever politically correct language Helping Hands has started adopting for its training methods, the cruelty of the program is still very much apparent if you are to attend one of their “show and tell” workshops at convention centers and watch as a trainer leads around a diaper-clad capuchin on a leash or read testimonies by foster parents and owners of the monkeys on web forums. A website teeming with questions and answers by concerned capuchin owners, entitled “Information on Primates in the Private Sector,” reveals some of the horrendous problems faced when bringing a primate into their homes. One user begins by saying, “I have a Helping Hands monkey... (who) is going to be 9 years old this year. It has been a long hard time with him as he is aggressive and dominating, and a very bad biter...” Another starts with a question asking, “Does anyone have any advice on his ingrained habit of picking at a sore on his body ‘til its bloody?” The issues are seemingly endless with questions ranging from what to do if the capuchin is terrified of human contact to how to give away your capuchin if you can no longer afford to keep it. And it is no surprise that capuchin owners turn to the Internet and each other when care questions arise. In 2010, Helping Hands also found itself in the middle of lawsuit after one of the “foster parents” the organization uses to house monkeys in between owners, refused to surrender a monkey named Gabby back to the program,
claiming she had adopted the capuchin. Helping Hands insisted that the monkey needed to be returned to the organization because it was not being properly trained and cared for. However, the foster parent argued that Helping Hands did not provide a care manual or training as it claimed, and did not respond to her questions about caring for the monkey for more than nine months. Given all of this, it is almost unbelievable that the organization may be on the verge of being granted special privileges from a new primate safety law. Senate Bill S.1463, the Captive Primate Safety Act, was introduced in Congress in 2013 and at first glance, it seems like a step forward in the plight of captive primates. But a closer look at the details reveals this is most certainly not the case. The bill, which makes it unlawful for a person to import, export, transport, sell or acquire primates in interstate or foreign commerce, includes two exclusions. One is for a “licensed and inspected person who does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species.” The other exemption is described as, “transporting a single primate of the genus Cebus that was obtained from and trained by a charitable organization to assist a permanently disabled individual with a severe mobility impairment.” Unsurprisingly, there are very few organizations but Helping Hands that fall into this category and are able to reap the benefits of being effectively considered “above the law.” As mentioned previously, this organization needs to be exempted
or face the downfall of its operation because it is currently not USDA-licensed. This is despite the fact that its breeding colony is maintained at Southwick Zoo in Boston. If Helping Hands was licensed, it would not require the specific exemptions written into this bill, since USDA licensees are exempt. As if legitimizing Helping Hands is not bad enough, the passage of this federal measure would also be a step backward, as it would outstrip stronger laws in other states, such as Connecticut, that prevent privatization of nonhuman apes, monkeys and prosimians. After only scratching the surface of the problems and pain Helping Hands is causing, it is clear that the only legislation that should be passed is one that closes the doors on this cruel and inhumane program for good.
TAKE ACTION CONTACT YOUR STATE’S MEMBERS OF CONGRESS Ask them to vote NO on the passage of bill S.1463, the Captive Act, as it currently stands and wait until a bill can be drafted that properly protects primates from the pet-trade industry and does not exempt cruel primate-training facilities or weaken other state laws. DONATE TO PRIMARILY PRIMATES Please consider donating to our partner sanctuary, Primarily Primates in Texas, which is home to 75 capuchin monkeys who have been rescued from medical research or the pet trade. With your support, they are able to now spend their days with each other, free from cruelty and abuse.
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PHOTO BY NICOLE RIVARD
Wild horses are being imprisoned at the Rock Springs Holding Facility in Wyoming instead of being able to live wild and free because ranchers don’t want them on public land they need for their cattle and sheep.
BY NICOLE RIVARD
RANCHERS BULLY BLM AND SILENCE IS BROKEN 12 | Friends of Animals
The BLM is keeping wild horses at extremely low numbers, forcing them to live in dismal holding pens instead of wild and free. Six states have already lost their wild horse populations— Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. FOA traveled to Wyoming twice to confront the BLM protest the latest roundups and expose how their abuse is far reaching. Winter 2014 | 13
W
hen animal control officers from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture seized two wild mustang mares, Chinook and Cheyenne, from Lisa Lind-Larsen of Redding back in July, it was obvious the horses were dangerously thin. But Dr. Thor Hyypa, the vet on call for the state of Connecticut who has treated horses for 30 years, testified during a civil enforcement hearing in Hartford County Courthouse Sept. 4 that the situation was worse than it looked—neither horse had any fat content, which means they lacked any nutritional reserve to bolster their immune system, making them susceptible to disease. Lind-Larsen, who adopted the wild horses from the Bureau of Land Management’s Wild Horse and Burro Adoption program in 2004, is facing animal cruelty charges in addition to the civil complaint aimed at ending her ownership of the horses. Friends of Animals has been in court for Lind-Larsen’s pretrial hearings to show support for the prosecution and to make sure she doesn’t get Chinook and Cheyenne returned to her. This case hits home for FoA, as we have been busy protesting the BLM’s abusive wild horse roundups since the summer. Chinook, 14, was ripped from her family and rounded up on Jan. 8, 2002 in Antelope Valley, Nevada. Cheyenne, 13, was rounded up and taken from her family on Aug. 11, 2003, in Sulphur, Utah. FoA’s protests come on the heels of the organization and the Cloud Foundation filing a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list North American wild horses on public lands as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act since the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, which was passed in 1971, has failed to protect our wild horses. Six states have already lost their wild horse populations—Missouri, Iowa, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. There are only approximately 41,000 wild horses roaming public lands, and our petition states the majority of wild equid populations managed by the BLM are kept at population sizes that are small enough for the loss of genetic variation to be a real concern. The petition would provide needed legislation to stop roundups. 14 | Friends of Animals
ON THE FRONTLINES Friends of Animals sprang into action after learning in July that the BLM’s scheduled wild horse roundup would eliminate almost all wild horses (at least 800) on the 1.2 million acre checkerboard of one-mile square sections of private and public land within three Herd Management Areas in Wyoming. We joined four other wild horse advocacy groups and organized a protest and press conference outside the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meeting on Aug. 24 in Riverton, Wy. We were there to say what others aren’t willing to say: The BLM needs to lower the number of cattle and sheep on public lands, not horses, and stop being bullied by ranchers. BLM’s own livestock data for Beaver County and Iron County, Utah, for example, shows that cows and sheep outnumber wild horses 10.6:1 in these areas. The horrific impact that cattle and sheep have on public lands is also documented by scientists at the Western Watersheds Project and other organizations. A retired BLM employee has come forward and expressed to Friends of Animals how irresponsible it is for anyone to claim that wild horses are having a significant negative impact on resources. “What I have seen on the ground in my 30 years of experience is that the resources out there are severely depleted by the excessive numbers of cattle and sheep that are out there,” said Bob Edwards, a range scientist and veteran of the BLM. “And this goes back many, many years. The agencies have just not been willing, in my view, to do their job. And do what needs to be done to take care of the resources out there, which would mean removing livestock. It’s really what needs to be done for the resources to improve. …These native habitats on our public land are not suited to livestock use.” Edwards is adamant that the political pressure applied continually on the BLM by ranchers who have permits to run their cattle and sheep on public lands is driving the removal of the wild horses. “Most of them are of the attitude that they would like to remove all the wild horses because they are consuming some of the
grass that their cows eat,” Edwards said. “The ranchers have lobbying efforts of course in Washington, like the American Farm Bureau Federation, and so forth. “Even though the law says the BLM has to keep wild horses down to certain numbers—when they established the herd units they set a number that they aren’t supposed to exceed—but I have never been convinced that those numbers were set according to proper allocation of resources. I think there were some politics behind a lot of it.” The bullying of the BLM by ranchers is evident in Wyoming. In 2010 the government invited the 50-member Rock Springs Grazing Association to sue the BLM to secure funding for wild horse roundups. Two years later, BLM settled the case by capitulating to RSGA demands to eliminate wild horses on the Wyoming Checkerboard. Like in Utah, in Wyoming livestock far outnumber wild horses. There are 356,222 cattle; 45,206 sheep; and 1,912 wild horses, within the three HMAs targeted for roundup. When an emergency motion to block the wild horse roundup in the Wyoming Checkerboard filed by wild horse advocates was denied, FoA could not stand back and do nothing, so we followed up the August protest with a civil disobedience Sept. 22. As two helicopters ripped 20 stallions, 11 mares and five colts from their families at the Bar X District Line Trap in the Great Divide Basin Herd Management Area of Wyoming that day, FoA and supporters protested at the Rock Springs Holding Facility. As we waited for supporters from Kansas, Wyoming and Utah to arrive, we could see and hear foals whinnying to their families who they were cruelly separated from in the holding pens. A man on horseback chased one group of horses from one enclosure to another, trying to break their spirit and make them more “adoptable.” Fueled by the scene in front of them, around 10:30 a.m., 13 protesters marched from the public viewing area of the facility to the main gate leading to the holding pens carrying banners and signs and chanting, “Stop the roundups, stop the pain, BLM is to blame,” “Let them
PHOTO BY MEG MCINTIRE
NY Campaigns Director Edita Birnkrant leads a protest at the Rock Springs Holding Facility in Wyoming on Sept. 22.
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IN MEMORIAM
Friends of Animals has received kind donations in memory of the following individuals:
A RETIRED BLM EMPLOYEE HAS EXPRESSED TO FRIENDS OF ANIMALS HOW IRRESPONSIBLE IT IS FOR ANYONE TO CLAIM THAT WILD HORSES ARE HAVING A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE IMPACT ON RESOURCES. be, wild and free,” and “BLM lies, horses die” as BLM staff and local sheriffs looked on. Protesters also put up crime scene tape across the gate. The group then descended upon the BLM’s Rock Springs Field Office and entered the main lobby of the building with banners and posters, chanting and again making speeches through the megaphone. A FLAWED ADOPTION PROGRAM While in Wyoming, FoA learned details about the Adoption Program, which the BLM projects as a win-win for adopters and wild horses instead of a disaster waiting to happen, like the abuse case in Redding, Conn. “Adopters are supposed to be screened and supposed to be able to properly care for and train wild horses when they are adopted, but there are cases that it just doesn’t happen that way and the horses are the ones who pay the price,” Edwards said. “What you are talking about [in Connecticut] is definitely not an isolated case. “I’ve seen situations when I worked for the BLM where it ended up being a really bad situation. The horse was too old and set in its ways. It would take a lot
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of patience with a very experienced handler to deal with a situation like that. And a lot of these people who adopt are not in that category. It’s a situation that should be avoided.” Even though the BLM doesn’t talk about it much, says Edwards, it’s hard to adopt wild horses out now because the demand is fairly saturated. Most people who know horses would prefer to adopt a domesticated horse. And the number of domesticated horses who also need homes in the United States is staggering—according to an article in the Journal of American Science in 2010, the number of unwanted domesticated horses is estimated at 100,000 per year. The estimated maximum capacity for the 326 eligible registered nonprofit equine rescue facilities of 13,400 is well below the widely published estimate of 100,000 horses that become unwanted annually. As BLM roundups continue to compound the overall problem of horse homelessness in America, FoA fears that the BLM will begin sending horses directly to slaughter. From the BLM’s holding facilities, the horses are not supposed to be sent to slaughter. However, it has already happened since Congress passed a bill in 2005 to make it legal for the BLM to sell wild horses outright. (Previously titles to horses were not turned over until a year after the adoption date. ) In 2005, 35 horses bought by the Sioux Indians and an unnamed Oklahoma man ended up at slaughter. In 2013 the Interior Department Office of the Inspector General launched an investigation of the sale of 1,700 wild mustangs who have gone missing to rancher and livestock hauler Tom Davis from 2008 to 2012. Also last year the Wild Horse Freedom Federation obtained proof that a BLM long term holding facility contractor sold wild horses directly to a kill buyer. THE PUBLIC IS IN THE DARK Edwards wants the public to be aware of the damage cattle and sheep are doing to their lands so they could join the efforts to protect wild horses and prevent them from being removed from their homes on the range.
CAROL SANATAR
MATTHEW LAGRECA
MR. CURRY
BETTY M. WALTERS
MARION POWELL FREEMAN
JELLY BEAN
DONALD J. LAWATCH
BETTY KATZ
SMOKEY AND KAHLUA
GARLAN GLOVER
TRACY L. CAHRENGER
ZOE
WHISKERS
ALICE CORKREY
FLORETTA
DANIEL CATALFAMO
MINDY KRAWIEC’S GRANDMOTHER
SADIE
ARISTINE COKER ERNEST TOSCANO WALTER ZOLLER DR. DON ROGERS, JR. ALBERTA DIPAOLO’S MOTHER EDWARD NESDILL
ARI
BOO CHRISTA FRIEDMAN
DESTINY AND JULIET
HALEY
VAUGHN
EMMA
NEVIN ALPERT
BEN FERRANTE’S DOG
BELLINI
SALENA
SPITZER
“Cattle and sheep don’t need to be grazing on public lands at all,” Edwards said. “Out of the total number of livestock that are produced in this country, 98 percent is coming from private lands. Only two percent is all that is coming off public land in the west. It’s completely insignificant the amount of beef that is coming off of public lands,” Edwards said. “The general public does not know what is going on. If we had a way to inform and educate the general public I think there would be enough of a movement that the policies of what’s happening with the livestock on public lands now would have to start to change.”
TAKE ACTION SUPPORT ESA LISTING FOR WILD HORSES Tell Joan Guilfoyle, Division Chief, BLM Division of Wild Horses and Burros program, to stop being bullied and remove cattle and sheep from public lands and to support FoA’s petition to get wild horses listed under the Endangered Species Act. Write to her at: 20 M Street SE Washington DC, Call: 202.912.7260 Email: jguilfoy@blm.gov HELP THE SAFE ACT GET APPROVED The SAFE Act is the latest federal effort to ban horse slaughter in the U.S. and the export of American equines for slaughter. The Senate version remains stalled in the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Send a message to committee chairman U.S. Senator Tom Harkin to at http://www.harkin.senate.gov/ contact.cfm and tell him to approve SAFE Act so it could become law. Call him at 202-224-3254.
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PHOTO ESSAY BY NICOLE RIVARD While in Wyoming, Friends of Animals experienced the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Tour. We began in Rock Springs, and drove 23 miles along gravel-base roads on the mesa-like summit of White Mountain. Along the way we searched the range for wild horses and then we were bursting with excitement when we spotted the first group—four chestnut wild horses. We got out of the car and time froze as the wild horses stopped to look at us and then closed the distance between us when they realized we didn’t present a danger. We will never forget the pungent smell of sage that filled the air or the quiet that enveloped us as we took in their beauty and wildness. We were lucky to see several bands of horses from the White Mountain herd, who were safe from roundup this year but are targeted next year. The allure of these precious wild horses, enjoying the company of their families and romping around with each other, was accented by views of the Wyoming Range to the west, the Wind River Range to the northeast and the Uinta Range to the south. Instead of rounding up horses from public lands, Wyoming should be investing more in creating more scenic tours like this so the public can experience these incredible animals.
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COMPILED BY NICOLE RIVARD
FIGHTING FOR HOME WHERE YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO ROAM 20 | Friends of Animals
ellowstone National Park, the Montana Department of Livestock and other government agencies behind the Interagency Bison Management Plan are planning to slaughter 900 buffalo this winter under the guise of “disease risk management” even though there has never been a documented case of a wild buffalo transmitting brucellosis—a bacterial disease that affects livestock and wildlife— to cattle. In an effort to avert the bloodshed, Friends of Animals and the Buffalo Field Campaign filed an emergency rulemaking petition (see sidebar page 22) Sept. 15, 2014 with the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to protect the genetic diversity and viability of the buffalo of Yellowstone National Park. We are requesting that the NPS and USFS undertake a population study and revise the management plan to correct scientific deficiencies, make it consistent with the best available science and follow the legal mandates the U.S. Congress has set. Until then, the groups are also demanding that the capture, removal or killing of buffalo at the Stephens Creek area of Yellowstone National Park and the Horse Butte area of the Gallatin National Forest be prohibited. “Yellowstone National Park and other federal agencies are required to follow the best available science and not the latest political whims of Montana,” said Daniel Brister, executive director of Buffalo Field
Campaign. “Our joint petition seeks redress to ensure the buffalo are protected for future generations. The IBMP currently is heavily weighted in favor of protecting the profits of the livestock industry at the expense and peril of our nation’s only continuously wild buffalo population.” Every winter and spring, snow and ice cover the buffalo’s food and hunger pushes them to lower elevations across the park boundary in Montana. When they cross this arbitrary line, the buffalo enter a zone of violent conflict with ranchers. Last winter 653 buffalo were slaughtered, and back in the winter of 2007/2008, the largest scale wild buffalo slaughter claimed the lives of 1,631 animals. At the turn of the 20th century, similar reckless behavior nearly drove buffalo to extinction. Brister first became aware of the plight of wild buffalo during the winter of 1996-1997, a year when almost 1,100 were slaughtered, and immediately started volunteering for the Buffalo Field Campaign, which was created in the spring of 1997. Read here about the Buffalo Field Campaign’s work and how you can stay informed and help protect the buffalo.
1997. BFC was co-founded by Lakota activist Rosalie Little Thunder and Mike Mease. Mease, a videographer, had been documenting the killing for several years and sending his footage to environmental, animal rights and tribal leaders in an effort to create change. After seeing some of his footage, Rosalie organized a prayer ceremony near Gardiner, Montana, which was attended by many, including tribal leaders, Yellowstone National Park employees, Mease and others. While an invitation had been extended to the Montana Department of Livestock, the agency’s employees decided instead to shoot and kill a group of buffalo just a few miles away. The gunshots disrupted the ceremony and when Rosalie crossed a fence line to pray over their bodies and send them to the next world in the proper manner, she was arrested. Mease went to the jail to interview her upon release, the two of them got to talking about establishing a permanent presence along the Yellowstone boundary to protect the buffalo and share their story with the world, and Buffalo Field Campaign was born.
Can you discuss the origins of the BFC?
Volunteers rise before dawn and cross country ski (or hike or ride mountain bikes, depending on the season and conditions) along the Yellowstone boundary, monitoring and documenting the buffalo
While I didn’t create Buffalo Field Campaign, I was one of the earliest volunteers and have been working with the Campaign since December
Can you talk about your field work? What is the purpose of the patrols? What is a typical day like?
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RULE MAKING PETITION AT A GLANCE
migration and working to stop the slaughter. All field patrols are equipped with video cameras and two-way radios, and we document every move made against the buffalo by state and federal agencies. The information gained on patrol is shared with members of the public, elected officials and anyone who cares for wild buffalo. What accomplishment are you most proud of since you started the BFC?
When Buffalo Field Campaign started, the primary management tool of the agencies involved was to shoot or send to slaughter every buffalo that migrated in Montana. While many buffalo are still slaughtered when they enter the state, our presence and the information
we have shared with the American public have helped to create greater tolerance for buffalo along the western and northern boundaries of Yellowstone. Our work has helped to inform hundreds of thousands of people around the world about how special the population is and has created activists of thousands of people who care enough about wild buffalo to take action on their behalf. You have been around buffalo for 17 years. What have you witnessed, or learned about buffalo, that would surprise the American public the most?
The buffalo’s sense of community is astounding. When they travel through deep snow they often walk in single file, the lead buffalo taking on the exhausting work of breaking
trail while those in the rear having an easier time walking in the hoofsteps of their herd-mates. When the lead buffalo grows tired he or she will step to the side of the trail allowing a new buffalo to assume the lead and then falling in behind his or her herd-mates on the easier-to-walk and well-established trail through the snow. When being pursued by wolves a mixed herd of buffalo will form a circle with the stronger and larger bulls facing outward around the outer rim, facing the predators. Calves and weaker, injured, and older members of the herds will be near the center of the circle, protected by the out rim of outward facing bulls. Like elephants, buffalo show signs of mourning. During the hunt, we have witnessed them circling up around a fallen member of the herd and even nudging their heads under and trying to lift the fallen one back onto his feet. On at least one instance we have seen a group of buffalo gather in a circle around the bones of a buffalo that had died in that spot a year earlier. These ‘ceremonies’ are fairly common and are one of many examples of the buffalo’s social structure. In addition to showing support for the rulemaking petition you filed with Friends of Animals, what else can people do to help protect buffalo?
The current Interagency Bison Management Plan is set to expire in
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“Right now the buffalo of Yellowstone National Park are being managed based largely upon misinformation regarding the genetic viability of the herds,” said Mike Harris, director of Friends of Animals’ Wildlife Law Program. “The petition is asking the federal agencies responsible for protecting these animals make an effort to establish stronger scientific criteria to protect the viability of the remaining Yellowstone herds, and to stop slaughtering the last 4,000 genetically pure bison left in the United States.”
The primary problem with the current management approach is genetically pure buffalo are being killed, resulted in a smaller, more homogeneous population less susceptible to survival.
Among other things, the Petition seeks: • Management based upon scientifically justified herd size that ensure a viable gene pool and integrity of buffalo herds; • New viability numbers for buffalo that take into account the northern range and central herds, and potential additional herd distinctions within the population; • A prohibition on the practice of transporting bison around to achieve genetic diversity or viable herd size number; and • The immediate end to killing of buffalo this coming winter at Stephens Creek area of Yellowstone National Park and Horse Butte area of the Gallatin National Forest
2015 and the U.S. government and the state of Montana will be drafting a new plan to replace it. Public involvement in this process is vital to countering the immense amount of pressure that the livestock industry will bring to bear in the process. Buffalo Field Campaign shares up-to-date news and information on every aspect of buffalo management in our weekly email updates from the field. Anyone interested in wild buffalo can subscribe to these updates at www.buffalofieldcampaign.org to keep apprised of any opportunities for public comment. Each update contains a take action component, with direct links to decision makers. Has there been more recent legislation introduced since the 2005
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act that supporters can tell their representatives to support?
While there is currently no legislation before the U.S. Congress, people can always contact their legislators to inform them of the wild buffalo and their need for protection. In addition to legislation, we have helped to create initiatives designed to freeze federal funding of buffalo slaughter operations and investigative reports by the Government Accountability Office. We are actively working with members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and will share direct actions people can take. Do you fear that if nothing changes that the National Park Service and the Montana Department of
Livestock will manage buffalo to extinction in your lifetime?
I believe that if nothing changes and that the NPS and Montana Department of Livestock continue to manage buffalo as they have been doing, wild buffalo may go extinct. By slaughtering buffalo without regard to which herd they come from and treating the Yellowstone population as a single heterogeneous herd, the buffalo face an irreversible crippling of the gene pool. With each intensive management action a little more of the wildness that makes the herds so unique is eroded. Even if not pushed to extinction, current management practices threaten to erode or destroy the buffalo’s wildness.
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PHOTO BY MEG MCINTIRE
Ami Shadle tends to her vegetables in the greenhouse at her farm in Durham, Conn.
FARM TO TABLE DINING AT G-ZEN AND THE STAND IN CONNECTICUT REDEFINES EATING LOCAL
G-Zen Restaurant By Meg McIntire
“This used to be a peace sign at one point,” Mark Shadle says, gesturing to a large circle of tangled wildflowers in the middle of the backyard where there are just enough orange geraniums visible to make a faint outline of a peace symbol. “But we’ve been letting nature take its course for a little while now,” he continues, pointing out the honey bees diligently canvassing some of the many varieties of plants now present in this former peace patch. Even without a discernible, planted peace symbol, it is obvious that being at peace with nature is in abundance at the home of Mark and Ami Shadle, chef/owners of award-winning vegan G-Zen restaurant and bio diesel-fueled Gmonkey food truck. The couple has worked incredibly hard to turn a 270-year-old historic farm in Durham, Conn., into a fully sustainable and eco-friendly farm and home. Despite the fact that the land had not been tended to for 30 years prior to when Mark and Ami came into possession of it, they were able to transform it into viable farmland
24 | Friends of Animals
by planting a variety of different vegetables, fruits and herbs. Now, they are more than willing to share the fruits (and veggies) of their labor by using everything they grow on the farm as ingredients for dishes served at G-Zen restaurant and Gmonkey. During a late-summer visit, the farm’s greenhouse was sheltering rows upon rows of arugula, kale, bok choy, tomatoes and more. Mark explained how the greenhouse uses an underground irrigation system that waters the plants twice a day and prevents dirt from reaching the leaves, which makes it easier to clean the vegetables when they are harvested. Directly next to the greenhouse sits another important cog in the Shadle Farm ecosystem—beehives. The farm hosts a few natural bee colonies, which are used primarily to help pollinate plants on the property, including the greenhouse tomatoes, which Mark says have improved in health since the addition of bees to the land. Typically, the Shadles are able to harvest at least two cuttings from the greenhouse during the fall season before the plants go to seed for the winter, but those
two harvests provide a bounty of fresh produce for Mark and Ami to bring back to the restaurant, in a true “farm to table” system. What makes the system come full circle, however, is the fact that the leftovers end up coming back to where they started. Shadle explains that biodegradable waste comes back from the restaurant’s bins and goes straight to the compost pile, which creates a very nutrient-dense soil for the growing beds. Mark and Ami also serve their food from the Gmonkey food truck on biodegradable, vegetable-based plates, napkin and utensils and implement recycling and composting of kitchen food scraps, which are then brought back to their home base. Eventually, Mark would also like to be able to heat the farmhouse by using a compost-centric system that would rely on biodegradable ingredients and woodchips —one of the many plans he has in the works. “I want to set an example for people,” he explained. “I’d like to show them it’s actually easy to do these projects and leave a smaller footprint.” The solar panels, which unassumingly blanket the roof of the farmhouse, are one excellent example. About five years ago, Mark and Ami received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that covered 75 percent of the solar panels that now provide power for quite literally everything at the farm. Their most recent electric bill actually had the electric company owing them money. One of the most impressive parts of Shadle Farm, however, is the Gmonkey food truck, which uses the property as its headquarters when not in use seasonally at food festivals or catering events. This sustainable, all-vegan mobile food truck was custom built by Mark and Ami. It runs on solar power and bio diesel veggie grease, making national televised news on NBC, FOX and CBS in less than a year from opening, and resulting in the Best New Mobile Truck Business award in 2013. The couple also has another plan in the works—a second sustainable farm located in Culebra, Puerto Rico. There, they intend to grow a wide variety of trop-
THE GREENHOUSE USES AN UNDERGROUND IRRIGATION SYSTEM THAT WATERS THE PLANTS TWICE A DAY AND PREVENTS DIRT FROM REACHING THE LEAVES, WHICH MAKES IT EASIER TO CLEAN THE VEGETABLES WHEN THEY ARE HARVESTED. ical fruits and vegetables that they’re unable to produce in Connecticut, including coconuts, avocados, papaya, mango, lemon, starfruit and breadfruit. The Shadles, who seem to be filled with boundless energy and infinite amounts of eco-friendly project ideas, are truly an inspiration and an excellent reminder that we all have the ability to leave a smaller footprint on this planet. G-Zen Restaurant is located at 2 East Main St., Branford, CT Call 203.208.0443 for information Hours: Tuesday to Thursday 4 to 9 p.m. Friday 4 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The Stand Juice Company By Nicole Rivard
Carissa and Mike Hvizdo, owners of the Stand Juice Company, a vegan juice bar and eatery in Connecticut, were practicing farm to table long before it was “cool” to do so. “It’s always been our approach because good food happens seasonally, and it grows in local farms and gardens,” said Carissa, who has been a vegetarian for 18 years.
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Since the Hvizdos opened their first location on Wall Street in Norwalk in 2006—they opened a second in Fairfield in 2011 and moved from Wall Street to a bigger space in South Norwalk this summer — the husband and wife team have been sourcing as much produce and fruit as they can locally in Connecticut and other parts of New England. But in the fall of 2013, they took farm to table to a whole new level—they put their Fairfield County, Conn., home on the market and started searching for a place to start their own farm. They found it in the village of East Haddam, Conn., where they purchased and moved to Hideaway Farm. “It was a huge change for us, we hadn’t even mowed our own lawn for years,” Carissa said with a laugh. “We had a desire to get our hands in the soil, slow down a bit and spend more of our time outdoors. We also always dreamed of expanding our pack of rescue dogs to include farm animals.” They are already successfully growing crops for their menu of juices, smoothies, sandwiches and salads, as well as other restaurants around the state thanks to the guidance of friend Farah Masani, owner of Farah’s Farm in Wilton, Conn., and so many customers and friends who made donations. Currently, they have three acres in production and will add more next year. Economically it makes the most sense for them to focus on boutique vegetables such as herbs, peppers and tomatoes, Carissa said. “I have amazing okra,” she added. “The Whelk and Le Farm in Westport, Conn., are all using my okra. We
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are also growing green beans and Swiss chard for a couple of restaurants. Pumpkins, potatoes and winter squash are also doing really well. The jams and raspberries that we are using in our store are all from our own farm. All of the herbs are also from our own farm. “These things don’t take up a lot of space and are doing really well in our soil. We are using this no dig farming technique, so we aren’t killing the soil. We are adding compost on top of the soil—which is another reason for rescuing farm animals, so we can use their waste.” So far the duo has rescued five goats, a cow, two barn kittens and a flock of very happy chickens, all for love…and compost. “The goats have cleared land for us so it’s made it possible for us to expand pasture and even grow fields,” Carissa said. “We let them dictate when they are going to ‘work.’ Goats graze and that’s what we let them do. It’s really a little balanced ecosystem.” While Carissa admits it will be hard to source from their own farm throughout the winter since they do not have greenhouses yet, in the fall she said that she planned to keep planting beets, carrots, potatoes, winter squash and greens until frost and hoped to be able to harvest in December. “We are quite blessed to have so many other farms/ farmers that have greenhouses…so we will still rely heavily on them for the next couple winters,” Carissa said. “The winters in New England are a challenging time for us, however, we ramp up soup production and swap out cucumbers for cabbages and root veggies during the winter. This challenge actually improves the quality and healthfulness of our products while keeping in line with our local mission and the Ayurvedic beliefs that we should consume more ‘warming foods’ (cabbage, ginger, garlic, turmeric, beets) in the winter, opposing the ‘cooling foods’ of the summer (melons, cucumbers).” Some of the local farms the Stand sources from are Maple Leaf Farm in Canterbury, Conn., which provides maple syrup, the primary sweetener for everything at
the Stand, and Sport Hill Farm in Easton, Conn. “I just got 500 pounds of tomatoes in the last couple days from Sport Hill,” Carissa said back in September. “I’ll probably get another 1,000 pounds next week to make salsas and jams and simmer sauces. We can in house and use it all, so we aren’t having to buy canned tomatoes to make a chili in the colder months.” Things like almonds, avocados, mangoes and bananas aren’t sourced locally, but the Hvizdos do their best to use domestic sources. They plan on expanding the Norwalk menu to offer more salads and seasonal fare, but will keep definitely keep favorites like the curry collard wrap with curry almond pate, red peppers and sprouts and the tempeh reuben, a combo of bbq tempeh, sauerkraut, mustard, nayonaise, on toasted organic whole grain bread and olive oil. A popular salad features avocado and tomato, on a bed of greens topped with almond hummus and olive and caper tapenade. THE MAKING OF THE STAND The Stand evolved from Mike and Carissa making juice
Raw pasta with sundried tomato marinara and cashew seed cheese.
and meals for Mike’s mom who was undergoing chemotherapy, and Mike’s grandmother, who has had a lifelong love affair with sweets. Back in 2005 both were very sick and really responded well to green juice and vegan meals. They developed a detox cleanse juice program based on Mike’s education at Hippocrates Health Institute, put some flyers around town advertising it, and were completely overwhelmed with demand within six months. Thus they set out to find a commercial kitchen to open the Stand Juice Company. They feel lucky to now be able to have their own farm to fulfill their farm to table mission. “Hideaway Farm is a place that overall has been gentle to us as new farmers and our new village of East Haddam has been very kind in its embrace,” Carissa said. “We feel incredibly blessed for this opportunity.” The Stand is located at 87 Mill Plain Road in Fairfield, CT. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sun. 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 203.873.0414. It is also located at 1 North Water St. in the Ironworks Building in South Norwalk. Hours Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sat. 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sun. 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. 203.956.5670
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PHOTO BY NICOLE RIVARD
The Stand’s avocado and tomato salad on a bed of greens topped with almond hummus and olive and caper tapenade.
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BY KAYLEE DOLAN
WATERCOURSE FOODS BECOMES VEGAN
WATERCOURSE FOODS
While not new to Denver’s food scene by any means, WaterCourse Foods, located just to the east of downtown, recently made waves by becoming 100 percent vegan. Led by owner Dan Landes, Chef de Cuisine/ Executive Chef Melanie Minard and General Manager Shelly Waters, WaterCourse lives out its mission daily to “eat the path of least resistance.” What exactly does it mean to eat the path of least resistance? “I try to bring myself as low as I can” on the totem pole of life, says Minard. “Be as compassionate as you can.” WaterCourse opened its doors 1998, serving just breakfast and lunch five days a week. The spot quickly became a community gathering place, and 16 years later, it is open seven days a week serving breakfast (served all day), lunch and dinner. WaterCourse officially became all-vegan on April 28, 2014, during a transition that took only oneand-a-half weeks. Landes noted that it “sends huge ripples” for a restaurant to become vegan. “Ninety-five percent of people were extremely happy [with the switch to veganism].” After 16 years
REVOLUTIONIZING THE DENVER RESTAURANT SCENE transitioning into the execof evolving, an entirely plantutive chef role. She recalls based menu was just the visiting WaterCourse when next evolution. “It was the only option,” and for Landes, it first opened and how it completely changed the way it was “life changing, life she viewed food. She fondly affirming.” recalls her first meal at WaterCourse is a fromscratch, all non-GMO kitchen, WaterCourse—a bagel with tofu scramble and caramelwith many gluten-free ized onions. options, that strives to use Minard collaborates with local ingredients whenever Landes, Waters and the possible. It has its own entire WaterCourse team to garden plot in Elizabeth, craft the menu. Items are Colo., as well as its own critiqued extensively and bakery. WaterCourse prides often run as specials before itself on being a stocked being moved onto the main vegan pantry. menu. As for the menu “Comfort food is the core options, Landes says that of what we do…appealing they often consider “what is to people who miss their going to pop into someone’s cheesy mac and cheese,” mind that they have to have Waters said. that day.” From dressed-up verThe trio offered up some sions of tried-and-true must-have item suggesSouthern favorites, like tions for first-timers at the “chicken” and waffles WaterCourse, including the and po’ boy, to new staples sweet potato cinnamon such as the black bean rolls, cauliflower wings, and and sweet potato street the biscuits and gravy with tacos and The Atlas—baked barley sausage. You can maple tempeh served with also gobble up BBQ jackfruit avocado, tomato, lettuce, sliders, smoky-sweet mac mayo, and fried green toma‘n’ cheese, and decadent toes—WaterCourse offers banana bread French toast. something for every palate, The restaurant offers juice vegan and omnivorous blends or on-tap kombucha, alike. “We’re trying to get as well as 100 percent away from the stereotype vegan wine and beer. of vegans being militant,” Be sure to save room for Waters said. dessert, too. WaterCourse The master behind the has milkshakes in classic menu is Minard, who is
flavors and new favorites, such as bananas foster or orange popsicle. There are also reimagined HoHo cupcakes, Twinkies, and a Reese’s Cake. In addition to doing good for the taste buds, WaterCourse is also doing good in the community. The restaurant hosts Nonprofit Mondays, where local organizations can receive a portion of sales from the night. Staff also make an appearance at the Broadway Farmer’s Market on Wednesday nights from 5 to 9 p.m. to sell goods from their bakery, and they often support local vegetarian and vegan events. In the future, the WaterCourse team sees the restaurant expanding. Melanie believes that Denver’s vegan community is getting “bigger, better and more positive.” After a 16-year journey into the delicious research and development of vegan food, it’s hard to imagine any better restaurant to share its mission and knowledge with the Denver community than WaterCourse Foods.
WaterCourse is located at 837 E. 17th Ave., Denver, CO 80218. To check it out, visit watercoursefoods.com.
Sweet potato cinnamon roll. WaterCourse Foods.
WaterCourse street tacos--black bean and sweet potato tacos, served in soft taco shells and topped with cilantro lime slaw.
KAITLIN UTILITY JACKET
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Winter 2014 | 29
BOOK REVIEW BY NICOLE RIVARD
SOUTHERN AFRICA SAFARI: BEYOND THE CONCRETE JUNGLE
As a lifelong diver, photographer Yvonne Martin had always had a love affair with the earth’s oceans. So when she had an opportunity to go on an African safari, she doubted she would feel any extraordinary connection with the land centric experience. However, when you flip through her special edition book titled Southern Africa Safari: Beyond the Concrete Jungle (it weighs 7 pounds), you realize she became smitten and swept off her feet by what she encountered. So much so, that she hopes to inspire others to take a similar journey. But don’t worry; while she and her spouse started their safari by bungee jumping off the Victoria Falls Bridge, it’s not required! Martin actually shot 4,000-plus photos during the month she spent traversing the African grasslands
30 | Friends of Animals
documenting wildlife in their natural environment, but she had to select less than 500 for the book. They represent her favorites and I can see why. Among the most striking photos are more familiar animals like the hippopotamus, leopard, lion and elephant. However Martin also pays homage with her photos to lesser known creatures like the Nile monitor, painted reed frog, oryx and several African bird species. While on the surface the book appears to be about photography and travel, it is much more than that. It provides insight into each animal, its habitat, its social habits, mating habits and status on the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN’s Red List, which gives anthropological evaluation of population levels related to extinction or endangerment. That’s because in addition to
wanting to get people to travel to Africa, Martin wants to educate them about the harm that’s being done to animals by poaching and human construction. “It is my hope that the images of magnificent creatures inspire readers to fall in love with the different species and become involved in conservation efforts,” Martin said. “This was a labor of love and it added to so much meaning to my life.” Friends of Animals is all too familiar with the harm that has come to animals in Africa due to hunting. The last survivors of the endangered scimitar-horned oryx, a once plentiful species in Africa, were killed by hunters in 1987. But on Feb. 22, 1999, FoA facilitated the return of the scimitar-horned oryx to Senegal, marking the start of an historical project. Eight antelopes traveled from Israel and arrived in Senegal taking up residence in their ancestral home. Today, 246 oryxes thrive within two expansive, fenced, fully-protected reserves of almost 5,000 acres. Headed for a similar fate as the scimitar-horned oryx is the African wild dog. The engaging section devoted to these “painted dogs” reveals they are considered among Africa’s most threatened larger mammals—fewer than 5,000 survive. They are typically killed by farmers who consider them a nuisance because they prey on small
livestock, Martin writes. Interestingly, puppies are born blind and helpless in underground burrows abandoned by warthogs. They spend their first three months of life in the den and begin eating meat when they are one month old. But instead of bringing pieces of meat back from a kill, the adult dogs eat the meat themselves, then return to the den and regurgitate it for the pups. Southern Africa Safari: Beyond the Concrete Jungle is chock full of intriguing tidbits like this. Kudos to Martin for raising awareness about how the encroachment of humans is a threat to certain species, and for encouraging people to observe wildlife in the wild. She even has included a 30-minute narrated DVD because she thought it was important to share actual video footage from her safari. We couldn’t agree more. If you don’t have the ability to go on an African Safari at this point in your life, books and videos like Martin’s provides a satisfying alternative, and it sure beats a trip to a zoo, where animals’ natural instincts are thwarted and their wildness is contained. Southern Africa Safari: Beyond the Concrete Jungle, By Yvonne Martin, July 2013, Author House, 360 pages, $124. Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Author House.
It takes 40 foxes to make a fur coat, but only one pic to shame someone for wearing it. Don’t let others feel comfortable in their skin. To learn more, go to FriendsofAnimals.org.
BY MEG MCINTIRE AND NICOLE RIVARD
CHEERS
LETTERS AT PEACE WITH FAITH In regard to a letter that appeared in your Fall 2014 Action Line titled, Can Humans Redeem Themselves?, I have complete faith in the Bible. Humans have done a lot to ruin the earth, but God will step in to stop it at his time. May you find peace and comfort in God’s word. ELEANOR CALICCHIA • CANTON, GA
COPING WITH THE LOSS OF A PET
speaking, is now spent on companion animal sterilization. If fewer animals breed, the need for adoptions would drop dramatically. Early eight-week spay-neuter is a must—as is early term abortion. I am concerned about all the adopta-thons today, the listing of animals on the Internet and Craig’s List. Effective adoption involves intensive screening such as going to the adopter’s home, signing legally binding adoption contracts, and most importantly, physically checking up on the adopted animal
I read the article from Dustin Rhodes
with an unannounced visit. How many
about the loss of his pet Lulu. I send
groups actually follow these steps when
my deepest sympathies to Dustin and his
adopting out an animal?
partner. I had to have my beloved cat Nichi
Only one in five companion animals snake food, dog fighting bait (young and
still do. For a while I wondered, just how
small dogs and cats) and victims of other
could I live without her? She was almost
cruelty, neglect, animal sacrifice, sadistic
18. I can still see her on my couch, and
mutilation, not to mention subjected
lying on my bed. I wish I could have been
to painful experiments in research
with her when my vet put her to sleep.
laboratories.
allow it. Like many pet owners who have lost
All of us who care must start speaking up about the benefits of adopting big, older dogs, and older cats, who languish
a pet, there are a couple of things that
in shelter cages while people adopt
I wish I could have done, or wish that I
almost always the cute puppies, kittens
could have done differently.
and designer dogs. I am heartily sick
I hope that Dustin will read the lovely
of the proliferation of the tiny dogs:
poem, “The Rainbow Bridge,” author
mini-Chihuahuas, Maltipoos, etc. What
unknown. It is a beautiful poem…
about black dogs and cats people
touching and uplifting.
routinely shun?
RUTH ANDREWS• WELLESLEY, MASS.
Until we change our operating methods, more animals will be born,
OLDER ANIMALS NEED HOMES TOO This is a letter about dogs and cats. As a person who has been doing lowcost spay/neuter for more than 30 years, I am amazed at how much emphasis is on massive adoptions and how little
I never see any articles in Action Line about the abuse and suffering that rodeo livestock endure. These rodeo people make a huge profit off these bulls, calves, etc. It is awful to see. Also, you never mention these Southern-based reality shows on TV glorifying the mass slaughter of alligators. Again, it is simply awful to watch the brutal way they are killed and the enjoyment these Neanderthals derive from their actions. CASI FISHER • WARNER ROBBINS, GA
finds a “forever home.” So many become
put to sleep in July. I felt terrible, and
Unfortunately, circumstances did not
PLEASE CALL ATTENTION TO THESE FORMS OF CRUELTY
placed in horrible homes and older dogs and cats will not find permanent adoption. BARBARA BONSIGNORE, DIRECTOR, NEW HAMPSHIRE SPAYING AND ALTERING SERVICE
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
JEERS
SENATORS JIM MORAN AND JOSEPH CROWLEY
SHARK HUNTERS
Cheers to two U.S. Senators who are speaking out against American airports choosing to keep their runways clear by shooting birds out of the sky instead of adopting available technology that is shown to prevent bird strikes. Congressmen Jim Moran (D-VA) and Joseph Crowley (D-NY) are pressing the FAA to adopt avian radar, which is already being successfully used by NASA, the military and other countries around the world, as a way to humanely and safely prevent bird strikes at airports. This is an issue that we at Friends of Animals are very well aware of. Last year, we filed a suit against government wildlife agencies and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in response to the fatal shootings of three snowy white owls at John F. Kennedy Internatonal Airport after learning they were among the over 9,000 birds that were shot down at the city’s airports in 2012. A recent ruling by a federal judge, however, decided the government and Port Authority were operating “within the legal limits.” But the judge also found the government did not provide any information “describing when (if at all) a given species might be dealt with in a non-lethal way” and that the reporting requirement for when birds were shot at JFK is “disturbingly vague.” We plan to appeal this decision in the 2nd Circuit and are pursuing other legal options to halt the killings of wildlife at New York and New Jersey airports.
Jeers to NBC’s despicable “Shark Hunters” show. The show idolizes trophy fishermen who compete to reel in the biggest shark for a $10,000 prize. Among the sharks being targeted is the common thresher, an extremely vulnerable species we are working to protect by recently petitioning the U.S. government to list them under the Endangered Species Act. You can sign a petition to have NBC cancel the show at http://www.change.org/p/nbcnbcsn-cancel-sharkhunters-sharks.
IDAHO FOR WILDLIFE Jeers to another barbaric killing competition that is being planned this winter in Idaho. The group Idaho for Wildlife,a nonprofit whose aim is “to fight against all legal and legislative attempts by the animal rights and anti-gun organizations” to impose restrictions on hunting or guns, has asked the BLM to issue a 5-year special recreation permit which would allow an annual predator-hunt derby on public lands that would approximately double the amount of land as last year. Email Liz Townley, outdoor recreation planner at etownley@blm.gov, and tell her you oppose this bloodshed.
SERENA WILLIAMS Cheers to Serena Williams for winning her 18th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open this year and for showing that people who adopt a plant-based lifestyle can be successful, stellar athletes. Serena decided to switch to a raw vegan diet to support her sister, Venus, who shifted away from animal products in 2012 after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune illness that causes muscular pain and fatigue. The sisters, who live together, enlisted the help of vegan and raw culinary expert Lauren Von Der Pool, who is also a chef on Michelle Obama’s obesity prevention campaign, to help plan and create raw vegan meals that help keep Venus and Serena on their game and feeling their best.
CONCORD, N.H.
time, energy and money, comparatively
32 | Friends of Animals
Winter 2014 | 33
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50 VEGAN T-SHIRT Men’s and women’s 100% certified organic cotton black and white. Men’s and women’s sizes. S, M, L, XL. Artwork by Nash Hogan at Hand of Glory Tattoo, Brooklyn, NY
WOLF SHIRT Show your support for wolves in this 100% certified organic T-shirt in white. (Women’s runs extremely small and fitted so order a larger size.) Men’s and women’s sizes: S, M, L, XL
SPARE AN ANIMAL EAT A VEGETABLE HOODED BLACK SWEATSHIRT Female: 80% cotton, 20% polyester in black. S, M, L, XL Male: 90% cotton, 10% polyester in black. S, M, L, XL
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SPARE AN ANIMAL EAT A VEGETABLE HOODED GREY SWEATSHIRT Female Only: 80% cotton, 20% polyester in grey. S, M, L, XL $20
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PINS AND STICKERS Pins helps you get the message across to others. “Anti Fur” and “Veganism is Direct Action” are available as pins and stickers. “Get a Feel for Fur” is available as a pin only. Pins: $1 each Stickers: 50 for $2
DINING WITH FRIENDS The new edition of Friends of Animals premiere cookbook features 136 innovative recipes, brilliant photographs, and now a chapter devoted to gluten-free desserts. $19.95 plus $3 S&H
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YOU LOOK JUST AS STUPID WEARING THEIRS.
“YOU LOOK JUST AS STUPID WEARING THEIRS” New Long-Sleeve Cotton Jersey Adult Female: 100% cotton, in Athletic Heather. S, M, L, XL. (sizes run small) / Adult Male: 90% cotton, 10% polyester in Athletic Heather. Sizes M, L, XL, XXL $18
VEGAN ECO BAG TOTE In 100% recycled cotton. Fair-trade and fair-labor. This tote is 15" tall and 13" wide with 5" gussets on sides and bottom. The shoulder strap is 24" long. Artwork by Nash Hogan at Hand of Glory Tattoo, Brooklyn, NY $15