Karen Dawn puts it all together and ties it with a nice bow. Read, enjoy, get active.
It is Christmas, which means before I go have a beautiful veggie meal with my loved ones and then retire for a week, I get to send out my round up of the major animal stories in the media over the last year. We have had some real advances, and in the areas we have not seen the change we would like for the animals what we have seen is unprecedented coverage of their plight. Before we have change, we must have exposure and acknowledgment that animal issues matter — and 2008 has been the year for that. Animal issues have saturated the media. Given how bad the animals have had it, for how long, it’s about time they got some public attention.
As I was researching this alert, activist Patty Meehan sent me an article that exemplifies the shift. It is the cover story of the current, December 28 issue of Sports Illustrated. The final issue of the year, which has, at the top of the cover, the line “2008 — Best Year in Sports Ever” has an absolutely beautiful photograph on the cover. And it is not of Michael Phelps or any other athlete. It is of a gorgeous girl. That’s not so unusual for Sports Illustrated but this is not the swimsuit edition. The cover caption next to the photo of the beauty reads, “Sweet Jasmine, a pit-bull removed from Michael Vick’s property, has found a happy home.” The cover story headline is “The Good News, out of the Bad Newz Kennels.”
The story inside, by Jim Gorant, is superb — beautifully written and fun — and focuses on the successful efforts of groups such as BAD RAP and the wonderful sanctuary organization Best Friends to rehabilitate and find loving homes for Vick’s dogs. Check out the gorgeous cover and the full article online at http://tinyurl.com/a7lypx.
There is also a photo gallery, which will have dog lovers gasping and oohing and aahing. Then, most importantly, please thank Sports Illustrated for this fantastic cover story. The magazine takes letter at letters@SI.timeinc.com and asks that letters include the writer’s full name, address and home telephone number.
The Sports Illustrated piece is the perfect final article in a year that we have seen lots of mainstream media attention paid to the rehabilitation of Vick’s pit-bulls. They made the front page of the New York Times back in February! Just a few years ago dogfighting was a serious problem that animal advocates could not get the media or the public to take seriously. I remember when animal advocates attempted to get Nike to can a commercial that showed two snarling dogs facing off against each other at the ends of chains held by Nike clad youths. We failed. But last year Michael Vick and his celebrity brought the issue to the media, and the i’s horror to the public. While dogfighting continues to be a widespread and serious problem, it is no longer ignored. The media continue to reflect and reignite the public’s concern. And funny, until this year I don’t remember seeing stories about pit-bulls other than about their attacks (considerably less frequent than those of other dogs, but occasionally deadly). This year the media has brought us stories of pit-bulls as therapy dogs in nursing homes, and photographs of them in people’s laps. Beautiful.
Also this year, National Geographic launched a series called “Dogtown” about the work of Best Friends in rescuing and rehabilitating homeless animals. While spay-neuter and adoption, rather than publicity, will end the homeless animal crisis, publicity makes people aware of the need for both. It is vital.
While the economy slump and housing crisis have caused havoc in people’s lives, it has been fatal for animals. The media did not forget them. We saw countless articles on the plight of animals given up to shelters as their human families were forced to move house, including articles in USA Today, which is the US’s most widely circulated newspaper, and one on the front page of the Washington Post, the paper read by our nation’s legislators. And we have seen new evidence of the consciousness about those issues at the head of our nation. At his first press conference as president elect, Obama announced that having promised his daughters a puppy, he hopes, allergies allowing, to adopt a shelter dog. The media picked up the story and shelter dogs are becoming cool. Thank heavens.
Another aspect of political coverage shifted notably in this years election campaign in favor of the animals. Year after year we have seen the presidential candidates from both parties pander to the National Rifle Association with photo opportunities taken on hunting trips. We saw none of that this year, and during his campaign the now president elect, while supporting the second amendment’s “right to bear arms,” stated clearly that he does not hunt.
Interestingly, the candidate who flaunted her hunting skills saw them bring her no honor. Sarah Palin’s moose hunting was used by the media as a target of jokes more often than as a respectful reference. And her support of an Alaskan program to gun wolves down from airplanes, which was broadcast widely by the media, played badly through most of society. Compassionate people on both ends of the political spectrum were disturbed by the program and by Sarah Palin’s apparent antipathy towards wildlife. And again, the media reflected and reinforced that concern.
Sarah Palin’s apparent indifference to animal suffering also made news at Thanksgiving, as the media widely circulated a video of an incident they dubbed Turkeygate, in which she was interviewed as a turkey struggled and was slaughtered on camera just a few yards behind her. Newscasters warned viewers that the images were upsetting. I was upset that millions of Americans soon to eat turkey would watch that video and think that the slaughter practices on that small farm, with the birds carefully killed one at a time, were anything like typical. During the same period PETA captured, and the New York Times publicized, video of workers at a huge turkey slaughterhouse punching turkeys and stomping on their heads, and even boasting of ramming broomsticks down their gullets. The New York Times reporter called it “stomach-turning brutality.” If your stomach is strong you can watch that video online at http://tinyurl.com/ayos5s. (Having fostered sweet and cuddly Bruce and Emily Turkey over Thanksgiving I can no longer watch such video.) If you are still tempted by turkey meals I hope you will watch it; we must be guided by our own moral compasses, not those of other people, but we should all make informed choices.
While the public outcry over “Turkeygate” seemed odd as most people eat turkey, and was perhaps at least partly just another excuse to mock Sarah Palin, I believe it also reflected the beginning of a shift in public consciousness or sentiment into an age in which indifference to animal suffering is no longer acceptable. That the media found the “Turkeygate” video worthy of extensive play is a heartening sign. If you missed it, you can watch it online at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPDrC1FjjDk. It is a bit rough, but not nearly as shocking as the PETA video above, which unfortunately got less play as it was not linked to celebrity (unusual for PETA).As Dogtown is bringing attention to homeless dogs, this year the “Whale Wars” series on Animal Planet has brought the horrors of whaling, and the efforts of Sea Shepherd to combat it, into millions of homes. (Go to www.SeaShepherd.org to learn more and help.) The whales are in as much danger as ever from the Japanese whalers who, despite an international ban on commercial whaling, have slaughtered thousands “for scientific purposes” and then sold their meat for huge profits. But the barbaric industry will have an increasingly difficult time venturing forth against a growing swell of public outrage — outrage the media can engender. Whale Wars is a great example of that, an example that emerged in 2008!
For years animal advocates have been trying to publicize the foundation of the pet store puppy industry: mass breeding facilities called puppy mills, in which the mother dogs spend their whole lives in cramped cages, never released to eat or even defecate, let alone exercise. “Puppy mills” were until recently a dirty little secret. But in 2008 Oprah changed that by devoting a full hour to exploring the conditions in those mills and of the sickly puppies who emerge from them. Public support that folks like Oprah can bring will make change easier to accomplish.
As we continue to work to get elephants out of deathly small zoo enclosures and into sanctuaries this year we saw much publicity for the struggle with Jenny, who the Dallas Zoo hopes to move to a wild animal park in Mexico. There she would have space but no companionship of her own kind, and such company is vital for the well-being of female elephants who naturally live in Matriarchal herds. Animal advocates hope she will go instead to the beautiful Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. That battle has been covered by much major media including the New York Times. Activists are also attempting to get Billy, the lone elephant at the Los Angeles Zoo, moved to a sanctuary. We have seen some great media coverage of both situations, which got a good boost when Lily Tomlin took on the elephants’ cause and it was covered in arenas such as “CNN’s Issues with Jane Velez Mitchell.” In December, Time Magazine ran a superb piece headed “Free Dumbo,” which provided information on the shockingly
truncated lifespans of elephants in zoos when compared to in the wild. It included this line, “Zookeepers and policymakers who aren’t moved by all this suffering might instead be convinced by the simple fact that it costs a fortune to keep elephants so miserable.” You’ll find that article, by Jeffrey Kluger, online at http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1865628,00.html.The bad news for horses this year has been that the bans on the U.S. slaughter of horses, without the passage of the comprehensive American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, have led to horses being trucked under unconscionably cruel conditions for thousands of miles to slaughterhouses in Mexico. There they face deaths by multiple stab wounds to their back that are probably even worse than those that end horse’s lives on U.S. soil. But again, at least the sorry fate of horses is no longer a secret — it was broadcast from many news outlets and on the front page of the Wall Street Journal early this year.
The New York Times put the slaughter of mustangs on its front page in July. But interestingly, the Los Angeles Times published a front page article this year headed, “Plight of the brumbies; Australia’s wild horses are being shot to preserve the environment. One woman is determined to save them.” But there was no such coverage in that paper on the round up and killing of American mustangs.
The sad fate of race horses was back in the news after the death of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. There could be no heroic, or Barbaroic, efforts to save her as she had broken both front legs. She was killed on the spot. Unlike with the deaths of the thousands of other race horses who went down this year, Eight Belles’ very public passing at least brought more attention to the cruelty of the racing industry, causing coverage in outlets such as the New York Times and on NPR.
We had some great news in November from another racing industry as Massachusetts voters passed a ballot initiative to close the state’s dog tracks.
For years animal advocates have been watching undercover video from slaughterhouses showing shocking cruelty to the animals both before and as they are killed. The media has almost never picked up the story. But this year, reflecting the public’s and the media’s change in consciousness regarding animal issues, HSUS undercover video of the slaughterhouse abuse of dairy cows was covered first by the Washington Post and then by countless other media outlets including CNN. The public attention, thanks to the widespread media coverage, was surely a contributing factor in the closure of that Chino slaughterhouse following the largest meat recall in U.S. history — meat from that plant.
In 2008 we saw what may be the biggest breakthrough so far in the history of U.S. animal welfare campaigns — the passage of California’s Proposition 2. It banned sow and veal crates, and battery cages for hens. As California is one of the world’s largest economies, the ripple effect is expected to be tremendous. That’s why the national industries poured millions into fighting the proposition. Polls showed, before the campaign began, that Californians, once they heard about the issues, were highly sympathetic and that the proposition was likely to pass. But until we launched the campaign, the standard treatment of animals on factory farms had not been known to the public. The media coverage that surrounded the proposition was groundbreaking. Ellen had HSUS president Wayne Pacelle on her show and she pushed the proposition hard. Oprah, for the first time in the history of her show, devoted a full hour to the unconscionable treatment of animals used for food.
You probably remember that in November of 2006, the United Nations released a report headed “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” which told us that the livestock industry was responsible for more global warming than any other industry — including transport. Finally, in 2008, that news has got some media play, along with general information about the horrendous impact of the livestock industry on the environment and on world hunger. Mark Bittman’s New York Times article, “Rethinking the Meat Guzzler” (January 27) told us that the meat industry has “led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests” and he discussed the havoc it wreaks on streams and rivers. He also us told us that “the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens. This despite the inherent inefficiencies: about two to five times more grain is required to produce the same amount of calories through livestock as through direct grain consumption…” You’ll find that wonderful article online at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html.
Many of you know that my main focus this year has had to be on the launch of my book and the publicity around that. I was so pleased that its coverage helped spread the word about diet and the environment. Access Hollywood covered the Los Angeles book launch and put together a wonderful segment in which actresses Jorja Fox, Emily Deschanel, Daniela Sea, Skinny Bitch author Rory Freedman and myself all talk about “going green and how becoming vegetarian is one of the best ways to save the environment” — or so the Access Hollywood Web site puts it. You’ll find the segment online at http://video.accesshollywood.com/player/?id=251543. The Access Hollywood Web site also has a piece from the New York book launch in which Heather Mills discusses the impact of our meat and dairy laden diets on world hunger (she also discusses the China dog and cat fur trade). That’s online at http://www.accesshollywood.com/video_257489. And there is a piece from that New York launch party that includes actors Hal Sparks, Persia White and John Schneider as well as a wonderful segment in which Sea Shepherd’s Captain Paul Watson, now so well known from Whale Wars, tells us, “You cannot be an environmentalist unless you are vegetarian or vegan.” That’s on the Access Hollywood Web site at http://origin3-www.accesshollywood.com/its-easy-going-green_video_646203 OR http://tinyurl.com/7ftcgh.
The book launch was exhausting and took me away too much from DawnWatch but I was thrilled with some of the animal press it engendered. It was particularly strong in the influential city of Washington DC; the Washington Post ran a wonderful story on it and has listed it amongst its “best books of 2008″ – something worth knowing if you are trying to talk a friend or family member into reading an animal rights book!
I end this year-end alert at the beginning of the year, which opened with a January 2 story on the front page of the New York Times telling us that the diet book “Skinny Bitch” had sold over 850,000 copies. Now it has sold over a million. When it first came out, one had to get into the book to find that the recommended diet is vegan. That is no longer a secret and its divulging has not hampered sales. Ellen covered the book, and after she and Portia read it, they both went vegan. Then Oprah experimented with a vegan diet after covering Kathy Freston’s book “Quantum Wellness.” She did a three-week vegan cleanse. While she has not yet permanently changed her eating habits, her attitude to the vegan diet was entirely positive. Imagine the effect that had on millions of families in which college kids coming home for the holidays had previously been questioned, challenged and misunderstood by their families due to their vegan diets. Now veganism has gone mainstream. That is beautiful news for the animals.
For those interested in learning more about the high end of that diet, I will take a moment here to plug the “Vegan Culinary Experience” Web site, which founder chef Jason Wyrick describes as “An Educational and Inspirational Journey of Taste, Health, and Compassion.” You can subscribe online at http://www.veganculinaryexperience.com/. I am interviewed in the current edition and that piece is online at http://veganculinaryexperience.com/KarenDawn.htm.
I sign off for 2008 with so much hope, and with joy from seeing the message of compassion for all beings spreading fast and becoming part of mainstream thought. I send the deepest thanks to each of one of you who writes an occasional or frequent letter to the media to help spread that word, or who simply cares enough to take the time to read this newsletter and stay informed. Many of you reading this do much more than that. And every little bit each of us does can make a difference, often in ways we will never know.
Wishing you a joyous, loving and compassionate New Year, and looking forward to working together in 2009,
Yours and the animals’,
Karen Dawn(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited — leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn’s new book, “Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.
s.
Filed under: animal rights, conservation, global warming pollution, veganism Tagged: | animal cruelty, animal rights, ban horse racing, Elephants, factory farming, global warming pollution, horse slaughter, karen dawn, proposition 2, sarah palin, sea shepherd, veganism, whales, wolves
