June 29, 2007

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Raise the Roof, Open the Cages. All of the acts were fantastic: The Barb Henry Trio (featuring Mark Reinhardt), Rockaphonics, The New Rome and List of Lead. The roof was indeed raised, as were as a few bucks for RMAD so that we may continue opening cages. A heartfelt thank you to Ann and Peter Swissdorf for pulling the whole thing together.

Ann is, as always, so busy it will make you dizzy. Not only is Ann a rock star RMAD activist, she is the mother of a rock star. In addition to the weekly fur protest in Denver, Ann organizes potlucks, vegan meetups, fundraisers and much more. She’s also organizing the July 4^th HEALTH Picnic in Morrison, for which more information is available below.

Do you have any fur coats lurking in your closets that you’d like to get ride of? If so, please contact Ann. We’re also looking for a few willing and capable seamstresses/tailors to help out with some small tasks as needed, so please let Ann know if you can help.

Ann and Peter are organizing an Evolution Dog Food order. If you’d like to get a bag of the healthiest, best-tasting (according to our furry informants) cruelty-free dog food, contact Ann for an order form.

RMAD’s been working on a number of projects and tasks, including but not limited to: revamping one of our websites, a project with Boulder’s open space and prairie wildlife, the Greenwood Village coyote debacle, our forthcoming teen vegetarian guide, fielding requests for assistance from the public, not to mention all the behind-the-scenes administrative work required to keep the organization functioning.

We’re already strategizing our approaches to the annual Ringling Bros. visit (October), Fur Free Friday (November 24) and The Stock Show (January 2008). We are organizing an RMAD Action Committee to create a vision for these events; the first meeting will take place in late July and if you’d like to participate, please contact Lynne Sprague.

As always, thank you to each and every one of you for joining with RMAD in advocating for the rights of animals. We truly appreciate your passion and compassion.

Have a good Fourth of July – Here’s to celebrating the liberty of all beings!

6.14.07

Please join us tonight for Raise the Roof, Open the Cages, an evening of music ranging from jazz to all-out rock. This event takes place at Arvada’s The D Note, 7519 Grandview Ave, at 7 p.m. The D Note offers a delicious vegan-friendly pizza selection. Don't miss this chance to have a fun night out while supporting RMAD's work.

Take action! Don't Let Congress Undo State and Local Animal Laws. According to an alert issued by the Humane Society of the United States, a small provision – Section 123 – tucked into the pending Farm Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives would prohibit states and localities from banning activities they deem to be contrary to public health, safety, and morals. Section 123 would undo bans on horse slaughter, intensive confinement of pigs and calves raised for veal, force-feeding of ducks and geese to make foie gras, and other important laws. It’s an outrageous power grab that would undermine the democratic process and deny citizens the right to pass state or local laws on issues of humane treatment or food safety.

Please make brief, polite phone calls to your two U.S. Senators and one U.S. Representative and urge them to oppose Section 123 of the House Farm Bill. You can reach your federal legislators by calling the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or click here to find their Capitol office phone numbers.

A group of activists will be holding Ringling Bros. demonstrations in Colorado Springs this Saturday, June 16, at 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The shows are at the World Arena, 3185 Venetucci Blvd. For more information please email Ann or Sisley. Thank you to Ann and Sisley for leading this demo, and also big thanks to Jeri McGinnis, owner of Gigi's: The Animal Lover's Gift Shop, located at 728 Manitou Avenue in Manitou Springs, for paying for an anti-Ringling ad in the local paper.

RMAD board member Mark Reinhardt has been writing his vegetarian humor column On or Off the Mark for more than 20 years. These articles are now being re-published as a blog and you can read and comment on them here.

Thank you to Daniel Ziskin and Boulder East Community Transportation Options for working together to make the Bike and Walk to Work Day 7^th Annual Great 55^th Street Egg-less Relay a cruelty-free event. The contestants will have to navigate an obstacle course while balancing a plastic egg on a spoon. You can still sign up, so pull a team together and get that egg to the other side of the road.

June 6, 2007

Hello, friends.

Thanks to efforts by pro bono RMAD attorney Karen Breslin, the trapping of coyotes along Greenwood Village’s Highline Canal has been stopped. Karen met with the Tri-County Health Department, who felt that the appropriate number of "aggressive" coyotes had been killed. The Health Department official then contacted the trapper and told him he could not take any more animals and to remove the traps. However, this is not the conclusion, and RMAD is currently exploring legal options. We’ll keep you informed of our progress.

Thank you to everyone who has contacted the city council, mayor and staff of Greenwood Village. Your letters and calls have certainly made an impact. And if you need a great attorney, please contact Karen. More info on her firm, Progressive Law Center LLC, can be found here.

Another opportunity to make a big difference with prairie wildlife will happen this weekend. Prairie Dog Action is seeking help with a prairie dog relocation in Westminster. PDA only has until June 10th to try and relocate nearly 200 prairie dogs on the SW corner of 136th and Huron and we cannot stress how crucial volunteer help is in this relocation. If you have any time to spare for these animals, please contact Deb Jones (303-439-9264) or Pam Wanek (303-507-8580).

The Summerlee Foundation is offering complimentary tickets for the screening of "Companions To None" at the Breckenridge Film Festival, Saturday, June 9 at 11:00 am at the Speakeasy Movie Theatre. This film looks inside the companion animal overpopulation and abuse crisis in Mexico, and the people dedicated to fighting it. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please email Chris.

RMAD is seeking speakers for our Humane Education Speakers Bureau. Join with other animal advocates in giving talks to classes of all ages We’ve created a form for potential speakers to fill out, which can be found here.

We’ve got some great events coming up, so be sure to check out the RMAD home page, calendar, and information below.

Thanks for reading.

5.18.07

Hello!

As many of you know, RMAD was formed in 1994 after exposing conditions inside a local factory egg farm with videotape shot by RMAD co-founder David Crawford. The tape was edited into a groundbreaking 12-minute film that documents the factory's violations of Colorado state anti-cruelty laws and details the inherent cruelty of intensive egg production. It was the first nationally distributed expose of egg factories, and has aired on cable stations across the United States.

You can view the video here (in two parts). And, if you missed it, the Vox Feminista prairie dog video can be seen here.

RMAD recently issued an action alert regarding Greenwood Village’s decision to trap coyotes using padded leghold traps and then kill them afterward. RMAD is working with a number of organizations to stop this cruel and barbaric form of “wildlife management,” but in the meantime, please take action!

Contact the City of Greenwood Village and politely tell them to stop the assault on Colorado’s native wildlife. Tell them that when the citizens of Colorado passed Amendment 14 in 1996, this was exactly the type of situation they were voting to end.

Please remember that you’re an ambassador to the animals, so be friendly and open to a continuing dialogue. More info can be found on RMAD’s Alerts page, and feel free to pass this information on.

In addition to dozens of calls about the coyote situation, the RMAD staff has been fielding a large number of requests for assistance with issues ranging from prairie dogs to companion animals to vegetarianism and more.

Please be vigilant of wildlife on and around roads. The offspring of prairie dogs, rabbits, geese and many other species are up and about, so please slow down and be careful.

We’ll be at the Boulder Creek Festival over Memorial Day weekend so be sure to stop by our booth and say hello!

5.4.07

Hello, Friends.

Recent Media: Boulder’s Women’s Magazine did a full-page feature on RMAD, covering numerous aspects of the organization while focusing heavily on the involvement of recent RMAD additions Lynne Sprague and Kris Candour. Pick up a copy and let us know what you think! Colorado Hometown News quoted Dave Crawford about the prairie dog killings at 95^th and Arapahoe; RMAD joined local citizens in calling for Lafayette to stop the killing of prairie dogs within town limits. The Boulder Daily Camera also provided RMAD’s perspective in an article about the probable killing of prairie dogs by Boulder city staff during road work at the Foothills/Arapahoe intersection.

Summer Support Needed for Field Study: RMAD has received a grant to study Boulder open space lands to determine their availability and suitability for prairie dog relocation release sites. We keep being told “there’s no room” but we are skeptical; this is our chance to find out for ourselves. Three or four students will be in town for two weeks this summer, probably in June. We need to provide them with lodging and a vehicle. If you have any ideas, suggestions or offers, please let us know. Thanks!

Volunteer Pippi Howard (who also maintains RMAD’s fantastic MySpace page) has organized a Rocky Mountain Animal Defense work party this weekend at Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary. The volunteer slots are already full, but stay tuned for more opportunities in the future.

Calling all volunteers! Please join us Wednesday, May 16, from 10am to 8pm for an RMAD mailing party. Come whenever you're free and stay as long as you'd like. Our mailing parties are fun, and in addition to offering a valuable service to RMAD, you'll have the opportunity to meet other advocates and hang out with the coolest AR staff in the West. Food and drinks will be provided. For more information, please contact Kris Candour or call the RMAD office 303-449-4422.

If you can’t make the mailing party but would like to get involved, please see our Volunteer Opportunities below. Lots going on, and lots of chances to help.

If you missed Marc Bekoff’s Boulder event, don’t fret – he will be speaking about his new book, The Emotional Lives of Animals, at the Tattered Cover in LoDo (Denver) on Saturday, May 12 at 2 p.m. More info on this book and Marc can be found here. This will be a great event! Please attend if you can.

April 20, 2007

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is Saturday, April 22. As most vegetarians know, every day is Earth Day, and each meal is a vote. Did you know that in addition to saving the lives of 100 animals per year, a vegetarian also saves 1 acre of trees per year and uses 3700 less gallons of water per day?

The impacts of a meat-based diet on the Colorado landscape are immense – our dietary choices have a direct and measurable impact on the health of our air, fresh water supply and the soil from which our food sources arise. Read more about it at RMAD’s “For the Earth” section at VegColorado.com.

Speaking of veg options, word is out that Boulder’s latest addition, Rush!, has fantastic, delicious and refreshing non-dairy frozen treats. Rush! is located in at 207 13th St. and 4593 N. Broadway. Check them out!

This past week RMAD created a Power Point slideshow on canned hunting and executive director Dave Crawford presented it to the Boulder Valley Humane Society Board of Directors. Stay tuned for more on this issue in upcoming months.

Thank you to everyone who attended Partnership for Animal Welfare at CU’s recent event with Carol Adams. Carol’s presentation was fascinating and provocative as always, and CU catering did an excellent job providing an all-vegan buffet afterwards. Congrats and thanks to PAW for putting on a great event and for having RMAD join in.

The Prairie Dog Coalition, of which RMAD is a member organization, has an upcoming fundraiser. Please consider attending; the PDC’s work is crucial in protecting not only Colorado’s black-tailed prairie dog, but four other species as well. And Director Lindsey Sterling Krank always puts together a great event.

Living on Burrowed Time III
When: Friday, May 4, 7 p.m. sharp
Location: exhibitrek THE GALLERY, 1711 15th St., Boulder.
Details: The event will offer nouvelle cuisine, gourmet wine and beer, live music, laughter, auctions and art. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 at the door. PrairieDogCoalition.org / (720) 938-0788.

Be sure to take time to celebrate the great outdoors and its inhabitants this weekend. Thanks for reading.

April 5, 2007

April 4, 2007Hello!

The first of RMAD’s big blue distribution boxes has hit the streets. Point them out to friends and family, directing them to the Colorado’s best guide to vegetarianism. Veg is the lifestyle for 2007, whether it be for the animals, the environment (including climate change) or your health. There’s no reason not to go veg today.

Though they only offer one veggie burger, after many years of efforts by animal advocacy groups, Burger King, Inc. has announced a plan to decrease the suffering of many animals killed for its restaurants. Burger King has agreed to the following changes:

• Immediately begin purchasing 10 percent of its pig flesh from suppliers that do not use gestation crates – metal enclosures that confine mother pigs and are so restrictive that the animals cannot even stretch a limb or take a step – and double that amount by the end of 2007.

• Immediately begin purchasing 2 percent of its eggs from hens who are not confined to wire “battery cages” and more than double that amount by the end of 2007.

• Issue a statement to its egg suppliers saying that it will give purchasing preference to those that do not use battery cages.

• Issue a statement to its chicken-flesh suppliers stating that it will give purchasing preference to those that use or switch to “controlled-atmosphere killing” – which is by far the least cruel method of chicken slaughter available. RMAD is interested in knowing you all think about these proposed changes. Some questions to consider: Are incremental changes important? Do they alleviate the animals’ suffering? What should negotiation with corporations/entities that contribute to animal suffering look like when the stakes are this high? What becomes an area for compromise and what then, become our non-negotiables? Let us know what you think by emailing us at vegcolorado@rmad.org.

Finally, RMAD is looking for a committed volunteer to be in charge of our spring and summer tabling/outreach events coordination. We’re seeking someone to oversee the process from start to finish – from set-up to take-down. It’s a great way to get involved with the front lines of the organization, to meet people, and to introduce the public to the idea of compassion for all beings. If interested, please inquire within.

If you’d to help out as an outreach booth staffer, we’re also looking for help in that regards too. If you are interested in volunteering for these events, please email Chris Kirschbaum (more info on Chris below) or call the RMAD office at 303-449-4422.

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.