December 1, 2006

Happy December, Everyone.

Our 2006 Fur Free Friday demonstration was a hugesuccess, thanks to the dedicated activists who ventured into the unpredictable holiday weather. Some 50+ of you sacrificed vacation time to stand up for the animals – in very cold November air – and it was well worth it. Not only was the message carried to the thousands of people passing by and to the business owners who peddle cruel fashion, but to the tens of thousands of people who our message reached through the media.

An article in Saturday’s Rocky Mountain News carried the message of compassion to over 800,000 readers. Fox News stopped by for an interview with Executive Director Dave Crawford and other protest participants, but we have yet to confirm that this segment aired.

If you haven’t heard, the most-excellent VG Burgers is open for business in Boulder. They make amazing, healthy, all-vegan and virtually all-organic fast food. I’ve been three times already, and I can’t get enough of their non-dairy shakes (or as we call them back east, “Frappes”). They’re located at 3267 28 th St., strategically situated between Dairy Queen and Taco Bell, and can be reached at 303-440-2400.

Another non-animal business has popped up in the Denver area: True Love, a women’s shoe and accessories store. The store targets “fashionable women that care about animals, and who want to be able to make choices that reflect their beliefs.” True Love is located at 42 Broadway, Denver, is open from 11-7 every day, and can be reached at 303-860-TRUE (8783).

Please support your local vegan businesses!

The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center reports that on Monday, Dec 4, at 5:30 pm, the Denver City Council will hold a public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to hang banners over the highway from overpasses (something RMAD has done throughout its history). Location: City Council chambers, 4th floor, City and County building, Denver. Please come out if you can to let council know that this infringement of our right to free expression is unnecessary and unacceptable. If you live in Denver, please call and/or e-mail your Council rep to register your opposition.

Party Time! Join us at the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense and Southern Plains Land Trust Holiday Party
Details: December 16, 2006, 6 pm, at the Crawford Hill Mansion ( 150 East 10th Avenue), Denver. Come enjoy all-vegan, hearty hors d’ouvres, desserts, libations, art, music and entertainment. Festive attire – come casual or dress to the nines! Children welcome.

Save $10 per ticket by purchasing in advance. Tickets will be $35 after December 15th. Tickets can be purchased online here (requires a Paypal account), through the mail, or by calling the RMAD office. For more information or if you have any questions, please email Paula Lewis or call the RMAD office at 303-449-4422.

See you there! Thanks for all your energy and support.

-- Chris

November 17, 2006

Hello!

The temperature continues to drop, so you know what that means – holiday shopping. Now is the time to educate shoppers about cruelty-free living, especially in relation to fur and fur-trimmed coats. In addition to the weekly fur protests hosted by stalwart RMAD activist Ann Swissdorf, our annual Fur Free Friday demonstration is coming up a week from today. More information on this event can be found in the calendar below.

When news broke that talk show host Peter Boyles (whose show RMAD director Dave Crawford has appeared on) would be attending a “fashion show” at Hamilton Furs in Denver on Thursday night, local activists organized a last-minute demonstration to bring attention to this cruel injustice. Thank you to everyone who responded so quickly and was able to take part in this protest.

Following Fur Free Friday will be our joint Holiday Party with Southern Plains Land Trust. Please join us December 16, 2006, 6 pm, at the Crawford Hill Mansion ( 150 East 10th Avenue), Denver.

You will enjoy all-vegan, hearty hors d’ouvres, desserts, libations, art and entertainment. Dress code is festive – come casual or dress to the nines. Children welcome.

Save $10 per ticket by purchasing in advance. Tickets will be $35 after December 15th. Tickets can be purchased online here (requires a Paypal account), through the mail, or by calling the RMAD office at 303-449-4422.

If you can’t attend the holiday party but would like to make a donation, you can do so by mail, telephone, or through our Paypal store which is located here.

We just finished our 2005 taxes and want to share with you a summary of the work we did last year. Because of the contributions of RMAD’s volunteers and RMAD’s low overhead, we were able to accomplish this work for only $100k. The list can be found at the bottom of this eNews.

Speaking of kicking butt... thanks to a generous donation by one of the Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (and RMAD supporter), RMAD is sponsoring the month of June in the 2007 Rocky Mountain Rollergirls Calendar. The calendar will be available at their bouts beginning November 18 (tomorrow) at the Bladium. Check it out!

We hope to see you at both Fur Free Friday and our Holiday Party. If you have any questions about either, please contact us.

Have a good weekend.

- Chris

2005 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Vegetarian Program

Maintained health.rmad.org, a web site promoting vegetarian food and healthy living. Tabled at numerous fairs and festivals on behalf of farmed animals. Protested the National Western Stock Show with our newest additions, Duke the Calf and two body-screen televisions. Organized a vegan Thanksgiving bag lunch for 150 homeless people in Denver. Celebrated the healthy and cruelty-free vegan lifestyle with monthly potlucks. Sponsored two local talks by nationally renowned author and lecturer Dr. Michael Greger. Began development of Compassionate Living Guide, a Colorado-based guide to vegetarian living.

Prairie Wildlife Program

Developed and released PrarieWatch.org, a unique web site that tracks the status of prairie dog colonies in the Denver metropolitan area. Developed and released WildlifeKillings.com, a web site exposing crimes against wildlife in Colorado. Maintained PrairieDogs.org, an educational site devoted to protecting prairie dogs and prairie dog ecosystems. Advocated for humane wildlife management in Boulder’s Urban Wildlife Management Plan. Provided RMAD’s prairie wildlife perspective, informing five media broadcasts and 20 media print publications. Gave numerous prairie wildlife talks at schools, hearings and events in the Denver/Boulder area. Began relocation of some 120 prairie dogs from imperiled habitat in Colorado Springs. Provided fiscal sponsorship and leadership support to the Prairie Dog Coalition, which RMAD helped form in 2001.

Education/Advocacy/Public Service

Responded to more than 1000 email and telephone requests for information or assistance related to animals. Services range from referrals and the provision of basic information to direct and high-level involvement. Completed a rescue of nearly 2000 animals – primarily turtles, crayfish and fish – from a canal that was unexpectedly drained in Boulder in the winter of 2004–05. Maintained FAQ on web site. RMAD provided strategic guidance, support and advice to area animal advocates. Established Compassion Club to meet the emotional needs of those advocating for animals. Maintained several listservs to meet the needs of area advocates. Organized a blanket drive for local shelters and sanctuaries in the Denver/Boulder area. Pledged $1000 to a reward fund supported by nine conservation groups for information leading to the conviction of the persons responsible for killing three lynx in Colorado. Sponsored a volunteer to assist post-Katrina animal rescue and care operations in New Orleans, Louisiana. Through our ongoing Nalgene Boycott, convinced numerous large corporations, small businesses and individuals to choose cruelty-free drinking bottles; supported Patagonia, National Geographic in respective decisions to not carry Nalgene bottles. Educated the public about the plight of homeless companion animals by distributing an additional 20,000 bilingual spay/neuter fliers in the Denver/Boulder area; also made the flier available online as a downloadable PDF. Brought attention to animal road mortality by leading the effort in the Colorado legislature to double fines for speeding in select wildlife crossing zones (the measure made it through the house but was killed in Senate committee). Helped rescue and place scores of animals in homes through RMAD email lists and referral services. Conducted weekly demonstrations at Marks-Lloyds Furs in Denver. Conducted annual demonstrations in Denver on Fur Free Friday and at Ringling Bros. Circus. Worked with Boulder Creek Events to ensure that the Boulder Creek Festival and other events remain free of exploitive animal displays. Maintained rmad.org. Continued to support the work of many Colorado animal organizations, including wildlife rehabilitators, cat and dog rescue organizations and a farmed animal sanctuary. RMAD’s support includes publicity, limited financial contributions, and/or volunteers. RMAD maintains a working relationship with Political Voice for Animals.

November 3, 2006

Guten Tag!

Thank you to everyone who came to our Bimonthly Meeting last night at the College Hill Library. We’re excited to be bringing in lots of new faces, discussing the events and successes of 2006, and preparing for 2007, which promises to be a big year for RMAD. Our next Bimonthly Meeting with take place roughly two months from now.

A duck rescue will be taking place this Saturday. Seems that someone abandoned a pair of the domesticated birds in a Thornton-area pond. The goal is to nab these fast-moving quackers before the ice freezes and to relocate them to Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary. The team will assemble at 4 p.m. at Bell Roth Park, across from Water World in Thornton. Please call Amanda at 303-887-0398 for more information or to help out.

Please remember to vote! Tuesday’s the day, though early voting is available. Contact your county clerk if you have questions. RMAD is encouraging Boulder voters to support Initiative 2A – that’s YES ON 2A! For more info on this important initiative, see http://www.boulderspeaksout.org/.

Many of you are curious what’s going on in Boulder with the intersection work at Arapahoe and Foothills. A colony of prairie dogs is being impacted by the work. RMAD is teaming with Keep Boulder Wild to ensure a good outcome for the affected animals. We have been working these past two weeks to get the animals out of danger and onto the adjoining property, which is owned by the Boulder Community Hospital. The city manages a conservation easement on the hospital site. We are negotiating with both the city and the hospital. To our knowledge, no animals have been killed as of yet. We will keep you posted. We are not at this point encouraging a lot of calls to Boulder’s city manager, but if you are the type who takes initiative, well, go for it. We believe the city has the power to determine the fate of these animals.

Fur-Free Friday is fast approaching. We want *you* to help us make this our best event yet. The foxes and minx and coyotes and – yes, cats and dogs – are relying on us. If you want to help out, shoot Dave an email.

I’ve created an online ticket-purchasing function so you can get your tickets to our upcoming holiday party with our friends Southern Plains Land Trust. You can also call us or purchase tickets through the mail. More information on the event, below.

This is indeed the busiest time of year for the animal advocacy community. We appreciate your continuing involvement and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for any reason.

– Have a good weekend –

- Chris

October 20, 2006

Hi, Friends.

RMAD is moving! We’ve outgrown our space. We’re often cramming three workers – and sometimes four! – into the space of two, stepping around boxes and stacks of files. However, we’re not complaining – did you that know 99% of the country’s 9 billion chickens have approximately 67 square inches of room in which to live? That would be the equivalent of about 25 of us in this office.

We’re moving to an office that will allow us to be more efficient in our work advocating for animals and which will be more welcoming to the animal activist community. The RMAD office will be closed on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27. We’re looking for another strong mover or two, so if you’d like to help please email Paula Lewis or give us a call at 303-449-4422 as soon as possible.

RMAD is celebrating! We’re teaming up with Southern Plains Land Trust to host a holiday party to acknowledge our successes in 2006 and to help kick-start 2007. The emphasis of this party is more on “fun” than “raising” so bring your friends, family and fellow activists to our all-vegan shindig at the Crawford Hill Mansion in Denver. Please join us! You can purchase tickets here.

Action Alert: Help “Yes on 2A”. Support Boulder's Annexation Initiative. If you want Boulder’s citizens to have a better chance of helping the prairie dogs on the Palmos property in North Boulder and the foxes and Prebles mice on the Hogan-Pancost property in South Boulder, help “Yes on 2A” distribute literature. Click here for more information, and be sure to tell everyone you know to vote Yes on 2A.

Have a good weekend.

Chris

October 6, 2006

Hi, Friends.

Please welcome to RMAD, and to the Colorado animal advocacy community, our new Operations Director Kris Candour. For nearly 10 years, Kris Candour, MS, has worked within grassroots and professional animal advocacy organizations to actively oppose animal exploitation and promote a vegetarian diet. Kris helped develop the African American Outreach Campaign at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), and she provided fundraising assistance to the Student Animal Rights Alliance (SARA). She has participated in several other organizations, including Action for Animals in Austin, Texas, and Justice for All Species (JAS), a grassroots advocacy group she co-founded to outreach to communities of color about veganism . Kris was interviewed on Black Vegetarians about her role in co-founding JAS and her commitment to animal rights . Kris was also an invited panelist at the 2005 Grassroots Animal Rights Convention in New York, NY, where she spoke about ways to mitigate racism within the animal rights movement. She holds a Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from the Milano Graduate School at New School University.Kris can be reached at krisc@rmad.org if you’d like to drop her a hello. Welcome, Kris!

Thanks to everyone who showed up at our Wednesday event opposing the use of animals in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. RMAD has been in existence for over 12 years, and we have protested Ringling each of those years. There will come a day when such protests are no longer necessary. Our opening night demo reached thousands of circus-goers. We thank our experts who gave us quotes for our media release:

Dr. Marc Bekoff, a professor of biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder: Circuses such as Ringling Bros. deprive animals of any chance to have their emotional needs met. They are an insult to animals and to humans and rob us all of our dignity.

Dr. Erica Rambus, Denver-area veterinarian: All animals have a basic nature inherent in their being. Circuses work against this basic nature, making them cruel venues for our perverse enjoyment.

Catherine Zakoian, MA, LPC: I encourage parents to explore other ways to help their children better understand the nature of animals.

We’ve posted some images from the recent Circus Vigil on our Events page, as well as some photos of summer happenings. Please take a gander – and if you have any good photos of RMADers in action that you’d like to share, please send them to Chris .

Have a good weekend!

Dave