Lily Tomlin Speaks Up For Elephants in Zoos and Circuses

Earlier this week we told you about Lily Tomlin's endorsement of our upcoming International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos. At a news conference on Wednesday, IDA released a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, signed by Ms. Tomlin and many leading advocates for animals, calling on Secretary Vilsack to enforce animal welfare laws. We asked the Secretary to start by immediately confiscating Tina, Queenie and Jewel, three ailing elephants in imminent danger, held by an abusive circus trainer. Click here to read about the news conference, see media coverage, and to send a letter to help Tina, Queenie, and Jewel.

Costco Bans Foie Gras

Costco has stopped selling goose foie gras! The company is playing the decision as primarily economic, noting minimal sales of the product of torture. But according to San Francisco's SF Weekly, Costco's food buyer Mike Dorpat "...said he'd researched force-feeding practices in foie gras production. "We purposely didn't put duck foie gras on, because they do have smaller necks, so it's easier to damage them in the feeding process." He said the French company that supplied Costco had assured the retailer its feeding practices were "believed to not be a stressful experience for the animals." "Quite honestly, we couldn't verify the vendor's claims," Dorpat said. He added that low consumer demand, combined with a looming 2012 foie gras ban in California (that IDA members worked so hard to achieve,) led Costco to remove the product.

City of Ghent, Belgium Leads Vegetarian Revolution

New York Times food writer Mark Bittman visits a city where "everyone I met ... is vegetarian" and the town council has declared Thursdays (EVERY Thursday!) to be vegetarian days, encouraging all to voluntarily eat only meatless meals. The U.K.'s Guardian has an extensive report on Ghent's move towards vegetarianism, noting: "The city council says it is the first town in Europe and probably the western world to try to make the entire place vegetarian for a day every week. Tom Balthazar, the Labour party councillor pushing the scheme, said: "There's nothing compulsory. We just want to be a city that promotes sustainable and healthy living." The city's schools and hospitals will also be promoting the vegetarian diet on Thursdays. Time Magazine also provides extensive coverage of Ghent's Veggie Revolution!

AR 2009 Young Animal Activist Award Nominations, And Schedule The Animal Rights 2009 National Conference schedule has been posted here. Discounted registration rate ends this month. To register, please visit this page. Voice your opinion for the Most Effective Animal Rights Campaign of 2008 & 2009! Winners will be announced at Saturday Night's Awards Banquet. Each year, this Conference presents the Young Animal Activist Award to a young person who has made a substantial contribution to promoting animal rights before his/her 18th birthday. The award consists of a plaque and a $500 cash prize. It is co-sponsored by In Defense of Animals and the Farm Animal Rights Movement. To be considered for the award, please e-mail your application by June 20th to jen@ARConference.org. The application should contain a 1-2 page listing of your accomplishments in promoting animal rights and may include up to three pages of supporting materials, including letters from animal rights leaders or others familiar with your work.