The Perfect Holiday Gifts Have Arrived!

IDA has partnered with the socially responsible Ecojoia to bring you sophisticated eco-friendly merchandise that make perfect holiday gifts. All clothing is 100% organic cotton with earth-friendly printing. The best part is that 25-50% of the sale price directly benefits IDA’s campaigns to help animals.

Click here to get yours today

Help us help baby Val

Two-and-a-half-year-old baby Val has been performing for the Carson and Barnes Circus for about a year now. IDA is deeply concerned about her safety. We know the trauma that both mother and calf suffer when violently separated and prematurely weaned.
The cruel and abusive training involved in forcing elephants to do unnatural tricks is well documented; the likelihood that Val has been beaten into submission is a virtual certainty. And lastly, the tricks that she is being forced to perform, such as standing and walking on her hind legs, are dangerous for her developing bones and muscles.

In all, this baby elephant's health and well-being are at grave risk. Two young Carson and Barnes elephants before her have been stricken with the deadly elephant herpes virus; one, poor little Jenny, died. No doubt the stress and trauma of circus life made these babies vulnerable to this often-fatal disease.

Since April , IDA has monitored a number of Val’s increasingly dangerous performances. View these videos here and here.  We have filed Complaints asking the USDA to take her – along with her mother, Whimpy – away from her “owners” at Carson and Barnes Circus, who have  demonstrated a callous disregard for the safety of their baby elephants. We need to continue monitoring her condition, at every venue if possible, until she is safe.

We need your help: Val's handler is the notorious Tim Frisco, who was caught on video demonstrating how to train elephants by beating them, telling other handlers to "make 'em scream" in order to get the elephants to comply with commands. Val and Frisco are appearing at a variety of Shrine Circus venues featuring the Royal Hanneford Circus, which is leasing elephants from Carson and Barnes. We need your help to track Val so we can continue to document her treatment.

If a Shrine Circus is coming to your area, please check to see if it is a Royal Hanneford production. Get any available information, and then email us at circuses@idausa.org so that we can further investigate. (Royal Hanneford has more than one unit with performing elephants.) If Val is going to be in your area, let us know if you can photograph her performances.

Meanwhile, we'll keep you posted on our progress to help this vulnerable baby elephant.

Save Japan Dolphins from the Hunt - And People From Mercury Poison

 In Defense of Animals, founding member of the Save Japan Dolphins Coalition, is encouraged that the subject of mercury-laden meat from slaughtered dolphins will at long last be scrutinized by Japan’s new Minister of State for Consumer Affairs and Food Safety, Ms. Mizuho Fukushima. At a press conference held recently in Tokyo, Ms. Fukushima was presented with data supporting the fact that Taiji residents are contaminated with dangerous levels of mercury because of consuming dolphin and whale meat. As a result, she agreed to investigate the deeply hidden mercury issue, which gives us hope that the Japanese public will finally be told the truth about the poisonous dolphin meat, and that it will be pulled from shelves in supermarkets and never again be served in schools and workplaces. You can help the campaign to stop dolphins from being slaughtered as well as prevent more people in Japan from consuming and becoming contaminated from toxic dolphin meat. Act now and send a message to Ms. Fukushima.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please send a polite letter to Ms. Fukushima by urging the following:

“Dear Ms. Mizuho Fukushima:
 
Scientific studies have demonstrated that dolphin and whale meat is highly toxic and not fit for human consumption due to contamination from methylmercury, mercury, PCBs, and other poisons. Please prevent any further damage to the health of the Japanese people by banning the sale of dolphin and whale meat immediately.
 
Sincerely,
 
[Your name and contact information]

Please send your letter to:
 
Minister of the Consumer Affairs Agency
Ms. Mizuho
Fukushima
Sanno Park Tower
2-11-1 Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Japan
100-6178
Fax: +81-3-3500-4640
 
Keiko Ueda, legislative Aide to Ms. Mizuho
Fukushima, Member of the House of Councillors, Social Democratic
Party
E-mail:ukgo@jca.apc.org 
 
For more information, please contact Melissa Gonzalez, Marine Mammal Coordinator, at melissa@idausa.org.

Fur Free Friday 2009 a Huge Success!

Chanting slogans like “Forty dead animals! One fur coat!” and “Compassion is the fashion! Don't buy fur!” animal advocates collectively raised their voices across North America and around the globe last week on Fur Free Friday, the world's largest day of outreach for animal rights. Over 50 separate Fur Free Friday educational events in 25 U.S. states as well as actions in Canada, Germany, and Spain were posted to In Defense of Animal's (IDA) website and occurred on the day after Thanksgiving, November 27. Reports are now coming in with amazing photos and stories of the enormous success of the grassroots effort to raise consciousness about the suffering of over 50 million fur-bearing animals who are abused every year by the fur industry, and encourage people to shun all fur products.

Read more about Fur Free Friday 2009 here.

 Donate Your Car Before the End of the Year

 Your adored car just isn’t the same anymore. It stalls, leaks, backfires, clunks, or may have even seized up. Yet you can’t let go. But your car has done everything it’s been asked and now there is something beautiful you can do for it as a sweet sendoff. Donation to your favorite organization, IDA! That’s the ticket. Donating your old vehicle will directly save animals’ lives and ensure that the vital and life-giving work of IDA continues unabated. Proceeds generated from the auction of your used car, boat, RV, van, truck, or motorcycle create funds immeasurably benefiting animals around the world. Your donated vehicle, a tax-deductible contribution, does not need to be registered or even in running condition. In a fantastically convenient fashion, we will arrange to have the vehicle picked up or towed from almost anywhere. Imagine not having to immerse yourself in making a trade or a sale or having expensive repairs done. Isn’t it time you said goodbye and, simultaneously, help so many animals?

For more information, call Sage at 448-0048, ext. 218 or www.donateacar.com. There is a form to fill out and you can write off up to $500 for the donation.

To donate now, please visit http://www.donateacar.com/charity-In-Defense-of-Animals.php

Breaking News!

“The Cove” was awarded “Best Documentary” by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures on December 3, 2009.