New York State Humane Lobby Day - March 24

Think only professional lobbyists can lobby? Think again! The Humane Society of the United States invites you to participate in the New York State Humane Lobby Day in Albany, where you’ll make a tremendous difference for animals.

This is an exciting opportunity to meet directly with your elected officials or their staff about legislation that will significantly impact animals. There will be a briefing on tips for lobbying and an overview of pending animal legislation which will prepare you to meet your elected officials and advocate for animals. RSVP today to lend your voice for animals and make a difference in New York.

Join SARO and other community members as we travel to Albany to talk our legislators to help pass laws cracking down on animal fighters, stopping puppy mills, ending canned shoots of captive exotic wildlife, protecting farm animals from cruel treatment, and doing the right thing for animals!

The 2010 New York State Humane Lobby Day is organized by The Humane Society of the United States and co-sponsored by Farm Sanctuary, Humane Society of New York, New York League of Humane Voters, and New York State Humane Association.

A chartered bus will be leaving early morning from the Regional Transportation Center in Syracuse heading to Albany and returning in the evening after the event.
There is no registration fee for attending NYS Humane Lobby Day. Those who would like to travel on our chartered bus from Syracuse/Utica to Albany and back can purchase a seat for $26 per traveler. This fee will allow us to cover the cost of the bus. The bus will leave Syracuse at 7:45am, and make a stop for pick up in Utica at 8:30am.
Those who arrive late will forfeit their seats. Fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

The pick up stations are as follows:

SYRACUSE – 7:45am
Address: Regional Transportation Center

                131 Alliance Bank Pkwy

                Syracuse, NY 13208

UTICA – 8:30am
Address: 321 Main Street
                Utica, NY 13501

Date: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Time: 11:00am - 4:30pm
Address: Empire State Plaza Convention Center

                Meeting Rooms 2 & 3

                Albany, NY 12242

 

If you'd like to attend this event please RSVP for the event and RSVP for the bus.

Meet With HSUS for Animals in Upstate New York

	Ithaca, New York HSUS Lobby 101 Seminar Monday, Dec. 7, 2009 6:30 - 8 p.m. Click here to RSVP. Watertown, New York HSUS Lobby 101 Seminar Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 6 - 8 p.m. Click here to RSVP. Syracuse, New York HSUS Grassroots Meeting Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2009 6:30 - 8 p.m. Click here to RSVP. Albany, New York HSUS Grassroots Meeting Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009 6:30 - 8 p.m. Click here to RSVP.

Dear Friend,

Great things are happening for animals across New York. I'm the New York State Director of the Humane Society of the United States and I'll be hosting several free events throughout Upstate New York next month. I hope you'll join me to learn how you can take action for animals. Check the list for an event near you and click the links to get more details and to RSVP.

The U.S. Congress and the New York state legislature will be considering legislation that would significantly impact animals, such as a bill to help strengthen animal fighting laws and a bill to stop the proliferation of puppy mills in New York. We want you to know the most effective ways to get involved and communicate your message.

I'll hold two Lobby 101 seminars -- Dec. 7 in Ithaca and Dec. 8 in Watertown. Lobby 101s will provide you with basic, but effective, lobby techniques for citizen activists and provide information regarding some of the bills and issues being considered this year.

I'll also hold two grassroots meetings -- Dec. 9 in Syracuse and Dec. 10 in Albany. At these grassroots meetings, you'll have the opportunity to discuss current issues affecting animals and receive an update on animal protection legislation in which HSUS is currently engaged.

All events are free of charge, but an RSVP is requested to attend. Click on the links to learn more and to RSVP now.

Hope to see you at one of these events!

Sincerely,

Patrick Kwan
New York State Director
The Humane Society of the United States

P.S. Join The HSUS New York State group on Facebook. It's free (and fun) to set up your own profile and get involved.

P.P.S. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/heypatrick.

Dogs Deserve Better: Winter Outreach

Please join SARO to remind people that a life on a chain is no life at all, but this holds especially true during the winter months.  On Saturday, December 5th SARO will be standing on the corner of Alliance Bank Pkwy and Park St asking people to please be kind to their dogs this winter and bring them indoors.

Why: To increase public awareness that having dogs on chains or in pens is not only inhumane and barbaric but also a public safety issue. More info at www.dogsdeservebetter.org
When: Saturday, December 5th, 3:30pm-4:30pm
Where: Syracuse, NY, on the corner of Alliance Bank Parkway and Park St.
NOTE: The Carousel Mall entrance is directly across the street from where we'll be. Mapquest: Type in 2100 Park St. for the Regional Market. If you are driving to this event please park in the Regional Market or the Regional Transportation Center parking lots not in the Carousel Center parking lot.
What to bring: Signs will be provided, or bring your own. Sign ideas are:"Dogs are family, too"; "Unchain your dog"; "No chains or pens for dogs"; etc.


Please remember to DRESS WARMLY!  We will be in the shade and it will be much cooler than you might expect.

Demonstration Location Map:


View Larger Map

Zombie Flash Mob Anti-fur Protest

SARO received this flier the other day and though it was a good concept, so we thought we'd pass it along to you.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

What is an Anti-Fur Zombie Flash Mob you ask?  Well, a flash mob is a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public space, perform an unusual action for a brief time, then quickly disperse.

For this particular event, people will be dressed as zombies, declaring "I'd rather be dead than wearfur."
 - Meet at the Regional Market Building located at 2100 Park Street at 12 noon sharp, no dawdling.
 - Look for the sign "Zombies Meet Here"
 - Come dressed in zombie garb: ripped, dirty and disheveled clothing.  Wear your own zombie makeup or bring $3 to use provided makeup.
 - All zombies will receive a briefing before the event begins.
 - People not planning on being a zombie need not attend.

Need some inspiration on being a zombie?  Hulu is playing Dawn of the Dead until March 1, 2010 for free.

Make A (Local) Call for the Animals

Call-in to the Carousel Mall for hosting Georgio's Furs and L'Adour for their continued sale of foie gras all day Sunday.

Georgio's Furs:
Carousel Mall in Syracuse, NY may be best known for its shopping experience, but harboring a full-scale fur salon is making the mall atmosphere synonymous with cruelty to animals. The Carousel Center continues to host Georgio's Furs despite knowing the suffering that goes into every fur hat and coat. Repeated attempts by shoppers and community groups to communicate their concerns about Carousel Mall hosting Georgio's have been ignored. Help us remove Georgio's from the mall forever.

Carousel Mall customer service: 316-466-7000 315-466-7000

What to say:
"Hello this is [YOUR NAME] calling from [YOUR LOCATION] When Georgio's was first given a lease in the Carousel Center, over 1,200 people signed a petition to the mall management against allowing a fur store. I am calling with my concerns about Georgio's Furs being allowed in the mall this holiday season.
1. a fur salon is contradictory to the environmentally friendly image the mall is seeking to promote
2. the fur industry is horrendously cruel (describe how) and is inappropriate in a family friendly setting.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing that Georgio's Furs will not have a storefront in the mall in the future."



L'Adour - Foie Gras

After being made aware of the inherent cruelty to ducks during foie gras production, L'Adour refuses to take the product off the menu.

Syracuse Animal Rights Organization has spoken with the owners, handed leaflets to hundreds of patrons and held over 50 public outreach demonstrations at this restaurant. Recently, L'Adour has begun to not admit they serve foie gras over the phone but it is still on their menu. L'Adour's foie gras supplier is the well-documented Hudson Valley Foie Gras, notorious for animal, worker and environmental violations. For more information about foie gras, visit www.nofoiegras.org and www.ladourpollutes.com. Let L'Adour know that while the ducks are suffering, they will continue to hear from compassionate people.

Call L'Adour at: 315-475-7653

PETA Dumping Dairy Covered In Post-Standard

PETA's downtown protest focuses on poor treatment of cows

By The Post-Standard

October 22, 2009, 3:06PM

By Lynette Chen / Contributing writer
Syracuse, NY -- Dressed as a cow, a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals dumped gallons of “milk”— actually floured water — today in front of a downtown Syracuse grocery store.

The action at C.L. Evers & Co. on Water Street was part of a protest against what PETA refers to as factory dairy farms and their poor treatment of cows.

Virginia Fort, assistant campaign coordinator at PETA, wore a body-screen TV showing newly released footage taken by a whistleblower at a farm that supplies the Land O’Lakes company. The video shows sick, exhausted cows struggling to stand and being forced to hobble through a massive build-up of their own waste.

“You may want to stop drinking dairy after seeing this,” Fort said. “We want people who go in there and buy milk to know what’s going on behind the scenes of factory farms.

Dairy cows are kept consistently pregnant and forced to produce up to 10 times more than they actually would, Fort said. After several years of abuse, their bodies are shipped off to slaughters where they are made into ground beef , soup or hamburgers, she said.

The footage was taken during a PETA undercover investigation at a farm in Pennsylvania. PETA regularly sends volunteers wearing hidden cameras to factory farms and warehouses to capture footage of what may be shoddy practices, Fort said. Investigators found cows that were sick and unable to move, denied medical care despite being in pain and abused by the farm’s owners. PETA said it is filing complaints against the farm.

No one at the grocery store agreed to comment on the record about the demonstration.

Source: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/petas_downtown_protest_focuses.html

Gallons of Milk Dumped at Syracuse Grocery Store by Angry PETA Activists

Video Shot at a Land O'Lakes Supplier's Facility Shows How Cows and Calves Are Left to Suffer on Factory Dairy Farms



For Immediate Release:
October 21, 2009
Contact:
Shakira Croce 757-622-7382

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Dressed as a cow, a PETA supporter will dump gallons of "milk" outside a grocery store in Syracuse as part of a protest against cruel factory dairy farms. Another protester will wear a body-screen TV showing newly released video footage taken by a whistleblower at a farm that supplies Land O'Lakes. The video--which shows sick, exhausted cows struggling to stand and being forced to hobble through a massive build-up of their own waste--will reveal to consumers how much filth and suffering goes into the production of milk and other dairy products. The cows suffered from painful infections and severe lameness, and animals were kept in miserable conditions and deprived of even basic care. Some of the animals went untreated and were not put out of their misery when they were in pain and unable to stand.


When:   Thursday, October 22, 1 p.m.


Where:  C.L. Evers & Company, 214 W. Water St., Syracuse



View Larger Map

"This investigation shows that when you don't wean yourself off milk, butter, and cheese, you may be paying someone to cause great suffering to animals on factory farms," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Anyone with a conscience will find this footage disturbing, but people can help stop these abuses by dropping dairy products from their diets."

PETA launched the investigation after a whistleblower working at the farm became concerned about conditions there and contacted PETA for help earlier this year. Investigators discovered cows who were sick and unable to move, were denied medical care despite being in pain, and were abused by the farm's owners. The owners--a man and his son--have now been charged with cruelty to animals.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

A Walk and A Protest in One Day

This past weekend was a a busy one for SARO. Okay really it was Saturday that was super busy for SARO.

Saturday morning, we hit the paved trails of Onondaga Park in Liverpool for the annual Walk For Farm Animals. SARO was joined by more than thirty walkers who walked for about an hour.  We got a little exercise and helped raise money for Farm Sanctuary. Farm Sanctuary in case you hadn't heard is a national farm animal rescue organization based out of Watkins Glen, NY.  In Watkins Glen they have a 175-acre farm where animals come to spend their remaining years after being rescued from abuse or neglect.

This month SARO is planning a carpool-trip to Farm Sanctuary on Saturday, October 17th, just weeks before they close this year's touring season.  The carpool cost $5.00 (gas for the drivers) and the tour is $3.00.  Please email info[AT]syracuseanimalrights.com if you are interested in joining us.

After the Walk For Farm Animals, SARO then participated in a protest against KFC.  SARO has been doing KFC protests off and on for a few years now.  This year we changed locations from the Erie Blvd location to the Butternut St and Park St location.  This protest is in support of PETA, who called for all KFC locations nation wide to protested at until KFC changes their methods.  Please see PETA's Kentucky Fried Cruelty campaign for more ways you can help and for more information on why you shouldn't eat at KFC.

Tonight's Protest of Foie Gras

The foie gras protest tonight was a fun and interesting experience! Although we thought we had figured out all the kinks with the Syracuse Police Department trying to infringe on our right to free speech, we again had to rehash with them that we are legally allowed to protest on a public sidewalk. The owners of L'Adour recently took down their 'protester shield' curtains, and we believe they were upset being 'caught in the open' with no way to keep their customers from looking out the windows at us! Also, this protest saw the biggest turnout in over a year and we thank everyone for coming out for the ducks! It renews our hope that we can keep up the energy needed to keep this campaign against foie gras alive! Stay tuned for more foie gras protests!



In the mean time, check out photos of tonight's protest here:
www.myspace.com/animalrights (apologies for all the red-eye photos!)
Check out our website about L'Adour here: www.ladourpollutes.com
and, as always, contact L'Adour directly and keep the pressure on:
Write: L'Adour, 110 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY 13202.
Call: 315-475-7653
Fax: 315-471-9713

SARO To Protest Tonight Over Foie Gras Being Served In Syracuse

After being made aware of the inherent cruelty to ducks in foie gras production, L'adour refuses to take the product off their menu or sign a foie gras free pledge. Please show support for all the birds suffering on these farms by coming to SARO's public outreach events and contacting L'Adour(below). For more information about foie gras, please watch the video(s) posted below



Please visit YouTube to watch a 12 minute video call Foie Gras: Culinary Cruelty

Protest Details
What: Hold signs and distribute literature to the dinner crowd at L'Adour. Signs and literature provided-including our large 'ladourpollutes.com' banner. Just bring yourself and friends!
Important Note: Due to the 'upscale' nature of the crowd and in order
to better advocate for the animals, please dress 'business casual'.
Where: L'Adour Restaurant, 110 Montgomery St. in Downtown Syracuse
When: Friday, September 25th from 7pm-8pm
Carpool info: Meet at the Schine Student Center loading dock(facing
Waverly Ave.) on SU Campus at 6:30pm sharp.

Other Ways You Can Help
Write: L'Adour 110 Montgomery St., Syracuse, NY 13202.
Call: 315-475-7653
Fax: 315-471-9713
Keep the issue fresh in the mind of L'Adour owners and patrons.  Please make
sure you state your opposition to L'Adour serving foie gras. Feel free
to call, write and email the restaurant letting them know you want
foie gras off their menu and you don't plan on giving them business
until then.

PETA Offers Syracuse Zoo $2,000

On Tuesday PETA sent a letter to the Rosamond Gifford Zoo's director offering a donation of two thousand dollars to replace the zoo's penguins with robotic ones, which were developed by Festo, a German engineering company.

PETA's letter to Rosamond Gifford Zoo Director Chuck Doyle follows.
September 15, 2009

Chuck Doyle
Director
Rosamond Gifford Zoo

Dear Mr. Doyle,
I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters--including thousands in the Syracuse area--to ask you to replace the zoo's captive penguins with the lifelike robotic penguins that were recently developed by the German engineering company Festo. PETA is even offering to make a donation toward fundraising for the project by pledging the first $2,000.

While zoos claim to be educational, a true understanding and appreciation of wildlife cannot come from looking at bored animals who are confined to cramped enclosures that can never replicate the animals' real home environments. Captive animals are denied any semblance of a natural life, and virtually every facet of their existence is controlled. The only thing that people can learn from a visit to the zoo is how animals behave when held in captivity.

Penguins are avid swimmers and divers, and their need to roam in open water cannot be met in a small enclosure. They are good parents and form monogamous pairs, working together to care for their young. In zoos, their mates are often chosen for them through breeding programs, and in many cases, their chicks are removed. The physical and mental frustrations of captivity commonly lead to abnormal, neurotic, and even self-destructive behavior known as "zoochosis." And while zoos tout species preservation, the fact is that captive-breeding programs do little if anything to protect wild populations. Warehousing penguins in zoos is not the solution to saving their counterparts in the wild.

Festo's robotic penguins move, swim, and even communicate just as real penguins do, and visitors who observe the robots will be able to learn about penguin behavior without inflicting additional stress on captive live birds. This will be particularly true if you also erect a sign that reads, "This zoo does not house real penguins because we recognize that we cannot adequately replicate their natural environment or provide them with a satisfying life." Please see the attached article about these fascinating robots. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals


See robot penguins in action:

SPCA's fundraiser tainted with blood money!

ACTION ALERT!

By now, we all now that PETLAND is one of the major contributors to: 1) animal abuse via puppymills; and 2) the pet overpopulation problem. When folks breed or buy, shelter dogs die. See the facts here that "almost every Petland store in the country is buying from puppymills": http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/petland_investigation_2_062909.html

Our one local PETLAND is responsible for hundreds of dogs flooding into our community each year. While these dogs might be bought into nice homes by unsuspecting PETLAND customers, these dogs came from suffering mothers and will cause additional suffering of our region's shelter animals.

PETLAND is a major competitor with U.S. shelters. WHY, then, would our local shelter, CNY SPCA (based in Syracuse, NY), partner with PETLAND, including them as a SPONSOR for their upcoming 10th Annual Walk and Four-Legged Family Fun Festival Festival on Sept. 13? That is like Sea Shepherd partnering with the Japanese whalers!

SEE the FLYER retrieved from PETLAND's website:
http://www.petland.com/FindPetlandStores/NewYork/Syracuse/cnyspca_flyer.pdf

PLEASE CALL the shelter TODAY and ask POLITELY ASK them to CUT TIES with PETLAND asap: 315-454-4479.  Choose the Customer Service option; if you don't get a live person, let it keeping ringing until you reach voicemail and leave a message.

These are rough times for all charities, but especially for animal rescue groups. In addition to calling, if you are financially able, please consider making a donation to your local animal shelter, and show them that they do not have to compromise their morals and mission statement to avoid bankruptcy.

Action Alert - Last Days For Public Comment

With only three days left to submit public comment now is not the time to remain quite. Please speak out for the deer, raccoons, and other animals by telling New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation officials that hunting has no place in Green Lakes State Park.

Send your (polite) comments to Mark Hohengasser of the Planning Bureau telling what you think of the plan to bring hunting to Green Lakes.

Mark Hohengasser
GreenLakes.Plan@oprhp.state.ny.us

Or if you prefer PETA has started an email for you at https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2383 .

After you submit your comments please visit http://SaveGreenLakesWildlife.com and sign the petition.

Should deer hunting be allowed at Green Lakes State Park?

CNYcentral is currently conducting a poll asking, "Should deer hunting be allowed at Green Lakes State Park?" Please take a moment and take the poll. http://www.cnycentral.com/#poll

UPDATE: Poll is now closed. Sorry I don't have the results.

State Could Open Green Lakes State Park to Hunting

State Park officials to hold hearing on opening Green Lakes State Park to hunting.

For those of you who don't know, Green Lakes State Park is located just outside of the Syracuse in Fayetteville, NY.

Green Lakes State Park is currently open to biking, boating, camping, golfing, hiking, picnicking, family playgrounds, cross-country skiing and more, but all that will end will bullets start flying and animals start dying.  See more information on this park at http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkID=23 .

The hearing will be held Tuesday, July 7th at 7pm at Pine Grove Middle School, 6318 Fremont Rd., East Syracuse, NY 13057

Onondaga Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs plans to speak at this hearing in favor of hunting in the park, we need to be there to show that we don't want hunting in this park.  I know this is short notice but please come to the meeting if you can.  However if you can't make the meeting please send a message to Park Planner, Mark Hohengasser (see below for contact info) you have a month to send messages.

For further information on the meeting, call the Green Lakes State Park Golf Course Main Office at 315-637-6111.

Written comments can be sent to the state up to Aug. 7 to:

Mark Hohengasser
Park Planner
Agency Building 1, 17th floor
Empire State Plaza
Albany, N.Y. 12238

or by emailing GreenLakes.Plan@oprhp.state.ny.us

Thank you for your time and action on this