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<h2>ACTION ALERT: SPEAK UP FOR THE GRAY WOLF!!</h2>

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for wildlife, plants and fish that are on the brink of extinction. A hole is about to be ripped in the net for the gray wolf in the eastern half of the United States.

While few would dispute that the gray wolf has made an unprecedented recovery in certain parts of the country such as the Great Lakes, the recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to cross the wolf off of the federal Endangered Species List in more than 20 states would end wolf recovery efforts prematurely in some of these areas. The proposal threatens potential wolf populations by removing protections for wolves in states that have suitable habitat and where wolves are likely to return naturally and thrive with federal protections. 
 
In a way, delisting the wolf in this eastern region might seem odd since the wolf population in most of these states hovers right around zero. Even the term "eastern region" is strange; the area is much larger than you might imagine, stretching from as far west as the Dakotas to Maine and other northeastern states. For example, in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York, which have yet to establish wolf populations but still contain sound habitat, wolves would no longer be subject to endangered species protection. This action may preclude future wolf reintroduction efforts in these areas.

ACTION: Submit written comments on the proposed rule. The USFWS is accepting written public comments on the gray wolf delisting proposal until November 18, 2004. Even if you attend a public meeting, it's still important to send written comments as well. A sample letter and talking points are pasted below. Send written comments on the rule to: 
Gray Wolf DelistEDPS 
c/o Content Analysis Team 
P.O. Box 221150 
Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1150 
Fax: 801-517-1015 
email: <a href="mailto: egwdelist@fs.fed.us">egwdelist@fs.fed.us</a>
 
egwdelist@fs.fed.us (Please put "Attn: Gray Wolf Delisting" in the subject line of the message.)

Be sure that your letter or fax includes the agency name (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and the Regulatory Information Number of the proposal: RIN 1018-AJ03.

Thanks for speaking up on behalf of the gray wolf! We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the environment and leave behind a legacy of protecting endangered species and the special places they call home. 
 
Sincerely,

The staff of the Endangered Species Coalition 
www.stopextinction.org 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
SAMPLE LETTER

Gray Wolf DelistEDPS 
c/o Content Analysis Team 
P.O. Box 221150 
Salt Lake City, UT 84122-1150

RE: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, RIN 1018-AJ03

Date

Dear U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for wildlife, plants and fish that are on the brink of extinction. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the environment and leave behind a legacy of protecting endangered species and the special places they call home. 
 
As a person who cares about protecting the gray wolf both now and into the future, I'm writing to ask that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revisit its original proposal and distinguish between the recovered wolf population in the three Great Lakes states and the potential wolf population in the Northeast and the Dakotas. This could allow wolves to be de-listed in the Great Lakes where they have recovered and for federal wolf recovery efforts to continue in the Northeast where significant habitat exists and to other areas where wolves may return naturally. 
 
While the wolf has made an unprecedented recovery in certain parts of the country such as the Great Lakes, to cross the wolf off of the federal Endangered Species List in more than 20 states would end wolf recovery efforts prematurely in many of these states. The proposal will remove protection for wolves far beyond the states where wolf recovery is actually taking place. At a time when the wolf has been restored to less than 5 percent of its historic range, and only one population of wolves has been restored east of the northern Rocky Mountains, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's job of wolf recovery is simply incomplete. 
 
Rather than walk away from pursuing wolf restoration in places like the Northeast where sound habitat exists but viable populations have yet to be established, your agency should be working to establish wolf conservation agreements with Canada and the states where habitat exists. By delisting the gray wolf in states with suitable habitat, your agency is threatening the future of this important species of wildlife. 
 
Thank you for your consideration.

Your name 
Your address 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
TALKING POINTS YOU MAY WANT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR LETTER:
 •	The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for wildlife, plants and fish that are on the brink of extinction. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the environment and leave behind a legacy of protecting endangered species and the special places they call home. 
•	The "eastern region" in which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to delist the gray wolf stretches from as far west as the Dakotas to Maine and other northeastern states, even though most of those states in the northeast currently have either no wolves, or no officially recognized wolf populations. There are recognized wolf populations only in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Delisting wolves in states where there are no wolves simply doesn't make sense. Further, it will virtually eliminate any possibility of wolf recovery in the northeastern United States and in other regions with suitable habitat. 
 •	Although there is documentation of wolves dispersing into the Dakotas and the northeastern United States, the USFWS isn't requiring states other than Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin to develop regulations or laws to ensure wolf conservation. Therefore, wolves attempting to disperse into other eastern or mid-western states will be entirely unprotected. 
•	State wolf management plans, which will guide wolf management in the Great Lakes States after wolves are delisted, would allow for liberal lethal wolf control. Minnesota's wolf management plan will allow people in some parts of the state to kill wolves without cause at any time. The state may even hire trappers to kill wolves for $150 each; this will provide considerable incentive for liberal lethal wolf control. Wisconsin's plan would allow for wolves to be killed "proactively" (i.e., before any livestock losses have occurred). None of the three plans requires livestock owners to implement sound livestock husbandry practices to help prevent livestock losses caused by wolves. 
•	Wolf management plans for Minnesota and Wisconsin would allow for consideration of trophy hunting and recreational trapping of wolves either immediately after federal delisting or five years after delisting. Michigan's plan is less specific but does not rule out public sport hunting and trapping in the future. 
 •	Some segments of the hunting community in all three states are already pushing for hunting and trapping seasons, in part because they claim that, if unchecked, wolves will cause declines in populations of deer and other favored "game" species, restricting hunters' deer hunting opportunities. However, these claims are based on a simplistic portrayal of predator-prey dynamics; scientific data simply do not support these claims. In fact, Minnesota, with the largest wolf population of any state in the lower 48, consistently boasts of a large and healthy white-tailed deer population. In fact in 2002, Minnesota's deer population was estimated to be the largest population in at least 50 years; subsequent years have yielded record deer "harvests" by hunters in that state. 
•	Others have suggested that wolf populations must be "controlled" via hunting and trapping to keep wolves at or below carrying capacity. Hunting and trapping are not necessary to control the wolf population. Wolf populations are regulated by natural factors such as prey availability (which is itself affected by wolf population size and weather) and naturally occurring and exotic diseases. For example, in the winter of 20023 in Wisconsin, mange was responsible for the death of approximately 36% of all radio-collared wolves. 
 •	Because suitable habitat for wolves is highly fragmented, with few protected corridors, dispersal of wolves—and therefore gene flow among populations—is limited. In particular, heavy exploitation of wolves in Minnesota after delisting may restrict dispersal of wolves to Wisconsin and Michigan. 
•	Most of the wolf populations in the lower 48 states, including those in the eastern delisting region, are small and partially isolated, and those factors could jeopardize the long-term viability of the gray wolf in the United States. Population sizes in the Great Lakes states may sound large with an estimated 360 wolves in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, 373 in Wisconsin, and 2,450 at last count in Minnesota. But simply counting individual animals doesn't account for the fact that only a small proportion of adults (usually only the alpha pair in a pack) reproduce successfully. The number of reproductive adults is what counts when considering a population's long-term viability. 
•	The state wolf management plans in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin are not set in stone. They may be modified over the years; the limited protection the plans would provide wolves would be subject to modification or even simple a lack of funding.

<h2>Retire Lincoln Park Zoo Elephants to PAWS Sanctuary </h2>

Peaches, Tatima, and Wankie are three female african
elephants. They were sent to the Lincoln Park Zoo from
the San Diego Wild Animal Park to make room for young
newly captured elephants from Africa.

Chicago is no place for an african elephant as the
winters are bitterly cold. During the winter these
three girls are kept indoors.

Tatima has deteriorated greatly since coming to the
Lincoln Park Zoo. She has sustained an injury to her
left rear leg. It is swollen and painful for her to
move. She also has lost weight.

Wankie also limps when she attempts to walk.

Tatima is being shunned by the other two as well. She
is mostly kept indoors away from the other two. This puts her in a solitary postion. Torture for such a
social animal.

The Performing Animal Welfare Society (or PAWS) is
able to provide a home for these three elephants on
its 2,300 acre sanctuary in California. Here they
could have a vast amount of land to roam and be able
to socialize with the sanctuary's two african
elephants, Mara and "71."

Here are the addresses to write to:

Kevin Bell, Director 
Lincoln Park Zoo 
2001 N. Clark St. 
Chicago, IL 60614-4757 
312-742-2029 
312-742-2336 (fax) 
email: <a href="mailto:kbell@lpzoo.org">kbell@lpzoo.org</a>
 
 
The Honorable Richard M. Daley 
Mayor of Chicago 
Office of the Mayor 
121 N. LaSalle, Rm. 507 
Chicago, IL 60602 
312-744-3300 
312-744-8045 (fax) 
 
Ask them to follow the lead of the Detroit Zoo and SF
Zoo and retire Wankie, Peaches, and Tatima to PAWS.
 
Maria Saldana, President 
Board of Commissioners 
Chicago Park District 
541 N. Fairbanks Ct. 
Chicago, IL 60611 
312-742-4732 
312-742-3374 (fax) 
 
Write to the Chicago Park District to ask that the
zoo’s lease be suspended until the elephants are
retired.

Dr. Elizabeth Goldentyer, Regional Director 
USDA, APHIS, AC 
920 Main Campus Dr. 
Ste. 200, Unit 3040 
Raleigh, NC 27606 
919-855-7100 
919-855-7123 (fax) 
email: <a href="mailto:aceast@aphis.usda.gov">aceast@aphis.usda.gov</a>
 
 
Ask her to please investigate the conditions
surronding the injured elephants and report of
increasing social disharmony.

<h2>NOW IS THE TIME TO ASK YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO SAVE THE BUFFALO</h2>
 
January 14th's Houston Chronicle includes an op-ed column by The Fund for
Animals' president, Michael Markarian, titled "Where the buffalo
roam...and where they die." The column urges Congress to pass the
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act, H.R. 3446, which was recently
introduced by Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Charles Bass (R-N.H.)
to protect Yellowstone's buffalo from the mass slaughter that has
taken place in recent years. You can read the full article here: 
<a href=http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/2352316" target="_blank">http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/outlook/2352316</a>

The Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act now has more than 40
cosponsors, and this is the perfect time to ask your U.S.
Representative to add his or her name to the list of supporters. It is 
likely to be a bloody winter for Yellowstone's buffalo, and Congress
should act on this bill quickly when it returns from recess later this
month. Please take action by visiting: <a href=http://action.fund.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=5097>http://action.fund.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item</a>

<h2>New Year's Resolution: Go Veg!</h2>

Join Sir Paul McCartney by resolving to Go Veg this year. Every day, more and more people are going vegetarian and vegan. From former cattle ranchers to Hollywood stars, people from every corner of America are recognizing that going veg is good for health...and humanity. Going veg is easier than ever before, and Farm Sanctuary's Veg for Life website at <a href="http://www.vegforlife.org" target="_blank">http://www.vegforlife.org</a> will help you get started. This year, resolve to go vegetarian or vegan or, resolve to get your friends and family members to go veg, even if it is only for one day, one week, or one month. What better way to start off the new year by being a friend to yourself and to other living beings.
 
 
 
<h2>Ask Top CEOs For Fur-Free Stores</h2>

 
 
Source: <a href="http://www.kinshipcircle.org" target="_blank">www.kinshipcircle.org</a> 
 
6 letters 
 
SOURCE OF INFORMATION 
Animal Protection Institute Bulletin 
<a href="http://www.api4animals.org" target="_blank">www.api4animals.org</a> 
 
 
*DISCLAIMER: The information in these letters is verified with the
original
source. I cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy of the
information
or for the consequences of its use. 
 
*Kinship Circle cannot guarantee the validity of email addresses. During
a
campaign, recipients may change or disable their email addresses. 
 
NOTE: If you send comments via the online options included
with street addresses below--your letters will NOT reach company
executives,
as requested in the API alert. They will go to a customer service rep
instead. 
 
=========SAMPLE LETTER #1: JC PENNEY========= 
 
JC Penney Company 
Mr. Allen Questrom, CEO 
P.O. Box 10001 
Dallas, TX 75301-0001 
ph: 972-431-1000 
online comments: 
http://www.jcpenneyeservices.com/csrv/frm_generalinquiries.asp 
 
Dear Mr. Questrom, 
 
JC Penney Company is a reputable source for innovative merchandise and
dependable customer service. While I would like to frequent your stores,
I
am among the many consumers who boycott companies that promote the fur
industry. 
 
Polls indicate that a solid majority of Americans shun the violent fur
trade
and prefer to shop at fur-free stores. Please adopt a fur-free policy
that
also excludes the sale of fur-trim items. 
 
Whether it's a collar or a coat, fur represents the annual slaughter of
40
million animals. Fur trim is not an innocuous "byproduct" as the industry
claims. It is the hair and skin of a dead animal. In fact, over 80% of
foxes
are currently raised to produce fur trim. 
 
Fur bearing animals do not even receive the minimal protections
established
for farmed animals under the Humane Slaughter Act. Processors are free to
harvest pelts as cheaply as possible. Most animals are electrocuted
through
their genitals. A metal conductor is lodged in the animal's throat and an
electric prod is pushed inside the rectum in order to transmit a 240-volt
electrical shock. The alert animal convulses for two or more minutes
before
he succumbs to the force of a massive heart attack. 
 
Sometimes the killer yanks the animal's vertebra out of the socket (neck
popping) for a death that can last up to five minutes. Other animals are
injected with pesticides or asphyxiated with carbon monoxide from
unfiltered
engine exhaust. Those mutilated in steel-jaw leghold traps are fatally
shot,
clubbed, stomped or drowned after languishing in the traps for days. 
 
The wild animals warehoused on fur farms would normally travel miles each
day, raise their young, burrow, dig and express other traits. To make a
"fashion statement," they are confined in dingy waste-saturated cages.
Many
perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. 
 
Please make the ethically responsible decision to go 100% faux. I
strongly
encourage JC Penney Company to ban the sale of fur and fur-trimmed 
garments. 
 
Thank you, 
=========SAMPLE LETTER #2: NINE WEST========= 
 
Nine West 
Rhonda Brown, CEO 
Nine West Group 
1129 Westchester Avenue 
White Plains, NY 10604 
ph: 914-640-6400 
online "Ask A Question:" 
http://support.ninewest.com/cgi-bin/ninewest.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php?p_si
d=x
MnbDKZg&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NjkmcF9wYWdlP
TE*
&p_li= 
 
Dear Ms. Brown, 
 
Nine West is a reputable source for innovative merchandise and dependable
customer service. While I would like to frequent your stores, I am among
the
many consumers who boycott companies that promote the fur industry. 
 
Polls indicate that a solid majority of Americans shun the violent fur
trade
and prefer to shop at fur-free stores. Please adopt a fur-free policy
that
also excludes the sale of fur-trim items. 
 
Whether it's a collar or a coat, fur represents the annual slaughter of
40
million animals. Fur trim is not an innocuous "byproduct" as the industry
claims. It is the hair and skin of a dead animal. In fact, over 80% of
foxes
are currently raised to produce fur trim. 
 
Fur bearing animals do not even receive the minimal protections
established
for farmed animals under the Humane Slaughter Act. Processors are free to
harvest pelts as cheaply as possible. Most animals are electrocuted
through
their genitals. A metal conductor is lodged in the animal's throat and an
electric prod is pushed inside the rectum in order to transmit a 240-volt
electrical shock. The alert animal convulses for two or more minutes
before
he succumbs to the force of a massive heart attack. 
 
Sometimes the killer yanks the animal's vertebra out of the socket (neck
popping) for a death that can last up to five minutes. Other animals are
injected with pesticides or asphyxiated with carbon monoxide from
unfiltered
engine exhaust. Those mutilated in steel-jaw leghold traps are fatally
shot,
clubbed, stomped or drowned after languishing in the traps for days. 
 
The wild animals warehoused on fur farms would normally travel miles each
day, raise their young, burrow, dig and express other traits. To make a
"fashion statement," they are confined in dingy waste-saturated cages.
Many
perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. 
 
Please make the ethically responsible decision to go 100% faux. I
strongly
encourage Nine West to ban the sale of fur and fur-trimmed garments. 
 
Thank you, 
 
=========SAMPLE LETTER #3: BEBE========= 
 
Bebe 
Manny Mashouf, President 
380 Valley Drive 
Brisbane, CA 94005 
ph: 415-715-3900, 1-877-232-3777 
email: <a href="mailto:askus@bebe.com">askus@bebe.com</a>
 
Dear Mr. Mashouf, 
 
Bebe is a reputable source for innovative merchandise and dependable
customer service. While I would like to frequent your stores, I am among
the
many consumers who boycott companies that promote the fur industry. 
 
Polls indicate that a solid majority of Americans shun the violent fur
trade
and prefer to shop at fur-free stores. Please adopt a fur-free policy
that
also excludes the sale of fur-trim items. 
 
Whether it's a collar or a coat, fur represents the annual slaughter of
40
million animals. Fur trim is not an innocuous "byproduct" as the industry
claims. It is the hair and skin of a dead animal. In fact, over 80% of
foxes
are currently raised to produce fur trim. 
 
Fur bearing animals do not even receive the minimal protections
established
for farmed animals under the Humane Slaughter Act. Processors are free to
harvest pelts as cheaply as possible. Most animals are electrocuted
through
their genitals. A metal conductor is lodged in the animal's throat and an
electric prod is pushed inside the rectum in order to transmit a 240-volt
electrical shock. The alert animal convulses for two or more minutes
before
he succumbs to the force of a massive heart attack. 
 
Sometimes the killer yanks the animal's vertebra out of the socket (neck
popping) for a death that can last up to five minutes. Other animals are
injected with pesticides or asphyxiated with carbon monoxide from
unfiltered
engine exhaust. Those mutilated in steel-jaw leghold traps are fatally
shot,
clubbed, stomped or drowned after languishing in the traps for days. 
 
The wild animals warehoused on fur farms would normally travel miles each
day, raise their young, burrow, dig and express other traits. To make a
"fashion statement," they are confined in dingy waste-saturated cages.
Many
perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. 
 
Please make the ethically responsible decision to go 100% faux. I
strongly
encourage Bebe to ban the sale of fur and fur-trimmed garments. 
 
Thank you, 
 
=========SAMPLE LETTER #4: NORDSTROM========= 
 
Nordstrom 
Blake Nordstrom, President 
1501 Fifth Avenue 
Seattle, WA 98101-1603 
ph: 206-628-2111, 1-888-282-6060 
online comments: https://secure.nordstrom.com/services/storefeedback.asp 
 
Dear Mr. Nordstrom, 
 
Nordstrom is a reputable source for innovative merchandise and dependable
customer service. While I would like to frequent your stores, I am among
the
many consumers who boycott companies that promote the fur industry. 
 
Polls indicate that a solid majority of Americans shun the violent fur
trade
and prefer to shop at fur-free stores. Please adopt a fur-free policy
that
also excludes the sale of fur-trim items. 
 
Whether it's a collar or a coat, fur represents the annual slaughter of
40
million animals. Fur trim is not an innocuous "byproduct" as the industry
claims. It is the hair and skin of a dead animal. In fact, over 80% of
foxes
are currently raised to produce fur trim. 
 
Fur bearing animals do not even receive the minimal protections
established
for farmed animals under the Humane Slaughter Act. Processors are free to
harvest pelts as cheaply as possible. Most animals are electrocuted
through
their genitals. A metal conductor is lodged in the animal's throat and an
electric prod is pushed inside the rectum in order to transmit a 240-volt
electrical shock. The alert animal convulses for two or more minutes
before
he succumbs to the force of a massive heart attack. 
 
Sometimes the killer yanks the animal's vertebra out of the socket (neck
popping) for a death that can last up to five minutes. Other animals are
injected with pesticides or asphyxiated with carbon monoxide from
unfiltered
engine exhaust. Those mutilated in steel-jaw leghold traps are fatally
shot,
clubbed, stomped or drowned after languishing in the traps for days. 
 
The wild animals warehoused on fur farms would normally travel miles each
day, raise their young, burrow, dig and express other traits. To make a
"fashion statement," they are confined in dingy waste-saturated cages.
Many
perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. 
 
Please make the ethically responsible decision to go 100% faux. I
strongly
encourage Nordstrom to ban the sale of fur and fur-trimmed garments. 
 
Thank you, 
 
=========SAMPLE LETTER #5: CHADWICK'S========= 
 
Chadwick's of Boston, Corporate Office 
35 United Drive 
West Bridgewater, MA 02379 
ph: 1-800-677-0340; fax: 508-588-7994 
online comments: 
https://www.chadwicks.com/chadwicks/kana/contact_us.asp?nav=1&&&postback=
tru
e&postback=true 
email: chadwickscs@brylane.com 
 
Customer Service Department: 
 
Chadwick's of Boston is a reputable source for innovative merchandise and
dependable customer service. While I would like to frequent your stores,
I
am among the many consumers who boycott companies that promote the fur
industry. 
 
Polls indicate that a solid majority of Americans shun the violent fur
trade
and prefer to shop at fur-free stores. Please adopt a fur-free policy
that
also excludes the sale of fur-trim items. 
 
Whether it's a collar or a coat, fur represents the annual slaughter of
40
million animals. Fur trim is not an innocuous "byproduct" as the industry
claims. It is the hair and skin of a dead animal. In fact, over 80% of
foxes
are currently raised to produce fur trim. 
 
Fur bearing animals do not even receive the minimal protections
established
for farmed animals under the Humane Slaughter Act. Processors are free to
harvest pelts as cheaply as possible. Most animals are electrocuted
through
their genitals. A metal conductor is lodged in the animal's throat and an
electric prod is pushed inside the rectum in order to transmit a 240-volt
electrical shock. The alert animal convulses for two or more minutes
before
he succumbs to the force of a massive heart attack. 
 
Sometimes the killer yanks the animal's vertebra out of the socket (neck
popping) for a death that can last up to five minutes. Other animals are
injected with pesticides or asphyxiated with carbon monoxide from
unfiltered
engine exhaust. Those mutilated in steel-jaw leghold traps are fatally
shot,
clubbed, stomped or drowned after languishing in the traps for days. 
 
The wild animals warehoused on fur farms would normally travel miles each
day, raise their young, burrow, dig and express other traits. To make a
"fashion statement," they are confined in dingy waste-saturated cages.
Many
perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. 
 
Please make the ethically responsible decision to go 100% faux. I
strongly
encourage Chadwick's to ban the sale of fur and fur-trimmed garments. 
 
Thank you, 
 
=========SAMPLE LETTER #6: LORD AND TAYLOR========= 
 
Lord and Taylor, Jane Elfers, CEO 
424 Fifth Avenue 
New York, NY 10018 
Exec. Offices: 212-391-3344, x7789 
Julio Rios, Coat Dept. Manager: 212-827-6057 
 
The May Company 
Gene Kahn, CEO 
611 Olive Street 
St. Louis, MO 63101. 
Executive Offices: 314-342-6300 
customer service email: a href="mailto:r oycie_earvin@may-co.com">email text</a>
 
Dear Ms. Elfers and Mr. Kahn, 
 
Over the years I have found May Company stores to be a reputable source
for
innovative merchandise and superior customer service. For these reasons,
I
have taken the time to express my disappointment about plans to open a
fur
salon at Lord and Taylor's flagship store in New York. This will likely
establish a disturbing trend among other Lord and Taylor stores, as well
as
May Company's subsidiaries--Hecht's, Filene's, and Robinsons. 
 
While my family would like to patronize these quality stores, we will not
purchase goods from companies that invest in the violent fur trade. I
strongly encourage Lord and Taylor and all May Company stores to remain
ethically responsible. Please do not market animal cruelty. 
 
Fur items come from wild animals killed with genital electrocution
devices,
crude gas chambers or pesticide injection. Others, mutilated in steel-jaw
leghold traps, are fatally clubbed, stomped, or drowned after languishing
in
the traps for days. With no federal laws to moderate the annual slaughter
of
40 million furbearing animals, processors harvest pelts as cheaply as
possible. Sometimes the killer simply yanks the animal's vertebra out of
the
socket. 
 
To ensure undamaged pelts, most animals are electrocuted through their
genitals. "There is a probe that goes into their rectum and another probe
inside their mouth," says Matt Rossell, a cruelty investigator at a
typicalfox fur farm in Illinois. "When they bite down, [the killer] pushes on
thejuice. Often, the animals' teeth fall out. They go into convulsions and
areleft writhing in pain. Then it has to be done again and again until the
foxfinally has a heart attack." 
 
Animals raised on fur farms are confined in dingy waste-saturated cages.
Some perish from dehydration, starvation or self-mutilation. An animal in
the wild naturally roams for miles. An animal on a fur farm has just a
few square feet to move. 
 
As a leader in the industry, Lord and Taylor ought to set the trend for
conscientious fashion. I look forward to your feedback on this serious
matter. 
 
Thank you,

<h2>Stop Seal Slaughter Off Ireland's Shores</h2>Seals Slaughtered Off Ireland's Shores 
Source: http://www.kinshipcircle.org
 1 letter 
 
 SOURCE OF INFORMATION 
 alan cooper, cetaceadefenceuk@yahoo.co.uk 
 The Irish Seal Sanctuary, jjceasar@eircom.net 
 http://www.irishsealsanctuary.ie

***Please copy your letters to the Irish Seal Sanctuary, who issued this
 alert:
 jjceasar@eircom.net
 
 ==================SAMPLE LETTER==================
 
 Fáilte Ireland 
 (The National Tourism Development Authority) 
 Baggot Street Bridge, Baggot St. 
 Dublin 2 
 ph: 00 353 1 602 4000; fax: 00 353 1 602 4100 
 www.failteireland.ie 
 online comments: http://www.ireland.ie/moreInfo/ 
 email: info@failteireland.ie 
 
 Taoiseach's Office 
 (Prime Minister of Ireland) 
 Department of the Taoiseach 
 Government Buildings 
 Upper Merrion Street 
 Dublin 2 
 local ph: 1890 227227; fax: (01) 6789791 
 email: taoiseach@taoiseach.ie
 
 Honorable Officials of Ireland:
 
 I call upon authorities to investigate and apprehend those responsible for
 the recent slaughter of seals in Kerry. I understand the carcasses of at
 least five illegally shot seals were discovered in Tralee Bay, where the
 diminishing seal count in Kerry--along with the depletion of Ireland's
 renowned grey seal colony on the Blasket islands--already threaten seal
 numbers.
 
 The arbitrary shootings are not only cruel; they also jeopardize the growth
 of sustainable marine ecotourism in Ireland. I am a potential tourist who
 visits areas where wildlife can inhabit natural terrain without pain and
 suffering at the hands of humans. My family would not feel comfortable
 vacationing in a country that condones the "culling" of marine wildlife.
 
 I hope these and other reported shootings around the country do not mark the
 onset of a seal hunt. Any depletion in fisheries is more likely due to
 over-fishing and other commercial exploits. At the very least, authorities
 should disclose former BIM scientist Ciaran Crummy's report and allow the
 Irish Seal Sanctuary to assess the scientific merit behind a seal cull.
 
 I also appeal to the Taoiseach to ensure support for seed funding to build
 the National Marine Conservation Centre. I am deeply concerned about the
 precedent established by the recent slaughter of marine wildlife and urge
 officials to advocate the humane preservation of seals.
 
 Thank you for your valuable time and consideration in this urgent matter.
 
 Sincerely,