Join World Week for Animals in Laboratories

World Week for Animals in Laboratories

Please join In Defense of Animals during World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL) to speak out against the abhorrent use of animals in testing and research.

This year, there is more hope than ever, as technology moves us beyond antiquated animal experiments and government reports, agencies and scientists have begun to acknowledge the need to move away from animal research.

Recent published studies also document that an old boys network in the federal research funding system concentrates grant awards in the hands of a select number of older researchers ("aging cash cows" like Stephen Lisberger at the University of California San Francisco), perpetuating old-style, outdated research methods at the expense of modern and innovative studies.

With a new administration and a serious financial crisis at hand, it is more important than ever that we use this week to call attention to the outdated and unnecessary biomedical experiments that continue to claim the lives of millions of animals each year.

The new presidential administration has vowed to scrutinize the federal budget "line by line" to locate and eliminate wasteful spending. Now is the time to bring the massive waste of federal funds on cruel and unnecessary animal research to the new Administration's attention. IDA has begun this effort with a letter to Senate leaders

Among them are studies that looked at:

 

• Nipple preference in nursing infant monkeys.
• Effect of high-fat diets on mice sleep. (Made mice fat and sleepy.)
• Effect of stress and isolation on voles. (Prairie voles had less anxiety than meadow voles.)
• Effect of mouse social separation on wound healing. (Affected monogamous mice, not polygamous mice.)
• Effect of exercise on rat health. (Rats who exercised were healthier.)

Your participation is urgently needed to join forces with IDA to push forward and bring about an end to cruel and wasteful animal research. Please, make a commitment today to take one action for animals in laboratories during the week of WWAIL. Here are just a few ways to participate during WWAIL:

 

• Organize an event in your area, such as a demonstration or educational table. Click here to read about the many different ways that you can get involved in 2010. Email us at wwail@idausa.org to let us know if you will be planning an event, or if you just need more information.
• Send a letter to the editor or your local newspaper. Click here for sample letters and guidelines.
• Write to President Obama and urge him to stand by his promise to end wasteful government programs. Contact the Office of Public Liaison ("the front door to the White House through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President").

This year more than ever, we are closer to exposing and ending cruel, unnecessary and outdated animal research.

 

Important Bay Area Demos:
World Week for Animals in Laboratories - 4/19 Berkeley, 4/20 UCSF Orcas in Captivity - 4/24 Six Flags Vallejo

Please attend any (or all!) of three important upcoming demonstrations. World Week for Animals in Laboratories demos will be held on April 19 in Berkeley and April 20 in San Francisco, and a demo against holding Orcas captive on April 24 at Six Flags, Vallejo. Scroll down for more information on each.

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We need YOU to make this year%u2019s World Week for Animals in Laboratories (WWAIL), April 17 - 24, the most effective year yet in speaking out against the use of animals in testing and research. Please join us for educational leafleting on two of the very campuses that imprison helpless animals in barren cages and torture them in the name of science.

Educational Leafleting and Protest for Lab Animals (two to choose from!)

1) Berkeley
When: Monday, April 19, 11 a.m. %u2013 1 p.m.
Where: Berkeley Campus Sproul Plaza

2) UCSF
When: Tuesday, April 20, 11 a.m. %u2013 1 p.m.
Where: UC San Francisco, 513 Parnassus, San Francisco 

Flyers and signs provided. For more information, please contact Hope, hope@idausa.org or 415-448-0058.

This year%u2019s WWAIL focuses on IDA%u2019s %u201CTop 10 List of Ridiculous Research%u201D exposing ridiculous and wasteful experiments funded by your tax dollars. This list consists of studies that would be laughable if they weren't so tragic.

The Top 10 List showed that even experiments that were the %u201Ccream of the scientific crop%u201D - funded by the National Institute of Heath (NIH), approved by federally-mandated oversight committees, and published in peer-reviewed journals - added nothing to medical progress and told us nothing we didn't know already.

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Saturday April 24 Urge Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Patrons to Help Free Shouka

In the wake of the most recent death of the orca trainer at SeaWorld in Florida, a Bay Area Facebook Group, A Call for the Release of All Captive Orcas, and IDA supporters will be protesting at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, home to Shouka, a 4,000 pound female killer whale.

Life for Shouka can be compared to what a child would experience if they were born in a bathtub and forced to live there for the rest of their life. In Shouka%u2019s case, it%u2019s been a long 16 years with no end in sight. At Six Flags, she is forced to perform tricks for food, swimming around in circles in her own waste.

Shouka was unnaturally separated from her family at a young age, and she is the only orca at Six Flags living apart from members of her own species. Shouka is a captive born orca from Marineland in France. Both her parents were captured from the wild in Iceland with her mother, Sharkane, captured in 1989 and her father, Kim, captured in 1982. Shouka was sent to Six Flags World Adventures in Ohio in 2002 and then to Six Flags in Vallejo in 2004.

Please show your support for the animals and help educate thousands of patrons about the suffering Shouka and other orcas experience at the hands of commercial enterprises.

When:   Saturday, April 24, 2010, 10:00 a.m. %u2013 4:00 p.m.
Where: Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, 1001 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo, California 

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Melissa@idausa.org.

*Free T-Shirts offered by A Call for the Release of All Captive Orcas available to those who attend the event and who RSVP before April 20.  

More Information

Orcas, also known as "killer whales," are highly complex, social, ocean-going mammals who do not belong in tiny, shallow, pitiful tanks. Such intense confinement and lack of social bonds with members of their own kind are but a few of the numerous flaws captivity offers them. As a result, animals suffer from psychological distress, stereotypic behaviors and other abnormal characteristics %u2013 signs of their physical and mental deterioration. 

Orcas and other wild animals belong in the wild. Efforts to capture them or breed them for a lifetime of confinement is not what they have evolved for.  The only circumstance where marine species should be held in captivity is when they are injured or sick and need care in captivity before they can be returned to the wild.

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

 

In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner, San Rafael, CA 94901
Tel. (415) 448-0048 Fax (415) 454-1031
idainfo@idausa.org


Please join In Defense of Animals during World
Week for Animals in Laboratories to speak out against the abhorrent
use of animals in testing and research.

This year, there is more hope than ever, as technology moves us beyond antiquated animal experiments and government reports, agencies and scientists have begun to acknowledge the need to move away from
animal research.

 

World Week for Animals in Laborartories, Portland

In Portland, IDA is hosting a demonstration at Oregon Health and Science University's (OHSU) Main Marquam Hill Cam..., starting at noon. OHSU is the
corporate parent of the Oregon National Primate Research Center where
more than 4000 monkeys are help captive for invasive research and they
are seeking a $15 million dollar stimulus grant to build a new facility
and further expand their monkey labs. OHSU also conducts animal research
on a variety of other species including rats, mice, rabbits, sheep and
others. Please join IDA in solidarity with the animals and to speak out
for reliable, humane non-animal research and an end to animal
experimentation.

What: World Week for Animals in Labs demo at OHSU
When: Sunday, April 25, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: OHSU Main Marquam Hill Campus, at 3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd., P...

DIRECTIONS: We will meet at the bus stop on Sam Jackson under the first pedestrian overpass outside the main hospital. Click here for directions.

CAR POOL: Parking is difficult. We encourage folks to carpool or take Trimet bus 8. More info about public transportation can be found here.

If you would like to car pool, RSVP to matt [at] idausa [dot] org. We will leave from the IDA Office, 1732 NE Alberta St. Meet by 11:15 AM for a ride.

Signs will be provided, just bring your friends and family!

For more information contact IDA at 503-249-9996 or matt [at] idausa [dot] org.

 

Planning Events

Adopt an Activist
Event Guidelines
Demonstrations

Marches

Candlelight
Vigils
%u201CField of
Flags%u201D Memorial Display
Information
Tabling
Presentations
Civil
Disobedience

Event Guidelines  

There are a multiplicity of events that are suitable for World Week for Animals in Laboratories. All will accomplish the goal of reaching people with the message that vivisection is not the answer
to our health needs; rather, it is often dangerous for human health.
These events, however, will work in different ways: Some will offer
in-depth information to a limited audience, for instance, while others
may reach many thousands with a general message. Some will focus on
issues of national relevance, others on local issues.



You should plan the event most appropriate to your
resources, goals, and community. Events may also be combined %u2013 for
instance, a protest march and sit-in, followed by a debate.



You should always check with the local police office to
learn whether permits are required for the event you have in mind.
Requirements for permits vary widely so it is essential to always
confirm well in advance of your event.

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Demonstrations

  Demonstrations have the advantage of attracting media attention, informing the public about your issue, and involving community members in grassroots activism.
They have the potential disadvantage (if poorly planned or conducted)
of lending themselves to the common portrayal of the vivisection debate
as one between the rational and detached scientist and the irrational
and emotional activist. At the worst, isolated acts of destruction are
sometimes depicted as the sole activity of animal advocates. However,
well-planned protests are an effective means to publicize the
atrocities that occur behind closed laboratory doors. Make it a
priority to have good literature and background information available to
the media. The Demonstration
Checklist will help you organize and coordinate your event.

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to top Marches  

A march through your community is a highly visible event enabling you to deliver your message to a wider audience. The march may also begin or conclude with a protest action. Work out a
highly visible route and inform the city or county of your itinerary.
While walking, use the opportunity to distribute leaflets about your
issue.

If you are creative, you can make your march a colorful and even invigorating way to provoke community interest in your cause. Lead the procession with a bold costume, banner, or signs. Don %u2019t
forget to arrange for any necessary permits far in advance.

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Candlelight Vigils  

Conducting a candlelight vigil is a compelling way to highlight the tragic solemnity of our cause, and serve as a forum for activists to communicate their personal feelings
and renew their fervent commitment to stop vivisection. For added
impact, activists can form a slow procession and join hands around the
animal laboratory, while taking turns to share thoughts and feelings
dedicated to the animals.

Evening events have the disadvantage of taking place when news reporting crews are mostly off-duty and, thus, difficult to attract. If you let the press know your plans in advance, and offer
them an interesting story angle, this obstacle may be overcome.

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%u201CField of Flags%u201D Memorial Display  

To commemorate the tens of millions of animals who die each year in laboratories, and to convey to the public the staggering number of animals who suffer in labs, you can set up a
powerful %u201CField of Flags%u201D display for WWAIL.

The details for setting up this amazing display are best described by long-time activist and IDA Northwest Director Matt Rossell, who has first-hand experience in developing and executing it:

The flag display for WWAIL is a stirring statement and conversation starter about the suffering endured by animals in experiments. The assemblage is not difficult, but it can be quite
time-consuming, especially if you don%u2019t have a lot of help, so any
extra time spent in rounding up more volunteers will be well worth it in
the end; the more the merrier!

To begin, get permission to put the display on campus. If you don%u2019t know where to go, start with the student government, or student activities office. Pick a wide grassy spot that
has high foot traffic and is big enough to accommodate the flags.
Assure the %u2018powers that be%u2019 that you will be responsible for removing
all the flags afterward, and then make sure you follow through.
Describe the project as a political art installation and an expression
of free speech if you are having difficulty getting permission.

Roughly measure out your area and plan how the display is going to look. You will be using 1000 white flags, which we spaced every two feet. This will take up an area of 4000 square feet,
or an area 40 feet by 100 feet for a rectangular display or roughly
66 feet by 60 feet for a more square display.  Adjust as needed to fit
your space. The flags could be placed closer together, but we decided
that the two-foot distance worked quite well. We also had our display
cross over a sidewalk to another lawn so that students were actually
walking through the display. Consider orienting the rows of flags at a
slight diagonal from the grid of the sidewalk surrounding the lawn to
make the display more visually interesting. Your display could be
more organically shaped on the edges to follow contours in the
landscaping or borders. Be creative!

Now it%u2019s time to start placing flags. We used a string pulled tight between two small wooden garden stakes to keep our lines straight. Using a marker and tape measure, we put a mark every
two feet along the string. The string was measured at the same length
as one side of the display. After stretching out the string and staking
in the stakes with a hammer, you just move along the string putting a
flag in at every mark. This also helps keep the flags at a uniform
height, using the string as a visual cue to mark how far down to push
the flags. After the first row is done, pull up the stakes, measure
two feet down from the first row, pound in the stakes again, and do
the next row. Repeat this process until you are done. Don %u2019t worry
about perfect flag placement. Using this string as a guide, you will
find that even if you are not exactly on each mark, when you stand
back and look, everything looks very uniform. We highly recommend
wearing gloves when installing flags. The rubber-coated garden gloves
work well. Besides the wires sometimes poking you, we had one
volunteer break out in a rash from the metal wire.


The last step (or first!) is to install the
tombstone-like signs. We printed the posters on paper and affixed them
to plastic corrugated sign material that we had attached to 1 by 2
inch cheap pine lumber. We cut them to allow 18 inches or so to be
pounded into the ground, leaving the sign roughly at eye level. Use
your own judgment on how you want the display to look, considering you
want it to be easily read by passersby.  Plan on having at least
one sign on every side of the display, so that no matter what direction
people are going, they can%u2019t miss the message.

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Don%u2019t worry if setting up the flags
takes longer than you expected. When we set up the display pictured
here in Portland , Oregon , at the
Portland Community College , Cascade Campus, we started with just a
couple volunteers the day before World Week was to begin. We didn%u2019t
have it completed on the first day, and continued to assemble the flags
for the next couple days as the week progressed. We found that being
out there putting the flags in created great opportunities to talk to
students passing by about the plight of animals and, each day,
students could observe the numbers growing! The process was community
building and made an impressive statement when completed.

Take lots of pictures and let us know when you are working on it so we can send a news release to create more attention to the plight of animals in research.

Please feel free to call 503-249-9996 or email IDA%u2019s Northwest Office in Portland (matt@idausa.org.)
if you have any questions. 

Information Tabling  

Setting up an information table in a public place is a simple and relatively easy outreach activity, enabling you to inform hundreds of people in your community. Locate a
place for your table with heavy pedestrian traffic, such as a busy
shopping area or the vicinity near a university. You might also
investigate local festivals or fairs, which allow people to set up
information tables. Earth Day events,
which coincide with WWAIL, offer excellent opportunities for
information tabling.

Always check whether you need a permit or some other permission; for example, you should speak with store managers of a shop you may be near, to make sure they are comfortable having your
table there.

Literature and other materials for tabling are available from IDA and numerous other organizations. You may also set up a video monitor and show films, or make another kind of attractive
display. (See Tabling Checklist). One advantage to tabling
is that it takes only a few people to run a table all day. If you have
a larger group, you may want to consider tabling throughout the
entire period of WWAIL.

Always be friendly and patient while running a table. If someone comes up to the table and persists in creating a debate, DO NOT ARGUE. State your position again briefly and firmly, express
regret at your disagreement, and then immediately turn to someone else
%u2013 you are out there to reach people, not debate. When you argue at
the table you miss the opportunity to educate someone else who may be
more receptive.

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Your table should always include something for people to do. Have a petition for them to sign or a number to call or write against abuse. Let people know that their actions can make a
significant difference for animals.


Get your Tabling Checklist.


Presentations  

Conducting an educational presentation is a good way to provide an in-depth view of the many problems pervading animal research. It is most successful if your group has a
confident public speaker who is thoroughly prepared on the issues, or if
you invite a physician or scientist to give an informative
presentation.

The potential disadvantage to this event is that it is not likely to attract members of the general public who are not already actively concerned, and will probably receive no media
attention unless you have a well-known speaker. However, it is
essential that interested people who are new to this issue be richly
enlightened. This will encourage them to become more involved.
Furthermore, activists (and their friends and families) can always
benefit from an educational presentation. Learning is an ongoing,
lifelong process. You may also ensure good attendance by inviting
student groups and classes.

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Civil Disobedience  

IDA believes that nonviolent civil disobedience actions can be a meaningful and effective way to protest cruelty and injustice. We stress that these actions should never involve violence
of any kind, threats of violence or retaliation, or endangerment of any
people or animals.  It is best to conduct civil disobedience calmly
and with dignity, making the urgency of your concerns understood
through means that will not be misconstrued as aggressive.  Each of us
must decide independently where to draw the line on illegal
activities, but be aware that the proponents of vivisection are always
on the alert to depict animal advocates as unreasonable and violent.
Don %u2019t play into their hands! Show people that nonviolence is
the heart of the animal-rights philosophy.

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http://wwail.org/planning_events.html