Spring 2016 Newsletter

Table of Contents:
1) Upcoming Event: Huntwatch
2) The World Peace Diet book review
3) Thug Kitchen Party Grub cookbook review
4) CAZA's shortcomings
5) V4A Go Dairy Free!
6) Upcoming Event: MFA - Opening Hearts and Minds

UPCOMING EVENT:

On Wednesday May 11th, Edmonton's Northwest Fest welcomes you to the Canadian premiere of the new documentary film
Huntwatch

Narrated by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, Huntwatch chronicles IFAW’s struggle to end the commercial seal hunt. It documents our founder Brian Davies battling Canadian government officials in the 1970s, the work that went into the European Union ban on whitecoats, and how the commercial seal hunt was revived in the 1990s thanks to political maneuvering.This film highlights the deep commitment to animals that IFAW and our supporters have maintained over the decades.

The premiere will be held at Landmark Cinemas, in Edmonton City Centre
(10200 102nd Ave) at 8pm.

Tickets may be purchased at: http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1168897
 

Follow Huntwatch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huntwatch/

Watch the trailer here: http://huntwatchthefilm.com/

   Have you ever picked up a non-fiction book and been so moved by the story of one man’s journey that you would spontaneously break into tears of joy and knowing? …of the man, the journey, the oneness we all share and the acknowledgement that we are not alone and isolated on our path of evolving consciousness?

   As a decades long vegetarian and now vegan, it was the words in Will Tuttle's awknowledgements that hooked me: “Finally, deep thanks to all the animals with whom we share this beautiful planet…may their suffering at our hands open our hearts to compassion.”
   I found more wisdom in the subjects in the ‘Table of Contents’ than in the entire contents of most any book I’ve ever opened. My first question to myself was, why did it take me so long to find this #1 Amazon Bestseller? Thank you Facebook posts!
   This well researched and footnoted book is the story of Tuttle’s journey as a young person: his transition from a standard diet to a vegan one, and his growth as an animal rights activist, humanitarian, and social consciousness advocate. This book brought me to tears so often as I identified with the evolution of his understanding and compassion as it applies in ONENESS to all life and our planet.
   This book is a master blueprint that connects the dots for all vegan issues and seems to me to be the foundational resource for following recent books and movies like ‘Earthlings’, ‘Cowspiracy’ and ‘Unity’.The World Peace Diet has no recipes. It has instead the clear evolution in one man’s life that is so clear in his reasoned defense of veganism and how compassion pulled him into a new relationship with ALL life. I was amazed to see that our current food practice evolved from a herding culture to our current brutalizing industrial animal agriculture. It was here that I discovered my first heartbreaking awareness of the violation of the feminine principle began, and how boys are also brutalized, being forced into the food culture of cruelty, inevitably dulling their heart, their communications and all their relationships. We and all life are victims through the cultural inheritance of our food choices and the power of social pressure. If you eat meat, you are brainwashed and your heart is already blocked, spiritually.

    This wide ranging book covers hunting, fishing, herding, factory farms, toxic waste, the meat-medical industry, the domination of the feminine, the marketing machine of death and its falsehoods. Tuttle answers objections to veganism and the myth of human predation. His writing broke my heart open even more as he challenges us all to ‘Evolve or Dissolve’, breaking the cycle of violence with what is on our plates. He points out that the beginnings of a compassionate community is a power currently creating a revolution in consciousness.The quotes alone in this $22.00 U.S. book were worth the price. The footnotes and resource list made it even more valuable to me.

   I wish I had the resources to gift thousands of copies of this magnificent book. Buy it, read it, gift it, talk about it and join the revolution reclaiming the soul of Mother Earth and ALL her creatures.Because we are adept at disconnecting from the suffering we impose on animals, we naturally and inevitably become adept at disconnecting from the suffering we impose on hungry people, living biosystems, war ravaged communities and future generations. Our skills at forcefully blocking feedback also make us easily distracted and manipulated by corporate interests whose profits depend on our inability to make significant connections. Read this spiritual and physical roadmap to a changed world and a changed YOU. I AM CHANGED!

   Cookbooks are back in vogue now, and their shiny, glossy pages line the shelves of every bookstore out there, big box or otherwise. And that’s a good thing. But I'll start this review by stating that I'm a tiny bit jaded when it comes to cookbooks; particularly vegan cookbooks. 

   Recipes that never quite turn out, and a lack of plated photos. Worse yet, ambiguous phrasings and techniques such as "rough chop", "wilted" or even "massaged" are just outright confusing for many at-home cooks. These issues seem to be the norm in a lot of the vegan or vegetarian cook books I own. And I'm not even a solely domestic cook; I've cooked this stuff in restaurants – likely for you, the reader.

    When Thug Kitchen, The Official Cook Book: Eat like you give a f*ck first came out in October 2014, I was intrigued by the in-your-face, punk rock persona of it. Hell, it seemed like Anthony Bourdain had written a cook book for vegans! The book itself seemed excellent and thoughtfully laid out, however the recipes just didn't pique my interest. I had seen these recipes before, just with less graffiti art in the margins and far less profanity. But a year later, in October of 2015, Thug Kitchen released their second book: Thug Kitchen Party Grub: For Social Motherf*ckers. Again, I love this aggressive, in your face, "just f*cking eat good food" branding, so I was compelled to peruse the book at my local chapters. Now, this second book had some interesting recipes; Pad Thai rolls, Butternut Squash Queso and even classic breakfast cake recipes. However it wasn't until my omnivore friends started talking to me about the book that I really took notice of it. .

BAKED RICE AND LEEK CAKES
Source: Thug Kitchen Party Grub
(makes about 24 cakes - enough for 6 to 8 people)


Crispiness on the outside, flavor on the inside. Pack these little ****ers on your baking sheet for a light brunch bite that makes you look like a ****ing top chef. Trust.


12 ounces extra-firm silken tofu*
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon neutral oil, such as grapeseed
2 cups diced leeks**
½ cup minced chives or green onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
2½ cups cooked short-grain white or brown rice***
1¼ cups panko bread crumbs****
Spray oil
Sweet Sesame Teriyaki-Style Sauce


1) Crank up your oven to 425°F. Set a baking sheet aside.

2) Throw the tofu, vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce or tamari together in a blender or food processor and run that **** until that beany mother****er looks smooth.

3) In a large wok or skillet, heat up the grapeseed oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook them until they start to look a little translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chives, ginger, and garlic and cook for another minute, just so everything gets mixed the **** up. Then remove from the heat.

4) Add the tofu mixture and cooked rice to the pan with the leeks and mix that ****. Add in ¼ cup of the panko and keep mixing until everything is all combined and there aren’t any goddamn pockets of rice hiding out and refusing to cooperate.

5) To make the cakes, pour the remaining 1 cup panko onto a plate. Grab about a golf ball’s worth of filling and press it into a kind of patty shape. Your hands are gonna get messy, but just ****ing deal with it. The mixture will be a little wetter than you think it should be, but you’re wrong so just trust the method and move the **** on. Coat the patty with the panko by gently pressing it into the crumbs, then place it on the baking sheet.

6) Keep going until you’ve run out of patties. Ya know, the obvious place to stop. Spray them all lightly with a little oil and bake, turning them halfway, until both sides are golden, about 30 minutes. Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.


SWEET SESAME TERIYAKI-STYLE SAUCE
(makes about 1 cup)

½ cup soy sauce or tamari
¼ cup vegetable broth
¼ cup orange juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons of your favorite liquid sweetener, such as agave or maple syrup
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)*

1) In a small saucepan, mix together the soy sauce or tamari, broth, orange juice, vinegar, sweetener, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic and stir over medium-low heat.

2) In a small glass, mix together the cornstarch and water until the starch dissolves and isn’t clumpy as ****. Stir that into the saucepan and bring it all to a low simmer until the sauce starts to thicken up, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the sesame seeds if you want, and let that ****er cool.

3) Store it in the fridge and that tasty son of a ***** will keep for 1 week.

* Optional, but they class up the joint

The Truth About Canada's Association of Zoos and Aquariums:
Why CAZA is a Sham Organization

When questioned about its legitimacy as a facility, the Valley Zoo often refers to the fact that it is accredited by CAZA. But while CAZA may appear to be a reputable organization, their motives are anything but pure. Zoocheck Canada's Julie Woodyer explains why.

   CAZA is an industry organization set up by a group of zoo owners and operators to promote the welfare of zoos, and “encourages” them to advance and improve.  Their mandate is neither animal protection, nor public safety in zoos.  The Edmonton Valley Zoo is an accredited member of this private zoo industry association. 

   It is important to note that while CAZA “encourages” their members to improve, many of their members are still not complying with CAZA standards and still the organization is not enforcing their own standards.  And furthermore, there have been several incidents at accredited CAZA zoos that violate animal cruelty laws in Canada. 

The following are some examples of public safety and animal welfare incidents that have occurred at CAZA accredited zoos:

1) The Greater Vancouver Zoo kept a baby hippo in a windowless barn for more than 18 months. The BC SPCA announced they were going to charge the zoo under BC animal cruelty legislation, and only then did the zoo agree to build a proper enclosure for the animal to avoid facing the charges in court.

2) In 2006 and again in 2007, keepers at the Mountainview Conservation Centre in BC sent  letters to CAZA reporting that animals froze to death because the facility owner had refused to provide heated accommodations for them.  CAZA took no action to bring the zoo up to standard.  Finally in 2010 after receiving no assistance from CAZA, the zoo staff took their complaints to the SPCA.  The SPCA recommended laying cruelty charges, but before charges could be laid the owner of the zoo agreed to get rid of the animals to keep charges from being laid.

3) The Calgary Zoo had a number of very serious incidents resulting in animal injuries and deaths including:
 

·         A capybara fatally crushed by a hydraulic door.

·         A spider monkey was fatally crushed by a hydraulic door.

·         Another spider monkey died from frostbite complications after it was left outside in
          cold weather.

·         Four feather-tailed sugar gliders were either crushed to death underfoot or by a
          door.

·         Several mule deer were killed or injured while handlers tried to capture them for
          veterinary checks.

·         Dozens of Sebas and Pallas bats died after hitting piano wire strung across their
          cages to push the animals to the front of the enclosure so the public could see them
          better. 

·         Woodland caribou and muskox were repeatedly injured or killed either because of
          exhibit design or interspecies aggression. African wild dogs were also injured for
          the same reasons.

·         Recently an otter drowned after getting trapped in a pair of pants that a keeper had
          intentionally placed in the exhibit.
 

   When asked about the earlier incidents the CAZA National Director Bill Peters said “Yes, there has been a series of unfortunate incidents and they've been looked at and reports have been done in the various occurrences, but is there a pattern? No, I don't think there's a pattern there”  Finally after vast media attention AZA and CAZA agreed to review the facility and found the incidents resulted from lack of proper staff training and putting the exhibition of animals ahead of animal welfare.  CAZA never threatened to revoke accreditation.

4) Toronto Sun uncovered evidence that the Toronto Zoo had been selling off animals to a disreputable animal dealer and some animals had ended up at hunt farms.  Despite CAZA claiming to have strict disposition policies they took no action against the zoo. 

5) The Toronto Zoo, was charged and convicted under the Migratory Bird Act after 80 Canada Geese died from heat prostration when zoo staff, including head veterinarian Graham Crawshaw, put approximately 300 wild geese into an unairconditioned truck on a hot summer day.  Despite CAZA requiring that all accredited facilities comply with laws, they did not threaten to revoke the zoo’s accreditation or take any action.

6) After being attacked by tigers at African Lion Safari in Ontario, two young people were awarded $2million by a provincial court because the zoo had failed to provide adequate protection for visitors to the park.   CAZA claims to have rigid safety standards and yet continues to accredit this facility despite there being no change in protocols that allow people to drive through enclosures with dangerous animals without any barrier between the animals and the cars.

7) In 2008 the Toronto Zoo was criticized in the media for deciding to cull baby male reindeer because of indiscriminate breeding.   In February, 2014 a zoo in Copenhagen came under fire for the same practice of culling animals bred at the zoo, however that zoo made the practice public.  CAZA put out a statement defending the fact that Canadian zoos also cull animals, but claimed it was OK because it is done under a euthanasia policy and is not exposed to the public.

8) After complaints about Lucy being housed alone at the Edmonton Valley Zoo, CAZA lowered their standard of care for elephants which at the time required a minimum of 3 elephants in order to justify leaving Lucy alone at the zoo.  Note:  the Director of the Edmonton Valley Zoo was also the president of CAZA from 2012-2014. 

9) For many years Zoocheck has brought to the attention of CAZA problems at Marineland in Niagara Falls Canada, but CAZA failed to act until the Toronto Star did a full investigation in 2012 & 2013 at the facility which reported that animals were living in horrific conditions.  CAZA inspectors gave Marineland owner John Holer a thumbs-up after its initial visit a week after the Star series broke in August of 2012, even though their investigation was not completed.  In March, 2013, the Ontario SPCA issued 7 orders to this CAZA accredited facility to get them to comply with animal cruelty legislation.

   Later CAZA attempted to discourage the Province of Ontario from passing legislation for cetaceans claiming their facilities are held to the highest standards of care.  The Province of Ontario was not convinced and went ahead enacted legislation to protect marine mammals because of the issues that were raised during the Toronto Star’s investigation without exempting CAZA facilities because of this incident.

10) In December, 2015 PETA released an undercover video taken at Bowmanville Zoo (another accredited zoo that has had a long history of problems) showing the Michael Hackenberger, the owner of the zoo, whipping a tiger in order to train the cub and saying, “The beauty of the paws being on the, uh, rock, when you hit him, it’s like a vice … It stings more.”
 

   Just weeks earlier Mr. Hackenberger swore at a baboon on live television, when the animal jumped off of a horse that he was supposed to appear to be riding.
 

   This is not the first incident at this zoo, years earlier the Winnipeg Humane Society put out a press release regarding an incident wherein Mr. Hackenberger flew to Winnipeg to beat an elephant he has loaned to another accredited zoo there as reprisal for the elephant having backed into a keeper in the enclosure.

11) This photo is an activity carried out by Little Ray’s Reptiles.  It is not difficult to understand why this in highly dangerous for the child in the photo both from injury and contracting zoonotic disease.

   These are just some of the incidents that have occurred at CAZA accredited zoos.  Given the long, well documented, history of problems in CAZA accredited facilities it is not reasonable to assume that simply because a zoo is accredited by this private zoo association, that the zoo has high standards for the animals in their care, nor is it any assurance that the zoo is not laws, including the Alberta zoo standards. Additionally since the Director of the Edmonton Valley Zoo was in the influential position of President of CAZA for 2 years there is a serious conflict of interest.

So when the Valley Zoo (or any other zoo, for that matter) refers to CAZA in reference to their own credibility, please keep the above in mind.

Love ALL Mothers: Go Dairy-Free!!!

   Voice for Animals chose the Mother's Day Walk/Run to raise awareness of the suffering of mother cows in the dairy industry. Mothers are distressed and cry out for days or weeks when their babies are taken away at birth so their milk can be used for human consumption. As well, the males calves suffer in veal crates where they are fed a diet that makes them anemic so uncaring diners can eat their tender, white flesh. Our message to the participants was: Love all mothers, go dairy-free.

UPCOMING EVENT:

In the past few years, Mercy For Animals has opened the hearts and minds of millions of Canadians to the plight of animals who suffer behind the closed doors of factory farms.

From historic, unprecedented criminal prosecutions of animal abusers, to major corporate animal welfare policy changes, to educating caring consumers across the nation, MFA has successfully pushed for breakthrough changes on behalf of the terrified cows, chickens, pigs, and other animals trapped in the dark confines of factory farms.

Join former investigator Lindsay Wolf for an exciting, FREE presentation about the power of undercover investigations to change the world for animals.

WHEN: Friday, May 13 at 7pm
WHERE: Edmonton Room, Stanley A. Milner Library
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square