Born Free USA Blog:
You haiku’d it here!
Thanks to everyone who entered our circus elephant haiku contest — with a special shout-out to Martin Kennedy and the band All India Radio for allowing us to use the sadly gorgeous video for their single “Persist,” for selecting the contest winners, and for providing CDs for those winners!
Taking the trip of a lifetime
If you are lucky enough to have “just a little” leftover cash after paying rent and bills and loans and all those things we each struggle with on a daily basis, I think the best thing you can do with it is put it in a special account designated for nothing other than travel (barring any emergencies, of course).
The Animals Need You to VOTE
The election is just one month away and the animals need your vote more than ever this time around. Not only are we faced with the possibility of getting an avid hunter as a Vice President who seems not to care at all about animals, but also in several states your compassionate vote is needed on ballot initiatives that affect animals.
A Personal Thank You
Economic meltdown, stock market crash, panic on Main Street, Wall Street, High Street ... It makes me wonder where to turn to for security.
Fairwell, Dear 71
I was so sad to learn that PAWs beloved African elephant, 71, passed away recently. I’ll never forget my visit to PAWS (Performing Animal Welfare Society) in July ’06. Mara and 71 had such an impact on me. The image I have of Pat Derby gently patting 71’s massive derriere and listening to her soft rumbling in contentment is one I’ll keep forever. Those magnificent elephants could have chosen to be any place in that vast pasture of theirs but they chose to be with us that day. It is an honor I will fondly remember.
Running Wild
I’ve always been one of those annoying “morning people,” but I recently began resenting my alarm’s insistent beeping telling me to get up at 5:00am every day. While I usually enjoy exercising in the morning ... lately, it’s felt more like a chore. You see, my husband Chuck and I — along with Born Free USA CEO Will Travers, and Senior Program Associate Monica Engebretson — are training for the December 7 California International Marathon as Team Elsa.
Chain Emails: Check Your Facts!
My family and friends are obsessed with chain emails. You know the kind. “Read this poem and send to 7 friends or you will get bad luck.” Or “Funny story; you’ve got to read this.” I have to say, I only actually open about 1% of those emails — the rest are deleted promptly. I see them as more of a nuisance than fun. The ones that particularly drive me crazy, though, are the emails that spread the word about something as though it were fact. And worse is when that email continues to be passed around.
Be Proud, Young Vegans
I became a vegetarian quite by chance more than 20 years ago. A buddy and I rented some horror films one night, and one of them included slaughterhouse footage. Before that evening I was blissfully unaware of what went into meat production. After that evening I never consumed another piece of animal flesh.
