tagged w/ USDA Failure
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a U.S. Wildlife Services plane covered with 58 paw-print decals — one for each of the wolves shot from the Piper Supercub leased jointly by the federal government and Idaho Wool Growers, a nonprofit sheep producer organization.a U.S. Wildlife Services plane covered with 58 paw-print decals — one for each... more
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How can the public trust government agencies to ensure the safety of GMOs if those agencies have a long track record of failure? USDA's regulatory track record begs the question of whether it is a government “regulatory” agency or an industry group.
http://gmo-journal.com/index.php/2009/12/03/usda-and-gmos-the-roots-of-failure/How can the public trust government agencies to ensure the safety of GMOs if those... more
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n Texas and across the Southwest, Hispanic farmers have been fighting the Agriculture Department for close to a decade.
The farmers say the department's Farm Services Agency discriminated against them — denying or delaying loans, and refusing to investigate when they cried foul.
Modesta Salazar in front of the family farm
Enlarge Kemp Davis for NPR
Modesta Salazar stands in front of what's left of the farm in Pearsall, Texas, that her father bought in 1952.
Modesta Salazar in front of the family farm
Kemp Davis for NPR
Modesta Salazar stands in front of what's left of the farm in Pearsall, Texas, that her father bought in 1952.
The government settled a similar complaint brought by African-American farmers for $1 billion. And while the claims of discrimination and other factors are almost identical, the Hispanic farmers have gotten nothing.n Texas and across the Southwest, Hispanic farmers have been fighting the Agriculture... more
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IDA Exposes Another Los Angeles Zoo Cover-Up - This week, IDA again exposed the Los Angeles Zoo’s attempt to hide the truth, revealing that it paid a paltry USDA penalty of $3,281 for its FAILURE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE veterinary care to the elephant, Gita, as she lay dying overnight in June 2006.
The fine also INCLUDED the death of a chimpanzee in July 2006, making the amount even more shockingly scant.
At the time of her death, the L.A. Zoo failed to report that Gita had been observed down on the ground overnight in a perilous position and that zoo personnel took no action to help the suffering elephant. She died soon after keepers found her in the morning.
According to one report, Gita may have laid there for as long as 17 HOURS.
The truth may never have been told if not for IDA, which received a zoo insider tip and exposed the L.A. Zoo’s negligence that caused Gita to suffer a slow and agonizing death.
What gives this latest revelation even more importance is the fact that the fine was paid, according to an L.A. Times report, in January, 2008, yet the zoo kept this information hidden from the public and the Los Angeles City Council, which spent months that year deliberating whether the L.A. Zoo should continue to display elephants.This piece of critical information may have changed the council’s ultimate vote to continue keeping elephants at the zoo.
As if the story so far isn’t enough to make you feel outraged, from the token amount of the fine to the L.A. Zoo withholding vital information from city leaders, there’s MORE...
In May 2008, after Gita’s USDA file was officially closed, IDA submitted requests to the L.A. Zoo and the USDA, requesting information on the case. Neither public entity (the zoo is city owned and run) provided any information regarding the penalty, as both are required to do by law.
In response to IDA’s exposé of the L.A. Zoo, Los Angeles City Council member Tony Cardenas presented a motion before the city council this week that would force the zoo to account for this outrageous cover-up and direct the City Attorney to investigate and report back on any possible criminal and/or civil violations by the L.A. Zoo of the California Public Records Act and the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.
IDA was only able to learn about the L.A. Zoo’s fine because we sent a letter last month, signed by actress Lily Tomlin and leading animal protection organizations, to the USDA, blasting the agency for its failure to protect captive-held elephants.
The USDA’s response letter contained scant information about Gita and the zoo’s fine, as well as unacceptable and incomplete explanations regarding their inaction for other elephants.
This is one more case where the USDA is failing to protect elephants and to hold those who violate the Animal Welfare Act truly accountable.
What the L.A. Zoo received is nothing more than a slap on the wrist, despite the fact that Gita, an endangered Asian elephant, suffered for hours in terrible pain without veterinary care.
Help IDA hold both the L.A. Zoo and the USDA accountable for this travesty of justice.
1) If you live in the City of Los Angeles, please contact Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and your city council member and express your outrage at yet another L.A. Zoo cover-up and the fact that critical information was withheld from the council during hearings on the future of the elephant exhibit. Urge your council member to take action to whether construction on the $42 million dollar display should continue.
2) Write to your Congressperson and urge her or him to hold the USDA accountable for its utter failure to protect elephants in circuses and zoos and uphold federal law.
3) The other elephants that the USDA is failing to protect, including Tina, Queenie and Jewel, three elephants who are suffering and in danger, held by an abusive circus trainer. https://secure2.convio.net/ida/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1307IDA Exposes Another Los Angeles Zoo Cover-Up - This week, IDA again exposed the Los... more
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