Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

The following is a guest post from Robyn Rolison-Hanna, the author of Mink.

I used to wrap myself in fur. I loved the way I looked in it. I loved the way it felt on my body. I loved the social message it gave to others. This love affair with fur began when I, as a young girl, inherited a sheared beaver coat from my grandmother. There is, however, always a day of reckoning.

My day of reckoning came with a horrific tale of a mink farm, not far from my home. 2,800 mink were liberated; scattered throughout the forest, but these liberators also bludgeoned 443 of them in their cages with baseball bats or stomped them to death with their heavy boots. Their dead bodies laid smashed to death all over the mink farm floor. These mink-killers went so far as to decapitate the two family dogs; one an old beagle. I knew that no animal loving group was responsible for this. This was an act of hate against animals and a personal vendetta, I believe, with the owners of the farm. The crime remains unsolved. This farm had been crippled and would not be contributing to the 1.8 billion dollar fur industry.

I have always loved animals, so this story of hate and cruelty took me to my computer, where I found the story. I read all about the family who owned the mink farm being ruined because of dead breeding lines; that many generations of mink were gone forever. This article forced me to start thinking about fur farms, and for the next six months, I researched everything I could get my hands on about mink farms, mink, and the fur industry. The more I read, the more disheartened and appalled I became.

I never thought much about how my beautiful furs, in which I looked and felt so terrific, came into being. (Did I think the animal died of old age?) My research took me to mink farms and fur trappers. It was here that my days of buying and wearing anything with fur attached to it ended. All my furs went into the garbage and were removed from my home forever. But this was not enough. I needed to do something: make a difference. What could I do? I was just one girl. I was no one famous. I did not come from a well-connected family. I wondered how one woman could bring about change. That is when I thought about the power of words. I decided to write a book, but not just any book spewing out facts and statistics —those were already around. I decided to do something very different from anything done before; and from there, Mink was born. I was lucky to have been published by Arctic Wolf in late 2008.

Mink is a heroic fantasy novel about a universe of European mink. I used them since they are now approaching the endangered species status. They live in the story live in their natural environment. They are anthropomorphized, possessing their own culture, language, and mythology. Evoking epic themes, the novel recounts the mink odyssey as they encounter perils and dangers, but none so insidious as the wickedness, indifference, ignorance, and greed of a fur farmer, who has no regard whatsoever to the mink stuffed and locked behind cages. The story addresses the labors and timeless struggles between tyranny and freedom, reason and blind emotion, and the individual and corporate capitalism. The novel explores the themes of secular ostracism, survival, heroism, political and moral responsibility, and the making of a hero. They tell their own story. The sequel has just been finished.

Animals bring such joy to our lives. And we have a Biblical dominion over all of them, which to me means that we need to be responsible and care for all of the animals that God has put on this earth. My position is that more humane treatment is needed for all animals; this means empty cages, not bigger ones, and it means no more fur.

I reject physical violence, and my book, Mink, rejects physical violence. I can, however, understand why attacks on property can and do occur. If you compare the destruction of animal laboratories/fur farms to resistance fighters blowing up gas chambers in Nazi Germany, then it is easier to accept. I can understand why this is done. Personally, I could not do it, but I understand it, especially when you see the inhuman things they are doing to animals in the name of research and fashion.

Read. Look at the pictures and videos of what is found in laboratories—look at what fur farmers are doing behind closed doors. Fur farmers want the public to believe that their mink are domesticated…sorry pal, no such thing as a domesticated mink. It takes 1,000 years of evolution to domesticate an animal and fur farming began just after the Civil War. Do the math. Those who destroy labs and fur farms argue that the removal of animals from a laboratory or the farm it is supplying fur for, simply means they will be quickly replaced, but if the laboratory itself is destroyed -if the fur farm is trashed -it not only slows down the restocking process, but increases costs, possibly to the point of making animal research and/or skinning animals prohibitively expensive. I believe that all humans have a responsibility that encompasses all aspects of an animal’s well-being, beginning with the enforcement of stricter animal welfare laws and those breaking these laws should see harsher consequences.

For more information about the book, go to www.zetothemink.com.

As we posted last month, HB1258 passed the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill has now entered Senator Brent Steele’s (Bedford) Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters.

For this bill to pass, it must first pass through this committee, and then through the full Senate. Time is running out in this legislative session and Senator Steele has already killed three bills to crack down on dog fighting. We need to put a lot of pressure on Senator Steele and other members of the Senate to do the right thing.

As you may know, last year brought the largest dog fighting ring bust in Indiana history right in Steele’s district. We can’t allow the cruelty of animal fighting to continue in our state.

HB1258 will make it a felony to be a spectator at a dog fight and add it to the RICO statute making it easier to combat dog fighting in Indiana.

WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO:
If you live in Senator Steele’s district, call his office TODAY and ask him to hear the bill and pass it as written.

Phone#: 1.800.382.9467

If you are not in Steele’s district, you can contact your Senator and say the following:

“Hello, my name is _________________ and I am a constituent of Senator _____________’s from _________________ (city/town). HB 1258, the animal fighting bill, passed the House and is now awaiting a hearing in the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters. I would like to request that Senator ______________ please do all she/he can to assure that Senator Steele give this important bill a hearing. Thank You.”

If you’re not sure who represents you, follow this link: http://action.humanesociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=electedOfficials

2/8/10 Update: HB 1258 passed through the Indiana House of Representatives and is now heading to the Senate

This past week, the animal bill, HB 1258, passed out of committee with a strong bi-partisan vote of 11-0.

There were some minor changes to the bill while it was in committee, but it still addresses pet store posting/disclosure, dog fighting, and shelter for horses that is free of standing water. The latter was added as an amendment. You can read the full language of the bill here.

Next, the bill will have to pass through the full Indiana House of Representatives before going to the Senate. We will post on our blog to let you know when we will need to start making phone calls to legislators again.

For now, take a quick minute to call the members of the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee and thank them for voting in favor of HB 1258. Your call doesn’t need to be long to make a big impact. Here is a template for what to say:

“Hello, my name is_______________. I am calling to thank Rep___________ for voting in favor of HB 1258, a bill to protect Indiana’s animals. I hope that Rep___________ will continue to support this bill as it moves through the process. Thank you again.”

Names and phone numbers of committee members to call:
Chair – Rep Pierce – 317-232-9647
Rep Dvorak – 317-234-9290
Rep Dembowski – 317-232-9676
Rep Porter – 317-232-9634
Rep Smith – 317-234-9016
Rep Tincher – 317-232-9999
Rep Koch – 317-232-9793
Rep Clements – 317-234-3827
Rep Foley – 317-232-9815
Rep Steuerwald – 317-232-9677
Rep Truitt – 317-234-3827

From the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls:

Roller derby season may have come to an end but BHRG’s commitment to making this world a better place for skaters, non-skaters, and furry creatures continues. On Saturday, November 14, BHRG will be hosting a benefit for Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary at The Bishop, complete with karaoke, snacks and prizes. All proceeds will go towards helping Deep Roots build and winterize shelters for the sanctuary animals.

In addition, BHRG will be holding their annual merch liquidation sale. All merchandise will be discounted!

So, come sing for the animals and get some holiday shopping done at the same time! And wherever roller girls are, good times are sure to follow!

Saturday, November 14, 2009, 7:00pm – 10:00pm

The Bishop is located at 123 S. Walnut St., Bloomington, IN [map]

The Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls have been really generous to us the past couple of years. In 2009, they made us the Charity of the Year and handed us a $2000 check at the last home bout in October. Several of the rollergirls have also helped us out by volunteering at the sanctuary and donating critter food and materials for construction (one of them also adopted a cat from us). We would love to show them how much we appreciate all they’ve done for us by having our supporters come to this event and buy up the last of their 2009 merchandise.

So bring friends and come join in on the fun.

By the way, the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls is also a volunteer-ran organization. If you are interested in volunteering in their 2010 season, contact volunteer (at) bleedingheartlandrollergirls.com.

House Bill 1468, known as the Puppy Mill Bill, passed the Indiana House last week in a landslide vote of 81 to 14! Thank you to everyone that contacted their representative. This vote would not have been nearly as successful without you.

The bill has now entered the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters. Because of the great success of the bill in the House, the pro-breeding lobby (including Indiana Farm Bureau, Pet Breeders Association and the Amish puppy millers) has begun to meet in great numbers to try to kill this bill in the committee. It is vital that animal lovers contact the members of this committee to let them know that you support HB 1468 and to encourage them to do the same. You can call any of them at (317)232-9400 or (800)382-9467. The committee members are as follows:

Brent Steele, Committee Chair
Mike Young, R.M.
Richard Bray
Mike Delph
Randy Head
Brent Waltz
John Waterman
Lindel Hume R.M.M.
Tim Lanane
Karen Tallian
Greg Taylor

Despite what some may claim or even believe, this bill does not affect small, responsible breeders. You can read the full bill at http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2009/HB/HB1468.1.html