Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

The floods in southern Indiana have been devastating. Our field was under six feet of water. All of us at Deep Roots were well above the flood waters, but not all others were as lucky. Animals throughout the region are in need of your help. In some cases, companion animals were stranded. In others, emergency shelters set up for humans refused access to families who refused to leave their non-human companions. One shelter in Morgan County was completely engulfed with water and over 200 animals had to be evacuated by boat. Things are getting back to normal, but many still need your help.

Here is a message from the Monroe County Humane Association:

The MCHA has received many phone calls and e-mails regarding what is being done and can be done to help our neighboring communities, their shelters and animals that may be stranded by flood waters.

Over the past 48 hours the animal welfare community in southern Indiana has been working quickly to combine resources and work as efficiently as possible alongside The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to asses the situation at hand and develop an action plan.

HSUS has stepped in to help create a temporary animal shelter in Morgan County that has seen some of the worst damage due to flooding. HSUS will also assist with rescue operations as needed.

With rains overnight the situation may worsen and force more individuals and their pets from their homes.

You, as MCHA supporters have reliably risen to the challenge when called upon and today I ask two very important things of each and every one of you.

First, please donate dry cat food, non-clumping cat litter and bottled water for the temporary animal shelter in Morgan County. The MCHA will be collecting the donations and taking them to the shelter.

Donations can be dropped off at the MCHA/City of Bloomington Animal Shelter at 3410 S. Walnut Street during business hours: M/W/Th/Sa 12 – 5p.m. and T/Fr 12 – 7 p.m.

Secondly, as the last few days have shown us all, we are not immune to disasters in our area. Take the time to educate yourself and prepare your pets in the event of an emergency. Proper planning ahead could make all the difference for the safety of your pet.

Visit the MCHA Flood Disaster Page to find out what to do if you are affected by the floods, know of animals that need to be rescued and other pertinent information.

We will update this page on a regular basis over the course of the flood disaster as needs arise.

I personally thank you in advance for joining all of us in helping protect and come to the rescue of the animals that need us. Our compassion knows no geographical boundaries.

Sincerely,

Sarah Hayes, CEO
Monroe County Humane Association

If you are interested in volunteering at the temporary animal shelter in Morgan County, please contact me at chris (at) deeprootssanctuary.org or 812-929-9647.

UPDATE: Conditions have stabilized, so the temporary shelter is not being set up. However, Morgan County Humane Society can still use your financial and volunteer help. You can reach them at 765-349-9177.

I really should have mentioned this earlier, but things have been busy around here. This weekend, June 6-8th, we are hosting the Stop I-69 Pledge Camp and Music Festival. I will write more later about why Deep Roots is excited to work with the Stop I-69 campaign, but for now here is some info about the Pledge Camp and Music Festival from stopi69.wordpress.com:

Join folks from around Indiana for a weekend of socializing, sharing skills, discussion, and music! It is a critical time for opposition to Interstate 69, so let’s get together, meet one another, and learn skills and information to help us stop this road. As a culmination of the efforts and energies of hundreds of people who have over the past year signed pledges to resist construction of the road, this camp is sure to be an exciting and empowering space. The Pledge Camp and the I-69 Music Festival have teamed up for a wonderful weekend of education and fun!

Initial List of Workshops:

• Overview of Interstate 69
• Non-Violent Civil Disobedience Training
• Tree Climbing
• How Interstate 69 Affects Us
• Blockades and Technical Climbing
• Women’s and Trans Caucus
• How Roads Have Been Stopped Elsewhere

Food and camping areas will be provided. Directions and carpool info are listed below.

If you have any questions or can offer resources please write to: i69listeningproject@yahoo.com

On June 14th, the Bleeding Heartland Rollergirls‘ All-Star team, the Flatliners, will kick off their 2008 season against the Cincinnati Rollergirls in the Scars and Stripes bout at the Bloomington Sportsplex.

Why do we care? Well, the BHRG have been supporters of us since we first bought land (not to mention one of the Flatliners, Unicoroner, is a core member of Deep Roots). In addition to individual support, we’ve been working with the BHRG to host a rollergirl workday here at Deep Roots. Now they are helping to spread the word about our work and are offering a discount on their great clothing for anyone who brings cat or dog food to the bout (you can also bring rat food, we’ll need lots of that soon).

You can buy tickets online at Brown Paper Tickets or off-line at any of the following Bloomington vendors: Sunrise Box Office, Amused, Landlocked Records, Plan 9, Be Hair Now, or The SportsPlex.

Erik Marcus over at vegan.com IM’em me yesterday to inform me that Oprah is going vegan for a 21-day cleanse. Here is what Oprah had to say:

I had recently come to the conclusion that after spending weeks reading and rereading A New Earth and being on line with Eckhart Tolle that bringing a higher level of awareness to my eating was the solution I’d been avoiding…

How can you say you’re trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?

So this 21-day cleanse gives me a chance to think about it differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods—and what I’m willing to do to change.

With a three-week commitment and an outlook like that, I wouldn’t be surprised if Oprah turned this 21-day cleanse into a life change. Once you see how easy and delicious it is to make the change, you have a hard time justifying the torture and slaughter of animals for the sake of your acquired tastes. Congrats, Oprah! We at Deep Roots are definitely with you and applaud your decision to make your body healthier and the world a better place for all living beings.

So why not join Oprah for 21 days of veganism? You can follow along with her on her 21-day Cleanse blog. Here is what she had to say about her first day:

Wow, wow, wow! I never imagined meatless meals could be so satisfying. I had been focused on what I had to give up—sugar, gluten, alcohol, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese. “What’s left?” I thought. Apparently a lot. I can honestly say every meal was a surprise and a delight, beginning with breakfast—strawberry rhubarb wheat-free crepes.

You can also subscribe to the VegTalk podcast for a special 21-day Oprahcast.

Since we can’t all afford to hire our own vegan chefs, I’ll be sure to provide lots of cooking and baking resources over the next few weeks. Sticking with the idea of the cleanse, I’ll be sure to add gluten-free and sugar-free options. To get you started, check out The Post-Punk Kitchen’s Fesenjun Tofu. The sugar is optional and if you want a natural sweetener that is high in minerals, try Grade B maple syrup.

If you would like to IM me about awesome animal-related news (I read enough depressing stuff each day), then you can do so through AIM (username: veganwonder) or Jabber (username: veganwonder @ gmail.com). You you can become my Twitter buddy (username: echris).

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