Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at 2:30 am
TO ELEPHANT ADVOCATES EVERYWHERE
Some good news on the circus elephant front! Just
got home from the Oakland City Council meeting (5:30pm - 2:30am)--an
overflow crowd.
The Council last night passed an ordinance banning the
use of bullhooks and similar devices on circus elephants, following Los Angeles'
lead. The final vote was 5:2 (AYES: Noel Gallo, Dan Kalb, Libby
Schaaf, Pat Kernighan, Rebecca Kaplan. NOES: Larry Reid, Desley Brooks.
ABSTAIN: Lynette Gibson McElhaney).
The NO votes were sympathetic to
animal welfare issues but were concerned about possible job and revenue loss,
saying those issues were not properly vetted (and I agree with that
assessment--they weren't).
An amendment offered by Rebecca Kaplan was accepted,
which I'm not crazy about, but may have been necessary to get the ordinance
passed: The ban won't go into effect until September of 2017 (same as the
Los Angeles ban).
Still, this is a major step forward (Stockton is
considering a similar ordinance). Ideally, of course, ALL wild animal
acts should be banned outright as many countries have already done: the
United Kingdom, Greece, Israel, Colombia, Mexico City and others.
So who's the REAL "Third World" here, insofar
as animal welfare is concerned?
Some 180 people signed up to speak, mostly pro-ban folks but a sizable number of union workers and caterers--also concerned about the
welfare of the elephants but more concerned about personal finances, I
think. Plus a couple reps from Ringling Bros./Barnum & Bailey Circus
with the usual denials about animal abuse, which has been repeatedly documented
over the years.
Thanks to all who came and testified. Nice to win
one for a change, hey? Please forward this good news accordingly.
Onward,
Eric Mills, Coordinator
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
Oakland
P.S. - Some notes of thanks to the council members seem
in order, esp. Libby Schaaf (lschaaf@oaklandnet.com; and co-sponsors Noel Gallo
(ngallo@oaklandnet.com), and Dan Kalb (dkalb@oaklandnet.com)
Eric Mills is Ohlone Humane Society's Director of Community Advocacy. He can be reached at:
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
PO Box 20184
Oakland, CA 94620
(510) 652-5603
Email: afa@mcn.org
