• Kim J. was arrested while trapping cats in New Orleans for spay/neutering.
• Please help Kim find a pro-bono attorney and someone to contact at the National Guard.
• Email Kim at nolacats@gmail.com if you can help or know someone who can.

I was arrested Sunday night while out cat trapping in New Orleans. I need an attorney. Does anyone know an attorney who might be willing to do pro-bono work on my case? I could also use a high-ranking contact in the National Guard. I don't want to post the details, but if anyone knows an attorney, please email me directly and I'll fill you or the attorney in on the details. Thank you, Kim J., nolacats@gmail.com

Kim J. has been helping animals on the streets of New Orleans since Katrina. She is a dedicated animal rescuer and was in New Orleans soon after Katrina. I met Kim while at Celebration Station working with ARNO and Best Friends. Kim coordinated the mapping and logging of over 2,800 volunteer feeding stations for animals throughout abandoned neighborhoods of New Orleans and surrounding parishes in the months following.

During this past summer, Kim helped cat colony caretakers trap and spay/neuter hundreds of cats as part of the Best Friends/HSUS Big Easy Cat Trapping project. Kim has continued trapping feral cats for surgeries so that their ever-increasing populations can be humanely brought under control. Kim is analyzing the data to track patterns and populations of roaming cats for possible future programs to address these needs.

But then, the most horrific animal torture of all, the St. Bernard school shootings, where pets were tortured beyond the comprehension of most people... The suffering these helpless animals endured is unimaginable. In addition, these brutal acts are relative to the insanity demonstrated by serial killers before they begin taking human victims.

With evidence secure, with video footage, with photos and witnesses (including camera crews and military,) in addition to the intense brutality of the crime, I never would have dreamed this case would be thrown out... What good are animal protection laws with corrupt politics? Pam Leavy, Baton Rouge, La.

• Hotline is sponsored by HSUS.
• Award up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a dogfighter.
• All information is kept confidential; no one will know you've called.
• Hotline answered 24/7. You can leave a message, talk to an investigator, or get their email address and leave your own.
• Hotline advises: If a dogfight is underway, immediately call police: 911 Then call the hotline: 1-877-847-4787

REPLY TO: info@cathelpdesk.org
If you are feeding feral cats, PLEASE also trap and spay/neuter those cats to help reduce the population growth rate. If you need guidance or assistance with trapping, such as borrowing traps, learning how to trap, learning which vets will take feral cats for spay/neuter, etc., then, check out this new local resource for greater New Orleans and surrounding parishes, including Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, Washington, and Tangipahoa:
The CAT HELP DESK - email: info@cathelpdesk.org

After several hectic days of research into the needs of animal victims in the Tennessee tornadoes, Kinship Circle received no major requests for out-of-state volunteers. As outlined in our original alert, the main requests were for monetary donations. We also spoke with contacts for some of the national deployment groups we support — EARS and Best Friends — who both confirmed the lack of a call for outside assistance...

From: Matt Herlocker, mherlocker@uan.org
Organization: United Animal Nations
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008
We’ve spoken to numerous state and local officials about anything we could do to assist with animal issues. While there has been some aid to animals provided within the state, there have been few requests for outside assistance. We have heard...of isolated reports of animal needs. As is our policy, we referred people with these concerns to the appropriate local emergency management agency... As you may know, we do not deploy volunteers to disaster areas without a written invitation from the local government.

We have a grant program opened up to victims of this event. We will make cash grants available to assist owners of animals that need veterinary care or temporary boarding. For more information, please go to this link: www.uan.org/documents/Crisis_Relief_Grants_Southeastern_US_2008.pdf
Matt Herlocker, Director of Emergency Services
United Animal Nations, www.uan.org

Jeff Dorson, stopcruelty11@gmail.com

CALL MARC ARONSTAM TO CHARGE BY PHONE:
1-877-808-1188 or 317-817-9000

INQUIRE ABOUT PENDANT BY EMAIL:
msa@aronstam.com (Type HSL in your subject line)

TO ORDER BY FAX OR POSTAL MAIL:
Email Humane Society of Louisiana’s Jeff Dorson for a form to fill out and send with your check or credit card info, stopcruelty11@gmail.com

American Humane Association, info@americanhumane.org

Katrina blew off the lid on a Pandora’s box of antiquated laws and social systems. With animals, we saw the neglect, abuse, and lack of enforced anti-cruelty laws. Many learned firsthand that an animal pulled from floodwaters needed rescue long before the storms. Mississippi has some of the most lax animal cruelty laws in the nation. Senate Bill 2499 would upgrade domesticated animal abuse to a felony crime, punishable by up to five years prison and a $10,000 fine. SB 2499 would direct the court to mandate psychological evaluation of convicted abusers.

Mississippi is not immune to heinous incidents of animal cruelty, as illustrated by the tragic fate of Buddy, a 16-week-old Labrador retriever who was left for dead inside a diaper box at the side of a road in Gautier. The puppy’s eyes, ears, throat and mouth had been covered in PVC pipe glue. Because Mississippi’s animal cruelty law lacks felony penalties, the perpetrator of this horrific crime will, at the very most, be sentenced to just six months’ incarceration or be ordered to pay a meager fine.

Senator Gray Tollison
Senate Judiciary Committee, Division B Chairman
Room 409A, P.O. Box 1018; Jackson, MS 39215
ph: 601-359-3425; email: gtollison@senate.ms.gov
SOURCE: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/senate/tollison.xml

Senator Michael Watson
Senate Judiciary Committee, Division B Vice-Chairman
P.O. Box 1018; Jackson, MS 39215
ph: 601-359-3234; email: mwatson@senate.ms.gov
SOURCE: http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/members/senate/watson.xml

Ask them to schedule SB 2499 for a committee hearing and vote for its passage.

• SEND AMERICAN HUMANE’S WEB-AUTOMATED LETTER: www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ta_action_alerts
  ON RIGHT SIDE PAGE, Click on: Mississippi - Help strengthen Mississippi's animal cruelty law


• OR, SEND YOUR OWN COMMENTS VIA EMAIL, PHONE OR POSTAL MAIL
  Elected officials notice personally sent letters more than web-automated letters.

findkpets@yahoo.com, 985-893-6456

http://home.mindspring.com/~tisme/id1.html
Katrina Animal Reunion Team (KART)
P.O. Box 1156; Mandeville LA 70470-1156
ph: (leave a voicemail message): 985-893-6456
email: FindKPets@yahoo.com

findkpets@yahoo.com, 985-893-6456

David Friedman, dfnow@verizon.net
Disaster Services Coordinator, MUTTSHACK WASHINGTON, www.muttshack.org
Inga Gibson, igibson@hsus.org

If we didn't learn the importance of including animals in emergency response plans after watching the heart-wrenching scenes out of Louisiana, you'd think we would have learned when the disaster hit closer to home.

At least 1,300 farm animals and horses died during the recent floods in southwest Washington, yet some people still believe animal emergency planning is unnecessary. The loss of animal life during the recent storms took an economic and psychological toll on animal owners. Animals suffered, farmers lost their livelihoods, and state and local agencies continue to deal with animal disposal and potential public health issues.

More than two months after the floods, pets in Lewis County are now ill due to exposure to deceased and decomposing animals.

Senate Bill 5106, sponsored by state Sen. Ken Jacobsen, requests that the Washington State Department of Emergency Management, in cooperation with local emergency management agencies, develop guidelines to ensure an animal component is present in state and local emergency management plans. This legislation would put Washington in line with the Federal Pet Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, which was signed into law in October 2006.

The law requires that state and local emergency plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals, and provides reimbursement to state and local governments for eligible pet evacuation and sheltering activities during a declared disaster.

Recognizing that during a disaster, animal issues are people issues, SB5106 also encourages animal owners to incorporate their animals into their own personal emergency plans to mitigate the impact of future disasters.

Of 16 states that have already passed similar laws, including Oregon and California, Washington is the only West Coast state that has yet to pass any animal planning legislation.

The need for planning is clear. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, American Red Cross and American Veterinary Medical Association all promote including animals in emergency plans. In addition, disaster experts note that evacuations will run more smoothly if animals are included in pre-disaster plans and people will be more likely to evacuate if they can take their pets with them, saving lives and lessening the burden on disaster responders.

Based on an estimated 3.6 million pets in Washington, or 1.8 million pet-owning households, developing those guidelines would cost the state around a penny per pet or a little less than 2 cents per household. I highly doubt that any Washingtonian, pet owner or not, would argue that the value of an animal's life, and the comfort they provide us post-disaster, is worth less than that.

While we can't always predict when the next disaster will strike, we can reduce the potential impact by supporting legislation that would ensure that animals are part of our emergency plans.

Inga Gibson is Washington state director of the Humane Society of the United States. Seattle Post-Intelligencer