As activists continue to call Starbucks toll-free number, the company's public relations staff is engaged in an apparent disinformation campaign to confuse customers.

In other words-- they're lying. The problem for liars is that it is difficult to lie together, so various Starbucks public relations drones are telling callers a wide range of stories. The propaganda ranges from claiming that Starbucks doesn't affiliate with rodeos, to claiming Starbucks did affiliate with rodeos but no longer will, to claiming that Starbucks affiliates with rodeos and that's OK. When SHARK representative Janet Enoch called and confronted Starbucks about the wide and conflicting range of stories being disseminated to customers, she was told that Starbucks public relations people may "interpret" the Starbucks corporate line. Isn't THAT special? The drones are being encouraged to spin the truth in order to confuse customers!

Here's what we know for certain. Starbucks current written statement declares that local stores have the right to sponsor what they choose. This means that virtually any type of animal abuse is acceptable to the supposedly "ethical" and "socially responsible" Starbucks. Just a short list of "locally acceptable" abuses demonstrates the insanity of this policy: rodeos, bullfighting, cockfighting, dogfighting, and pigeon and turkey shoots may all be open for Starbucks sponsorship.

We are asking activists around the world to inform us of any other forms of animal abuse that Starbucks chooses to affiliate with. We will expose them for whatever abuses they choose to support. Starbucks already chose to portray bullfighting in a humorous light at a shareholders meeting, so we are very curious as to whether there is a more direct affiliation in bullfighting countries. Should a direct link be found, SHARK's bullfighting footage will be included in our Starbucks video on the Tiger Truck.

The plight of rodeo victims has now been heard throughout the Starbucks corporate structure - from the Starbucks Board of Directors, to the district managers, to the local store managers and employees. Our focus now is to increase the pressure of this issue, and we must pursue every possible avenue to accomplish this task.

A simple but effective approach is to walk into a Starbucks sporting a cup of a competitor’s coffee in your hand. One advocate who did this said it worked like a charm. He nicely explained to the Starbucks manager that he’d like to buy Starbucks’ coffee but was compelled to patronize the competition due to Starbucks’ rodeo involvement. This local manager indicated she had just heard something about the rodeo controversy, but now she promised to contact her higher-ups to learn more. The cup of competitor's coffee was proof that the former customer was serious about a boycott!

At right, St. Louis animal advocates once again braved the cold out in front of an area Starbucks.

In St. Louis, Missouri, a dedicated team of activists has not only held repeated demonstrations in front of various Starbucks stores, but has also done individual, impromptu efforts to get the word out about Starbucks in malls. As one advocate writes:

“One Starbucks is in the middle of a mall in a big kiosk. This provides easy access to leaflet the area around the store and reach their customers. This is an easy way for activists to reach A LOT of Starbucks nationwide. I left the Starbucks flyer all around their place in the mall and also left the Starbucks flyer at all the stands with miscellaneous info (mall directories, advertisements, etc.) all over the entire mall and in the public restrooms. I am sure I reached some people, and I am sure Starbucks knows about it.”

Efforts like these require minimal planning or effort, but will have a very significant impact.

The Tiger had a good run in Los Angeles, although there should have been many more activists participating than there was. On the first night only Armaiti May, a young and extremely busy veterinarian came out to help. Regardless, the intrepid few who did show reached many, many good people. In fact, we noticed a considerable number of California people signing the petition against Starbucks' rodeo sponsorship in the wake of the Tiger's Los Angeles visit. Our thanks to Armaiti, Valerie, Ouie, Bahare, Kristina, Marina and for their help.

With some difficulty, the Tiger got a parking spot right smack in front of a Starbucks each of the four nights in LA. As has been the case throughout the campaign, the Tiger's presence in front of a Starbucks results in a lot of people turning away from doing business there, at least for that night. Another typical response is that the local Starbucks managers expressed both surprise and dismay that their company was involved in such animal abuse.

In San Diego, the Tiger's video was undeniable to passing motorists and everyone inside the Starbucks.

Full of positive spirits, this advocate hands out Buck Starbucks flyers in front of her local Starbucks. We need this to be happening in every city!

The next stop for the Tiger Truck will be Palo Alto, California on March 1st.
San Francisco will be next with a visit on March 2nd and 3rd, and Sacramento on March 4th.
On March 7th and 8th, the Tiger will be in Portland, Oregon, the last stop before an extended visit to Seattle, Starbucks' headquarters. Once we get to Seattle, I am determined that the Tiger not leave before virtually every human in the Seattle area finds out about Starbucks' cruelty.

We need people to turnout for these demos in every city! Please contact shark.central@sbcglobal.net if you can help and for more information about where the Tiger will be in these cities.

Kind Regards,
Steve Hindi and your SHARK Team