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Campbell Quiets Rodeo Involvement, Star Outs Duff, Disgraced Bowhunters |  |
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Dear Friends, Developments in our struggles to fight for animals have been happening quickly, and updates on many fronts are included in this e-newsletter. SHARK's community of supporters is one of the animals' best assests, so we strive to keep all of you informed often of our progress.
Just a few months ago, the Campbell Soup web site included lots of rodeo promotion. Campbell’s proudly proclaimed itself as a sponsor of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Additionally, Campbell’s sponsored a steer busting and calf roping contestant named Cash Myers. Also, Campbell’s had a truck outfitted to look like a stagecoach that made visits to various rodeos around the country. Campbell’s loved rodeos, and wanted everyone to know it. When called by caring consumers, Campbell’s public relations drones claimed that rodeo animals were well-treated, in spite of pictures and videos on SHARK’s websites showing the horrible abuse rodeo victims endure. SHARK and the Tiger Video Truck went into action, visiting Campbell’s headquarters in Camden, New Jersey and neighboring Philadelphia in the winter and summer of 2005. Some daytime protests were set up outside Campbell headquarters, with the truck operating at night. The truck also visited a Campbell board members’ home in Ohio. Today, things look very, very different on the Campbell site. The only hint of rodeo is a small silhouette of a man riding a bull outside of a barn. That’s a pretty stupid image, considering bullriding was never part of ranch work. There is no mention whatsoever of Campbell’s sponsorship of the PRCA or Cash Myers. While Campbell subsidiary Pace Foods is still listed as a PRCA sponsor on the PRCA’s site, Campbell/ Pace doesn’t seem interested in being a rodeo sponsor anymore. Cash Myers’ site says nothing about a Pace sponsorship. While we want to inform you of this development, we are NOT suggesting that people call Campbell’s to thank them. While the company has taken a significant step back from rodeo, it is nonetheless still a sponsor. Furthermore, the company refused to ever discuss the issues and the overwhelming documentation we supplied it, and it denied the truth about the abuse suffered by rodeo animals.
Left: Cash Meyers, participating with a Pace sponsorship in 2005, slams a baby cow to the ground. In all probability, Campbell’s is simply tired of having its reputation sullied by its association with the animal-abusing yahoos of the Rodeo Mafia. For our part, SHARK will sully Campbell’s reputation a little longer, until the company gets out of rodeos altogether.
While Campbell Soup is apparently pulling out, pop singer Hilary Duff is still hiding out. Ms. Duff is showing that she is a rodeo girl to the core by continuing to hide from SHARK and the rodeo controversy. Following the lead of the Rodeo Mafia, Duff has absolutely nothing to say about either her involvement with rodeos, or her recent concert in a Madrid bullring. You may recall that Duff lawyer Stanton Stein made a number of outrageous statements to the National Enquirer, so SHARK sent him a letter of rebuttal and put that letter on the HilaryDuffIsCruel.com web site. Predictably, Stein has now gone mum, just like his client. Equally silent is Duff’s boyfriend, Joel Madden, the singer of the rock band Good Charlotte. Reportedly an animal rights supporter, Madden has nothing to say about his girlfriend’s support of some rodeos and bullfighting. Too bad for all those calves, horses, steers and bulls. With friends like Hilary Duff and Joel Madden, the animals don’t need enemies.
Hilary Duff has taken another well-deserved hit in the national tabloid media. The Star, an entertainment tabloid, has come out with an article about our campaign to expose the cruelty of Hilary Duff. Basically a rewrite of the National Enquirer article of a couple weeks ago, the Star article was very welcomed because, unlike the Enquirer article, it included the HilaryDuffIsCruel.com website address. This has led to numerous E-mails received and postings on the comment board of HilaryDuffIsCruel.com. If you haven’t posted a comment on our HilaryDuffIsCruel.com site, please do so when you can. Let the world see your thoughts, and make your opinion count.
California animal rights lawyer Shannon Keith is working to resolve the matter of the citation issued against the Tiger Truck by the city of West Hollywood. Shannon Keith is a true fighter for animal rights, and created the documentary “Behind the Mask,” which chronicles the efforts of the Animal Liberation Front and others involved in direct action. Shannon was able to talk to the person who issued the citation, and he was apparently very uncooperative. Shannon is therefore making attempts to contact other officials in West Hollywood regarding the issue of the Tiger Truck, and is preparing a legal response to the citation. Meanwhile, SHARK was forced to deposit the $1,050.00 penalty while we wait for a hearing date. This continues to smell like something cooked up by someone, likely a lawyer, in the Duff organization. If Duff’s henchmen were looking for someone to intimidate, they picked the wrong target. We will keep you updated on this very important matter.
When Bulls Cry, recently published and authored by Michael A. Ogorzaly, is a great effort at putting the sword to so-called “bullfighting.” Those informed about bullfighting know that it is no fight at all, a point made repeatedly by Ogorzaly as he looks at bullfighting from different perspectives, including its history, its sick defenders, its brave detractors, the involvement of hypocritical religious organizations, and unethical corporate support. I have to admit that I particularly like chapter ten of the book, which tells the story of SHARK’s efforts to expose bullfighting and some corporate sponsors. I also like Ogorzaly’s unmasking of Ernest Hemingway as a boorish, blustering oaf who was desperate to use bullfighting not just to feed his bloodlust, but also in an ultimately unsuccessful quest for manhood. That quest ended when Hemingway ended his own life. Ogorzaly’s book succeeds in exposing bullfighting for what it is – a systematic torture-killing that survives by perpetuating a completely undeserved mystique, much the same as the rodeo. I highly recommend this book. You can order “When Bulls Cry” online by going to www.authorhouse.com, as well as amazon.com and borders.com. When Bulls Cry pulls bullfighting out from the curtain of mystique it hides behind. To see more of the truth for yourself, click here to see SHARK's video documentation of bullfighting in Spain.
A recent look at the 2006 PRCA guidelines for photography at PRCA rodeos proved that just as we watch the rodeo thugs, they too watch us. What has specifically caught their attention is SHARK’s focus on obtaining good still pictures last season. We certainly accomplished that mission, and we now have thousands of explicit and highly detail still pictures showing the undeniable truth of rodeo brutality. More than a day late, and many brain cells short, the rodeo people have come to understand that our still pictures can hurt them almost as badly as our video footage. Be afraid phony cowboys – be very afraid.
A proud but callous hunter's truck displays the slogan "If
it flies, it dies." Apparently, for New Jersey bowhunters
kicking a disoriented bird into half-flight is enough...
In New Jersey, sharp-eyed activists monitoring a
bowhunting
site found a public relations gold mine. Video footage shot
by member animal killers documented a canned pheasant
bowhunt that exposed the truth about hunting, and
the
insatiable bloodlust of those involved.
Our longer video clips of rodeos, bullfighting, hunting, and news pieces are bringing significant response from animal lovers AND animal exploiters all over the world. Animal lovers are shocked, and at the same time are thanking us for exposing the truth. Animal exploiters are furious that they are being exposed. Because of this response, and thanks to more technological advancements, we are going to be putting more video footage up on SHARK websites. Please take a look at some of our recent additions, and help contribute to our efforts to continue to show the truth about animal abuse everywhere!
Kindest Regards,
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