Letter Writing Sunday #16

With a pseudonym like vegankid, i really haven’t written many letters regarding typical vegan ethics. Well, let’s go ahead and fill my quota for a while.

In response to a rabies outbreak, Chinese officials called for the mass killing of dogs in July. Within a few days, more than 50,000 dogs were killed. Many dogs, including those that had been vaccinated, were strangled, clubbed, and electrocuted to death while the dogs’ caretakers and passersby watched in horror. The plan was to kill hundreds of thousands of dogs in order to erradicate the rabies outbreak – a measure that is cruel and completely unneccessary. People in China organized to fight the government policy. They were able to stop the killings in Jining and possibly Mouding, but they are asking for help from those throughout the world to stop the unneccessary killing of their loved ones and the strays that roam about their neighborhoods. You can find more information and pictures, as well as an easy way to send an email to Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong, at the PETA Action Center (i know, i know, but just cuz i take issue with PETA doesn’t mean they don’t have a good campaign every now and then).

And since i missed last week’s letter, due to moving, i’ve chosen to go ahead and send a quick second. The next campaign entails millions of tax-payer dollars, cruel animal experiments, eugenics, and something so beyond homophobia that i’m having a hard time thinking of a word to describe it. Those of us that have been in the animal rights/lib community for awhile have come to know the infamous Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). But now the facility has come to the attention of Queer activists, as well. Slated to foot the multi-million dollar bill until 2008, taxpayers are unknowingly supporting animal experiments at OHSU to identify the biological basis for homosexuality in sheep with the ultimate goal of being able to “cure” humyns of homosexuality. Stopanimaltests.com says the experiments are being carried out as follows:

OHSU experimenter Charles Roselli is killing scores of sheep and cutting open the brains of rams he calls “male-oriented” (homosexual) in an attempt to find the hormonal mechanisms behind homosexual tendencies, so that they can subsequently be changed.

You can find out more about the experiments and their link to Oregon State University (OSU) experimenter Frederick Stormshak at stopanimaltests.com, which asks that we write polite letters to OSU president Dr. Ed Ray and OHSU president-elect Dr. Joseph Roberston. You can find their email and snail-mail addresses below.

Dr. Ed Ray, President
Oregon State University
634 Kerr Administration Building
Corvallis, OR 97331-2128
ed.ray@oregonstate.edu

Joseph Robertson Jr., M.D., M.B.A., President-Elect
Oregon Health and Science University
3181 S.W. Sam Jackson Park Rd.
Portland, OR 97239-3098
Robertjo@ohsu.edu.