Earth Day for Animals

It's that time of year again. Earth Day is here! While I try to do my best to be kind to our planet everyday (as I'm sure you all do), I'm dedicating this entry to my favorite planet Earth inhabitants - ANIMALS! Hopefully, after reading this you will be more inclined to take care of this planet we share with over 8 billion different species of animals. And more importantly, to be kind to animals.

The animal that continues to be the most near and dear to my heart is of coarse the elephant. They are probably the most compassionate, emotionally and socially intelligent animals, who studies have shown, are self aware. They mourn the loss of loved ones, they have complex social relationships and are probably the most beautiful and tender animal I've been lucky enough to encounter. 

The African elephant continues to suffer catastrophic declines in numbers due to poaching for the high price of ivory on the black market and the high demand for ivory from Asia. An elephant is killed every 15 minutes for it's ivory in Africa. That's 96 elephants a day that are violently murdered. Last year alone, 36,000 elephants were killed for their ivory. At this rate there will be no elephants roaming the wild in 2025. Not cool. I can't even imagine what a world without elephants looks like. 

There are however, many worldwide efforts trying to ensure that a world without wild elephants does not become our reality. On October 4th, the first International March for Elephants in support of the The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust took place in over 42 cities across the world. In NYC, we marched across all of Manhattan to the door of the United Nations. We had some fantastic speakers come all the way from the front lines of Africa like Sir. Iain Douglas-Hamilton of Save the Elephants in Kenya, and my favorite Sex and the City girl, Kristin Davis who is a huge supporter of Daphne Sheldrick's elephant orphan nursery in Kenya.

This weekend is also dedicated to elephants at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Run for the Wild at the Bronx Zoo. This year's race, like last year's, is dedicated to elephant conservation. I'm happy to report that this is my 5th year running this 5k race. I could use all the support in my fundraising efforts for our elephant friends that I can get. If you're unable to support financially, please show your solidarity by signing this petition to law makers demanding that they make ivory sales illegal in NY. I bet you didn't know that you can LEGALLY buy ivory in NY, did you? Crazy, I know. Let's put an end to it. 

I couldn't possibly write about elephants without mentioning a very special place in Thailand that rescues and rehabilitates Asian elephants from the abusive life of the tourist trade and logging industry. Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary is the home of about 11 happy and very loved elephants who were rescued by elephant superhero, Katherine Connor. It is an animal lovers dream to see these beautiful beings roaming and swimming and playing so happily and freely. I wish every animal in the world could have the good fortune of living as the animals of BLES do. 

It is however, very costly to run a non-profit sanctuary and care for eleven 5 ton animals. That's a lot of bananas!! And since the majority of the elephants at BLES were rescued from abusive conditions, they all have various medical ailments that require lots of time and money to care for. Please help Katherine and all the beautiful animals at BLES by donating what you can or better yet, adopt your own elephant! 

In other recent NYC animal news, I was happy to join PETA and NYCLASS this weekend to peacefully protest in front of Liam Neeson's Upper West Side residence for publicly criticizing Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to do away with horse drawn carriages in NYC. As an actor who has admired Neeson for years, in particular his role as the compassionate Oscar Schindler, I don't understand why he is using his star power to advocate such antiquated cruelty and abuse to such a graceful and soulful animal. I know you guys don't though, which is why you're going to show your solidarity to horses and sign this petition to ban horse carriages in NYC.

Another animal very close to my heart is the majestic and regal lion. (I'm a Leo and The Lion King is my favorite movie.) On March 15th, I was happy to join 70,000 people in over 62 cities worldwide at the Global March for Lions to raise awareness about the industry of "canned hunting." 

What is "canned hunting"? Canned hunting is big business. Captive breed lions are taken from their mothers at birth and hand raised by humans. They are put into petting zoos and earn money being petted by tourists, ignorant of their circumstances. Once they are too big to be pet, they await their fate - to be sold to trophy hunters. They are sold as guaranteed kills in enclosed areas with no chance of escape. Because they are "trophies" they are not shot quickly in the head but die a long and slow painful death shot up in their bodies. Their heads are sent back to the USA or Europe as trophies and their bones are often sold to Asia for bogus potions. I'm sad to say that the USA is responsible for 55% of these jackass "hunters" and it's completely legal to bring lion heads & parts back into this country. I can't think of a more unattractive thing a man can do than be a hunter. 

                                      

Please sign this petition urging the US Fish & Wildlife Service to protect lions under the Endangered Species act, thus making it illegal to import lion parts into the U.S. Let's put a stop to this barbaric and cowardly "sport" once and for all. 

And of coarse I can't write about animals on Earth Day without talking about NOT EATING THEM! Not eating animals or anything that comes out of an animal is the single best thing you can do to help the environment. 

It's hard to argue with these reasons, huh? The only regret I have is not going vegan sooner. I did it because I could no longer call myself an animal lover while I continued to support the cruel slaughter of  animals that are probably smarter than my dog (sorry Rocky.) I've never felt better, my hair is shinier, my skin is clearer, and I'm just happier all around. It makes sense now that I think about it. Animals on factory farms live lives full of fear, anxiety, sadness and depression. How can we think that eating them day in and day out won't have an effect on our well being? Think about it. 

So my friends, that's all she wrote. Have a happy, healthy and more importantly, compassionate Earth Day. Be kind to yourself, the planet, and to all sentient being on this planet. 

Much Love,

Sue

An Elephant Eden in Thailand

Like most animal loving saps such as myself, I fell in love with animals from watching Disney movies when I was younger. I first fell in love with dogs from watching The Fox and the Hound (I still cry when they say good bye for the last time and say they'll always be friends forever.) I dreamt of being smothered in pups a la 101 Dalmatians, and I guess that dream came true when I helped my dad open up a dog daycare & boarding business. Now when I visit, I get my pick of over 100 dogs to play with! And our first family dog was an adorable cocker spaniel identical to the one in Lady and the Tramp. I also used to play outside and try to sing like Snow White so that little woodland creatures and birds would come and play with me (They never came. I sing pretty terribly.) I even bought two white mice when I was in middle school and tried to dress them up like the mice that were friends with Cinderella. (I know, I'm a little crazy.) The Lion King brought my love of lions to such new heights that I went to work on a lion park in South Africa a few years ago. None of these movies however, have had such a profound effect on me like the movie Dumbo. Even before I knew anything about the reality of animals in captivity, much less understand it, it always made me sad to watch that movie, even the parts that weren't meant to be sad. I didn't like that Dumbo and the other elephants in the movie had to wear silly costumes and do difficult and painful tricks just so the bratty kids that went to see the circus could have a laugh. And then of course, there is the bond and love that Dumbo and his mama Mrs. Jumbo share. My heart breaks every time she gets thrown in solitary just for protecting her baby boy. The scene where the mouse brings Dumbo to visit his mom in jail and she rocks him in her trunk turns me into a blubbering idiot every time. Watch it and try not to cry like a little girl. I dare you.

Couldn't do it, could you? Me either. I'm sobbing and am now trying to type with my 60 pound boxer sitting on my lap because I needed to hug an animal. This scene is not far off from the reality elephants in captivity endure. Baby elephants are taken away from their mothers at a very young age, beaten into submission and forced to do painful tricks. And for what? Because people pay to go to the circus. Because people pay to ride an elephant.  Are we that selfish and indifferent that we'd pay to see an hour of stupid tricks at the cost of a lifetime of pain, heartache, and utter misery for such a sentient and soulful animal? I promise you, seeing these magnificent animals freely interact and socialize with one another, forage in the forest for banana trees, and splash around in a river until their heart's content, will bring you such profound joy that words will fail to describe it. When I learned that such a magical place existed in Northern Thailand, I knew I had to go. And I knew I had to go with the person who had rocked me in her trunk and sang the Dumbo lullaby to me many times in my life, my own Mrs. Jumbo, my mom
         
Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary in Sukhothai, Thailand is the realized dream of an amazing and lovely British woman named Katherine Connor. BLES was created in memory of Boon Lott, a three-month old elephant born premature, whom Katherine met and fell in love with while volunteering at an elephant hospital. Despite Katherine's world wide fundraising efforts to get him the best medical care, Boon Lott passed away at two years old, nestled in Katherine's arms the way he had slept every night since the day they met. The sanctuary inspired by the love Katherine and Boon Lott shared, is now home to 11 Asian elephants rescued from abusive lives in the tourism trade, including Boon Lott's mom, Pang Tong.

The time we spent at Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary was nothing short of amazing. Everyday was about the elephants! In the morning, we'd go for a banana run and load a pick-up truck with hundreds of banana bunches for the eles. When we pulled in to the sanctuary, some of them would be waiting for us and come running to munch on the bananas before we could unload them off the truck. When the eles had their fill of bananas, then the humans got to eat breakfast in the bamboo hut overlooking them splashing in the pond in front of us. When they had their fill of dunking each other in the water, they'd stick their trunks over the rail of the hut to see if there was any fruit leftover from our breakfast. The best was feeding my favorite girl, Lotus. She didn't take the fruit out of my hands with her trunk like the other elephants did, she opened up her mouth so I could put it all in there at once!

 

After breakfast, we would go on our morning walk with the elephants, their mahouts (elephant caretakers) and all the pups at the sanctuary. It was so funny to see the dogs in the front of the group as if they were leading the way. I'm sure they thought they were! The walks were really wonderful. We got to see how elephants are when they are happy and free. We watched them up close as they ate from bamboo trees, splashed around in the river, and we even shared some pomelo fruit that the mahouts cut up for us humans. The elephants however, very cleverly stepped on the fruit to crack it's hard shell so they could eat the sweet stuff inside. Or they just swallowed it whole! 

Since elephants are migratory animals, they need to walk. A lot! Thankfully Katherine has managed to buy over 500 acres filled with all kinds of delicious foliage and fruit trees for them to feast on. The property has a beautiful river and pond for them to play in and cool off from the hot Thai sun. After our morning walk, we'd walk back down to the lake and the elephants would usually keep playing in the pond for the afternoon, or they'd hunt down more bananas. Then the humans would have lunch in the hut again and watch the eles continue playing happily with each other. At dinner, after the elephants went back into the forest to get tucked in, we'd enjoy homemade delicious Thai meals (vegetarian of coarse!) and Katherine would tell us the story of how every elephant was rescued and brought to BLES. Some stories were very sad, which just made me admire and respect this incredible woman even more for all of her bravery and selflessness. Dinner time usually meant having your feet warmed up by one of the dogs who patiently waited for us to finish our dinner so they could have the leftovers mixed up with their kibble. Every day spent with the animals at BLES was unique and heartwarming. It was easy to fall in love with all of them.

On top of maintaining the sanctuary and constantly fundraising to rescue more elephants, Katherine has a bunch of other projects she needs help getting off the ground as well.  Since the inception of BLES, releasing the rehabilitated elephants back into a protected forest environment has been top priority. Deforestation is a harsh reality in Thailand today, and the BLES Land Release Program hopes to acquire more land so that it can in turn, save more elephants. Another necessity when caring for animals is medical care, especially when the majority of these elephants have come from abusive and neglectful situations. Unfortunately, the elephant hospitals are a six hour drive from BLES and the few vets that do on site visits cannot keep up with the demand for care. The Star Medical Clinic is named after BLES's first born who tragically died at two and a half years old during a thunderstorm. This clinic will act as a satellite and triage facility in support of existing veterinary clinics. It will provide diagnostic services, preliminary care and maintenance care. Minor cases will be able to be treated locally at the Star Clinic, while more severe cases requiring surgery and long-term care will be recommended to the hospitals. Local volunteers, veterinary students, and a resident veterinarian will staff the Star Clinic.

One of my favorite things at BLES was seeing all the dogs run around the sanctuary alongside the elephants. Like most third world countries, Thailand has a lot of strays. BLES is not exclusive to elephants, every animal in need is welcomed and cared for at the sanctuary. The BLES Cat & Dog Home will provide sanctuary to abused cats and dogs, and provide free medical care and neutering and spaying to all cats and dogs. It will also facilitate the adoption of the animals once they have been rehabilitated. More importantly, it will also work to educate the locals about simple care and training, therefore reducing cases of cruelty and neglect.

Whether you are an animal lover or not, it's easy to be inspired and amazed with Katherine Connor and all she has done for animals in need in Thailand. That being said, all these projects can only become a reality through donations from people like you and me. I wish I could save every animal in the world from pain and suffering and provide a happy and safe home where they can play with their families and animal friends for the rest of their lives. That's what Katherine does for elephants and for the strays that think they're elephants. If it wasn't so cold here in New York, I'd shout about it from the top of the Empire State Building and urge everyone to visit and support Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary and all of it's projects. And I'd implore anyone visiting Thailand not to support any person or business using elephants for rides, tricks, or begging. You can't even begin to fathom the amount of pain and suffering those elephants endure all in the name of tourism and entertainment. From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all the elephants and animals I met in Thailand, please give what you can to help them and share their story. They say that elephants never forget, but the truth is that once you meet an elephant living a happy and peaceful life "just being an elephant", you will never forget it either.

 "In a world full of people who couldn't care less, be someone who couldn't care more." 

Much Love,
Sue

Half a year of LIVING ON THE VEG!

It's been over six months now, since I've crossed over to the green side. Christmas Eve was the last meat-based meal I had with my family, and while I can't honestly say I never looked back at first, it's been one of the best things I've ever done for myself on so many levels. As I wrote in my Me, In A Nutshell post, I've been a big animal lover since I was a little thing, and have always cared about and been involved with animal rights and wildlife conservation organizations. I also really love nature and care about the environment and all that other tree-hugging hippie stuff. So the decision to adopt a plant based diet into my life had many contributing factors.

I got through the initial frustrations of not knowing what to eat or cook, and doubting whether I'd made the right decision or not thanks to Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet. I absolutely love her as an actress and even more so for being such an avid animal rights activist, so I thought her book was the perfect intro for my new veg life. I highly recommend it to any veg-curious people looking to make the cross over, or just to anyone who likes to eat! There are some really delicious recipes in there and a few of them have turned into my specialties, like the Vegan Avocado Alfredo and Alicia's Mushroom Pizza. Quinoa and kale have become my new favorite things to cook with, and I love that I feel satisfied and satiated after a meal and not painfully full with a food baby. I also love that I no longer feel like I need a nap or like I have to unbutton my pants after I eat (you know you've done it.)
           

            RIGHT: My own creation, Summer Salad w/ Avocado & Strawberries and Black Bean Chipotle Quinoa Salad. LEFT: Alicia's Mushroom Pizza. 

Since I stopped eating animals, my dedication to animal rights and wildlife conservation has felt more complete since I feel that my love and respect for all animals has come full circle by keeping them off my plate. This year I attended the National Animal Rights Day in New York. The Los Angeles group had demonstrators hold animals that had died at the hands of humans as an act of solidarity, compassion, and demand for animal rights. While it was tough to see some of the images, and hear some of the presenters speak about the plight of animals in this world, I'm sure I would have felt a lot worse if I still continued to contribute to their suffering by eating them.        

I also got to indulge my artsy side by attending Waves of Change - A Benefit Art Show for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.  It's so great when so many things you love are combined. It was such a fun night filled with beautiful artwork, vegan food and wine, and new friends. I love the ocean so much I sometimes think I was a fish in a past life. And when other kids were playing house, or cops and robbers, I spent every summer as a kid in the water pretending I was a mermaid, so the conservation and well being of the ocean and all it's creatures holds a special place in my heart. Check out some of their amazing campaigns and get involved or check them out at their next event! I'll probably see you there!

This Spring, while many of my friends were looking forward to Spartan Races or Color Runs, I was getting ready for one of my favorite events at the Bronx Zoo. This is my third year participating in The Wildlife Conservation Society's Run For the Wild!  and this year's event was probably my favorite. Not only because it was to benefit elephants, but it was also sponsored by Amarula (a very delicious liquor from South Africa.) Elephants are one of my favorite animals and they need all the help they can get right now, so I was really glad to see the Wildlife Conservation Society fundraising and advocating on their behalf. Become and ele-friend and donate some peanuts for this cause. Also, tell congress to support conservation programs that elephants depend on by signing this petition.
             

I got to explore more into my newly plant based world by attending a really cool event in Soho called The Seed - A Positively Plant Based Experience. I ate a ridiculous amount of delicious food that the average meat eating person would probably not even realize was vegan. I also got to hear some amazing speakers, like vegan ultra-athlete, Rich Roll and animal rights activist and right hand woman to Russell Simmons, Simone Reyes. While they've both been hard core vegans for years, they both have different reasons for following a plant based diet. Rich credits his ability to conquer Iron Man triathlons to plant based nutrition, while Simone is a warrior goddess for animals everywhere, imploring you to keep them off your plate, out of circuses and test labs, and out of your closet. Both of their talks were equally moving and inspiring.

               

A big reason that it's taken me so long to become a vegan is because I thought I would feel deprived. I really love food, and one of my favorite things to do is try new restaurants. For the longest time I thought this would be a pain being a vegan, but not in New York! And not with chefs like Daphne Cheng from Suite Three Oh Six! The awesome peeps from the Seed-Positively Plant Based, invited Iron man Triathlete, best-selling author, and Vega formulator, Brendan Brazier to a dinner party which I attended. I didn't get a chance to talk to Brendan too much during dinner because I was completely taken away by how beautiful and delicious all the food was. Every one of the seven courses had a new vegetable, root, or herb that I'd never tried before. One would think that cutting dairy and meat out of the kitchen would be limiting in creating new dishes, but not for this Chef! I mean, think about it, there are only so many things you can do with an animal carcass, so it was difficult to surprise my former meat eating self in the past. But now, there are so many herbs, roots, and sea vegetables that I've never even heard of, that each new thing I tried was like an adventure! Each dish was equal parts art and engineering with amazing new flavors that were equally loved by my eyeballs and my belly. I can't wait to try more of Chef Daphne's culinary creations!

 

Last week I made the long overdue trip up to see some rescued farm animals at Catskill Animal Sanctuary. It was so great to see them running around enjoying the sunshine and their freedom and knowing that that's what they'll get to do for the rest of their lives. It's different then going to a regular farm where you see cute little piggies and chickens and you realize the next time you'll see them is on your plate. Even those types of mom and pop farms don't really exist anymore. In this country alone, 30 million cows are raised on factory farms just for food. That's why this place is so special because you know what the fate of these amazing animals would have been had they not been rescued by the good people there. I loved all the animals there so much I'm going back to visit them at their 12th Annual Shindig - A Festival of Vegan Living next month!

I've been asked a few time if I had my own farm where the animals were treated kindly and got to play in the sunshine and pasture until their hearts content and then were killed quickly and humanely would I eat meat? First of all, being humanely killed is a contradiction in terms. What's humane about killing? So the answer is no, I still wouldn't eat animals. Knowing me, if I had my own farm animals I would love them all, play with them, and have birthday parties for them like I do for my dog. (Don't laugh. My dog is the coolest. If you met him you'd want to come to his birthday party too.)

So my friends, it's safe to say that this is my new way of life now. I'm happier than I've ever been and I've made so many new friends in the NY vegan community. I look forward to many more days of plant based goodness and good friends to share it with (both two and four-legged).

Much love,
Sue

An Elephant EMERGENCY!! .... CONTINUED

I know I've written about the elephant crisis before, but these amazing animals hold a special place in my heart and I never tire of confessing my love for them. Besides, their situation is dire and deserves some more attention and awareness. I mean, look at these pics!! How can you not fall in love?

It is with a heavy heart that I recently read the following horrifying statistic about the elephant poaching crisis.

*EVERY 15 MINUTES AN ELEPHANT IS KILLED FOR IT'S IVORY TUSKS. AT THIS RATE, ELEPHANTS WILL BE EXTINCT WITHIN THE NEXT DECADE*

Heartbreaking. And for what? So that Asian countries can make jewelry and trinkets? I honestly believe that if this headline was run in the media and brought to the attention of the masses as much as Miley Cyrus twerking at the MTV VMA's everyone would be outraged. (About the elephants, not Miley grinding on a married man. )

Fortunately for elephants and those of us who love them, there are some celebrities using their star power to bring attention the this crisis. So lets follow the example of these righteous public figures and get involved in the fight against poaching.

Kristin Davis, who played Charlotte, my favorite character on Sex In The City, put away her Manolo's to travel to Kenya to help rescue a baby elephant whose mother had been poached. She has been working closely with the David Sheldrick Trust and brought the baby to Dame Daphne Sheldrick's elephant orphanage. Baby elephants are extremely dependent on their mothers for the first few years and their chances of survival are slim if left to fend for themselves. Help Kristin and Dame Daphne and donate funds to this cause or foster your own orphaned elephant.

Hillary Rodham Clinton has vowed to use her political connections to help fight the poaching crisis which unfortunately has many political implications due to corrupt governments. Since the demand for ivory from Asian countries has skyrocketed to $1,000 a pound, major crime syndicates and warlords (like Joseph Kony) will risk the fairly light punishment if caught and use the sales of ivory to fund other  war crimes such as murder, human and drug trafficking. Because of such a strong supply and demand chain, elephant poaching has reached crisis levels that have not been seen in decades. World Wildlife Fund estimates that 30,000 African elephants were illegally killed in 2012, the highest number in 20 years. Click here to find out how you can help make a difference in the fight against wildlife crime.
             
                 

And then there is Tom Hardy. As if it were possible to love this dreamy and talented actor even more, he now helps fight wildlife crime on his new docu-style series, Poaching Wars. My dream man. Tom traveled to South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana to uncover the hard truths about why poaching has reached such crisis levels. Tom meets some of the people affected by this war, such as the farmers who lose cattle in the cross fire and the wildlife rangers who put their lives at risk fighting poachers who are military trained and likened to "navy seal assassins."

While the African elephants are critically endangered, their Asian cousins aren't fairing too well either. Asian elephants suffer from a different kind of evil and exploitation. Years ago when governments in countries such as Thailand called for the end of logging in their northern forests, many elephant handlers (mahouts) were left with few options to care for their families and feed their elephants. Today, most elephants are used in the tourist trade or for illegal logging. Both of which subject these incredibly sentient beings to torture beyond imagination. Baby elephants are ripped away from their mothers to be tied up, beaten and tortured for days in order to "crush their spirit" and make them compliant. It is a practice called "phajaan." These are some very hard truths that most tourists to the East are not aware of. Elephants are used to beg in the streets or sent to tourist camps to give rides with enormous metal seats on their backs used to carry as many people as possible. Both of these practices subject the elephants to mental, emotional and physical torture, and usually drugging so that their appetites are curbed and they increase their work time. No elephant is born domestic. Elephants in the wild naturally roam free with their families and the babies stay with their mothers for years. Anytime you see an elephant giving rides, playing soccer, painting a picture, or doing any type of trick, know that it was tortured and beaten into a life of servitude for tourist entertainment. It breaks my heart to see pictures of baby elephants tortured and abused within an inch of their life. See for yourself. Is this kind of torture worth your elephant ride or having your picture taken with a poor defenseless baby elephants?

                                     

Fortunately for these beautiful and sensitive animals, they have a hero in Katherine Connor, founder of Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary in Thailand. Katherine has dedicated her life to saving these abused and tortured animals and gives them a life of love, peace and freedom at her sanctuary. I am ecstatic to be able to visit this elephant wonderland in the fall. Katherine's sanctuary is unique in that it's not about elephant rides or tricks. The elephants at BLES are free to roam together and are given love and care they have not known until they were brought to the sanctuary. BLES is a non-profit sanctuary that is entirely dependent on funds generated by visitors to the sanctuary, private donations, and other organizations. Please help Katherine and these soulful animals by adopting your own elephant and donating some funds so that she may continue her work as an elephant superhero.

When travelling to places where elephants are indigenous, please remember the following so that we do not support these evil practices and increase the demand for elephants being abused and killed.

• DO NOT BUY IVORY PRODUCTS
• DO NOT TAKE ANY ELEPHANT RIDES
• DO NOT PAY TO FEED OR HAVE YOUR PICTURE TAKEN WITH AN ELEPHANT
• DO NOT PAY TO SEE AN ELEPHANT DO ANY TRICKS

 

So my friends, while it is heartbreaking to learn that elephants are being murdered by the thousands for their ivory and beaten and tortured as babies for tourist entertainment, it is in our power to stop it. If we all stop supporting these practices through consumerism, there will be no reason for these beautiful creatures to suffer anymore. The fate of these magnificent animals is in our hands. Please do your part to help them. 

Much love,
Sue