SAFE SUPPORTER BULLETIN
CAMPAIGNS X EVENTS X NEWS X ACTIONS X RESCUES X GIVEAWAYS

     

Happy New Year. I have a feeling this will be another very exciting and defining year for SAFE. It has already started rather extraordinarily for me. I spent the first week nursing a baby wild rat back to health and in doing so I gained an insight into the curious and inquisitive world of one of the world’s most detested animals. Boy, are they loathed! What is it with all that fear and hatred anyway? Even 80 years of playful ‘mouseketeering’ by Mickey Mouse has done little to tame our prejudice towards these intelligent rodents. Humans hate rats with a particular vengeance but then we aren’t exclusively rat-haters either. Opossums, sharks, pigeons and even Canada geese are often awarded top billing too! As for my new rodent friend the only one with probable justification to want him dead, dead, dead was my flatmate’s cat Hugo. But even he seemed reticent about munching down on the little trembling wet thing sandwiched between his jaws. Thankfully for us all, Hugo likes treats way too much so little Mousie (as I coined him) was spared from becoming an entrée.

I called him Mousie in defence after visiting the local pet shop to collect mousie-medication. The staff were disbelieving that I was ‘wasting ’ money buying medication to treat a feral rat with a bad case of mites. “It ’s a wild rat! ” they shrieked. “You might get rabies! ” “What if it bites? ” The poor little guy was infested with mites. For the staff and other unsympathetic people I spoke to his wellbeing was of no concern. I created a snug mousie-home complete with tunnels and a mousie-sleep out. He was an adorable houseguest. I spent the next few days treating him and ensuring he was recovering. He was a fastidious groomer and would gather up all his food and place it in the designated pantry he created. Very clever ratty!

A happier and healthier Mousie has since left his makeshift home and is now living free. I miss him. I worry for him. My encounter with him was a timely reminder that we should all start the year willing to look at things from a different perspective. I have never hated rodents but I have feared them. I realise now they can be just as affectionate, timid and clever as us and that we have more in common with them than we think. Forging friendships is by far much more rewarding than harbouring fear and hatred towards those we don’t yet understand, or love.

Anthony Terry
Director

This email was sent by:
SAFE
PO Box 13 366
Christchurch, New Zealand
safe@safe.org.nz
 
 


SAFE STREET COLLECTORS ARE CHAMPIONS!
We set the goals and you achieve them! Yeah! Congratulations everyone! Sheer determination, goodwill and a tremendous amount of national coordination involving over 1200 collectors and organisers has resulted in yet another record-breaking annual appeal.

This year SAFE had collectors in over 110 cities, towns and suburban malls who helped raise a grand total of over $300,000 in donations from the public. These funds ensure SAFE is not only able to maintain its level of work for animals throughout the year but also to increase it. The appeal is SAFE’s largest single nationally coordinated event and takes several months of preparation. At the helm of the appeal is National Appeals Coordinator Sacha Dowell who has lead the charge for two years running. Alongside her is a team of awesome people who make the entire fundraising event possible. More...
 

ORANA PARK BIG CAT ENCOUNTERS CHALLENGED
Following in the footsteps of Wellington Zoo’s personal encounters with cheetahs, Christchurch’s Orana Park has begun inviting people into some of their big cat enclosure. Visitors can now get to experience the zoo’s pair of Sumatran tigers, Sendiri and Dumai as well as their cheetahs Gizmo and Gemma. Visitors pay for either the experience of handling and patting the animals or entering within the big cat’s den area so they can view the animals from behind a mesh fence. More...

POLICE SHOOTING QUESTIONED
SAFE has criticised the actions of an Auckland police officer following a distressing report of a terrified Hereford bull being shot 12 times before being killed. The breeding bull broke through a number of fences and was apparently unable to be controlled. Police said the officer at the scene felt the animal would have caused havoc if allowed to gain access to a nearby busy road. More...


CHRISTMAS WISH FOR BATTERY HENS
Just before Christmas some fortunate battery hens in New Zealand received immediate relief from cruelty and severe confinement thanks to the efforts of members of the New Zealand Open Rescue Collective. The group’s members, coined Santa’s little helpers, rescued 15 emaciated caged birds from an Auckland egg factory and urged consumers to boycott caged eggs for 2008.

“Our wish for Christmas is that New Zealanders stop buying factory farmed eggs and that they no longer support caged cruelty, ” said Open Rescue spokesperson Deirdre Sims. More...



  

14 JANUARY 2008 #40



Being a New Year and all that what better way to start the year than giving a friend a gift. How very unselfish of you! This week we give away a SAFE subscription to your best friend. Tell us your friend’s name and why they would want a SAFE subscription and be in the draw to win. Oh yeah, you get a vegan chocolate bar for your trouble!

Congratulations to Naomi Bickley for winning one of the fabulous organic cotton ‘Zoo = Prison’ t-shirts from the wonderful earth-carers from TippiTappi.com

RENT FREE
FOR A VEGAN
Gentle World is seeking a winter caretaker to live rent-free on their magnificent property in Northland. Gentle World is a non-profit educational organisation established in 1979 dedicated to enhancing the quality of life by educating the public as to the benefits of a plant-based diet and sustainable lifestyle. The caretaker is required to be vegan and available from 7 May until 28th September. Photos and email details at: www.gentleworld.org


ABSURDLY EASY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
3 c flour
2 c sugar
6 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 c vegetable oil
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
2 c water

Mix the dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Stir until smooth. Bake at 180°C in two greased, floured tins or one deep pan for 30 to 45 minutes or until a knife pushed into the centre comes out clean.

This is a fab recipe which I think is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had, vegan or not. I covered mine with dark vegan melted choc and decorated it with nuts. Hope you like it. Cheers, Charlotte.