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CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS |
| MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2007 | |
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Jack W. BOISEN Vice President of Cargo Continental Airlines 1600 Smith Street PO Box 4607 Houston, TX USA
Tel:+1 713-324-7660
As Continental Airlines Vice President, Cargo, Jack W. Boisen is responsible for the Cargo Division in all respects. He leads a staff of professionals who manage global cargo operations and sales, pricing and revenue management, postal affairs, marketing, technology, and quality assurance and customer service functions. Boisen has spent over 40 years in the airline industry, handling positions of increasing stature and responsibility. He has served Houston-based Continental in his current role since 1994. Prior to joining Continental, Boisen was Vice President of Operations for Tracor Aviation in Santa Barbara. Previously he was Vice President of Employee Relations for Western Airlines, and earlier held the same position for Braniff Airways. Jack also spent 12 years with TWA in management positions in both the cargo and labor relations divisions. Jack is Chairman of the Air Cargo Council for the Air Transport Association and is the Vice Chairman of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA).
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As Continental Airlines’ Vice President, Cargo, Jack is one of the industry’s leading figures and a prominent voice on security issues. He was recently elected Vice Chairman of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Chairman of the Air Cargo Council of the U.S. Air Transport Association (ATA).
In addition to being known as an industry leader in the area of Airline Security, Jack also leads a team who manages Continental’s PetSafe program, which is an industry-leading product and has been recognized in the past by the AATA (2004 Robert D. Campbell Memorial Award) and recently by Animal Fair Magazine (Spring 2006 “Most Pet-Friendly Airline”). Continental is well known for its animal friendly approach, and we continue to work hard at making Continental’s program more of the industry standard. As keynote speaker, Jack will update attendees on the latest Cargo Security initiatives for air transport, as well as other governmental regulations affecting animal welfare and animal transport. With his insight into the industry, he will also update conference attendees on the possible future impact to the airline industry of excessive governmental regulations, animal activism, public perception and other factors affecting air carriers.
Continental Airlines is the world's fifth largest airline. Continental, together with Continental Express and Continental Connection, has more than 3,100 daily departures throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, serving 150 domestic and 136 international destinations. With more than 44,000 employees, Continental has hubs serving New York, Houston, Cleveland and Guam, and together with Continental Express, carries approximately 67 million passengers per year. Continental consistently earns awards and critical acclaim for both its operation and its corporate culture. In 2006, Continental Airlines won its sixth J.D. Power and Associates award since 1996. The carrier received the highest rank in customer satisfaction among network carriers in North America in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Airline Satisfaction Index SurveySM. For the fourth consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named Continental the No. 1 Most Admired Global Airline on its 2007 list of Most Admired Global Companies. Continental was also named the No. 1 airline on the publication's 2007 America's Most Admired airline industry list. Additionally, Continental again won major awards at the OAG Airline of the Year Awards including "Best Airline Based in North America" for the third year in a row. For more company information, visit www.continental.com.
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The Impact of Animal Activism |
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Kay JOHNSON Executive Vice President Animal Agriculture Alliance 1501 Wilson Blvd., Suite 1100 Arlington, VA 22209 USA
Tel: +1 703-562-5160 Fax: +1 703-524-1921
Kay Johnson has worked professionally with agriculture promotion and education for more than eighteen years. She joined the Animal Agriculture Alliance (formerly the Animal Industry Foundation (AIF), as Executive Director in 1994 and was promoted to Vice President in 1996. In May 2004, Johnson was promoted to Executive Vice President of the Alliance where she is responsible for all day-to-day activities, as well as program and issue management, industry relations, and serves as the key spokesperson for the Alliance. A native Virginian and graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA, she has a BS degree in Political Science and Public Administration. Johnson previously served as Assistant Director of Public Affairs for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and then as the Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Ingleside Plantation Vineyards. Johnson is the animal ag industry coordinator for the coalition addressing the National Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, serves on the USDA’s OIE Stakeholders Committee and serves as the industry coordinator for input to the OIE’s initiative developing international animal welfare guidelines. Johnson also serves on the USDA Future Trends in Animal Agriculture Planning Committee, the Animal Agriculture Coalition, the Meat & Poultry Industry Media Relations Committee, and is a former member of the Agriculture Council of America (ACA) Board of Directors. She is also an active volunteer in her daughter’s school, church and local community.
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“The Power Behind Animal
Right Activists in North America”
Kay JOHNSON Executive Vice President Animal Agriculture Alliance Animal rights is no longer a term only understood and used by those in animal use industries and the activist community. It is a term, or rather a concept, accepted and used more and more by the mainstream public – and generally an endearing one at that.
The rights of animals have become a part of our mainstream culture in America because of the misconception of what “rights” are. Most people think of “rights” as the care and treatment of animals – and to that, the vast majority of Americans would agree it is our responsibility as humans to care for our animals, whether they be cats, dogs, birds, cows, pigs, sheep, chickens or turkeys.
What differs for some is they believe animals should have equal legal rights as humans, therefore, be given the same status as children, the elderly or those with mental illness – those unable to speak out legally for themselves. Generally those people would be considered extremists or zealots because their belief is beyond mainstream. To that end, these extremists are of the opinion that animals are not ours for use for any purpose, and their goal is to eliminate all animal use industries, including and foremost, animal agriculture.
The number of activists that are driven to the extremes of terrorist activities to create economic damage to animal use businesses or use intimidation to threaten individuals to quit their jobs or go out of business are in the minority but the number and severity of the incidents continue to grow. And most believe it’s just a matter of time before an individual or group of people are hurt or killed as a result of their terrorist actions.
The majority of activists, however, use legal means, such as lobbying, ballot initiatives and lawsuits, to accomplish their objectives, and are willing to work toward incremental “wins” to achieve their long term objectives of regulating animal agriculture and/or eliminating it altogether. These groups often present themselves as working for the protection of animals, in particular cats and dogs, all the while their sole objective is to create a vegan society. Because these groups are unsuspecting, have so much power through large memberships and are extremely well-funded, they are by far the ones modern animal agriculture and the associated industries need to be most concerned about long term.
While the group that comes to mind most often is PETA, the more prominent groups in this last category include the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE), Humane Farming Association, In Defense of Animals and others.
Below is just a short list of the most commonly used actions in recent years by these same organizations. The four that are currently most influential are:
Some of the
activists’ recent success stories include: 1995–2005: 40 states now make animal cruelty a felony; before 1995 there were only 10. The goal is to make certain farm animal production practices illegal by declaring they are inhumane, therefore, setting the stage for the use of these practices to become felonious crimes.¹ 2001: Rhode Island adopt animal guardian legislation. ² 2002: Florida constitution is amended, eliminating gestation stalls for pregnant sows. ³ 2004–2005: New Jersey established standards of care for farm animals in conjunction with farm and animal welfare organizations; Farm Sanctuary sues New Jersey claiming the standards are not humane. 2005: HSUS petitions USDA to amend transportation regulations to include transportation of farm animals by truck under the 28-hour law (already was but unknown to HSUS). 2006: GRACE holds workshops for citizens in Indiana and Ohio to train them to file lawsuits against CAFOs. 2006: HSUS, FS, and other activist groups spend nearly $2 million to pass Arizona Proposition 204 banning gestation crates and veal in AZ.
The stakes are high for animal agriculture as these groups gain more credibility, more empowerment and momentum from their wins at the state level, more money from like-minded private foundations and individuals, and more power through partnerships and mergers of activist organizations. With their focus right now being the food and animal agriculture industries, it is more important now than ever that every person involved in the food chain remain vigilant in their own business and work together with producers and other food chain partners to proactively address any issues affecting credibility of agriculture’s commitment to animal care and welfare. Every stakeholder should also meet with their legislators at all levels to ensure their understanding and support for what you do, build good relations in their immediate communities to inform and educate the general public about your commitment, and work to expose these groups for what they really are – vegan led and driven groups working to eliminate the use of animals as well as individuals’ freedom of choice.
While producers, processors, and retailers have not yet felt the sting of decreasing sales, they are beginning to see their choices in production systems and farm locations eliminated through regulation, ballot initiatives and constitutional amendments – and this is only the beginning for these groups.
References 1. Ehart, O.R., 2005. Presentation at Animal Agriculture Alliance Stakeholders Summit, Arlington, VA. 2. In Defense of Animals website, http://www.idausa.org/news/newsarchives/news_ri.html, August 2, 2001. 3. Associated Press, November 6, 2002. 4. Farm Sanctuary website, http://www.njfarms.org/lawsuit_2005.htm, November 2005.
5. Humane
Society of the United States website,
http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/animal_protection 6. Alliance Link, September 28, 2006. 7. Campaign for Arizona Farmers & Ranchers press release, “Out-of-State Animal Rights Militants Pouring Cash into Prop. 204,” November 6, 2006. |
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Doug SMITH L.E.A.R.N. PO Box 6932 Bryan, TX 77805 USA
Tel: +1 979-255-6312 Fax: +1 979-696-7246
Bio-Info below power point
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“Threat Management
Doug SMITH Field Operations Director Law Enforcement Academic Research Network (L.E.A.R.N.)
The Animal Rights movement continues to grow in sophistication and capability. Their goal is the abolition of all animals used in the agriculture industry. Their capability is enhanced by having formed alliances with thirty (30) other like- minded groups and by consolidating their funding to a level of over $290 million dollars. Currently, one of their key issues is the confinement of animals. As such, the process of transporting animals is of interest to these groups. This means they are a credible threat to the animal transportation industry.
Over the past 10 years LEARN Inc. has helped local, state, and federal government agencies, and private industry develop successful threat management strategies. Our clients, come from law enforcement, public health, emergency management, Universities, USDA, DOJ, and various corporate clients.
This presentation provideed guidance on setting up a threat management capability for your organization. Topics included protective intelligence and analysis, surveillance detection methods, and threat reporting.
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Dr. Irving McCONNELL President The McConnell Group 600 E. Jefferson St., Suite 401 Rockville, MD 20850 USA
Tel: +1 301-309-8310 ext 17 Fax: +1 301-309-8314
Dr. Irving William McConnell was born in Washington, DC, and attended college at Tuskegee University where he earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Animal Science with a minor in Business. While continuing his studies at Tuskegee University, he was awarded the US Army Professions Scholarship and received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree. He is also a graduate of the US Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Dr. McConnell was commissioned upon graduation and served six years on active duty in the US Army Veterinary Corps. He served at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington, DC; Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, MD; and the US Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Ft Rucker, AL.
While in the Army Dr. McConnell received advanced training in Laboratory Animal Medicine. He has served over nineteen years in the US Army Reserves and currently holds the rank of Colonel. He was recently awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts in supporting the Baghdad Zoo during the initial stages of the combat operations of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dr. McConnell continues to serve in the US Army Reserves and is currently supporting the US Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.
In 1996, Dr. McConnell founded The McConnell Group Inc., a health sciences company, based in Dublin, PA with offices in Rockville, MD and San Antonio, TX. The McConnell Group provides biomedical, environmental, and biodefense support services and products to the federal government, the commercial business industry, as well as schools of higher learning. Dr. McConnell and his wife Helene reside in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. They have twin daughters, Leah and Nicole.
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“In Times of Political Unrest of War: The Rescue of Baghdad's Zoo Animals”
Irving McCONNELL, DVM President The McConnell Group, Inc.
The devastation of the Baghdad Zoo had reached worldwide visibility during the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom 1. The 358th Civil Affairs Brigade (AIRBORNE) supported a request from the Humanitarian Operations Center (HOC) and Commander Combined Forces Land Component (CCFLC) in Kuwait to develop and implement the plan to provide emergency support to the Baghdad Zoo (Grid MB419865) and assist in the transportation of food.
The Veterinary Team was immediately given a crash course on feeding zoo animals with a Middle Eastern diet. The Veterinary Team convinced the Kuwaiti government to donate food, a truck and a driver to provide initial support to the Baghdad Zoo. The Veterinary Team departed on April 19, 2003 from Kuwait on a fifteen hour drive through the desert into Baghdad, Iraq. The Veterinary team arrived in Baghdad at night and for security reasons slept at the Baghdad Airport.
On April 20, 2003, six Bradley tanks escorted the team to the zoo extra. The team met the Director of the Zoo, Hasham Mohamed Hussan and two workers. The animals observed at the zoo were in various stages of health. The animal cages were not sanitized as required to house zoo animals. Bones, feces and old food was observed in each cage where an animal was housed.
Security for the zoo was the number one problem. Many of the animals, listed on the message traffic for assistance to the Zoo dated April 12, 2003, had been released, stolen or used for food for the carnivores. Five donkeys found at the Zoo were part of a donation from news reporters and others for the carnivores at the Zoo. People entering the Zoo would steal what they could find (medical supplies; equipment; dart gun), release the animals and just kill some of the animals for no reason. The Zoo had become a dangerous place to walk around.
The Zoo Director had a total of twenty caretakers on his staff that earned 1000 dinars/day. Eighteen of the twenty (20) could not get transportation to the zoo. The military was not allowing civilian vehicle traffic into the area at this time.
The Veterinary team visited Uday’s Palace in close proximity to the Zoo to observe conditions of animals at the Palace. Five young lions, two cubs, and two cheetahs were found and were relocated to the Zoo.
All members of the Operation Iraqi Freedom 1 Vet Team continue to serve in the US Army Reserves. Hooah!
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