OTCA on Facebook!

We are happy to announce that OTCA has a new Facebook page - take a look! Please visit www.facebook.com/openthecages and "like" us, and share with your friends. Thanks so much!

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January Viola Concert to Benefit OTCA Was a Huge Success!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came out to support us at our Night of Classical Music, Wine and Fine Food to Benefit OTCA!  The event raised funds for our upcoming projects, such as the Baltimore Vegan Pledge Program and Baltimore Vegtoberfest!  We were touched by everyone's support and generosity, and thank everybody for their kindness!  Special thanks to our violist Sarah Lowenstein for donating her talents to this delightful evening.

 

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Justice for Parrot Protest Report

UPDATE 12/22/2010:

From Lucky Dog Animal Rescue: "We have just heard from the DC office of police complaints and they have concluded their investigation.  They have determined that Officer Fike was not justified in shooting Parrot, and have referred the case to the US Attorney’s office.  We are very encouraged that the wheels of justice are slowly churning in the right direction."

More info: http://www.luckydoganimalrescue.org/remembering-parrot

Thank you to all who came out on Tuesday, September 21, to speak out on behalf of Parrot, the dog who was murdered by MPD police officer, Scott Fike. Officer Fike shot and killed Parrot on Sunday, September 12, 2010, at the Adams Morgan Festival, a public event in DC. A little over a week later, animal rights activists and dog lovers gathered in front of MPD's headquarters at 300 Indiana Avenue NW Washington DC.

Protesters spoke out against police violence towards our canine friends, which is alarmingly more widespread than reported. They demanded that Officer Scott Fike be fired, that stricter punishments be imposed upon police officers who use unnecessary excessive force, and that mandatory training be established for officers in dealing with situations that involve animal companions.

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More information about the incident on 9/12/10:

According to eye-witnesses, there was an altercation between Parrot and a poodle, but Parrot's caretaker, Aaron Block, 25, of Dupont Circle, said he managed to separate the two dogs, and was subduing Parrot when police arrived. A police officer took over, putting his knee in the middle of Parrot’s back while the dog was on the ground.

According to Block, the officer then grabbed Parrot by his neck and threw him over a banister down a flight of steps at the Brass Knob antique store. The officer then shot and killed Parrot

“The officer drew his gun in an unnecessary act of cowboy gunslinging law enforcement and shot my dog amidst a crowd of thousands,” said Block, who was fostering Parrot while he was waiting to be adopted through Lucky Dog Animal Rescue. “The problems here are almost too numerous to count,” he told the Washington Post.

 

Parrot was a Pit Bull-Shar Pei mix. There is no evidence that Parrot was a threat, and no history of aggression. He had been contained during the incident by his caretaker, and there was no need for the extreme action taken by Officer Fike. We believe that Parrot was the victim of breed prejudice by an alarmingly common, trigger-happy police officer. Randal Lockwood of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he sees 250 to 300 incidents per year in media reports, and estimates another 1,000 aren't reported. Cheye Calvo, mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland, asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Prince George's County police after they raided his house and killed his two Labrador Retrievers. And more recently, a Siberian Husky named Bear-Bear was murdered at an Anne Arundel dog park by an off-duty federal officer.

It's time to bring justice to Parrot and the other victims of cops who abuse their power and use their guns indiscriminately and unnecessarily. We think that this officer, Scott Fike, should be terminated immediately from his position, and that the MPD needs to implement stricter rules on their officers to prevent the senseless murders of any more of our canine friends in the future.

For more information on Parrot, as well as a touching slideshow highlighting his life, please visit Lucky Dog Animal Rescue, www.luckydoganimalrescue.org.

Parrot's Memorial Page: http://inmemoryofparrot.blogspot.com

Fox 5 report on candlelight vigil held in Parrot's honor:

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/candlelight-vigil-held-for-dog-killed-by-dc-police-officer-091610

Please sign the folowing petition to demand justice for Parrrot: http://www.change.org/petitions/view/demand_justice_for_dog_shot_at_dc_festival

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Open the Cages Conference 2010

It was wonderful to see everyone at our 2nd annual conference/benefit for animal and earth liberation prisoners!  A very special thanks to our performers Ron Kipling Williams, Christina Van Norman, and Petworth; our speakers Keith McHenry, Darius Fullmer, Will Potter, and Dara Lovitz; our wonderful volunteers who made the event possible; and to all of you who attended and generously supported imprisoned activists!  Please take a look at our upcoming events, and we hope to see you again soon!

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Animal Rights Conference 2010 in DC Open the Cages Alliance was a Bronze Sponsor of the 2010 Animal Rights National Conference, the world's largest and oldest animal rights gathering. It was wonderful to connect with friends, old and new. Thanks to all the volunteers who helped at our table, and the generous sponsor who donated the bronze sponsorship to OTCA which made it possible for us to exhibit at this fantastic conference! Monthly Vegan Bake Sales Our Vegan Bake Sales are a scrumptious good time!  Thanks to all our volunteers who come out to help, and to everyone who is sweet enough to purchase sweet treats from our table! Ou bakes sales are held the 1st Saturday of every month (during the warmer months) until November at the Station North Flea Market.  We also bring free vegan literature, and have copies of Hannah Kaminsky's "passionate about dessert" cookbook My Sweet Vegan and "Replacing Eggs and Dairy" refridgerator magnets available for sale in addition to delicious treats! Meatout 2010 Open the Cages Alliance participated in Meatout 2010, an international diet education campaign called for by Farm Animal Rights Movement, by holding a vegan cookie feed-in at McKeldin Square in downtown Baltimore.  Volunteers distributed delicious chocolate chip and chocolate peanut butter cookies to passers-by with information on living vegan and baking without dairy and eggs.

Youth Outreach and Humane Education Thanks so much to SAFE Streets, a violence prevention organization in East Baltimore, for inviting us to do outreach at their Youth Violence Prevention Week events!  We appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity to talk with young people and their families about being non-violent by being kind to animals. WYPR Call-in for Fur-bearing Animals a Success! Thank you to everyone who called and emailed WYPR after receiving our action alert! The radio station has agreed to stop running ads from Kent Fisher Furs!  This is a reflection of the time many of you took to call and write on the behalf of fur-bearing animals, and we thank you for speaking out.  Please send thank-yous to Carla Truax, WYPR's Underwriting Sales Manager, ctruax@wypr.org. Michael Vick Courage Award Protest On March 8, as the Ed Block Courage Award banquet honored 2009 award recipient Michael Vick, several local animal advocacy/rescue organizations, dozens of individuals, and several new friends from Philadelphia held a vigil for the dogs who are forcibly bred, maimed, tortured and killed by the dog fighting industry.  Huge thanks are due to everyone who came out to stand for compassion for all animals.  The protest was covered by The Baltimore Sun, WBAL Radio, and The Associated Press.