Best wishes for a peaceful and healthy holiday season...
...and a wonderful New Year!
Seasons Greetings!
I'd like to begin by thanking you, our generous supporters, for your unwavering dedication to ISAR throughout 2010.
Your firm commitment has graciously provided ISAR with the means to remain steadfast and active on the legal, legislative, and educational fronts to improve the lives of animals.
Everything ISAR does on behalf of animals we owe to you.
It is always ISAR's top priority to expand our spay/neuter message through our various educational and direct action campaigns. ISAR is the only international organization dedicated, in various ways, solely to working for the day when every dog and cat born will have a permanent loving home.We strive for the day when our companion animals will be "companions," not disposable objects that are left along roadways or abandoned to shelters.
Through ISAR's comprehensive programs and our targeted resources we provide elected officials, attorneys, law schools, animal advocates and the media with the education, knowledge and tools to effect positive changes on behalf of animals.
As ISAR works to expand the reach of our message and many projects in 2011, I'm hoping you can help us kick off the New Year with a contribution of $15, $25, $35, $100, or even more.
At this time, I would like to take a moment to reflect on some of the programs and campaigns ISAR has worked on during the past six months.
ISAR will once again elaborate on our activities from the latter half of 2010 in a special six-month report in January 2011.
Here's a preview of some of ISAR's major activities during the last six months of 2010.
Exigent Circumstances
During the summer, ISAR created a buzz among our supporters with our blog, Search Warrants in Animal Protection Cases (http://isaronline.blogspot.com/2010/06/search-warrants-in-animal-protection.html). It focused on a criminal case decided by the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Three entitled The People v. Keith Chung.
ISAR noted that both the federal Bill of Rights and comparable constitutional provisions in the States require that before a search (or seizure) can be made by government officials, a search warrant must be obtained from a judicial officer. It takes "probable cause" that a crime has been, or is being, committed to support the issuance of a warrant.
However, as with most legal doctrines, there are exceptions.
One exception, relevant to the Chung case, is the "exigency" exception.
As the court said in the conclusion of its Chung decision, "[e]xigent circumstances properly may be found when an officer reasonably believes immediate warrantless entry into a residence is required to aid a live animal in distress. Where an officer reasonably believes an animal on the property is in immediate need of aid due to injury or mistreatment, the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment may be invoked to permit warrantless entry to aid the animal."
ISAR anticipates that this issue will arise in other states, which will reach the same conclusion. Serious apparent danger to animals will suffice for a warrantless entry.
Since our blog was posted, the response from our supporters and others new to ISAR's work has been very positive.
Indeed, we have been asked for more information about the Chung appellate opinion, and some folks have expressed an interest in making it available to police and animal control officers.
Accordingly, Professor Holzer has "annotated" the court's written opinion by interposing his comments in Courier font into the actual document.
To view Professor Holzer's comments online, please visit our website
www.isaronline.citymax.com/f/The_People_v_Keith_Chung_Revisited.pdf -- or you may request a hardcopy by contacting ISAR directly by mail, phone, or fax.
International Homeless Animals' Day®
On the third Saturday of August, since 1992, ISAR, along with animal protection organizations, dedicated vigil coordinators, and concerned individuals have banded together from around the world to educate people of all nations about the pet overpopulation epidemic and the spay/neuter solution.
On August 21, 2010, ISAR commemorated its 19th annual International Homeless Animals' Day and Candlelight Vigil observances in 38 states and 18 foreign countries.
For the 9th consecutive year, ISAR once again, was pleased to offer our Online Candlelight Vigil.
Individuals from around the globe, including Sweden, Canada, Serbia and Montenegro, Bermuda, Czech Republic, Australia, Nicaragua, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Poland, Brazil, Croatia, Netherlands, Japan, New Zealand, Denmark -- as well as the United States -- posted a message in memory of the victims of pet overpopulation.
This year, ISAR's International Homeless Animals' Day observances were marked with candlelight vigils, adopt-a-thons, spay/neuter clinics, blessings of the animals, pet walks and contests, fundraisers and much more. ISAR is grateful for the efforts put forth by dedicated vigil coordinators, concerned individuals, and countless organizations who observe International Homeless Animals' Day. ISAR is pleased to report, that as a direct result of ISAR's International Homeless Animals' Day and Candlelight Vigils, countless shelter animals find permanent loving homes and equally countless numbers of pets are now spayed and neutered, saving millions of animals' lives.
ISAR will commemorate our 20th anniversary of International Homeless Animals' Day on August 20, 2011. We will once again offer our vigil planning packets, at no cost, to help guide participants in selecting a vigil site and reaching target audiences to ensure a successful event. Interested parties may request a free vigil packet by contacting ISAR.
ISAR's Spay/Neuter Billboards Shed Light On Pet Overpopulation
Just in time for ISAR's 19th annual International Homeless Animals' Day observances, ISAR unveiled its latest spay/neuter billboard design featuring a tiger-striped cat and golden dog while promoting prominent slogans such as "Shed Light on a Global Tragedy - Pet Overpopulation" and "Spay/Neuter. It Stops Killing." Animal protection organizations and concerned individuals took advantage of ISAR's latest billboard design to promote their International Homeless Animals' Day observances. ISAR's Spay/Neuter Billboards were erected in two locations in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Virginia.
Social Networks
ISAR continues to grow by utilizing online social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace as well as Twitter and our blog (www.isaronline.blogspot.com) to keep thousands of our supporters abreast of what we are currently working on in our fight for animal rights. Some of our recent blog topics include Search Warrants in Animal Protection Cases, The People v. Keith Chung, Revisited, The "Half-a-Loaf" Problem Arises Again, "No-Kill" Advances, Shed Light On A Global Tragedy, ISAR's Semi-Annual Report: January - July 2010, and International Homeless Animals' Day: August 21, 2010.We encourage everyone interested in animal protection/animal rights to join us online via Facebook (www.facebook.com/isaronline), Myspace (www.myspace.com/i_s_a_r), or subscribe to ISAR's Blog (http://www.isaronline.blogspot.com/). If you would like to receive ISAR's E-Newsletter, ISAR encourages you to contact us by visiting our website (http://www.isaronline.org/) and requesting to be added to ISAR's E-Newsletter mailing list.
ISAR on the Radio
DogsInDanger Radio Hour invited ISAR Chairman, Professor Henry Mark Holzer, as a special guest to discuss mandatory spay/neuter programs with their listening audience. The DogsInDanger radio show helped to provide a perfect platform for animal lovers alike to learn more about ISAR's recent monographs titled, The Policy, Law and Morality of Mandatory Spay/Neuter and ISAR's Model Statute Regulating Dog Breeding, Faciliation and Sales both of which can be found on ISAR's website www.isaronline.org. You can listen to an archived podcast of Professor Holzer's radio interview by visiting the DogsInDanger website.
As 2010 comes to an end, ISAR is focused and energized for 2011.We plan to expand our already successful spay/neuter programs and campaigns. ISAR will continue to send our spay/neuter message worldwide and work toward the elimination of the ghastly spectacle of companion animals being destroyed because there are not enough good homes for them all.
On behalf of all animals and ISAR, I thank you and look forward to a positive and productive year in 2011.
Sincerely,
Susan Dapsis
President
President
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