"As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time."--Denis Waitley
Hello folks,
Another new update from Greg Leisure (creator of the Free Kei Campaign), about Kei and the efforts to help her are below.
Here is the info below:
Please take action now!
Thanks,
Mike Wagner
Freelance Wolf Activist
For those who want to read the New Address first, please scroll down.
Topic:
Kei is a 13 year old female North American Eastern Timber Wolf who has lived virtually her entire life on a 7 x 4 meter concrete slab in almost total isolation from others of her species at the Okinawa City Kodomo no Kuni Zoo in Okinawa, Japan. There, she is routinely barked and howled at and spends most of her time pacing in the hot sub-tropical climate of Okinawa. Please do some of the actions below to help us get her released and back to a wolf sanctuary in North America so that she can live out her last years of life in a more peaceful setting, giving her the dignity she deserves.
Actions YOU Can Take:
1. Send the following letter to Mr. Yoshinobu Nishikawa, Executive administrator, and Mr. Genwa Higa, Zoo Director (If you have time, please craft an original one yourself) to:
info@kodomo.city.okinawa.okinawa.jp
Dear Mr. Nishikawa and Mr. Higa,
The campaign to have Kei, the North American Eastern Timberwolf, released from your zoo so that she can be retired to a sanctuary, has now entered into its 206th day. As you know, her life has been one of loneliness and sadness. Her sadness is not only for her own self, but the sadness of many who have seen her in her barren world -- one which has mainly been lived in a very small enclosure, on concrete, and devoid of all natural setting that one would expect to find in her native environment. Your facility has not given her the respect and dignity that animals in captivity should receive from their captors. Perhaps financially, you are just not able to move with urgency to better her environment by constructing a new enclosure. If that is the fact, then please make the mature and kind decision to release her so that she can be sent to a place that can provide for the needs of her species.
Name
Contact Information
The snail mail address, which we ask that you take the time to send a letter to them, is:
Kodomo no Kuni Kiddie Land Zoo 5-7-1 Goya Okinawa City, Okinawa Pref., Japan TEL(098)933-4190 FAX(098)932-1634
2. CC the following letter to Okinawa Prefecture`s Governor and Tourist office at: governor@pref.okinawa.jp
and
aa057037@pref.okinawa.jp:
Dear Sir,
Kei the wolf in Okinawa City`s Kodomo no Kuni zoo has served the people of Okinawa and Japan well. It is time she be retired to a sanctuary in North America that has agreed to accept her. She is 13 years old and has maybe 2 or 3 more years left to enjoy the lands of her ancestors, where her kind is the symbol of the frontier spirit and heritage of North America.
The world is watching and her story spreads to more every day. The honorable thing to do is to show empathy and compassion for this creature. The people of the world ask the people of Japan and Okinawa, please release her and accept the gratitude of many who are following her story. We specifically ask the Governor of Okinawa and Okinawa`s Tourist Office to use the power of their offices to influence a decision to release her, which not only will result in kindness being shown to Kei, but also show the world that Okinawa is a land in which its leaders are quick to act to stamp out cruelty when they are able to do so.
Regards,
Name
Contact Information
3. Now, this is the last thing I am asking you all to do in this message. I know you are all busy but it would be great if you could all do this next one.
Okinawa`s largest Japanese newspaper has been considering doing a story on Kei and her campaign for the last 6 weeks. Mr. Hokama, a writer in their Society section has been talking with us during that time but for some reason he has not gotten around to writing the story. Every time I talk to him he says he is going to do it but it just never gets done. If they got a thousand messages pouring in from all of Kei`s supporters urging him to write about Kei`s story, then perhaps he would get her story written and published. Be polite and urge him to tell his readers about Kei. Below is my letter if you would like to use it (Original ones however, are best). Just a few sentences. Be sure to put [For SHAKAI BU and Mr. Hokama] in the “Subject:” part of your e-mail heading. Send to:
Mr Hokama, SHAKAI-BU at
koe@ryukyushimpo.co.jp
SHAKAI BU (Society Section)
Mr. Hokama,
For some time now, you have known about Kei the wolf at Kodomo no Kuni in Okinawa City and the campaign to get her released from the zoo and retired to a sanctuary willing to accept her. We have been waiting for you to write a story about her in order to let your readers know of her campaign. We urge you to please contact the zoo and inquire about her in order to get all the facts that are needed to write her story. Also, for fairness and balance, please contact Greg Leisure at greg_leis@ybb.ne.jp so that the opinion from the side of Kei`s campaign can be heard.
Thank you.
Name
Contact Information
Address and Update:
-----------------------------
Hello Everyone,
Welcome all new supporters.
The status of Kei has not changed. The zoo has still not agreed to let her go.
Born Free Foundation has decided to write some letter on Kei`s behalf as well as protest their plan to acquire elephants and breed them. They also said they would contact some of their connections in Japan and ask them to find get more information on this zoo`s elephant plan.
Peta, likewise is showing more interest in coming aboard to Kei`s campaign, since we have been able to address some of their concerns on Kei`s destination if she is released. However, they are not on board totally yet. They are though, asking some of their connections to find a sanctuary somewhere in Japan willing to take Kei. I didn`t tell them when they offered that, but I am sure that they will not find one. But, they really would like her to not to have to endure that flight from Japan all the way to the U.S. so that is why they want to find a sanctuary here for her. I just don`t think they are aware of the situation here in Japan. Land prices alone make it almost impossible to run a sanctuary here. That plus little empathy for the plight of animals here just doesn`t allow for U.S. style sanctuaries here. But, I thought it best to let them just try and then contact them in a few days to confirm that they did not have any luck in finding one. I`ll ask them about it in 5 days.
Some supporters went to get pics of Kei and the other animals at the zoo last week. All the animals in their enclosures still look terrible. Garbage in the water moats that surround some of them. Kei`s coat is very straggly looking.
One thing I do want to reiterate is that this zoo and city spent 50 million dollars on building a huge state of the art office building and other things all for the people who visit. Nothing has been spent on enclosure improvement. In fact, just last week when the supporters who I mentioned above visited the zoo, the zoo was doing intensive work on the carousel and train. These are kiddie rides! -- nothing to do with improving animal conditions.
I don`t know -- it is very disheartening. When I hear this, knowing that they know many around the world are now watching them, and they still continue using their recourses on cosmetic things to make children happy with rides, all along while their animals languish 100 yards away from them in terrible conditions -- It is just maddening.
Please everyone, keep writing for Kei and spreading her story to anyone you think could offer a strong voice to her campaign. Surely, someone out there has a cousin who is a friend of a friend of some popular celebrity or politician. Keep networking.
That`s it for now.
Thank you and keep up the good fight.
Greg Leisure in Okinawa, Japan
Relentless Pressure, Relentlessly Applied
'All animals should run free.' -- Kyle Lang from the X-Files
Copyright 2005 Heart of the Wolf