The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) in partnership with Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS) are petitioning the Indiana government to clarify the exception and promulgate the rules regarding post-capture treatment of animals.  The World Animal Awareness Society - WA2S.org has provided visual data from the WA2S.org archives to the ALDF / BFAS partnership for submission with their petition.  Learn more about the ALDF / BFAS petition here: www.aldf.org/snapperfest

   The following playlist of videos are a small selection representative of the visual evidence submitted by WA2S as an independent media provider to the ALDF/BFA for use to show the typical occurrences and/or behaviors witnessed through video at SnapperFest 2011.
 

     The above playlist consists of 5 videos: (1) Tub of snapping turtles, (2) Snapping turtle weighed and introduced, (3) Head grabbing contest demonstration, (4) Female competitors with soft-shell turtle, and (5) Male 7 competes.

     You may view more videos through the WA2S YouTube channel here: 
http://www.youtube.com/cavestudioandmsmp

   On Wednesday, August 17th a video & petition began to circulate regarding an event in Indiana called Snapperfest that was generating a viral concern for the welfare of the turtles manipulated at this event.  After a brief discussion, WA2S.org Directors determined a need to move towards learning more about this human-animal intersection. 

   By Friday afternoon plans were underway for a team to travel to & witness this event through the lens of our cameras.  Mid-Morning on August 20, 2011 WA2S Executive Director Tom McPhee met with the owner of the campground to negotiate documentation of the 2011 Snapperfest events.  WA2S was not given permission to film the snapping turtle competition, but received a tour of a portion of the campground, gained the owners word that we may be able to return to film in the future, and established a variety of contacts to facilitate continued investigation.


What Have We Learned?

• Further investigation of this Human-Animal intersection is needed to paint a clearer picture of this event & to learn what actions will serve a positive result for the entire community (human & animal).
  
• The pressure applied by activists through online networking, phone calls & emails not only assisted in widespread knowledge of this event & our presence, but also caused the campground to tighten it's security by not allowing outsiders to document on the advice of the local authorities.
• We need greater financial support so that we may obtain tools at a moments notice while on-site.
  

Moving Forward

    Some of the visual data we have recorded in Aurora Indiana on August 20, 2011 will be archived until we can gain a clearer understanding of this human-animal intersection. WA2S believes that there is a need for documentation at this intersection in a broader scope.  Further documentation we would like to obtain over the next 6 months should include interviews with local participants & attendees, campground staff, local authorities, and legislature, as well as experts in animal welfare issues & those knowledgeable about the wildlife manipulated at this event. 

   To properly document this human-animal intersection our team has begun to create relationships with the organizers of the event, as well as the animal welfare experts and other key people in the region.  Our relationship with the Campground Owners and the organizers of this event will permit our team unique access to film meetings prior to this event and this event if it occurs next year.

   Our Directors are currently researching possible funding solutions to continue documentation in Indiana.  But, we NEED financial support to obtain the proper tools & to cover the travel expenses necessary to continue this investigation.  If you are able to support this mission please click donate today.  We would like to lead a coalition of organizations interested in supporting our efforts and participating in developing solutions that benefit the entire community, contact info@WA2S.org to discuss this in more detail.  Thank You.
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The following is a video from an anonymous source allegedly filmed at Snapperfest 2011.  Please be aware that the content is not graphic, but sometimes difficult to watch.

SOURCES

1. Grandin, Temple. 2009. Animals Makes Us Human: Creating the Best life for Animals.
   
2. Way, M., McPhee, T. 2010. Defining the Documentary: Documentum. https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=178599412166489
   
3. http://www.prlog.org/11630627-world-animal-awareness-society-sends-team-to-learn-the-truth-through-video-at-snapperfest-2011.html
   
4. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/snapperfest-2011_n_931330.html
   
5. http://www.examiner.com/animal-advocacy-in-washington-dc/indiana-turtle-torture-takes-place-despite-protest-from-activists-worldwide
   
6. http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-snapperfest

  About WA2S.org

    World Animal Awareness Society - WA2S.Org, a domestic 501(c)3 non-profit public charity, incorporated in the state of Michigan for the purpose of filming contemporary human-animal interactions at the point of intersection, to be shared with the world.

    Our field team endeavors to document events using the scientific method of Naturalistic Observation. Naturalistic Observation means the documenter focuses a lens on a situation without trying to manipulate what happens (1), similar to crisis journalism. The goal of the documenting at the human- animal intersection by World Animal Awareness Society Directors and members is to be true to the Latin meaning of the word for documentary, "documentum: to teach"(2). WA2S.org strives to collect non-biased visual data at the human-animal intersection to share with the world to aid in our continued growth.

    All of the WA2S projects are funded through donations from private individuals or grants awarded from various sources. Previous expeditions include documenting the human-animal rescuer intersections in post disaster regions such as Haiti, the Gulf of Mexico, & Japan. Currently we are building a template for an unprecedented free-roaming (aka community owned or stray) dog census & film study; American Strays was initiated in the City of Detroit with the expectation to roll out a national initiative over the next 5 years. Our members & Directors not only document these events, but facilitate a variety of human connections at these human-animal intersections to help move forward with positive solutions where needed with the visual & non-visual data we obtain.