Date
August 2, 2006
Contact
Kristie Phelps
(757) 423-0093
In Defense of Animals
3010 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael
CA 94901
IDA is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.
Veterinarian Mike McCoy Named IDA’s “Guardian of the Month”
Turning Imperial Beach into a Guardian City one of vet's many victories for animals
San Rafael, Calif.—In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization with more than 85,000 members worldwide, is proud to honor Dr. Mike McCoy as their “Guardian of the Month” for August. McCoy, a veterinarian, conservationist and long-time animal advocate, recently convinced the city of Imperial Beach to pass an ordinance recognizing citizens as the “owner/guardian” of their animal companions rather than simply the “owner.”
McCoy’s motivations for promoting IDA’s Guardian Campaign were born from personal and professional experience. “As a practicing veterinarian for almost 40 years,” he says, “I’ve seen people do horrible things to animals; abuse, neglect and abandonment are all too common. Perhaps these are the extremes, but their very occurrence suggests we need to find ways of changing people’s minds so they will treat animals with respect. Language is a great tool to start with, so I initiated the Guardian Campaign in my city to raise society’s awareness of issues affecting animals.”
McCoy’s successful effort is one in a very long line of accomplishments for animals and their habitats that comprise an illustrious activist career spanning nearly four decades. After earning his veterinary degree in 1970, McCoy interned at the San Diego Zoo, where he co-founded (with the San Diego Sierra Club) Project Wildlife - a rehabilitation center for injured wild animals - and did veterinary work while getting his colleagues on board the then-fledgling project. During that time, he also helped pass a moratorium on mountain lion hunting in California to stop sports hunters and ranchers from indiscriminately killing these majestic apex predators. He, at the same time, conducted research that included tracking the wild cats with radio collars in Big Sur, California.
In 1973, McCoy helped save the Yellowstone Bison Herd, which was being targeted for eradication due to fear the bison would spread brucellosis to grazing cattle. The management plan sought to minimize the indiscriminate killing of the animals. After spending several years as head veterinarian at the Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, he opened the Imperial Beach Pet Hospital.
In collaboration with professional veterinary associations, McCoy has consistently raised the County’s standards for the protection, health and welfare of animals, especially by making affordable spay/neuter and vaccination clinics available to reduce animal companion overpopulation.
McCoy was accorded the Teddy Roosevelt National Conservation Award in 1990, and (with his wife Patricia, an Imperial Beach City Councilmember) the National Wetlands Award in 1998.
“IDA is proud to honor Mike for his dedicated efforts to save animals and their habitats,” says IDA President and Founder, Elliot M. Katz, DVM. “Dr. Mike McCoy embodies the true spirit of what it means to be an animal guardian.”