Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips on Swoop’s World Primetime

Summary: On Thursday November 8, 2012 at 11am/PST (2pm/EST) we welcome Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips, the co-founders of Animal Defenders International (ADI) to Swoop’s World Primetime. Jan and Tim are two fearless, compassionate individuals who fight for those who cannot fight for themselves: the abused and neglected animals of the world. The renowned group stops animal abuse, rescues animals in distress, and secures legislation that protects animals from harm in laboratories, farms, and the entertainment industry.  They use false identities, hidden cameras, elaborate cover stories, and covert surveillance techniques to capture footage in circuses, slaughterhouses, and laboratories. Swoop’s World Primetime is live on Thursdays at 11am/PST (2pm/EST) Tune in each week at Swoopsworld.com. Listen to the show Jan Creamer Jan Creamer is the President and co-founder of Animal Defenders International (ADI), a world-renowned group committed to animal protection across the globe. Along with her husband Tim Phillips, Creamer has built a reputation for getting the job done; the team not only investigates animal cruelty, but also secures legislation to stop the harm and bring abusers to justice. Creamer’s dedication to making a change sparked in the mid-1970s, when she saw a leaflet in the street about beagles being forced to smoke cigarettes in experiments. The leaflet called for action and Creamer responded, volunteering for the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS). Within years she left her graphic design job to become a full-time magazine editor for NAVS, their photographer, public speaker and later their Chief Executive. While working on animal protection campaigns, Creamer met her husband and future ADI Vice President Tim Phillips. In 1990 they founded ADI and have expanded the group’s presence worldwide, with offices in London, Los Angeles, and Bogota. The approach of Creamer and Phillips was recently highlighted in South America, where they embedded an undercover team for two years inside the circus industry. The findings shocked a continent and a huge public awareness drive by Creamer and Phillips secured legislation to ban the use of animals in circuses in Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and Ecuador, with legislation proposed in others.  Creamer and Phillips then returned to Bolivia to assist the authorities in tracking down circuses defying the law, and in what became known as Operation Lion Ark raided and rescued every animal – closing eight circuses.  The operation culminated in airlifting 29 lions to freedom in the USA (25 in one flight to Colorado and four to California).  Now, “Lion Ark” the movie captures the behind-the-scenes plight of the animal rescue, the heartache, and their joyful flight to freedom. Creamer firmly believes that evidence is the key to change. She leads her team from the front, presenting evidence to governments all over the world, appearing in the media, and organizing public outreach campaigns. Creamer also works undercover to capture the appalling treatment of animals on film. She creates false identities and elaborate cover stories to infiltrate animal trafficking operations, fur farms, and circuses. She even tricked her way into a laboratory dealer and left with a group of beagles that were headed for experimentation. Phillips and Creamer often head into harm’s way to collect evidence, and death threats and violent attacks from drug dealers and gunrunners do not deter these two heroes from fighting for animal rights. Creamer and ADI have succeeded in rescuing and protecting animals worldwide: Prohibited the use of chimpanzees and wild monkeys in experiments in Europe Secured bans on animal circuses in 20 countries Ended cosmetics testing on animals throughout Europe Provided evidence for the prosecution of Hollywood animal trainer Mary Chipperfield, the owners of Bobby Roberts Circus, and employees of Have Trunk Will Travel,