HighestWelfare.Humane.Assured.GoodPractices.Vegetarian. Regenerative.Flexitarian.Lies...
What is the difference between No Welfare, High Welfare, and Highest Welfare when they all require animals to die? Only human comfort, NONE protect the actual animals. The most humane, ethical, and honest Webster-defined "welfare" is NOT exploiting animals - not using, not wearing, not eating, not killing - animals. The only meaningful position is vegan, everything else is just how humans euphemize animals' required suffering and violent deaths: no human exploits animals because they honestly believe that NOT exploiting animals is UNethical or INhumane.
No Penn State Repeat: Not Reporting Child Abuse Should Be a Crime
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No Penn State Repeat: Not Reporting Child Abuse Should Be a Crime
Background | From Petition Site
- Target: Your State Governor
- Sponsored by: Care2 Protect Children’s Rights
At Penn State, Joe Paterno, a respected and beloved football coach, failed to report instances of sexual abuse performed by one of his coaches, Jerry Sandusky, to the police. Essentially, he knowingly worked with a child molester for years and left him in charge of innocent children. Fortunately, Pennsylvania is now considering bills that would hold people accountable for this type of abuse, but what about the rest of the children in the US?
Sex abusers lurk in places where children thrive. Adults should have a moral obligation to make sure that children are kept safe from these kinds of dangers. However, states must implement legal action as well.
It is time for the law to pick up where humanity has left off. Urge your governor to pass stronger laws about reporting child sex abuse today. Save countless numbers of children from suffering at the hands of sex abusers.
Petition Language
Dear (Your State Governor),
Children are helpless and innocent to the evils of the world and trust adults to keep them safe. Unfortunately, some adults choose to betray that trust in the worst possible way: sexual abuse.
It is completely unacceptable for someone to have knowledge of sexual abuse and not report it to the police. People need to be kept accountable for knowing this type of vital information.
(Your Comments Here)
If someone has knowledge of child abuse, they need to report it as soon as possible. I urge you to pass stronger laws regarding the reporting of child sex abuse.
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Please report graphic video to Interpol
BACKGROUND
Please report to Interpol the listed video for its graphic nature. It contains extremely graphic footage, I would not recommend if you are sensitive to these types of videos, I was unable to view past the first few seconds:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeBpBE3l8nM&feature=share
WHOM TO CONTACT
SUBJECT
Extremely graphic video of animal decapitation
SAMPLE LETTER
To Whom It May Concern:
I have been notified of a particular video that depicts violent acts of animal cruelty. These images are extremely disturbing and clearly establish blatant and vicious crimes against animals; once you review the provided material, you will understand this is indicative of unlawful acts of animal cruelty as established by the AWA and relevant local and international statutes.
I respectfully request that your resources be applied to investigating and prosecuting these perpetrators and disbanding this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeBpBE3l8nM&feature=share
Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
NAME
Man drags horse behind ATV: ask for harshest penalty
BACKGROUND | FROM THE EXAMINER
Sequoyah County, Oklahoma – Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Reuben Houston, 26 pending charges of animal cruelty. Houston dragged his horse behind his ATV severely injuring the animal.
According to the police report, Houston became angry at his horse for continually escaping from the paddock. Obviously in an attempt to punish the horse, Houston allegedly tied the animal to his ATV, dragged him down a paved road, and then tied the horse to a tree.
A neighbor found the horse tied to the tree and called the Sheriff’s Department.
The horse’s eye was protruding from the eye socket, and his flesh was torn away from his shoulders, ribs, hip and flank. His injuries were so egregious a veterinarian had to humanely euthanize the horse.
Houston was booked into the Sequoyah County Jail and has since been freed on bond.
PETITION
Demand Maximum Sentence for OK Man that Critically Injured Horse by Dragging Behind ATV
WHOM TO CONTACT
Sequoyah County District Attorney Office
Sequoyah County Courthouse
120 East Chickasaw
Sallisaw, OK 74955
Telephone Number: 918-775-9131
Fax Number: 918-775-1215
Send two free faxes per day from HERE with no contract, money, or registering: all you need is the fax number and names.
SAMPLE LETTER
RE: Reuben Houston
Dear District Attorney,
I have learned of extremely disturbing and malicious cases of animal cruelty in which Mr. Reuben Houston deliberately caused the suffering and subsequent death of a horse by dragging him behind his ATV and then tying him to a tree; due to the extensive and debilitating injuries, the horse had to be humanely euthanized. I am writing today to encourage you to pursue every route investigating this hideous crime in order to effectively charge and prosecute Mr. Houston and sentence him to the harshest penalty; his crime causing unimaginable agony, fear, and death in the horse and distress and wanton endangerment in children and adults who witnessed the tortured animal on display tied to the tree deserve social justice, not community approval.
When I try to imagine what possible motive animal abusers entertain for subjecting their animal victims to such malicious, heinous acts of brutality, I fail, but I am thankful for a lack of cognitive understanding and rationalization. To voluntarily engage in such malicious behaviour suggests sadistic tendencies, and this Mr. Houston’s actions, causing unmitigated pain and suffering, demonstrates an incontrovertible lack of morality regarding other living beings and a gross disrespect for the law. In fact, a person who shows such a remarkable lack of compassion towards non-human animals has the ability to show such indifference towards human animals. This link between animal and human abuse has been established, and if society excuses Mr. Houston’s criminal behaviour, or agrees to a lesser punishment, we only harm ourselves by unjustly nullifying cruelty as acceptable behaviour.
Please respect the victim by penalizing the guilty; doing so will demonstrate your commitment to justice, responsibility, and integrity, attributes unquestionably necessary in a legal setting: rejecting cruelty by maintaining an unyielding position towards it would be a model for all community members and would serve to characterize this type of behaviour as both impermissible and punishable.
I know your time is limited and I thank you for your attention to this urgent issue.
Name | Address | Email Address
Protect Sexual Abuse Victims by Supporting the Child Victim’s Act
Please click on and sign:
Protect Sexual Abuse Victims by Supporting the Child Victim’s Act
- After entering your information, click on ‘Next’
- Click on ‘Sign Petition’
From Force Change
Target: United States Senate
Goal: Protect sexual abuse victims by extending the age of limitation to 28, allowing victims of sexual abuse 5 more years to address their trauma and face their predators
Even though one in five of all children will be sexually abused before their eighteenth birthday, the prosecution of this horrendous crime remains too lax in the United States. Right now in many states, the prosecution of child sexual abuse is capped at 23 years old, which is common in much of the country. After surviving such trauma, many victims are not comfortable coming forth with their claims until they are well into adulthood, at which time the current limitation has often expired. As a result, sexual predators have a greater opportunity to “run out the clock” while the victim and their family may suffer in silence for years. It is estimated that only 10% of child sexual abuses are reported to the authorities.
The Child Victim’s Act is a proposed bill that aims to extend the age of limitation to 28, allowing victims of sexual abuse 5 more years to address their trauma and allowing more time to gain the strength and courage to face their predators. Additionally, the act creates a one-year, one time suspension of the current statute of limitations, a period during which the adult survivors of child sexual abuse may sue their abuser as well as anyone who protected their abuser. This would be allowed even if the statute of limitations has already expired.
Oftentimes, sexual predators do not commit just one crime against a single child – on average, a sexual predator commits over 300 acts on over 100 children in a lifetime. Given that the rate of reported sexual abuse is so low, we can only imagine the number of sexual predators that remain free and the number of children continually in danger. Because childhood sexual abuse is so often kept a secret, generally it is only when victims are well into adulthood that they have the strength and the wherewithal to break their silence. The Child Victims Act aims to offer justice to those denied their time in court due to the current short statute of limitations as well as give hope and relief to those unable to go to court in previous years. California and Delaware have enacted similar laws and it is time for the rest of the United States to join as well – sign the petition below and urge your state senators to put sexual predators behind bars and protect the children of America.
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Stop Raccoon Dogs Being Skinned Alive in China for fake Ugg Boots | Send message to Ugg to stop using real fur/skin
Please click on and sign:
From Change
Thousands of unsuspecting people may be buying imitation Ugg boots made from the pelts of animals skinned alive. The fur comes from Raccoon Dogs, a species related to domestic dogs, farmed in China.
A sickening video of the skins being collected has led activists to demand a ban on the trade and call for clearer labelling.
(One picture shows) Brutal: Workers in China Skinning a Raccoon Dog, but the Raccoon Dog is still ALIVE and Suffering.
The raccoon dog is indigenous to Asia and related to dogs and foxes.
Ugg boots are made from Australian sheepskin and cost up to £200 – but cheap imitations have flooded the market.
But campaigners have found that other companies in Australia, where the popular boots are made, are using raccoon dog fur farmed in China and labelling it ‘Australian sheepskin’.
Campaigners from Humane Society International (HSI) warned that the footwear could have found its way into the UK.
While the law says that no products using dog or cat fur may be imported or sold in the country, there is no ban on fur from raccoon dogs, an Asian species with links to foxes, dogs and jackals. They are not related to raccoons.
(One picture shows) Pitiful: A bloodied and dazed creature is shown still alive but helpless on a pile of corpses.
(One picture shows) Agony: A raccoon dog is beaten to stop it struggling so it can be skinned alive.
Wendy Higgins from Humane Society International HSI UK said:
‘I have been working in animal rights for more than a decade and have never seen a video that has shocked me so much.
‘It is not just the killing of the animals that is horrific, but the fact that they must endure such slow, painful deaths.
‘These animals are not dogs, so there is no legislative reason why boots containing the fur cannot be imported into the UK. There are also many problems with the labelling of fur products, so many consumers will not be aware of where the fur in their boots comes from.’
Websites found by HSI show other companies are selling the fur on gilets, coats and ear-muffs for delivery to the UK.
Ugg Australia denied they were using the fur in their own boots and pointed the finger at cheap copies.
(One picture shows) Cruelty: A raccoon dog is beaten on the head in an attempt to stun it. Another dazed animal lies on the right-hand of the image.
(One picture shows) Force: A Brutal Chinese worker stands on a Raccoon Dog’s neck to stop it struggling. The process of skinning the raccoon dogs is agonisingly slow.
Lena McDonald from Ugg Australia said the use of raccoon dog fur by other companies was tarnishing the entire industry as many people were unable to tell the different brands apart.
She said her company used its own tannery to ensure the standards of its boots, but added that up to 40 products using fur from overseas contained the word ‘ugg’.
She said: ‘As far as I can see many of these boots are not made in Australia at all yet they have the words Australia and Ugg on them. We have seen companies cutting off tags saying “made in China” and putting on a “made in Australia” tag.’
The UK Government announced its ban on importing cat and dog pelts from China in 2001 after it emerged that a fur collar, obtained from a leading store in the West End, contained dog fur.
A total ban on the trade in dog and cat fur came into force across Europe in December 2008.
Published: 5th October 2011 by Protection 4 Animals http://wp.me/p1JH8U-9P using Twitter @P4Animals
Please sign this Petition s we can all work to putting a stop to this Barbaric Act in China to Raccoon Dogs. Please use all social medial to let your friends know of this Petition.
Thank you for for kindness
Michael J, T. Kavanagh
Author & Publisher of Protection 4 Animals
Video | A Shocking Look Inside Chinese Fur Farms
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Please send a letter to Ugg requesting they be fur/skin free.
BACKGROUND | FROM FACEBOOK
Directly from the official Ugg website:”UGG® Australia uses only the highest-grade sheepskin available. Twin-face sheepskin is used in many of our core products. A piece of twin-face sheepskin has been treated on both the fleece side, and the skin side, providing the soft comfort UGG® Australia is famous for.”
In the description they state that their product has been treated on both the fleece and skin side of the boot. Many people believe the sheep are sheared for the wool that lines Ugg boots: unfortunately, that wool is still attached to their skin, so they are therefore killed. They wouldn’t be advertised as sheepskin boots if they weren’t made from skin.
If you read this entire description, you will acknowledge that sheep are slaughtered for meat and their skin is used for Uggs. Although, that is still entirely not the point of the group. The point is to prove that they are, infact, skin. Because many people may think otherwise.
Please, understand that animals are killed in the making of Ugg sheepskin shoes and boots.
WHOM TO CONTACT
SAMPLE LETTER
To Whom It Concerns,
I am shocked to discover that Ugg is commercially engaged with the fur and wool industries. Due to the fundamentally-savage business of fur and shearling farming, any products derived from the suffering and killing of animals should be rejected, and I am respectfully requesting that Ugg discontinues profiting off the exploitation of animals; this request includes all brand fur products as well as your shearling merchandise. Furthermore, commercial demand is not justification to undertake such barbarism; indeed, child labor and human trafficking are considered financially beneficial as well, yet due to their inherent brutality and inequity, should not be sanctioned.
Please watch the undercover footage of the industry you promote: animals are forced to endure deplorable conditions including living in cramped, feces-crusted cages; suffering from sickness and disease; lacking an enriching environment; and being subjected to substandard diets and severe psychological trauma. They are then butchered via anal electrocution, gassing, skinning alive, and forced trauma. Why would you WANT to cause such suffering?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTZQnQeAPJc&feature=player_embedded
Humans are capable, indeed obligated, to acknowledge animals as sentient beings who, like humans, experience love, anguish, pain, and suffering. Human apathy as established by the usage of fabrications and euphemisms reflects a lack of respect, not only for animals, but also for humans, and I implore upon you to examine your role in the suffering of animals and your unscrupulous conduct as host to such a cruel business. Regrettably, as long as you unnecessarily and selfishly capitalize on the mutilation, torture, and death of animals, I will not financially support you or your associated products. Furthermore, I will share this information with family, friends, colleagues, and members of online communities. Indeed, why don’t you act on principle and become a company that promotes compassion fashion? You can create very stylish boots and accessories using synthetic materials.
Please make both the ethical and responsible decision to discontinue your commercial support of fur and shearling immediately: join an increasing body of compassionate businesses and designers who are listening to a concerned and attentive consumer population who refuse to be complicit in the inherently malicious industry of fur farming. I hope this letter finds you willing to scrutinize your own involvement and desire to protect, rather than harm, animals.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important message.
NAME
Livestock building identified as source of state fair E. coli
From Meating Place
By Lisa M. Keefe
A permanent livestock building used at the North Carolina State Fair in October has been identified as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak in the state, the N.C. Department of Public Health said in a release on its website.
The Kelley Building is a permanent structure where sheep, goats and pigs were exhibited during the fair. No other exhibits, foods or activities were linked to the E. coli infections.
State Epidemiologist Megan Davies said the illness probably was caused by animal contact, although fairgoers reportedly were discouraged from touching the animals on exhibit, and handwashing stations were set up throughout the fairgrounds. The study did not implicate any specific animal or breed in the outbreak.
“We know that E. coli 0157 is often found in the intestines of ruminant animals, which include cows, goats and sheep,” Davies said in the release. “If it is on the animal itself or surfaces around the animal that someone touches, the bacteria can be transmitted to that person.”
Officials with the Division of Public Health and the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said they are identifying additional measures they could take to protect fairgoers in the future.
As of Nov. 10, the state identified 10 cases of E. coli with the same DNA fingerprint, one case of hemolytic uremic syndrome, and 16 cases of illness still under investigation.
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Guide To Cruelty-Free Eating: Vegan Outreach
COK’s Vegan Starter Guide
PETA’s Vegan Shopping List
Read more…
Help gorillas: two quick petitions
Please click on and sign the following two petitions:
1. Save Congo Mountain Gorillas
2. Don’t Cut Funding That Saves Gorillas
1. Background | From Care2
Target: American Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo James F. Enwhistle
According to a United Nations report, Africa’s Great Congo Basin Gorillas could disappear by the mid-2020’s. These gentle animals are caught, trafficked and sold as exotic pets for thousands of dollars in the world market. They’re also killed and sold as “bushmeat,” even though gorilla meat is illegal in the country.
This July, six baby gorillas were smuggled out of the Congo into Rwanda to be sold. Luckily, after failed poaching attempts the babies were returned by Rwandan officials, but their parents are suspected to have been killed — likely for bushmeat.
About 680 mountain gorillas — one of the world’s most endangered treatment — remain in the wild according to the World Wildlife Fund. Ask the American Ambassador to the Congo to urge Congoan leaders to strengthen efforts to protect these gorillas.
Grace: Save Their Family Tree (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund)
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2. Background | From Force Change
Target: United States House of Representatives
Goal: To keep providing funding that helps to preserve rare gorillas in the 2012 fiscal year budget.
With the new year approaching the government is forced to consider where it can afford to save money and cut funding. The small proportion that is going to support wildlife in central Africa is proposed to be cut. This would mean that the efforts being made to preserve gorillas ravaged by years of social and political unrest would be halted. The House of Representatives needs to reconsider where to cut funding and should not stop saving gorillas.
In the past, America has provided foreign aid to Africa to help support a variety of environmental conservation programs. The Central African Regional Program for the Environment is one such program that has made strong efforts to support the lives of rare and endangered gorillas. The group provides protection for the gorillas and also helps to limit development that destroys the animals’ natural habitat.
Currently, Central Africa receives funding from three different forms, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Forest Service International Program. These programs all help to preserve natural landscapes. They also support the Multinational Species Conservation Funds and the Global Environmental Faculty. Both of which support endangered species by actively generating funds from international communities.
Without U.S. support, the natural wildlife in Central Africa is highly at risk. Programs that support the sustainability of rare species, especially gorillas, would be shut down. The United States must continue to provide funding to support these groups. Sign this petition to urge the House of Representatives to continue to provide funding for environmental welfare in Central Africa in the 2012 fiscal year budget.
Read more…
Stop the Cruel Killing of Street Dogs in Ukraine
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Stop the Cruel Killing of Street Dogs in Ukraine
Previous, please take action as well:
Stop the killing of dogs and cats for the European Football Championship | Petitions, Sample letter
From HSI
Animal protection organizations in Ukraine are reporting the cruel and ineffective killing of street dogs through poisoning, all in an effort to quickly rid the streets of them for the upcoming Euro 2012 soccer championships. Meat laced with poison is being left on the streets for dogs to innocently consume and suffer an agonizing and prolonged death.
The poisoned animals have been found convulsing in pain, while people who care about them stand by helplessly and try to offer some comfort in their final, painful minutes. Thousands of dogs throughout the country have fallen victim to this barbaric and indiscriminate means of killing.
HSI has contacted Ukrainian officials encouraging them to work with us on a humane approach to controlling their street dog population. To date, we’ve had no response. Please take action now at tell the Ukrainian president that this cruel killing must stop.
Urge the Ukrainian president to stop the killing of street dogs — sign our petition today.
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Message Text
Dear President Yanukovych,
I was horrified to hear of the cruel poisoning of street dogs in Ukraine, especially as a means to “clean up the streets” for a European sport event.
It is proven that killing campaigns of street dogs are not only inhumane, but ineffective. The dog overpopulation issue should be one addressed through surgical spay/neuter, humane education, legislation, mandatory registering/licensing of dogs and humane animal control. Both the World Health Organization and OIE agree that dog killing campaigns serve no long term solution to the overpopulation issue.
This terrible and deliberate suffering of animals needs to stop in Ukraine, and humane solutions need to be adopted in their place.
I sincerely hope that the Government of Ukraine will take action to halt all killing or elimination campaigns of street dogs and accept these well-established humane solutions.
Read more…
North Carolina Eugenics Program—When Will Victims Be Compensated?
PLEASE CLICK ON AND SIGN:
North Carolina Eugenics Program—When Will Victims Be Compensated?
- After entering your information, click on ‘Next’
- Click on ‘Sign Petition’
BACKGROUND | FROM FORCE CHANGE
Target: North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue
Goal: Give back to the victims of the North Carolina eugenics program who have had so much taken from them. Make it a priority of the state to see to it that these people get the proper financial compensation, medical care, and counseling.
A North Carolinian women, Elaine Riddick, is speaking out about a dark period in her life, her state, and the country’s history. When Elaine was 13-years-old, she was taking the long road home when she was raped by a neighbor and subsequently got pregnant.
Nine months later, she checked in to the hospital to give birth to her son, and when she awoke she found her stomach wrapped in bandages. Still a child she was unsure of what had transpired, but later she would find out that she was involuntarily sterilized by a state-wide government run eugenics problem. This child would be her last.
In an attempt to weed out bad habits in the population, the eugenics program emerged in the states in the 1920s and targeted those who were thought of as (among other things) “mentally retarded” or “promiscuous”—as was the case with Riddick.
“I was raped by a perpetrator [who was never charged] and then I was raped by the state of North Carolina,” Riddick explains. “They took something from me both times…The state of North Carolina, they took something so dearly from me, something that was God given.”
Riddick was just one of many victims of the North Carolina eugenics program that lasted between 1929 and 1974, officially being repealed in 2003. It was during this time period that over 7,600 were sterilized in this state alone. In 2002, the state issued an apology for all those affected by the brutal practice, but these same victims have not received financial compensation, medical care, or counseling from the state.
Governor Beverly Perdue has already started a task force working to get the proper compensation for these victims. Yet, even while there is movement in a positive direction in this case, some fear that there is procrastination on the side of the state.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Governor Perdue,
It is hard to hear that a system, like that of the eugenics program that took place for the better half of last century, ever existed in a country that we view as being progressive. It is even harder to hear that those who suffered at the hands of a government wishing to essentially wipe them out are still being met my bureaucratic red tape.
Ms. Perdue, you have stated that, in regards to this controversy, the state needs to move forward and help those who were and continue to be the victims of the sterilization process. Your work in righting this wrong is commendable; however, many fear that there is procrastination in getting the proper compensation for these individuals.
I urge you to continue the work in getting the financial compensation, medical care, and counseling for these victims in the timeliest manner. This history is dark and will not just go away if ignored. The victims of this state’s eugenics programs have suffered long and hard and have carried this with them long enough.
Victims, like Elaine Riddick, deserve to finally be a priority.
Sincerely,
VIDEO TESTIMONY
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Please help Canadian seals potentially killed for study: sample letter
BACKGROUND
The Senate Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has recently begun a study that could result in the killing of 70,000 grey seals off Canada’s East Coast.
The Fisheries Minister is pushing federal scientists to justify the slaughter of seals through contrived studies and one-sided hearings for political reasons. He has decided to ignore factors such as the impact of uncontrolled foreign overfishing in the waters off our coast and the total lack of scientific proof that seals are affecting the cod’s recovery.
The committee is considering an irresponsible cull that could, in my view, have serious negative impact on the Atlantic ecosystem and the long term health of many species, including cod. This slaughter would also result in untold costs to taxpayers and to Canada’s international reputation.
I have called on the committee to do due diligence and gather scientific evidence from all sides of this issue, not simply the studies that fit in with the unjustifiable goal of killing 70,000 seals. I urge you to write to the committee and its members who can be contacted through the Committee website http://senate-senat.ca/pofo-e.asp.
The government needs to know how Canadians and people around the world feel about this indefensible slaughter.
Sincerely,
Hon. Senator Mac Harb
WHOM TO CONTACT
Email Block | Standing Committee of Fisheries and Oceans
mannif@sen.parl.gc.ca
losier@sen.parl.gc.ca
olived@sen.parl.gc.ca
poyv@sen.parl.gc.ca
hublee@sen.parl.gc.ca
smithc@sen.parl.gc.ca
patted@sen.parl.gc.ca
rainen@sen.parl.gc.ca
cochre@sen.parl.gc.ca
poirir@sen.parl.gc.ca
wattc@sen.parl.gc.ca
lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca
carigc@sen.parl.gc.ca
cowanj@sen.parl.gc.ca
tardic@sen.parl.gc.ca
gail.shea@parl.gc.ca
pofo@sen.parl.gc.ca
info@parl.gc.ca
Postal
Sending Mail to a Senator
Mail may be sent postage-free from Canada to any senator at the following address:
Name of senator
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A4
Sending Mail to a Member of Parliament
Mail may be sent postage-free from Canada to any Member at the following address:
Name of Member of Parliament
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A6
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Senator,
I write to you today in hopes that you will join an ever-increasing number of countries and people who have voiced condemnation of the Canadian proposal to massacre 70,000 grey seals off the Canadian coast by issuing a declaration denouncing the hunt.
It is almost impossible to consider the hunt and not be aware of the brutality inherent in it, with methods of killing including decapitation and clubbing. Like humans, seals are sentient beings, capable of thought, emotion, pain, and suffering, and I ask you to acknowledge this important condition that we share. Having the capacity to empathize, humans are obligated to consider our sentient friends and prevent, not cause, brutality. Nevertheless despite the overwhelming evidence that contradicts any politically-induced justification for the hunt, Canada continues its massacre despite evidence establishing over-fishing as the result of lower cod numbers; this hunt would also be indefensibly costly, with tax-payers paying the burden. Indeed, the seal hunt is not justified economically, traditionally, ecologically, or scientifically, and Canada’s blatant disregard of its most vulnerable group of beings is unforgivable; furthermore, the majority of Canadian citizens oppose any hunt, and I find it disturbing that Canadian officials have ignored their pleas as well.
I find no joy in the fact that many hold negative feelings of Canada, and adjectives such as brutal, bloody, horrific, evil, greedy, and shameful have tainted Canada’s image. It would be impossible to separate the damaging depiction of Canada from the principles of collaboration and goodwill, but a denouncement of the seal hunt will clarify your position and support an ideal of empathy. Please consider my words and join with the world in condemning Canada’s potential seal hunt of 70,000 grey seals.
I understand your time is limited, and I want to thank you for your attention and consideration.
NAME
VIDEO FOOTAGE | CANADA’S SHAME
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Please help Juan Fernadez Fur Seals – one quick petition
Please click on and sign:
Stop Bulldozing the Oceans
From Oceana
The homes of endangered Juan Fernandez fur seals and other animals are in immediate danger from bottom trawling. We need to take action right now to save them.
Right now, bottom trawlers are wreaking havoc in Juan Fernandez’s pristine waters – where corals, fish, and these unique fur seals once flourished, barren wastelands will be all that remain.
Bottom trawlers drag huge, heavy nets across the ocean floor, leaving scars that last for generations.
The sea mountains of Juan Fernandez are home to thousands of types of fish. These fish are crucially important to feed newborn fur seal pups, whose mothers already have to leave them for almost two weeks to find them enough to eat.
If the Chilean government bans bottom trawling and creates protected zones in special areas of the ocean, we could protect corals, other critical habitat, and all the life that depends on them. Animals like fur seals, dolphins, and whales could have safe homes and the fish they need to survive.
Chileans understand how important healthy oceans are to their livelihoods. Even many fishermen, whose livelihoods depend on being able to catch fish, support marine reserves. That’s because responsible fishing makes sure the oceans will be able to feed people – and fur seals – for generations.
We need to stand up for fur seals and the other animals and stop those who want to expand bottom trawling in Juan Fernandez. But to do so, we need to show Chile that the world is watching – and that we care.
Message Text
I am writing in support of efforts to protect Juan Fernandez and Chile’s incredible sea mountains from bottom trawling. Ruthless and indiscriminant, trawling is a form of fishing that drags huge chains and nets along the bottom of the sea floor, destroying everything in its path. These unique Chilean ecosystems are home to the Juan Fernandez fur seal and many other treasures that draw visitors from around the world.
It would be a shame if bottom trawling destroyed these habitats and the food source that fur seals and other animals depend upon for survival. I encourage you to ban trawling now. Unfortunately, there is a lot of evidence of what happens when trawlers and sea mountains mix. Sea mountains are ocean oases, providing shelter and food in the open ocean. But they are no match for trawlers. Hundreds-year old corals are flattened in mere minutes. Entire schools of fish are scooped up, leaving little behind for seals, dolphins, and other animals to eat. Life is forever changed with a single pass of a trawler.
Chile is becoming a true leader and inspiration with its recent decisions to create a large protected area at Sala y Gomez and protecting ocean jewels, like the Punta de Choros marine reserve. It would send a wonderful message to the rest of the world if Chile takes this next step for ocean conservation and also ensures that I may someday be able to travel to Chile and to see the incredible wonder that is your sea mountains.
Don’t forget to please click on and sign Stop Bulldozing the Oceans
End ocean clear-cuts: one quick petition
Image | Avaaz
Please click on and sign End Ocean Clear-Cuts
From Avaaz
Our oceans are being systematically destroyed, and we have 24 hours to raise the alarm. The seafood industry uses long chains of heavy metal disks to drag nets across the sea floor in search of fish, crushing everything in their path. This bottom-trawling is like clear-cutting a forest to catch a parrot — and only our outcry can stop it.
In two days, UN policy-makers are meeting to review the impacts of this deadly practice. Pacific island nations are fighting to save the oceans and have appealed to Avaaz members to stand with them. This is our chance to win — if enough of us speak out now, it will strengthen their hand against big fishing countries, and will embolden serious players like the US and Australia, who have already banned bottom-trawling in their waters, to push for protection everywhere.
Let’s build an urgent call to stop the senseless destruction of our oceans — and delegates will deliver our voices directly to the UN meeting. Sign now on the right and help us reach half a million voices in the next 24 hours.
Message Text
To members of the UN General Assembly:
As concerned global citizens, we call on you immediately to implement and enforce your obligations to the UN resolutions on fishing and work to ban the destructive practice of deep-sea bottom-fishing. We urge you to usher in a new era of accountability and commitment to our injured oceans by steadfastly holding other nations to their promises to protect oceans and curb devastation.
Related | Devour The Earth
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Urge Bar to Ditch Live-Fish Shots: Sample Letter
BACKGROUND
Hoping to draw in customers, Redneck Heaven Restaurant & Bar in Lewisville and Forth Worth, Texas, offers “Minnow Bombs”—where bartenders place a live fish inside a shot of liquor. Fish are complex beings who have personalities, communicate with each other, form bonds, and, according to countless experts, have a large capacity for suffering. Being handled, dropped in alcohol, and swallowed alive is undoubtedly a painful and terrifying ordeal for such tiny, defenseless animals, who have no means of escape. They need your voice now!
Please politely urge Redneck Heaven to stop this cruelty. And forward this alert far and wide!
WHOM TO CONTACT
Email Block
lewisville@redneckheaven.com
fortworth@redneckheaven.com
Individual
Redneck Heaven
2501 S. Stemmons Fwy.
Lewisville, TX 75067
972-459-REDN
lewisville@redneckheaven.com
Redneck Heaven
3840 N.E. Loop 820
Fort Worth, TX 76137
817-222-9800
fortworth@redneckheaven.com
SAMPLE LETTER
To Whom It Concerns,
It has come to my attention that you have created a drink using live fish: a live fish is put in a shot for the patron to drink, and I am respectfully requesting you cease offering a live fish shot.
Please allow me to elaborate. Fish are complex animals who experience suffering and joy, and who also have the capacity to nurture complex relationships and display grief upon separation. Furthermore, despite an almost-universal apathy towards their sensitivity, fish indeed experience pain and react negatively towards stressful situations including loud noises, lights, enclosures, and disturbed environments. Although patrons may find this amusing and a chance to demonstrate bravado to others, it is indeed a painful and terrifying experience for the fish.
Please take this opportunity to express compassion and empathy for our animal friends and decide to help rather than harm them by discontinuing the fish drink.
Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent appeal.
NAME
Please click on and sign:
Governor Malloy: Stop Jackson Labs from coming to CT
From Change
Most troubling for those of us who are animal rights activists, however, is that in addition to doing its own animal-based research, Jackson Laboratory finances most of its operations through breeding and distributing mice for vivisection. Our research shows that this Bar Harbor, Maine-based lab produces and sells 2.9 million mice a year, in 6,000 different genetic strains to some 19,000 research facilities throughout the world. Theses animals are then subjected to unimaginably agonizing experimentation. Due to the limited number of investigators to oversee the conditions in laboratories, suffering animals often go unattended to. These tests are cruel and unnecessary. We do not want a breeding ground in Connecticut that would create animals for experimentation when non-animals models are available and more reliable. I do not support animal experimentation and as a constituent, I do not consent to my tax dollars being used to fund it. My next vote will reflect your disposition on this issue.
We therefore expect that you will abandon your plan to bring Jackson Labs to Connecticut. They are not wanted here. Please find a more humane way to generate jobs in our State.
This is Animal Research
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BACKGROUND | FROM THE PERSIAN HORSE’S BLOG
During the 2008 campaign President Obama said, “Federal policy towards animals should respect the dignity of animals and their rightful place as cohabitants of our environment. We should strive to protect animals and their habitats and prevent animal cruelty, exploitation and neglect…. I have consistently been a champion of animal-friendly legislation and policy and would continue to be so once elected.” President Obama announced that he had co-sponsored legislation to stop the sale for slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros. During the 2008 campaign President Obama signed on as co-sponsor to the bill to ban horse slaughter for human consumption. When asked specifically during the campaign, “Will you support legislation …to institute a permanent ban on horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption“, President Obama gave an unqualified “Yes“. (HSLF questionnaire)
Now is the time for President Obama to keep that campaign promise. The supporters of this predatory, cruel and inhumane practice of slaughtering horses have wrapped their arguments up with the flag, motherhood and apple pie. They have lobbied extensively for the return of slaughter to the U.S. and the continued exports of equines for slaughter for human consumption. They even controlled a June, 2011 GAO report which has been refuted as based on misinformation, unsupported opinions and untruths. Go here and here.
Please send the below letter, provided by Animal Law Coalition and Equine Welfare Alliance t To President Obama, your Senators, and your Representative.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Click HERE for the contact form for President Obama. If you spend a few moments registering (upper right), you can send ALL your political representatives a letter at ONE time.
If you prefer, click HERE to find your Senators’ and Representative’s email addresses.
Click HERE to send free faxes. Faxes are sent from your computer: you do not need a fax machine or credit card.
LETTER TO SEND
Dear Mr. President, Senators, and Representative,
Signatures of more than 6,000 Americans on a White House petition to ban the slaughter of equines for human consumption have been presented to the Obama Administration. The Obama Administration told us that if we gathered 5,000 signatures on a White House petition, the issue would receive consideration. We actually collected 5,000 signatures very quickly, at least 2 weeks before opponents were able to gather the same number of signatures for a petition started earlier to revive horse slaughter in the U.S. Of the 4 petitions created by mid-October regarding horses, the slaughter ban has collected the most signatures.
Thousands more Americans have sent letters directly to the White House over the past 3 years and still more have directed letters to their senators and representatives in Congress in an effort to end equine slaughter for human consumption.
We know from a 2006 Public Opinion Strategies poll that nearly 70% of Americans support a ban on equine slaughter. A CNN poll that same year showed a similar result. The support among Americans for a ban on equine slaughter for human consumption has grown: Currently, according to the Popvox poll, 77% of Americans support pending legislation, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 2966/S.B. 1176, which would end the slaughter of American equines for human consumption.
I hope the Obama Administration will see this issue as paramount to human health and safety. It is also about saving communities from a predatory and environmentally and economically devastating practice. It is about stopping terrible cruelty and suffering of animals who are our companions and pets; they helped build this country and still work in the military and law enforcement and provide therapy as well as entertainment in horse racing, shows and other sports and exhibitions. They are not raised for food.
During the 2008 campaign you (President Obama) said, “Federal policy towards animals should respect the dignity of animals and their rightful place as cohabitants of our environment. We should strive to protect animals and their habitats and prevent animal cruelty, exploitation and neglect…. I have consistently been a champion of animal-friendly legislation and policy and would continue to be so once elected.” You (President Obama) announced that you had co-sponsored legislation to stop the sale for slaughter of wild free-roaming horses and burros. During the 2008 campaign you (President Obama) signed on as co-sponsor to the bill to ban horse slaughter for human consumption. When asked specifically during the campaign, “Will you support legislation …to institute a permanent ban on horse slaughter and exports of horses for human consumption“, you (President Obama) gave an unqualified “Yes“. (HSLF questionnaire)
Now is the time to keep that campaign promise, Mr. President. The supporters of this predatory, cruel and inhumane practice of slaughtering horses have wrapped their arguments up with the flag, motherhood and apple pie. They have lobbied extensively for the return of slaughter to the U.S. and the continued exports of equines for slaughter for human consumption. They even controlled a June, 2011 GAO report which has been refuted as based on misinformation, unsupported opinions and untruths. Go here and here.
The urgent reasons to ban equine slaughter have not changed, however, since you, (President Obama) as Senator signed on as co-sponsor of anti-slaughter legislation:
1. The FDA does not regulate equines as food animals. Americans don’t eat horses and other equines. American horses are not raised, fed and medicated within the FDA guidelines established for food animals, making them unfit and unsafe for human consumption. Equines are given all manner of drugs, steroids, de-wormers and ointments throughout their lives. Equines are not tracked and typically may have several owners. A kill buyer has no idea of the veterinary or drug history of a horse or other equine taken to slaughter, and many of the most dangerous drugs have no or a very long withdrawal period. A typical drug given routinely to equines like aspirin, phenylbutazone or Bute, is a carcinogen and can cause aplastic anemia in humans. It has no withdrawal period. The FDA bans bute in all food producing animals because of this serious danger to human health. The FDA and USDA would prohibit Americans from consuming horses because of this danger. Yet, neither the FDA nor the USDA prohibits the export of American horses for slaughter for human consumption. It is a grave risk to public health to continue to allow the export of American horses for slaughter for human consumption in other countries.
2. Equine slaughter has been devastating to the communities where slaughtering facilities have been located, with significant negative impacts including nuisance odors that permeated the surrounding towns to chronic sewer and environmental violations. Blood literally ran in the streets and waste from the facilities clogged sewers and piled up everywhere. This predatory practice produced few very low wage jobs, meaning workers and their families overran local resources like the hospitals and government services. This so called business brought in virtually no tax revenues and local governments incurred substantial enforcement costs in trying to regulate these facilities. The standard of living in these communities dropped during the time horse slaughter facilities operated. Good businesses refused to relocate there. As Paula Bacon, mayor of Kaufman, Texas during the time a horse facility operated there until 2007 said, “My community did not benefit. We paid.”
Recently, when officials in Hardin, Montana learned of a plan to build horse facilities in that state, the town council immediately unanimously passed Ordinance No. 2010-01 that prohibits the slaughter of more than 25 animals in a seven day period. The message is clear: Americans don’t want equine slaughter.
Equine slaughter has also been found to increase and abet horse theft in areas where facilities are located or horses are held for transport to slaughter.
3. Horse slaughter is not a means of controlling numbers of so-called unwanted, abandoned or neglected horses, but, rather, is a for-profit operation driven by a demand for horsemeat in some foreign countries. The USDA has confirmed more than 92% of horses that end up at slaughter are healthy; they are not unwanted, neglected or abused. Kill buyers are interested in buying the healthiest horses for horsemeat which is sold as a delicacy in some foreign countries.
The rise in numbers of horses in need and drop in horse prices is a result of the worst recession in memory. In fact, if slaughter controlled numbers of horses in need, there would be none as slaughter is still available and horses are sent to slaughter in the same numbers as before the 2007 closings of the slaughter houses that were located in the U.S. In fact, the availability of slaughter actually increases the numbers of excess horses and other equines on the market. Slaughter creates a salvage or secondary market that encourages overbreeding and adds to the problem of horses in need. Banning slaughter would reduce the number of excess horses and other equines.
Also, slaughter accounts for only about 3 cents for every $100 of the equine industry. It is absurd for anyone to suggest a limited salvage market could influence prices in the entire horse industry.
4. America’s iconic wild horses and burros which are supposed to be legally protected on public lands under the Wild Free Roaming Horses and Burros Act, have been illegally sent to slaughter, and, indeed, a Justice Department investigation has been launched to try to stop this. A ban on exports of horses and burros for slaughter for human consumption would greatly assist in the enforcement of this Act.
5. Equine slaughter is not humane euthanasia. The slaughter of horses and other equines simply cannot be made humane: Dr. Lester Friedlander, DVM & former Chief USDA Inspector, told Congress in 2008 that the captive bolt used to slaughter horses is simply not effective. Horses and other equines, in particular, are very sensitive about anything coming towards their heads and cannot be restrained as required for effective stunning. Dr. Friedlander stated, “These animals regain consciousness 30 seconds after being struck, they are fully aware they are being vivisected.” The Government Accountability Office and dozens of veterinarians and other witnesses have confirmed that ineffective stunning is common and animals are conscious during slaughter. It is simply not possible for USDA/APHIS to make equine slaughter humane and it is a myth to pretend otherwise.
6. The 2011 GAO report confirmed that USDA/APHIS has not – and cannot – enforce humane transport regulations for equines sent to slaughter. Changing a few words here and there in the regulations will not change this. USDA/APHIS allows the kill buyers and haulers to fill out and provide the documentation – which is routinely missing, incomplete or inaccurate – relied on for enforcement. It is impossible to enforce regulations when the information to determine violations is supplied by those USDA/APHIS is supposed to be regulating.
7. Equines are in danger and equine welfare is threatened as long as slaughter remains available, and only a federal law can stop exports of equines for slaughter for human consumption.
I would like to urge President Obama to keep that 2008 campaign promise and support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, H.R. 2966/S.B. 1176, and am also asking My Senators and Federal Representative to CO-SPONSOR and Vote YES on H.R.2966 and S.B.1176. Thank you.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Our Compass 