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.
Cry of the Innocent
Click HERE to view Cry of the Innocent website, the film by Kathleen Lowson
WHAT YOU CAN DO
- Do not purchase ANY fur products (including fur-trimmed items) and tell others of your commitment and why.
- SIGN the PETITION “SERIOUSLY CANADA”
- BOYCOTT Canadian seafood and ALL Canadian products, tourism, and investment in Canada’s stock market.
- BOYCOTT ALL Asian products, tourism, and investment in Asia’s stock market.
CRY OF THE INNOCENT: The Voices That Can’t Speak
A Kathleen Lowson Film
“A revealing new film explores the psychological and spiritual factors that contribute to animal cruelty in the fur industry. Rather than merely covering tales of brutality, Cry of the Innocent: The Voices that Can’t Speak interprets from the “soul perspective” in an attempt to explore the underlying source of animal abuse and the subsequent disconnection in society. As Lowson has stated: “The power of respect will change our world” — respect for ourselves and respect for life.” – National Geographic News Watch
“The innocent in the title of Lowson’s movie are the estimated 50 million animals that are slaughtered annually for their fur for the sake of fashion… Lowson doesn’t follow the temptation to communicate her message with stark visuals. Instead, she takes the more sensitive road. Lowson has recently released her film trailer in an effort to bring attention to what she believes are the deeper implications of the killing of animals for fur, and to raise funding for the completion of her film.” – Chicago Examiner
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Urge Ottawa, Ontario, to Reject Cruel Killing of Beavers
Wikimedia Commons
BACKGROUND | SOURCE PETA
Reportedly, the city of Ottawa, Ontario, is again considering using traps to cruelly kill beavers at Lindsay Pond Park. The city recently made the compassionate decision to explore humane beaver control methods, but now it’s apparently backing away from that.
Body-gripping, steel-jaw, and snare traps are horribly cruel. Animals suffocate when the traps clamp down on their necks, or they drown (which can take up to 15 minutes, all the while experiencing extreme terror and pain) when traps pin them underwater. Panicked animals trapped in shallow water can also drown, and many victims attempt to chew themselves free.
Beavers can be humanely controlled using flow pipe and fence devices. These devices keep beavers out of areas where they are unwanted and encourage them to live elsewhere. Please politely ask Ottawa to ditch the cruel use of traps entirely, and then forward this message widely!
WHOM TO CONTACT
Please send polite comments to:
Kent Kirkpatrick
City Manager of Ottawa
kent.kirkpatrick@ottawa.ca
Nick Stow
Planner III, Planning and Growth Management
Infrastructure Services and Community Sustainability
City of Ottawa
nick.stow@ottawa.ca
The Honorable Jim Watson
Mayor of Ottawa
jim.watson@ottawa.ca
Please also e-mail the members of the Ottawa City Council using the following e-mail addresses (copy and paste this list into your “To” field along with the others above):
stephen.blais@ottawa.ca; rainer.bloess@ottawa.ca; david.chernushenko@ottawa.ca; peter.clark@ottawa.ca; diane.deans@ottawa.ca; steve.desroches@ottawa.ca; ward9@ottawa.ca; mathieu.fleury@ottawa.ca; jan.harder@ottawa.ca; katherine.hobbs@ottawa.ca; allan.hubley@ottawa.ca; peter.hume@ottawa.ca; maria.mcrae@ottawa.ca; scott.moffatt@ottawa.ca; bob.monette@ottawa.ca; mark.taylor@ottawa.ca; tim.tierney@ottawa.ca; doug.thompson@ottawa.ca; arianne.wilkinson@ottawa.ca; shad.qadri@ottawa.ca; rick.chiarelli@ottawa.ca; eli.el-chantiry@ottawa.ca; diane.holmes@ottawa.ca
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Officials,
It has come to my attention that Ottawa is considering using traps to cruelly kill beavers at Lindsay Pond Park. The city recently made the compassionate decision to explore humane beaver control methods, but now it’s apparently backing away from that.
Body-gripping, steel-jaw, and snare traps are horribly cruel. Animals suffocate when the traps clamp down on their necks, or they drown (which can take up to 15 minutes, all the while experiencing extreme terror and pain) when traps pin them underwater. Panicked animals trapped in shallow water can also drown, and many victims attempt to chew themselves free.
Beavers can be humanely controlled using flow pipe and fence devices. These devices keep beavers out of areas where they are unwanted and encourage them to live elsewhere.
It would be unfortunate, but until this barbarism is appropriately addressed including a mandatory ban of such, I and others will collectively boycott resulting in the sacrifice of vital tourism and commerce profits. Please act responsibly and with compassion and choose to protect, rather than sanction harm, to animals.
Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent appeal.
NAME
Read more…
Foie Gras: how much cruelty can you swallow?
Please click and scroll down HERE to sign petition.
Background | From Animal Equality
Animal Equality presents a shocking new undercover investigation into the foie gras industry in the EU. Animal Equality investigators visited 4 ‘traditional’ farms located in the south west of France and 5 farms in Catalonia, Spain.
In each one of the farms visited, Animal Equality documented shocking scenes of physical violence and psychological suffering.
Petition Text
To be sent to: John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy.
The production of foie gras has been banned in Argentina, Austria, California (USA), Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Holland, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. The only European Union countries where it is permitted are Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Hungary and Spain.
In view of the overwhelming footage of foie gras farms in Spain and France investigated by animal rights organization Animal Equality, where I could see the terrible physical and psychological harm that exploited ducks and geese were subjected to, in order to fatten their livers, I request that you immediately take position against this industry that systematically abuses animals and ethics.
The foie gras industry is in direct conflict with the values of a morally advanced society, a society in the XXI century cannot ignore that animals are beings with the capacity to feel and experience emotions and, therefore, individuals worthy of respect and protection.
For these reasons and hoping that like me, you appreciate the work of Animal Equality for bringing to light a reality that consumers and citizens of the European Union have a right to know, I ask:
• In your role as Commissioner responsible for animal Welfare, to present a legislative proposal based on the Directive (98/58/EC) of the European Council banning force feeding of animals (excepted if necessary for health reasons) for every country the European Union without exception, as similar regulation already exists in Austria, Denmark, Finland, UK, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden or the Netherlands.
• To present a legislative proposal banning the import and sell of animal products resulting of force feeding in the European Union, as most recently enforced in the state of California.
Yours sincerely,
Please remember to click and sign HERE (scroll down to see petition).
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BACKGROUND | SOURCE PETA
Reportedly, Bruce Tanski Construction & Development, LLC—a property management group that owns multiple apartment complexes and townhomes in New York—requires tenants to declaw their cats. PETA has reached out to the company several times, but to no avail. We need your help!
Outlawed in 22 countries, declawing is a cruel and permanently crippling surgery involving amputation of the last joint of every toe, including bones and cartilage! Persistent pain, loss of balance, nerve damage, bone chips requiring additional surgery, gangrene, and skin disorders are associated physical complications—and nails can later grow back painfully and unseen, within the paw! Declawed cats often become reclusive, depressed, and insecure and begin eliminating outside the litterbox. Psychologically changed, these animals are then bounced around from home to home or wind up at animal shelters.
Please politely urge Bruce Tanski Construction & Development to join the numerous property management groups that do not require declawing. And please, forward this alert widely!
WHOM TO CONTACT
Polite comments can be sent to:
Bruce Tanski, Chief Executive Officer
Bruce Tanski Construction & Development, LLC
btconstruction@nycap.rr.com
SUBJECT
Please ban the declawing requirement for tenants’ cats in your properties
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Chief Executive Officer Tanski,
I am writing to ask that you please discontinue your requirement for tenants to declaw cats homed in any of your properties. This is a cruel, archaic procedure that causes suffering and pain, undesirable patterns and behaviour and has been recognized as such internationally. Declawing is illegal or restricted in over 20 countries, including the United Kingdom and Canada. Cities such as San Francisco, West Hollywood, and Norfolk, VA ban declawing — while Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Berkeley, Malibu and Santa Monica are evaluating similar legislation. The Humane Society of the U.S. and ASPCA oppose declawing. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons rejects the operation, describing it as “mutilation.”
Overwhelming evidence demonstrates declawing causes severe behavioral problems that often lead guardians to abandon their animals in overcrowded shelters; 33% of declawed cats begin post-procedure, according to a 2001 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medicine Association (JAVMA). National shelter surveys reveal that 70-80% of cats surrendered for offensive behavior are declawed. Declawed felines enter shelters with behavioral issues like biting or not using the litter box, claims shelter director William Lombardi of Gloucester County, New Jersey. For the estimated 70% of declawed cats who are euthanized, the surgery is a death sentence.
Moreover, declawing generates suffering and permanent disability. The invasive procedure amputates not only the claw, but also the entire last “knuckle” of a cat’s toes. Veterinary experts recognize laser or scalpel declawing as among the most painful surgeries routinely performed.
Please reconsider this cruel policy and ban the declawing requirement for tenants’ cats in your properties.
Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent appeal.
NAME
Wikimedia Commons
BACKGROUND
Menards and 99¢ Only stores sell glue traps for rodent control. PETA informed Menards and 99¢ Only stores about the extreme cruelty and disease risks inherent in using glue traps, but our concerns have apparently fallen on deaf ears.
Glue traps are some of the worst rodent-control products on the market, causing immense and prolonged suffering. Panicked rodents often rip themselves to pieces in their frantic struggle to escape the sticky mess. Exhausted and terrified, they die from shock, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss. Death can take days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against using glue traps because of the disease risks posed by the many pathogens in the waste of ensnared rodents, who eliminate out of stress and fright.
Despite now knowing the disease risks and extreme cruelty inherent in glue traps, Menards and 99¢ Only stores continue to sell them. Please contact them today! Politely ask the company to do the right thing and join the countless retailers—including Albertsons, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Safeway—that have sworn off glue traps for good.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Click HERE for Menards’s online webform
Click HERE for 99¢ Only’s online webform
SAMPLE LETTER
To Whom It Concerns,
I have just learned that your stores sell glue traps, and I am respectfully requesting you cease selling them. In and of itself, killing the mice is inherently immoral, but using glue traps to do so compounds the vicious nature of such an extremely painful and fearfully agonizing experience for animals. These animals are further traumatized trying to free themselves, causing skinning, tearing, ripping, and dismemberment, a profoundly agonizing ritual of attempting to escape for hours upon hours; death sometimes can take days.
This also proves medically dangerous to humans considering that, according to the CDC, glue traps create optimal conditions to spread disease. I would hope any company that shares a core principle of quality of life would be equally concerned with selling any disease-spreading forms of mice control.
It is impossible to contemplate supporting any business that capitalizes on the brutality of animals, and I respectfully request you discontinue selling glue traps. Indeed, I hope this letter finds you willing to scrutinize both your own involvement in the intentional exploitation of animals and your desire to therefore protect rather than harm them such as Albertsons, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, and Safeway have done; until such a time, I will boycott your stores and also share this information with friends, family, and online social contacts. Instead, please consider promoting and selling humane traps to capture and release mice in an ethical and painless manner.
Thank you for your time and attention to this important appeal.
NAME
Read more…
Wikimedia Commons
BACKGROUND | SOURCE PETA
Rock Springs One, a homeowners’ association (HOA) in Mesquite, Nevada, is considering the use of notorious poison Avitrol to kill pigeons and other birds living in its neighborhood. PETA informed the management about the cruelty of Avitrol, but to no apparent avail. Reportedly, the HOA is voting on this issue soon!
Lethal methods don’t work and will actually backfire. Whenever birds are killed or removed, a spike in the food supply results, which causes accelerated breeding among survivors and newcomers. Populations then increase! Furthermore, Avitrol is horribly cruel. It causes disorientation, convulsions, and a slow, agonizing death. Pest-control companies often tell clients that Avitrol only “scares birds away,” but this is flatly untrue. And dogs, cats, and “nontarget” wildlife can die after consuming the bodies of poisoned birds.
Please politely urge Rock Springs One HOA officials to refrain from poisoning birds and to stick with humane and effective bird control methods instead.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Trish Hall, President
Colonial Property Management
thall@cpmlv.com
Tiara Gehl
Provisional Community Manager
Colonial Property Management
tgehl@cpmlv.com
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear President Hall and Provisional Community Manager Gehl,
It has come to my attention that Rock Springs One, a homeowners’ association (HOA) in Mesquite, Nevada, is considering the use of the notorious poison Avitrol to kill pigeons and other birds living in its neighborhood. Please allow me this opportunity to elaborate my protest.
First, these animals are targeted to be killed as a response to private and public objections over their presence, and the use of the poison Avitrol has been chosen as the preferred method of death. This poison is not rapid; in fact, it causes a drawn-out and painful condition that can last for days. Many birds will attempt escape and fly only to be stricken mid-flight to fall to the ground dying upon impact.
Second, this poison can also affect other non-target wild and non-wild animals, including those who maintain an endangered definition.
Third, killing the birds artificially increases food supplies to the remaining birds, the consequence of which is increased reproduction and an ensuing greater bird population. In fact, studies have demonstrated that the continual cycle of seasonal culls is responsible for a rebound, or larger populations, in subsequent years.
As such, I respectfully request that you work with particular groups and citizens to develop alternative, humane solutions to killing these animals. These creatures are sentient and deserve our compassion and respect, not our brutality and violence.
I thank you for your attention to this urgent appeal.
Read more…
Wikimedia Commons
UPDATE | JULY 20
In response to the outpouring of concern for the 21-pound lobster recently procured by the staff of our fish market, the Board of Directors of Good Seas Inc., d/b/a Capt’n Elmer’s Seafood Restaurant and Fish Market, have concluded that the lobster will be released back into the waters of Cape Cod. It would be contrary to the personal ethics of the individual Board members as well as the business principles of the company as a whole to allow the future of this noble lobster to be determined by chance.
The drawing, which began Monday, July 16, will proceed as planned. However, the prize offering has been revised to reflect the Board’s decision to release the lobster. The winner of the drawing will have the opportunity to choose to receive 21 pounds of retail size lobsters or to accompany the release team and participate in the lobster’s release.
All proceeds from the drawing will go to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Dana-Farber provides adult and pediatric care to those with cancer while researching and developing tomorrow’s cures. Tickets for the drawing are available for purchase now through noon on Sunday, July 22 at Capt’n Elmer’s Fish Market, 18 Old Colony Way, Orleans, Massachusetts. Participants will receive one drawing ticket for each $5 donation, or three tickets for each $10 donation. The drawing will take place on Sunday, July 22 at noon. The winner will be informed by phone Sunday evening. All are welcome to visit the lobster at Capt’n Elmer’s Fish Market.
We would like to thank our patrons, members of our local community, and the international supporters who have spoken out on behalf of this lobster. We greatly appreciate your continued interest in the protection and conservation of our local species.
BACKGROUND | MY FOX BOSTON
A Cape Cod restaurant and fish market is giving seafood lovers the chance to win a massive lobster while also donating to charity.
Capt’n Elmer’s on Old Colony Way in Orleans is raffling off a massive 21-pound lobster to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. That adds up to nearly five pounds of lobster meat.
Those interested in entering can go to Capt’n Elmer’s and pick up the tickets in person or the fish market can mail the tickets. Those interested in having the tickets mailed can enter by calling 508-255-7221.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Phone: 508-255-3350
Email: info@captainelmers.com
Click HERE to contact local papers
SAMPLE LETTER
It is my understanding that Capt’n Elmer’s fish market is raffling a 21-pound lobster as part of fundraising efforts; although this is a noble endeavor, it is causing the unnecessary suffering and future death of a sentient being, the lobster. I am therefore respectfully requesting that Capt’n Elmer’s makes the compassionate decision to discontinue the imprisonment of the lobster and relinquish him to his home in the ocean. However, as long as Capt’n Elmer’s continues to unnecessarily capitalize on the exploitation, imprisonment, and maltreatment of him, I will not financially support them. It is important to recognize that consumers are increasingly rejecting those businesses that are complicit in the suffering and unnecessary treatment of animals by shifting their loyalties to those businesses that do not participate in the exploitation of them, and I hope that Capt’n Elmer’s will extend such an ethical and empathetic gesture as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent appeal.
NAME
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BACKGROUND
Every year, tens of thousands of nonhuman primates are transported from countries such as China, Mauritius, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia to the U.S. to be imprisoned in laboratories and tormented in experiments. Some are bred in captivity on cramped, squalid monkey factory farms, while others are stolen from their families in the wild.
The traumatized monkeys are crammed into small wooden crates and transported in the backs of trucks and the dark and terrifying cargo holds of planes, often on passenger flights just below unsuspecting customers.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, nearly 23,000 nonhuman primates were brought into the U.S. in 2010—nearly all of them destined for laboratories. Nearly 3,000 monkeys were imported by animal testing conglomerate Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories (SNBL), where recent photos and video footage leaked by a whistleblower show sick, distraught monkeys suffering horribly from tests in which they were injected with experimental chemicals.
Almost every major airline in the world—including Delta Air Lines, Qantas, American Airlines, British Airways, Aer Lingus, Cathay Pacific, and dozens of others—refuses to take any part in this violent industry and prohibits the transportation of primates to laboratories. However, an increasingly small group of airlines—including Air China, Air France, China Eastern Airlines, United Airlines, Philippine Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines—continues to profit from animals’ misery by transporting monkeys destined for U.S. laboratories.
Please be a voice for the monkeys who are suffering in the primate trade. Take a minute of your time now to urge airlines that still transport monkeys to U.S. laboratories to join their peers and adopt a formal policy against the transportation of nonhuman primates for use in experiments.
PETITION
Please click and sign HERE
WHOM TO CONTACT
Click HERE for United’s online webform
SUBJECT
Stop Transporting Primates to Laboratories
SAMPLE LETTER, COURTESY PETA
Dear Officials,
I was dismayed to learn that your airline continues to facilitate cruelty to animals by transporting primates destined for laboratories. These highly social, intelligent beings are routinely mutilated, poisoned, deprived of food and water, forcibly immobilized in restraint devices, infected with painful and deadly diseases, and psychologically tormented.
Additionally, primates suffer from the long and grueling transport in the cargo holds of planes and in the backs of trucks. For these reasons, nearly every major airline including Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, and Aer Lingus refuses to transport primates for use in experiments. It is shameful that your airline lags behind and continues to support this cruel practice.
Please join leading airline companies and adopt a formal policy prohibiting the transport of primates destined for laboratories to ensure that your company plays no role in the suffering of these animals.
NAME
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BACKGROUND | SOURCE FACEBOOK
Rapa das bestas is an ancient, cruel, barbaric, and primitive Spanish festival in Galicia Spain, which is also termed as ‘Taming the Beasts’, in which men and women from all the ages wrestle untamed horses to the ground with their bare hands without any weapons and cut their manes and tails causing huge suffering and injuries to the horses. The event take place every year on the first Saturday of July.
Rapa das bestas is a three-day festival starting from first Saturday of July and most of the men and women of the village participate in the wrestling of 600-700 horses of different breeds including stallions, mares, and foals. The meaning of “Rapa das bestas” is “the reaping of the horses” and it is a tradition where people show their courage against these “beasts”. This festival is also celebrated to declare the village’s independence and virility.
Please go to this page for the images of this festival:
Go to this link for more info:
http://rtfitchauthor.com/2011/07/04/wild-horse-wrestling-begins-in-spain-while-obamas-blm-attacks-horses-in-u-s/
WHOM TO CONTACT
presidente@xunta.es , estafeta@mir.es , pcc.cultura@mcu.es , mar.nogueira@xunta.es , infosmile@tourspain.es
SAMPLE LETTER
To Whom It Concerns,
I would like to draw your attention to the Rapa Das Bestas, the Spanish Horse Wrestling festival, held in Galicia every July. This is an event where some 600-700 horses, including stallions, mares, and foals, are brutally wrestled down. The festival allegedly dates back to the Bronze Age, and was a demonstration of the village’s independence, strength, and virility. Today, this is simply a primitive and barbaric festival that only demonstrates a lack of respect for animals and animal welfare.
Even though animals are not slaughtered during the festival, many horses do get injured, whether it is as a consequence of the horse wrestling, or a result of being confined in large masses in small spaces during the event. Cutting of the horses’ manes and tails is unnecessary, as it removes the horses’ natural defenses from flying insects.
You claim that it does not involve cruelty simply because it does not involve killing. Horses are traumatized in the process, however. It might not be your intention to harm or kill the horse, but all the animal experiences is being chased down, brutally manhandled, and forced to the ground. The vets and officials present cannot prevent the unnecessary distress and fear these animals experience.
I urge you to stop this barbaric festival for all future purposes. You consider this a noble tradition – however, there is nothing noble in taking advantage of sentient beings and putting them through such horrors. That it is a tradition doesn’t mean that it still needs occur. Until this barbarism ceases, I will boycott Spain and share this information with friends, family, and online social contacts.
Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent message.
Sincerely,
[Name,location]
Read more…
Wikimedia Commons
BACKGROUND
Please sign the petition and send an email to Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) NOT to approve sending animals to SNBL (Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories) for experimentation.
With the recent success of EL-AL Airlines agreeing not to transport Mazor Farm monkeys to SNBL laboratories in Texas comes the reality that Mazor Farm is still trying to get approval to transport the monkeys. The ongoing campaign Shut Down Mazor Farm has started another petition asking Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) NOT to approve sending the animals to SNBL (Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories).
Animal organizations Behind Closed Doors led by Ms. Anat Refua, Let the Animals Live, and the Israeli Society for the Abolition of Vivisection have been working on closing down Mazor Farm for the past 15 years. More detailed information can be found on the Shut Down Mazor Farm Facebook page and other websites.
Currently, the effort is focusing on asking INPA to reject Mazor Farm’s request to transport monkeys to SNBL. SNBL is the only international research firm that accepts animals from Mazor Farm and it does not have a positive reputation.
According to PETA:
SNBL’s customers—the companies for which it conducts tests on animals—include Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, Genentech, andSeattle Genetics. Several government agencies—including the Department of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Health and Human Services—have signed contracts with SNBL worth more than $1 million. And, SNBL profits from the importation and sales of monkeys for use in experimentation.
If successful, this petition will go a long way in helping to close Mazor Farm permanently.
If you agree monkeys and other animals should not be subjected to experiments in the name of medical research, sign the Care2 petition.
PETITION
Click HERE to sign petition
WHOM TO CONTACT
Please send the below sample letter (signing with your name and country) via email to INPA, with CC’s to Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection MK Gilad Erdan, INPA head of the Law Enforcement Division, INPA Public Relations Division, and the animal organizations.
TO: u.lishka@npa.org.il
CC: sar@sviva.gov.il; u.achifa@npa.org.il; kesher@npa.org.il; anat@invitro.org.il, eti@letlive.org.il; adi@isav.org.il
SUBJECT
Please reject Mazor Farm’s request to send monkeys to SNBL toxicity laboratories.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Director Amitay and Officials,
Following the recent Supreme Court ruling on the matter of Mazor Farm’s request to send monkeys to SNBL toxicity laboratories in the USA, I ask you not to authorize this shipment for the following reasons:
SNBL is a toxicity laboratory that does not perform any medical research, and certainly not research that aim to save lives; therefore, it does not meet the criteria that were determined by the Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection in January 2011. According to Mazor Farm itself, the intended experiment to which the monkeys are destined is a regulation experiment, not an experiment meant to develop medicine. Furthermore, the farm has stated that the experiment is different from the one to which it originally intended to ship the monkeys to a half year ago, and therefore it must provide all the required proofs concerning it, including the detailed experiment protocol.
Also, SNBL laboratory is infamous for its hundreds of criminal offenses, federal violations, and severe abuse cases in monkeys that were documented in it during the last ten years. The Israel Nature and Parks Authority, responsible for the protection of wild animals, is obligated to make certain that no animals are sent from Israel to such a place.
Additionally, the long journey of over 50 hours in small boxes and severe conditions that the monkeys will have to experience until their arrival to the laboratory is harsh abuse, which is in itself a reason enough to reject the request out-of-hand.
Furthermore, the monkeys held captive in Mazor Farm are living, feeling creatures. They experience fear, pain, and distress just like human animals and wish to avoid them just as we do. There is no justification whatsoever to cause them such unimaginable suffering. Too, the export request is, as described above, in strict contradiction with the policy set forth by the Minister of Environmental Protection.
Due to the aforementioned, I ask you to reject Mazor Farm’s request to ship the monkeys for regulation experiments in SNBL laboratories.
I will appreciate your response on the matter as soon as possible, and I thank you for taking the time to read this urgent appeal.
NAME
COUNTRY
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A shameful end to the fight to save Lennox
Examiner
Source Examiner
By Kelley Diekman
Despite exhaustive efforts by the family, politicians, celebrities and the international public outcry to save Lennox the dog after a two-year battle, he was sadly killed this morning.
Lennox was a 5 year old American Bull dog and Lab mix that was taken from his home and family in Northern Ireland in May, 2010 because he resembled a Pit Bull. The Belfast City Council seized Lennox under the Dangerous Dog Act, breed specific legislation that has marked Pit Bulls as a threat. As midnight came and went, so did the opportunity for the family to appeal the Belfast City Council’s decision to kill Lennox. Sometime this morning, Lennox was put to sleep without his family who were not allowed to see him over the past two years or even say goodbye.
The Belfast City Council posted the following press release following the despicable act:
Dangerous dog is put to sleep following final court decision
Belfast City Council confirmed today that the dog Lennox, an illegal pit-bull terrier type, has been humanely put to sleep. This was in accordance with the Order of the County Court which was affirmed by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.
Whilst there is an exemption scheme to which dogs of this type (pit-bull terrier type) may be admitted as an alternative to destruction, there were no such measures that could be applied in this case that would address the concerns relating to public safety. The Council`s expert described the dog as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous dogs he had come across.
Over the past two years, Council officials have been subjected to a sustained campaign of abuse including threats of violence and death threats. The Council has been in ongoing contact with the PSNI in relation to that.
The Council regrets that the court action was necessary but would emphasise that the safety of the public remains its key priority.
Unfortunately, this type of tragedy due to breed specific legislation is not limited just to Northern Ireland. Several countries around the world have similar legislation, including the United States. Only eleven states, including Minnesota, have state laws banning breed specific legislation. The Understand-A-Bull website has an interactive map showing which municipalities have breed specific legislation.
In April, a documentary about breed discrimination, Beyond the Myth, began showing at limited engagements around the country, including Minneapolis thanks to SecondHand Hounds. Beyond the Myth was a very informative, sad look into breed specific legislation and how it has impacted families and their dogs. Beyond the Myth will be officially released on September 18th, 2012 and is worth seeing. View movie trailer to the left of this article.
The end to Lennox’s two-year battle is heartbreaking. Hopefully his loss and the Belfast City Council’s blatant display of ignorance and heartlessness will plant the seeds of awareness for those in similar situations and bring results that do not end in the loss of an innocent animal.
Read more…
BACKGROUND
The Australian government is reportedly gunning down unwanted feral camels from helicopters to reduce their populations. Aerial hunts are exceedingly cruel, often only maiming animals who then die slow, agonizing deaths. Families are torn apart, and young and weak animals starve or die of dehydration. Apparently, 8,000 camels have already been killed, but up to 50,000 camels are being targeted! Your voice is needed today!
Please urge Australian officials to ditch aerial hunting—and then forward this message widely! Unwanted animals can be humanely controlled using exclusion techniques and deterrents.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Jan Ferguson
Managing Director
Ninti One Limited
jan.ferguson@nintione.com.au
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Director Ferguson,
It has come to my attention that the Australian government is reportedly gunning down unwanted feral camels from helicopters to reduce their populations. Please allow me to illustrate a few of my concerns.
First, killing camels artificially increases food supplies to the remaining camels, the consequence of which is increased reproduction and an ensuing greater population. In fact, studies have demonstrated that the continual cycle of seasonal hunting is responsible for a rebound, or larger herd populations, in subsequent years.
Second, hunters often spend hours following bloody tracks before finding wounded animals, if they look at all. Many camels are not found, and their deaths are slow and painful. It can take weeks for them to succumb to their injuries. Families are then torn apart, and young and weak animals starve or die of dehydration.
Third, this type of mass killing using such a brutal type of slaughter in such a central and visible location would certainly adversely affect both visitation and tourism; it would be financially detrimental to continue with such a cruel and unnecessary killing, and although I do not currently reside in Australia, I would be unwilling to consider it as a potential vacation destination if this hunt continues.
Please act ethically and with compassion and cancel further aerial hunts; unwanted animals can be humanely controlled using exclusion techniques and deterrents.
I know your time is limited and I want to thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
NAME
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Wikimedia Commons
BACKGROUND
Two U.S. House committees (the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Natural Resources) are considering the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (H.R. 2834), which, if passed, would open federal public lands to hunting—including extremely cruel bowhunting. It would also require federal public land management agencies to make decisions that support fishing and hunting opportunities, to lease lands for shooting ranges, and to designate lands for recreational shooting activities. Your compassionate voice is desperately needed!
WHOM TO CONTACT
Polite comments can be sent to the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture at agrepublicanpress@mail.house.gov
Please e-mail the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources using this Web form
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Representative,
Please oppose the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (H.R. 2834). Approving this bill will cause unimaginable suffering amongst animals, including vicious bowhunting, the promotion of which is both cruel and unacceptable. Animals are inherently sentient and possess the capacity for thought and emotion, including contentment, loneliness, fear, and agony. All animals, human and non-human, experience the desire to live free from exploitation and suffering and fear the manifestation of death.
Humans have adopted dangerous constructs of speciesism, the prejudicial regard of non-human species, to validate the brutality inflicted upon them. Using this manufactured status of superiority, humans have sanctioned the use of animals as commodities, regarding them only as products to benefit our goals and needs. We embrace inequity to justify our treatment of animals, which is mere savagery concealed in socially-approved descriptions. Please note that I will vote accordingly.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important appeal.
NAME
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Examiner
Source | Examiner
By Bonnie Snider
Again, in exclusive information given to me by sources close to the case of Lennox, late Friday, a staunch supporter of the campaign to free him presented herself to Buckingham Palace, to deliver a plea for a Royal Prerogative of Mercy for this precious boy. Now, e-mails are needed in support of that plea, and they need to be sent immediately.
The only people besides the Queen who have any authority to help Lennox at this point are the Northern Ireland Attorney General, John Larkin, and the Minister of Agriculture, Michelle O’Neil. The e-mail addresses for them are below.
The e-mails needed are to request that these two support the plea for the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. This time, the letters need to all say the same thing. The wording requested by the Lennox Campaign members for these e-mails is below.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Minister of Agriculture, Michelle O’Neil: private.office@dardni.gov.uk
Attorney General, John Larkin: contact@attorneygeneralni.gov.uk
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Minister O’Niel and Attorney General Larkin,
I am writing to you as one of over 182,500 people worldwide who have signed a petition to support and demand the release of Lennox who is currently held at an unknown location by Belfast City Council. Following a legal appeal heard by the Court of Appeal NI, Lennox has been sentenced to die and we urgently request a stay of execution of the dog Lennox by the power vested in you until the following has been clarified:
A request for clemency has been submitted to Her Majesty the Queen and to all senior politicians in Northern Ireland, requesting that Lennox be spared the death sentence and be allowed to be exported out of the UK to where safe sanctuary is waiting for him.
We believe there have been irregularities in the judicial handling of the case and there is worldwide anger and serious reservations concerning the treatment of the dog and that this may be a cover-up to hide the damage done to him while in the care of Belfast City Council.
Failing clemency, with no permission to export, the right of the family to have a final visit with their dog and be allowed to receive his body (currently rumoured to be withheld by Belfast C.C) is surely a basic right for a family grieving for their family member.
A death penalty, issued to an innocent animal, is due to be executed by Tuesday 10th July. Lennox, a much loved family companion, was seized two years ago, by council officials in Belfast City Council as an alleged “pit bull type”, he has been ordered by the courts to be destroyed and this decision was tragically upheld by the Court of Appeal NI.
Lennox has never harmed anyone; he has been prosecuted based on his appearance-for looking the wrong shape and size under breed specific legislation in NI.
Her Majesty the Queen and all senior politicians are urgently requested to use the Royal Prerogative of Mercy, which we understand starts where the law finishes and applies where a conviction and sentence has been arrived at; Lennox’s family and thousands of supporters worldwide plead for mercy.
We understand that The Royal Prerogative has been applied in NI, being used in the past by the then Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson and that a Judicial Review IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND McGeough’s (Terence) Application [2012] NIQB 11 also examined this power as did a Judicial Review (EWHC 3102 Admin) on 17th Dec. 2008 in the case of Michael Shields before the High Courts of Justice in London. We understand that it should only be exercised where no other remedies exist and that the effect of a pardon is not to quash the conviction but releases the recipient from “all pains, penalties and punishments whatsoever that from the said conviction may ensure”.
Please, we beg you, to intervene, order a stay of execution; whilst you investigate an application for clemency and any and all other legal routes to enable Lennox to be exported out of Northern Ireland. Failing that, please insist on a stay of execution so that a clear and transparent investigation is carried out in this case so that this dog is not wrongfully put to death and doubts regarding his current condition are set at rest.
Citizens from all over the world are asking you to restore faith in the judicial system on behalf of the citizens of Northern Ireland.
I beg you to intervene urgently, please order a stay of execution and have this case investigated urgently and any and all avenues to enable the export of Lennox fully reviewed.
Please do this one final act to speak out for mercy for Lennox. He deserves to be allowed to move to the United States to live out his life in peace, and not die at the hands of strangers for no reason other than his looks.
Related links:
Click here for the Save Lennox Facebook page
Click here for the Save Lennox Campaign website
NAME
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Finders threatening to kill puppy
Photo credit: B. Kosar
From Examiner
By Cindy Marabito
New Braunfels, TX: This tiny little girl was abandoned by her owners when they left town. A finder has been keeping the dog outside in an Igloo doghouse.
She is only 3 months old and has demodectic mange. The mange is not contagious to other animals or people, just looks nasty. Demodex is treatable with good nutritrion, homeopathy and herbs.
View slideshow: Little mange puppy in danger
She is a very sweet puppy, great with people and other pets.
The finder has threatened to take the puppy to be euthanized if a rescue does not step forward within 24 hours.
Please contact beth.kosar@gmail.com to rescue this sweet little puppy. She certainly does not deserve to die.
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Our Compass 