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.
Scientific Studies Reveal Brutal Truth of Bear Farming Industry
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Related, please click on and sign the End Bear Farming Appeal
Source: Salem-News.com
“Though tortured by human beings for many years, they always express a kind and forgiving nature…” – Rocky Shi, Animals Asia’s China bear sanctuary
Scientific research into bears previously farmed using the “free drip” method of bile extraction was revealed today at an Animals Asia press conference in Beijing. The detailed medical evidence was based on analysis of 165 bears that had been rescued and brought to Animals Asia’s bear sanctuary near Chengdu.
- 99% of free drip bears had cholecystitis,
- 66% had gall bladder polyps
- 34% had abdominal herniation,
- 28% had internal absessation,
- 22% had gallstones
Of the bears studied, 163 (99%) had cholecystitis, 109 (66%) had gall bladder polyps, 56 (34%) had abdominal herniation, 46 (28%) had internal absessation, 36 (22%) had gallstones, and 7 had peritonitis. Many of the bears had multiple combinations of these conditions.
At a press conference held last Thursday by the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the association’s head, Fang Shuting, stated that: “The process of extracting bear bile was as easy, natural and painless as turning on a tap”.
Monica Bando, a veterinary surgeon at Animals Asia, commented:
- “The free drip method of bile extraction can cause great harm and pain to farmed bears.”
Across Asia, an estimated 14,000 moon bears are being held in captivity on farms and milked for their bile because its believed to be effective in the practice of traditional Asian medicine despite the availability of inexpensive and effective herbal and synthetic alternatives. In China, the bears can spend more than 30 years in tiny cages and are milked regularly for their bile through crude catheters or permanently open holes in their abdomens.
In response to allegations that farms break current regulations, Fang Shuting stated last week said: “If such bear farms are found, please let us know.”
At the press conference, an independent film-maker revealed undercover footage of the bear farming industry. The footage was shot between 2009 and 2010 and reveals “legal” bear farms with conditions that are clearly breaking current regulations.
It shows bears forced to wear metal jackets that weigh them down and hold rubber pipes into their gall bladders. Bear farmers are shown baking bile juice in dirty containers, smashing the dried bile, and hand-making capsules of bear bile powder.
The film footage was produced by Elsa Xiong, Tu Qiao and Chen Yuanzhong for a documentary. They spent four years working on the documentary, travelling to six provinces and conducting many undercover investigations.
Elsa Xiong commented:
- “Because bear farms are closed from public, we encountered many unimaginable difficulties and risks. The bear farming industry is extremely cruel. What is even more shocking is that the legal bear farming industry allows many dirty and unsafe products to enter the market.”
Rocky Shi, a bear worker from Animals Asia’s China bear sanctuary also spoke at the press conference and introduced the happy lives of rescued bears. He said:
- “Every bear has their own character, emotions, and social life. Though tortured by human beings for many years, they always express a kind and forgiving nature, and show no hatred towards people.”
Dr Jill Robinson MBE, Founder and CEO of Animals Asia commented:
- “The practice of bear farming will end only by change coming from within China, and not because of pressure from overseas. Indeed, foreign pressure could even be counter-productive and cause the bears’ suffering to continue. We have seen an unprecedented outcry from the Chinese public and media over the last few days. It’s heartening to see so many people in China coming out against this awful industry and there is growing hope that the bear farming industry may soon come to an end.”
Gui Zhentang, a bear bile company that has applied for an Initial Public Offering in Shenzhen, and has met with much opposition from the public, has invited press and the public to visit their bear-bile farm in the next few days.
Toby Zhang, External Affairs Director in China for Animals Asia commented:
- “We are pleased that Animals Asia has been invited and we will be looking for a guarantee of transparency, and several conditions for viewing the bears.”
He also pointed out that he hasn’t yet received confirmation of his reserved place on the visit.
Read more…
Alone in a concrete prison: meet Morelia Zoo’s polar bear
3dayz
Please click HERE for contacts and example letter
From 3dayz
Background
Yupi is a female polar bear who was brought to the Morelia Zoo in Mexico in 1992 when she was only 3 months old. She came from Alaska as an orphaned cub. Upon arrival at the Mexican zoo Yupi was placed in an old grizzly bear pen. This is the pen in which she still lives today… she’s is now 20 years old.
Since Mexico is located in the southern portion of North America, and Morelia is located in the central part of Mexico, Yupi is exposed to a tropical climate year-round, meaning that temperatures remain high throughout the year. This is dramatically different from what Yupi would experience in her native Alaska, where below freezing winters and cooler summers are the norm.
In addition, Yupi’s daily management regime is predictable and routine with little stimulation of any kind. She does not have any environmental enrichment and feeding occurs on a schedule at specific times of the day. But probably the most alarming thing about Yupi’s life is the fact that she is confined in her holding area (a dank, barren, concrete bunker) for the bulk of each day, in conditions far worse than her main enclosure.
In 2009 Ericka Ceballos of CATCA monitored Yupi’s behaviour and recorded her findings here. Please also visit Zoocheck Canada’s campaign page SaveYupi.com.
Whom To Contact
zoomorelia@michoacan.gob.mx, fvallejo@morelia.gob.mx, protest@3dayz.com
Example Letter
Dear Mayor of Morelia and Director of Morelia Zoo,
After reading about her on 3dayz.com, I am deeply concerned about the continued housing and display of Yupi the polar bear at the Parque Zoologico Benito Juarez (Morelia Zoo) in Mexico. I support moving her to a more appropriate naturalistic accommodation in a more appropriate climate as soon as possible and would like for you to team up with Zoocheck Canada for advice in this matter.
Polar bears are uniquely adapted for life in cold environments and do poorly in temperate and tropical climates. In the wild, they inhabit extremely large home ranges, occupying one of the largest living spaces of any terrestrial animal species. They spend significant time hunting and tracking prey, walking, socializing and playing.
At the Morelia Zoo, Yupi is housed in an antiquated, undersized, barren enclosure that does not satisfy her biological and behavioural needs. She is the only Arctic animal in a collection of temperate and tropical species and opportunities for viewing Yupi are extremely limited by her enclosure.
I understand that there are suitable facilities currently willing to provide Yupi with a permanent home where she can enjoy an expansive natural space to roam, more complex environments, and a colder, more suitable climate. I strongly encourage you to ensure that Yupi is relocated as soon as possible.
Thank you for considering this letter.
Sincerely,
NAME
Undercover Factory Farming Investigations under Attack in Iowa
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Agribusiness interests in Iowa’s legislature have renewed their efforts this year to pass “ag-gag” legislation — these are bills aimed at shutting down whistle-blowing exposés documenting the cruel and abusive conditions for animals on factory farms.
To prevent these cruelties from coming to light, big agribusiness is sponsoring HF-589, introduced by Representative Sweeney, and SF-431. If they become law, investigations like this one would essentially be impossible and the public would have an even smaller window into the truth about how its food is being produced.
ACT NOW: If you are a resident of Iowa, please contact your state legislators today to urge them to oppose HF 589 and SF 431 and resist attempts to shield animal agribusiness from public scrutiny.
Several other states have also introduced similar legislation. Read more now.
Read more…
Amazon: Stop selling whale meat
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Update | 2/22/12
Amazon ‘backs down’ on sale of whale meat:
http://m.smh.com.au/environment/whale-watch/amazon-backs-down-on-sale-of-whale-meat-20120222-1tnh4.html
Please click on and sign Amazon: Stop selling whale meat
Background | From HSI
Japan continues to undermine international laws by hunting whales and trading in whale meat. These great whale species are afforded full legal protection by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); yet Amazon.com, through its wholly owned subsidiary Amazon.jp in Japan, is actively involved in the sale of hundreds of whale, dolphin and porpoise products. These include endangered fin whale products from Iceland, as well as endangered whale meat from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Some of the whale products sold by Amazon.jp are highly polluted with mercury and constitute a significant risk to the health of consumers. In February 2011, the Environmental Investigation Agency analyzed several whale products from Amazon.jp and found that the majority of those tested contained mercury levels exceeding Japanese national limits.
As Amazon.com Inc. profits from Amazon.jp’s sale of whale products, it is responsible not only for facilitating the sale of products from endangered and protected species, but also for allowing the sale of contaminated food products which pose a potential health threat to the people consuming them.
Read more…
Please Ask New Zealand to Stop the Mass Poisoning of Animals
BACKGROUND
The New Zealand Department of Conservation is dropping huge quantities of 1080—a notoriously cruel poison and an indiscriminate killer—into forests and wetlands to kill feral cats, possums, rats, and other animals deemed to be “invasive.” Dogs and “nontarget” wildlife can also suffer after consuming the poison or the bodies of poisoned animals. 1080 causes disorientation, diarrhea, vomiting, convulsions, and slow agonizing deaths, which can take more than 24 hours. Although PETA was advised by officials that alternatives are being explored, we understand that the poisoning campaign continues.
More information on 1080 can be found here.
Please politely urge New Zealand Department of Conservation officials to halt the use of 1080—and please forward this message widely!
WHOM TO CONTACT
Email block
k.wilkinson@ministers.govt.nz , amorrison@doc.govt.nz
Individual
The Honorable Kate Wilkinson
Minister of Conservation
k.wilkinson@ministers.govt.nz
Alastair Morrison
Director-General
Department of Conservation
amorrison@doc.govt.nz
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Honorable Wilkinson and Director-General Morrison,
I am gravely disturbed to learn of the deliberate poisoning of animals in New Zealand, and in particular, those poisoned with 1080; it is my understanding that 1080 is being used to kill feral cats, possums, rats, and other animals deemed to be “invasive”, although dogs and “nontarget” wildlife can also suffer after consuming the poison or the bodies of poisoned animals.
This is not an isolated incidence and factually represents an ongoing campaign conducted by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, and I am respectfully requesting that alternative, non-lethal methods of population control be implemented instead. Indeed, 1080 is a horribly torturous method of death, causing pain, convulsions, seizures, and a lengthy sickness, and should be immediately ceased.
It is impossible to contemplate supporting any country, via tourism or commerce, that excuses such blatant animal cruelty. As such, please provide immediate relief for these innocent animals and instead be a representation of animal compassion and strive to foster an ideal whereby animals are respected and empathized.
I know your time is limited and I thank you for your attention to this urgent issue.
NAME
Read more…
Avon, Mary Kay, and Estée Lauder Are Paying for Tests on Animals
Please click on and sign Boycott Estee Lauder companies, Avon and Mary Kay for Animal Testing
Please click on and sign Why I Won’t Buy Your Products
After PETA’s massive campaign two decades ago, Avon, Mary Kay, and Estée Lauder ended all tests on animals, but now we have learned that recently, all three companies have been paying for tests on animals at the request of the Chinese government—and that they did not inform PETA or consumers that their policies had changed. We have no choice but to downgrade them by placing them on our list of companies that do test on animals.
Countless rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and other animals suffer and die every year in cruel and pointless product tests. They have chemicals rubbed into their eyes and onto their raw skin, and they die alone and in pain. As a consumer, these animals need YOU to support companies that don’t perform—or pay others to perform—cruel tests and to ask those that do to stop.
When we learned that the Chinese government requires tests on animals before many cosmetics products can be marketed in China, we immediately contacted all three companies. While we understand that China is an enormous market that these companies aren’t willing to ignore, we had hoped they would take action to eliminate this requirement or push for non-animal test methods to be accepted. Mary Kay has taken some steps to work with officials in China and, at our urging, promised to continue this effort—but Avon and Estée Lauder appear to have gone along with the painful animal tests without objection.
To end these painful tests, PETA is financially supporting the efforts of the Institute for In Vitro Sciences (IIVS), which is putting together a coalition of scientific experts, providing training in non-animal test methods for scientists in China, and working with officials there to promote the acceptance of the more humane testing methods used in the U.S. and Europe.
Fortunately, there are still more than 1,000 companies on our “Don’t Test“ list whose products consumers can buy with a clear conscience.
SPEAK UP! Let Avon, Mary Kay, and Estée Lauder know that you are disappointed in their backsliding and that you will no longer buy the companies’ products as long they are tested on animals!
ADDITIONAL CONTACTS
Avon Products:
Customer Service in the U.S.
Avon Products, Inc.
Global Headquarters
1345 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10105
212-282-5000 main
1-800-FOR AVON (800-367-2866)
Email: dearavon@avon.com
Product Information Center: 1-800-445-2866
Avon.com Customer Service: 1-800-500-2866
mark™ Customer Service: 1-866-633-8627
To contact Avon in a specific market, find the country and click on the country’s language in the link below:
http://www.avoncompany.com/aboutavon/contactus-global.html
*Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/AvonProductsInc
Mary Kay Products:
Mailing Address:
Mary Kay Inc.
P.O. Box 799045
Dallas, Texas 75379-9045
1-800-MARY KAY
1-800-627-9529
Physical Address:
Mary Kay Inc.
16251 Dallas Parkway
Addison, Texas 75001
https://www.facebook.com/MaryKay
Estee Lauder Products:
Contact page:
http://www.esteelauder.com/customer_service/contact.tmpl
*Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/EsteeLauder
SAMPLE LETTER:
Subject: Why I Won’t Buy Your Products
Dear Decision Maker,
I was distressed to learn that your company is paying to have your products tested on animals for marketing in China.
Your company has violated the trust of loyal customers, and you have disrespected consumers like me who have counted on your brand for decades largely because of your cruelty-free policies.
I will no longer be purchasing your products, and I will be sharing this disturbing information with everyone I know.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME AND COUNTRY)
Read more…
Dutch government: speak out against injustice!
Please click on and take action Dutch government: speak out against injustice!
Source 3Dayz
Background
Next week, on Tuesday the 21st and Wednesday the 22nd, Dutch Minister of Economy, Maxime Verhagen will visit Japan where he will talk to Japanese ministers and businesses about commerce and investments. He has no intention to talk about the slaughter of 23.000 dolphins in towns like Taiji or about Erwin Vermeulen, who is held hostage by the Japanese government since the 16th of December 2011 after he allegedly shoved someone.
Erwin Vermeulen traveled from the Netherlands, EU to Japan as a photographer for Sea Shepherd to capture images of the horrific Taiji dolphin massacre. Since the 16th of December 2011, the day he was arrested, he is kept in a solitary environment and is given hot water to dump over himself twice a week; these are his only showers.
The annual slaughter of dolphins in Taiji receives the attention of animal rights activists worldwide and as of 2010 the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has an ongoing presence of volunteers standing watch on site at the Cove… much to the frustration of Japanese fishermen.
Up until now, the Dutch government does exactly the same for the Taiji dolphins and Erwin as they do for the whales who are killed by Japanese whalers: absolutely nothing! They simply don’t think it’s their problem.
It’s up to us to grab this opportunity and make the Dutch government understand animal cruelty and dying oceans are everybody’s problem! Please send our example letter or tweet (below) to Minister Verhagen before the 21st of February and politely ask him to take a stand against the Taiji dolphin massacre / demand the immediate release of Erwin Vermeulen.
What You Can Do
- Email him. Create your own message or simply copy and paste the example letter at the bottom of this page (don’t forget to sign it at the end) and send it to the address below.
- Send him our example tweet.
- Call and leave this page open. The example letter contains all the information you need!
- Send a fax. Simply use the example letter below.
- Share this action with your friends and ask them to protest the annual slaughter of 23.000 dolphins also.
- Let us know when you receive a reaction in response to your email, fax, etc. You can reach 3Dayz using our contact form, Facebook or Twitter.
Whom To Contact
Email: minister@mineleni.nl, protest@3dayz.com
Twitter: twitter.com/MaximeVerhagen
Ministry of Economy, Agriculture en Innovation
Bezuidenhoutseweg 30
2594 AV, The Hague
The Netherlands, EU
Phone: 00 31 (0)70 379 8911
Ministry of Economy, Agriculture en Innovation
Prins Clauslaan 8
2595 AJ, The Hague
The Netherlands, EU
Phone: 00 31 (0)70 378 6868
Sample Letter
Dear Minister Verhagen,
3dayz.com informed me about your visit to Japan on Tuesday the 21st and Wednesday the 22nd of February. I understand this visit is to talk to several Japanese ministers and businesses about commerce and investments. To me it seems ethically wrong to visit Japan for any business other than to try and persuade the Japanese government to completely and immediately ban their annual dolphin massacre.
On top of that there’s the hostage situation of Erwin Vermeulen by Japan, who allegedly pushed an employee of the Dolphin Resort Hotel. Without any proof he was charged and arrested for this on the 16th of December 2011. Erwin is a non-violent caring person who visited Japan to capture images of the Taiji dolphin slaughter as a photographer. Erwin is also a Dutch citizen who deserves the full support of his own government.
I would like to ask you to seize the opportunity to take a stand against Japan’s dolphin massacre. Please also support Erwin Vermeulen by demanding his immediate release and for all charges to be dropped.
Please refrain from doing business with Japanese companies and the Japanese government and from making investments in Japan as long as Erwin is imprisoned and dolphins are slaughtered in Taiji.
Sincerely,
NAME
Read more…
Atlantic City Steel Pier Cancels Plans for Diving Horse Show
From Ecorazzi
By Jennifer Mishler
Add one more victory for animals to the list!
Recently, we shared the news that Atlantic City Steel Pier planned to reopen the diving horse shows that were part of the pier from the 1920′s through the 70′s. Owner Anthony Catanoso planned for the events to be part of the big additions going into the location this year and to host the first shows Memorial Day Weekend.
Reading Ali’s story on Ecorazzi and seeing that building had not yet begun on the diving site, I thought there was a chance this could be stopped, but I never expected the massive response the campaign would get. In just one day after starting a petition on Change.org, over 10,000 people had signed. The word spread fast, thanks to a Facebook event page started by Bob Timmons and joined by over 900 people. Soon, celeb animal advocates including Simone Reyes, the Barbi Twins, John Bartlett, Kristin Bauer, Joanna Krupa and Our Hen House had also joined in by signing and sharing. Pulin Modi, senior organizer at Change.org said the petition was being signed so quickly that the signature count couldn’t keep up!
Steel Pier issued a statement in response to the growing number of animal activists contacting them and Catanoso, but indicated that the plans would go ahead. Tracy Chafin joined in and offered to help organize the campaign locally, since I am far from Atlantic City. She planned to speak at the Casino Board meeting next week and host peaceful demonstrations.
Today brought good news, though. Catanoso announced that Steel Pier was considering cancelling their plans to reopen the shows, and would meet tomorrow. We waited to hear if it was too good to be true, but only hours later, it was announced that the shows will not be returning to Steel Pier.
According to Press of Atlantic City, Catanoso claims that opposition from animal activists was expected, but that some of the comments were “disturbing.” “We did expect a negative reaction — we’re not surprised by this,” said Tony Catanoso, principal of Steel Pier Associates. “This time around, it’s a little more disturbing, some of the responses we’re getting as far as the way people talk … which hurts their cause, hurts their credibility.” I cannot confirm or deny that anyone made “disturbing” comments as I didn’t see any myself, and certainly didn’t ask anyone to be anything but firm but polite. I do know that thousands of people contacted Catanoso.
The Steel Pier president added, “We didn’t want the negativity to derail the positive things that are happening. Although we’ll preserve history and nostalgia in our own way, we won’t be doing it through the diving horse act.”
As Tracy said, “We’re glad to hear they’re putting the voices of those who spend tourism dollars first. If they don’t have any animal-based entertainment, I’ll be there on opening day to give them my business. And those people who signed the petition are encouraged to give them business to show their appreciation as well. We gratefully say thank you.”
PETA and the Humane Society of the United States also spoke out against the horse shows, and have now posted statements celebrating the victory.
Thank you to everyone who read our stories here on Ecorazzi and responded, and everyone who signed and shared the petition! It’s so inspiring to see thousands of individuals speak up and make a difference!
Read more…
Music and petitions for the wolves …
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Please click on and sign the following:
2. Tell Canada to stop the wolf slaughter!
3.Stop Killing Canada’s Wolves
1. Background | From NWF
Tar sands operations in Canada are pushing woodland caribou to the brink of extinction as their habitat is destroyed. Incredibly, Canada’s proposed solution is to kill the wolves that prey on caribou, instead of protecting their habitat.
The massive Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline would greatly expand destructive tar sands development–and would mean fewer caribou and fewer wolves.
Last month, President Obama made the right decision by rejecting the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline–which would pump nearly one million barrels per day of tar sands oil through America’s heartland–but the fight against dirty oil is far from over as Congress continues to try to force approval of the dangerous project.
Take action! Edit and send the message HERE, urging your members of Congress to reject the Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline.
2. Background | From Change
Environment Canada’s public comment period on this issue ends on Feb. 22nd, 2012. The government of Canada must hear from people around the world that the unscientific and sensless slaughter of wolves to protect tar sands development is unacceptable. This wolf cull will ruin Canada’s international reputation as a wildlife tourism destination – all to protect oil company profits, not wildlife.
The wolf slaughter will kill over 6,000 wolves in the coming years. The wolves are being used as a scapegoat by government to lay the blame for reduced populations of caribou in Alberta.
The real culprit is not the wolves killing caribou, but the rampant deforestation and habitat destruction stemming from oil and gas development. Scientists and experts ridicule the plan to poison and shoot the wolves, but are being ignored by a government bent on extracting oil at any expense. Stop the slaughter, and focus on cleaning up the tar sands threat to all wildlife.
To learn more, visit DeSmogBlog.com/UnethicalOil
3. Background | From PetitionSite/Care2
- Target: MLA Bill Bennett
- Sponsored by: Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Center
There is a proposed aerial cull on wolves in the Cranbrook/Kimberly region of British Columbia. This aerial cull has been proposed because they are translocating 40 mountain caribou from northern BC, into the south Purcell herd, which has approximately 15 individuals left. This low population number in the area has nothing to do with wolves, the mountain caribou in this region are declining at a significant rate due to snowmobiling, heli-skiing, mineral exploration and logging. However we don’t want to stop doing these things in that area, so we are using wolves again as scapegoats. When will this stop?
Predator control is a short term solution, there are other pressures put on the caribou and more so if the wolves are taken out of the equation, such as competition for habitat from other ungulates, such as white-tail deer, which also carry a meningeal brain worm that does not affect them but has a severe affect on caribou and causes them to die. If you take out the wolves who prey on these white-tail deer, then the caribou are headed for a significant population decline. I encourage you to sign this petition, everyone has a voice, speak up against this bloody slaughter of our wolves, we need to protect our wildlife, or there will be nothing left for future generations. Wolves are a keystone species, they play an important role in maintaining biodiversity, help keep Canada wild.
Read more…
Tell assembly members to Vote NO on flawed Assembly Bill A05449A, vote YES on A07312: sample letter
BACKGROUND
Dear advocates for NY shelter reform,
The time is now! The vote in the AG Committee is on Wednesday so do this today! Lets flood their inboxes, bombard them with emails and phone calls! Anyone, everyone, and especially NYS residents, who care about the fate of all the animals suffering and dying in our shelters, no matter where you live, must take immediate action!
I just called the Chairman’s office, William Magee, and spoke with his secretary indicating to her why the sham Paulin Bill, 5449A must not be passed and why CAARA, 7312A should be passed instead. Talking points and additional phone numbers are below! In addition, I’m sending a personal message to the Ag Committee members,(block of email addresses below), although I have already sent the automated message which was supplied to us by Nathan Winograd. A personal message and call is always viewed as more effective. One personal call = 10 email messages! We must be united and act on this NOW! We must let the ASPCA, Assembly Member Amy Paulin, and the members of the Agriculture Committee know that this is not acceptable. The fate of tens of thousands of animals every year hang in the balance.The American Society for the Promotion of Cruelty to Animals has marshalled its forces, its lobbyists, its lawyers, we need to show them that the voice of those who speak for the animals, and not special interests, is stronger!
Zelda
Use the Sample Letter (courtesy Nathan Winograd) below, or compose your own using the following talking points; talking points can be used during telephone calls as well.
TALKING POINTS
The ASPCA/Paulin bill seeks to undermine support for true shelter reform and true shelter access, it will eliminate the holding period for shy dogs, scared animals, and all feral cats in New York State by giving shelters the power to kill animals they consider to be in psychological pain immediately (term psychological pain lacks any objective standards of determination).
Will give shelters virtually unlimited power to decide which animals are subject to rescue and which rescue groups they want to work with. Not only would this continue the current practice, giving the stamp of legislative legitimacy to killing despite a rescue alternative, it would make it more difficult for rescuers to seek real legislative reform in the future.
The bill specifically says shelters do not have to work with rescue groups outside of their county, even when those organizations have the ability, capacity, and desire to save lives. This allows shelters in rural communities to avoid working with the extensive rescue group network of New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, where homes are in greater abundance. It also allows shelters to avoid working with rescue groups and No Kill shelters in neighboring suburbs or counties.
Moreover, they do not have to work with any rescue groups. The bill specifically says that shelters may give animals to rescue groups rather than kill them, instead of shall give the animals to them.
It gives them unlimited authority to determine whether a rescue group or particular animal qualifies. If shelter staff believes the rescue group is unfairly critical of the shelter, they can deem that rescue group abusive under this law and prevent them from rescuing animals.
The bill gives shelters the authority to refuse working with rescue groups if they determine those groups are hostile toward the shelters, effectively eviscerating any whistleblower protections and conditioning rescue access on silence as to inhumane conditions which may exist in that particular shelter.
Why YES on CAARA Assembly Bill A07312
CAARA prevents needless animal suffering by mandating precise, sensible, and objective criteria for determining which animals are irremediably suffering and therefore exempt from rescue access provisions.
CAARA ensures public safety by mandating precise criteria for determining which dogs are dangerous or aggressive and therefore exempt from rescue access.
CAARA empowers non-profit animal rescue organizations to fulfill their missions, a right often denied to them by larger non-profit organizations and shelters.
CAARA provides whistleblower protection for rescue groups, creating an incentive for non-profit organizations to help end cruelty or neglect at shelters without fear of retaliation and loss of rescue access.
Under CAARA, the shelter would not be able to kill a puppy if a rescue group offered to save him unless:
- The puppy was irremediably suffering and the prognosis for rehabilitation was poor or grave.
- The rescue group had a volunteer, staff, or board member who has charges of animal neglect, cruelty, or dog fighting pending against them or a conviction for neglect, cruelty, or dog fighting.
- The rescue group failed an inspection that was conducted in a timely manner with objective criteria for failing.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Email block:
amedoreg@assembly.state.ny.us;benedettom@assembly.state.ny.us;
blankenbushk@assembly.state.ny.us;bronsonh@assembly.state.ny.us;
butlerm@assembly.state.ny.us;crouchc@assembly.state.ny.us;
finchg@assembly.state.ny.us;gunthera@assembly.state.ny.us;
hawleys@assembly.state.ny.us;liftonb@assembly.state.ny.us;
lopezp@assembly.state.ny.us;maisela@assembly.state.ny.us;
markeym@assembly.state.ny.us;mcenenyj@assembly.state.ny.us;
moyaf@assembly.state.ny.us;reillyr@assembly.state.ny.us;
riveraj@assembly.state.ny.us;riverap@assembly.state.ny.us;
rosenthall@assembly.state.ny.us;russella@assembly.state.ny.us;
simanowitzm@assembly.state.ny.us; mageew@assembly.state.ny.us
Telephone numbers for AG Committee members:
William Magee, Chairman Agriculture Committee 518-455-4807
George Amedore 518-455-5197
Michael Benedetto 518-455-5296
Ken Blankenbush 518-455-5797
Harry Bronson 518-455-4527
Marc Butler 518-455-5393
Clifford Crouch 518-455-5741
Gary Finch 518-455-5878
Aileen Gunther 518-455-5355
Stephen Hawley 518-455-5811
Barbara Lifton 518-455-5444
Peter Lopez 518-455-5363
Alan Maisel 518-455-5211
Margaret Markey 518-455-4755
John McEneny 518-455-4178
Francisco Moya 518-455-4567
Bob Reilly 518-455-5931
José Rivera 518-455-5414
Peter Rivera 518-455-5102
Linda Rosenthal 518-455-5802
Addie Russell 518-455-5545
Michael Simanowitz 518-455-4404
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Assembly Members,
I am writing to urge a NO vote on A05449, the bill by Amy Paulin that would roll back the clock for shelter animals and give shelters the power to continue killing in the face of readily available lifesaving alternatives.
A05449 allows shelters to kill animals who they claim are in “psychological pain” immediately on intake, a death sentence for shy puppies, feral cats, and a whole host of other animals who need time to acclimate to the shelter environment currently provided by the holding period, but which would be eliminated under the Paulin bill.
Moreover, while suggesting rescue groups will have access to animals that shelters have scheduled to be killed, the bill gives those shelters the power to refuse to work with rescue groups under a wide range of unenforceable criteria, essentially codifying a power they already have. The bill gives shelters the power not to work with rescue groups in neighboring counties, if shelters determine rescue groups are “unfit,” or if the rescue groups have been critical of the shelter.
In New York City, for example, rescue groups that have openly lobbied for improved conditions have had their ability to save animals revoked, a violation of their First Amendment rights. Under Paulin’s bill, the shelters could label these rescue groups “abusive” and deny them the ability to save lives. In addition, any purported improvements, like scanning for microchips or posting animals online, only have to happen if the shelter determines doing so is “practicable.”
We want real reform in New York State, not Orwellian bills that promise one thing, while they do another. Read the bill and you’ll see that what the bill promises in its summary is not what it delivers in its mandates.
Please vote NO on the Paulin bill. And please bring A07312 (Kellner) to vote instead and vote yes on A07312.
NAME
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Tell ShopRite to Drop Foie Gras: petition, sample letter
Vodpod videos no longer available.
BACKGROUND
Because of the extreme cruelty involved in the production of foie gras—the diseased and fatty liver of force-fed ducks and geese—many grocery chains, restaurants, and other businesses around the world have stopped selling and serving the vile product. PETA has shared shocking undercover video footage of foie gras farms with Wakefern Food Corp., the parent company of ShopRite, which is the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the U.S., but the company refuses to end its sales of foie gras. Please write to ShopRite and urge the company to stop selling foie gras.
Investigations of foie gras farms in the U.S. and overseas have documented countless sick, dead, and dying birds, including some animals who were found suffering from holes in their necks after pipes had been forced down their throats. One investigation in New York found ducks crammed into wire cages. Animals’ beaks were bloody, and their wings were twisted together. At another foie gras farm, in Europe, birds were found dangling by wires as blood spilled from their neck wounds onto live animals beneath them.
Foie gras production is so cruel that it has been condemned by the pope and is prohibited in 15 countries, and foie gras will be illegal to both produce and sell in California later this year.
PETITION
Click on and sign Tell ShopRite to Drop Foie Gras
LETTER: WHOM TO CONTACT
Click on the ShopRite Webform to leave online message
SAMPLE LETTER FROM PETA
To Whom It Concerns,
I was shocked to hear that ShopRite sells foie gras in its U.S. stores, even though your company is fully aware of the extreme suffering inherent in producing it. Foie gras production has been condemned by the pope, and it is illegal in more than a dozen countries. Ducks and geese used for foie gras have pipes rammed down their throats two or three times daily so that as much as 4 pounds of grain and fat can be pumped into their stomachs, causing the birds’ livers to become diseased and swell to up to 10 times their normal size.
Please join other grocers, such as Sam’s Club, Costco, Whole Foods, and Target, and stop selling foie gras.
Thank you for taking the time to read this urgent message.
NAME
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Urge Retailers to End Sale of Sugar Gliders, Part 2
BACKGROUND
Complaints continue to pour in from customers of malls across the U.S. regarding Pocket Pets, a traveling kiosk that sells tiny, exotic marsupials called “sugar gliders.” PETA has reached out to executives at Chicago’s Urban Retail Properties as well as to management at Eastwood Mall in Ohio, but our pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears. We need your help today!
Sugar gliders are tiny nocturnal marsupials who, in nature, live in groups of 30. They spend their time in trees searching for insects and sap and frolicking with family. Kiosks and pet shops are now acquiring them from hellish breeding facilities similar to puppy mills. They are then peddled as cheap trinkets to customers who buy them on a whim. Confined to small cages, roughly handled, fed improper diets, and forgotten when the novelty wears off, sugar gliders are doomed from the moment they’re born.
Please implore Urban Retail Properties and Eastwood Mall to do the right thing and adopt a policy that prohibits the Pocket Pets kiosks from selling sugar gliders at their malls. And please forward this alert widely!
WHOM TO CONTACT
Email block
glickmanr@urbanretail.com , marketing@eastwoodmall.com , operationsmanager@eastwoodmall.com
Individual
Ross Glickman
President and CEO
Urban Retail Properties
111 East Wacker Dr., Ste. 2400
Chicago, IL 60601
312-915-2000
glickmanr@urbanretail.com
Kenneth Kollar
General Manager
Eastwood Mall
5555 Youngstown-Warren Rd.
Niles, OH 44446
330-652-6980 ext. 14
marketing@eastwoodmall.com
Patty Wiltrout
Operations Manager
Eastwood Mall
5555 Youngstown-Warren Rd.
Niles, OH 44446
operationsmanager@eastwoodmall.com
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear President Glickman, Manager Kollar, and Manager Wiltrout:
It has come to my attention that you are selling sugar gliders as toy trinkets called Pocket Pets, and I am respectfully requesting you discontinue with this idea for now and future commerce.
Please allow me to elaborate. These sugar gliders are bred in wretched conditions with high death rates, captive by breeders whose only concern is profit, making ideal food and veterinary care cost-prohibitive. Sugar gliders are naturally nocturnal, live in groups of 30, and spend their time searching for insects and frolicking with family members. Furthermore, sugar gliders indeed experience pain and react negatively towards stressful situations including loud noises, light, enclosures, and disturbed environments, the factors of both breeding and selling capacities.
As such, as long as Urban Retail Properties continues to unnecessarily and selfishly capitalize on the cruelty and death of animals, I will not financially support you; furthermore, I will promote a boycott by informing family, friends, and members of online communities.
Please make both the ethical and financially-responsible decision to discontinue animal cruelty immediately: join an increasing body of corporations who are listening to a concerned and attentive consumer population who refuse to be complicit in the inherently malicious industries of animal breeding and selling.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important message.
NAME
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Tell the Canadian government: Stop your tar sands wolf kills
Please click on and sign Tell the Canadian government: Stop your tar sands wolf kills!
Source: Credo Action
It just gets worse and worse.
To make up for the fact that rapid tar sands oil mining is threatening caribou herds by destroying vast swaths of rainforest habitat in Alberta, the Canadian government has called for strychnine poisoning and aerial shooting of thousands of wolves in areas of tar sands mining.1
Tell Prime Minister Harper: Stop Canada’s planned wolf killings!
If Alberta Canada’s tar sands oil fields are fully developed, an area of boreal rainforest the size of Florida will be eviscerated, leaving in its wake only giant ponds of toxic wastewater.2
It’s obvious why this would pose a massive threat to all wildlife species who reside there, including birds, caribou and the iconic spirit bear.
But instead of preserving the habitat caribou need for their survival, the Canadian government’s answer is to blaze ahead with tar sands oil extraction, and kill thousands of wolves who would naturally prey on the caribou. The Ministry of the Environment’s plan calls for aerial shooting, and poisoning with bait laced with strychnine — a particularly painful type of poison.
Tell Prime Minister Harper: Stop your planned wolf killings! Preserve wolf and caribou habitat, and stop the irresponsible development of tar sands oil which threatens all of us.
This plan to kill wolves is a misguided, cruel response that does nothing to alleviate the greater problem: Tar sands development is a huge threat to wildlife, local communities, and all of our futures.
But despite the clear negative consequences, the Canadian government continues working to rapidly expand tar sands production and sales, including with the Keystone XL Pipeline to export tar sands oil all over the world.
Understandably, this has begun to earn Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and many in the country’s government, a negative reputation, to which they are becoming increasingly sensitive.2
The Ministry of the Environment has not yet moved forward with this planned wolf kill. And with enough public pressure, we can get them to abandon the plan, and build the case for Canada to stop their devastating race to expand tar sands oil fields.
1. “Tar Sands Development to Lead to Poisoning of Wolves,” National Wildlife Federation, February 6, 2012
2. “Tar Sands,” Friends of the Earth
3. “Monitoring plan would bolster oilsands image, federal documents show,” Vancouver Sun, February 3, 2012
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Take Action for monkeys scheduled to be transported by air to Canada
BACKGROUND | FROM BUAV
The BUAV has learned that Hainan Airlines, an airline based in China, is due to fly a shipment of monkeys from China to Toronto in the next few days. We understand that the final destination of these monkeys is a laboratory in Canada. We have written to the airline urging it to join the growing number of airlines to have adopted a permanent embargo on all primate shipments.
Please support our call by sending polite emails to Hainan Airlines urging the airline to adopt a policy not transport primates destined for research purposes.
WHOM TO CONTACT
Email block
yto@hnairna.com , webetservice@hnair.com , sea@hnairna.com , chi@hnairna.com , hou@hnairna.com , lax@hnairna.com , nyc@hnairna.com , yvr@hnairna.com , Belgium@hnair.com , Berlin@hnair.com
Individual
Email Toronto Office: yto@hnairna.com
Email Head Office in China: webetservice@hnair.com
Email cargo Head Office in Seattle: sea@hnairna.com
Chicago: chi@hnairna.com
Houston: hou@hnairna.com
Los Angeles: lax@hnairna.com
New York: nyc@hnairna.com
Vancouver: yvr@hnairna.com
Belgium: Belgium@hnair.com
Germany: Berlin@hnair.com
SAMPLE LETTER (COURTESTY JULIA LCS)
Dear Hainan Airlines Representative,
I’m writing to you today to express my disappointment and displeasure at the fact that your company is planning to transport monkeys from China to Canadian laboratories in the next few days, despite overwhelming public and scientific opinion that animal experimentation is both unacceptable and unnecessary.
Animals in laboratories endure extreme suffering in cruel and scientifically-pointless experiments, including being forced to inhale noxious gasses, and being force-fed chemicals, and injected with poisons. They are then left to suffer and die with minimal care or consideration for their needs.
I ask that you use your influence within Hainan Airlines to bring your company in line with the majority of air cargo transporters who refuse to transport animals destined for the vivisection industry.
I know your time is limited and I thank you for your attention and consideration.
Sincerely,
NAME
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Stop the Reopening of the Cruel Diving Horse Show
From Change
Created By Jennifer Mishler
Please click on and sign Stop the Reopening of the Cruel Diving Horse Show
Atlantic City wants to bring back “high-diving horse” acts to its Steel Pier. These acts haven’t been around since the 1970s — and for good reason, as they involve horses and riders leaping or falling from a 40 foot tower into a swimming pool.
But in a strange nod to nostalgia (the popular TV series “Boardwalk Empire” takes place on Atlantic City’s Steel Pier in the 1920s, when high-diving horses first became popular), Atlantic City wants to bring this antiquated act back into the present day. And the cruel show could be back as soon as Memorial Day weekend.
Animal lover Jennifer Mishler doesn’t think these diving horse acts are “retro” or “nostalgic” — she thinks they’re simply animal cruelty.
So Jennifer started a petition on Change.org to get Atlantic City to cancel its plans to bring back the high-diving horses. Click here to sign Jennifer’s petition calling on local officials to keep animal cruelty out of plans to revive tourism in Atlantic City.
Atlantic City also tried to bring back high-diving horses in 1993 — but a huge backlash caused those plans to be abandoned. Public outcry can do the same now, especially since construction on a horse-diving tower hasn’t begun yet. With so many other attractions proposed (beer gardens, games, and rides), public pressure will swiftly divert these funds into a tourist attraction that will be more fun, lucrative and animal cruelty-free.
Click here to sign Jennifer’s petition calling on Atlantic City to abandon plans to bring out-dated and dangerous high-diving horse acts back to the pier in Atlantic City.
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Our Compass 