DONATIONS DISTRIBUTED: $630 MILLION TO DATE!
100,000+ NONPROFITS COUNT ON US.
DONATIONS DISTRIBUTED: $630 MILLION TO DATE!
100,000+ NONPROFITS COUNT ON US.
If you're a football fan, you're gearing up to root for the Giants or Patriots this weekend. But if you're one of the 119,000 people who have signed GREY2K USA's petition on Change.org, then you're rooting for the greyhounds. Not the ones that will be "racing" against Mr. Quiggly, the French bulldog in the Skechers commercial, but the ones behind-the-scenes of the ad. The ones who suffer in cramped cages at the track and who face serious injury during races where the ad was filmed .
From Boston to Los Angeles, Skechers stores were confronted this past weekend by dog lovers asking consumers to boycott the company unless it drops its Super Bowl ad filmed at the notorious Tucson Greyhound Park. The controversy has dominated the pre-game advertising buzz.
Now, with only 5 days left, GREY2K USA is asking its supporters to keep up the momentum. From GREY2K USA, here are 5 things you can do:
1. If you have a dog, greyhound or otherwise, please write a letter to Mr.Quiggly now. Send your dog’s message in care of CEO Michael Greenburg at michaelg@skechers.com. (Check out the letter from "Hope," a greyhound rescued from Tucson Greyhound Park.)
2. Join us for a second weekend of rallies for the greyhounds before the Super Bowl. Keep checking at BoycottSkechers.com to find an event near you or host one of your own using flyers and posters available on this page (pdf).
3. If you have not done so already, sign the petition and forward it to everyone you know. Your signature will generate e-mails to Skechers officials, celebrity spokesperson Mark Cuban and to Super Bowl host NBC.
4. Now go the extra mile and send your Skechers shoes back to company headquarters: Skechers USA, 228 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Manhattan Beach,CA 90266. (Natalie Larkin of Michigan and Kelli Chickos of Florida already did!)
5. Finally, adopt a greyhound or donate to a local greyhound rescue. That’s right, turn Skechers’ mistake into your reason to save a dog’s life. See our adoption referral page today.
You can also keep urging Skechers to drop the ad by leaving a message on their Facebook page or sending them a tweet.
For more updates on the campaign, check out BoycottSkechers.com.
Photo courtesy of GREY2K USA
Only a handful of airlines still engage in the transportation of primates destined for research labs as cargo. Now imagine this scenario: A major airline partakes in this practice, but after becoming aware of the cruel future that awaits their cargo, the airline decides to change their policy and opt out of carrying research-bound primates.
Sounds good, right? Well, hold your victory dance, the story doesn’t end there. The airline then is told that they cannot stop transporting primates until a hearing takes place that will decide if they can change their own policy.
This is the reality that Air Canada is facing.
As part of their “Primate Cargo Cruelty” campaign, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) launched a petition on Change.org to reach out to the remaining airlines taking part in primate cargo. One of those was Air Canada, and with more than 28,000 people asking them to stop shipping primates, the Canadian airline listened.
The airline filed an amended tariff with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to stop shipping primates for research. According to Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick, the move serves a dual purpose to “align our policies with those of many other major international carriers and in response to widespread public concern.”
Instead of approving the new policy, CTA suspended the change and informed Air Canada of an impending hearing due to complaints about the proposed policy.
This isn’t the first time Air Canada has been confronted with an obstacle by CTA over live cargo.
Here's where things get confusing. When Air Canada previously refused a shipment of primates destined for research, the CTA ruled that the refusal was unacceptable because the airline's tariffs allowed for such shipments. But last fall, the agency said Air Canada had the right to amend its tariffs so that it could refuse future shipments without a problem.
Yet now that Air Canada wants to change its policy to explicitly state that it will not participate in the cargo transportation of primates bound for research to prevent something like this from happening again ... CTA seems to have a problem with it.
In response, BUAV started a new petition calling on the CTA to allow Air Canada to amend their policy. Within the first week, the petition had gathered over 7,000 signatures. BUAV plans to present the CTA with the petition and signatures at the hearing. Sign the petition and add your name in support of BUAV and Air Canada to end cruel primate cargo.
Photo credit: BUAV
While Christmas shopping at a Green Earth store in Windsor, Ontario, last month, Dan MacDonald noticed products called Frog-O-Spheres — plastic tanks containing live frogs. Some of the frogs were pressed up against the plastic, while others floated lifelessly. MacDonald watched in disbelief as some kids and their father shook one of the aquariums. “Is this thing real?” the dad asked a store clerk as the frog’s limp body rolled around the tank.
“The disrespect to this animal on every level was unbelievable,” MacDonald said. “I was outraged a place called Green Earth could demonstrate such a blatant and pathetic exploitation of a living thing.”
MacDonald knew something had to be done, so he started a campaign on Change.org calling for Green Earth stores to stop selling the Frog-O-Spheres. “I've been an animal activist for many years, so I took it upon myself, because I was so touched and disturbed by what I saw,” he said.
The Frog-O-Sphere is a “self cleaning eco system aquarium,” according to the website of Natural Aquatics, its manufacturer. The kit includes two live African dwarf frogs that have to be fed twice a week. “Frogs can survive for up to 12 days without feeding, but it is not recommended,” the website warns.
As MacDonald points out in his petition, “It is supposed to work as an eco-system. The problem is, many of these were given away as gifts to people who did not take the proper time to learn about how to care for these frogs. If the eco-system — which is indeed a very delicate balance of all the proper elements — is out of balance, the frogs will suffer and die a very slow, painful death.”
Chains including Target and Brookstone have stopped selling Frog-O-Spheres. However, even despite public health warnings about children contracting salmonella from touching the frogs, Learning Express stores continue to sell similar “EcoAquarium” products.
“I assumed it was a cruel trend that was dying out,” MacDonald said. “That's what shocked me the most: This product has a very bad track record. It is well documented, and Green Earth should have known better."
Green Earth, based in London, Ontario, is a chain of novelty gift stores “that offer the world to you,” according to its Twitter account. MacDonald said he has always enjoyed shopping at Green Earth for funky and unique items, and until December, never left the store empty handed.
“I believe they will do the right thing — as long as we keep pushing forward,” he said.
Join the more than 1,500 people who have signed the petition asking Green Earth to stop selling the cruel Frog-O-Sphere.
Photo credit: Wonx2150
The following is a guest blog from Jessica Schlueter who coordinates the Intermix campaign along with her friend Amy Rebecca.
Intermix considers itself to be on the cutting edge of the fashion industry. According to its Facebook page, it focuses on "the best mix of emerging and established designers and the most sought after trends." Because of this, it has embraced and profited from the heartbreaking resurgence of fur, which has regained popularity in the past couple years. Because many fashionistas revere Intermix as a source of inspiration, every piece of fur sold by this company not only creates demand for more animals to be brutally killed for their pelts, but also enforces the growing notion that fur is not only acceptable, but something to be coveted.
My partner Amy Rebecca (founder of Fur Free LA) and I want to put a stop to this. Since the launch of our Intermix: Please Go Fur Free! petition in October, we have hosted and coordinated numerous national protests, launched an online photo campaign, encouraged people to email, tweet, and call Intermix (as well as individuals and companies that support or work with them), and have yet to hear a single reply from Intermix's people. The company's refusal to engage us or cooperate with us in any way can only mean one thing: Intermix knows it has no defense.
Intermix knows there is no excuse for killing up to 100 animals for one single item of clothing. Intermix knows that by selling fur from countries like China, where rabbits, foxes, raccoon dogs, and other beautiful animals live their entire lives in cramped cages until they are killed by drowning, anal/vaginal electrocution, suffocation, and in some cases, skinning alive, it is supporting a barbaric industry. Intermix knows that by using words like “luxurious” and “exotic,” it's distracting shoppers from what they are actually adorning their body with: the sewn together skins ripped from animals whose crime was nothing more than to be born with soft fur. Intermix knows it is placing greed and profits above ethics, compassion, and human decency.
If it didn't know it before, Intermix certainly knows it now. However, the company still hasn’t felt substantial enough pressure from consumers to change its attitude. Intermix thinks in dollar signs, and until it truly believes that business will suffer dramatic economic loss due to its participation in the bloody fur trade, it will not budge. This is why we need you.
If you haven’t yet signed our Intermix: Please Go Fur Free petition, please do. If you already have (thank you!), we encourage you to share it with friends and family.
If you’re looking for even more ways to help our campaign, we would truly appreciate your assistance in the following ways:
Amy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to participate in our campaign. We can't wait to celebrate this victory with you!
-Jessica
Photo credits: Melissa Schwartz, Ingrid Taylar
Jamie Buehrle is married to All-Star pitcher Mark Buehrle. Mark recently signed with the Miami Marlins.
Mark and I have always been avid animal lovers. When Mark was playing for the White Sox, we hosted “Sox for Strays,” a public-service announcement campaign that featured adoptable animals once a month during the baseball season. Before our 18-month-old American Staffordshire terrier, Slater, came into our lives we already had three Viszlas: Diesel, Drake, and Duke.
When it became a reality for us that Mark was no longer going to be playing for the White Sox, so many things started going through our minds. Instead of worrying about what team he would be playing for, what schools our kids would go to, and how to transition our lives to a new city, our biggest concern was ensuring our new city would allow Slater. Doesn’t that seem ridiculous?
Slater is a member of our family. We had always agreed to make sure that wherever Mark ended up playing, Slater would be welcome. So, when Mark had the opportunity to sign with the Miami Marlins we were harshly confronted with Miami-Dade County’s 20-year-old pit bull terrier ban and immediately knew we would have to live a county over, in Broward.
Mark and I are fortunate to have the resources to accommodate Slater. But, it breaks our hearts that so many families are faced with losing their family pet simply because a local government has deemed their dog “dangerous” based on nothing more than appearance.
We can't imagine ever having to give Slater up simply because a city says we can't have him. Not only would we be distraught at that prospect, but our kids would be devastated. So, when Best Friends Animal Society reached out and told us about their legislative effort to repeal Miami’s breed-discriminatory legislation, Mark and I were happy to help however we could, especially after our first-hand ordeal.
House Bill 997 and its companion, Senate Bill 1322, will repeal Miami’s pit bull terrier ban and finally relieve law-abiding families from making unfair decisions about their family dog.
Mark and I encourage Miami-Dade residents and everyone who agrees that it is time to remove this law to ask Florida state legislators to support these bills by signing my petition.
Our family is excited to be in South Florida. After this legislation is passed, we hope more families with good canine citizens will be able to move to Miami-Dade without worry or hesitation.
Photo credit: Tails Magazine
This year, one of the coveted Super Bowl commercial spots has drawn fire from greyhound advocates and dog lovers across the country. More than 45,000 people are demanding that Skechers and NBC drop the proposed Super Bowl ad filmed at a notorious Arizona greyhound racing track.
GREY2K USA, a nonprofit greyhound protection group, launched the campaign on Change.org following the news that Skechers filmed at Tucson Greyhound Park, an Arizona dog racing track criticized by animal advocates.
“Skechers should not be partnering with Tucson Greyhound Park, which has an extensive record of cruelty,” said GREY2K USA President and General Counsel Christine Dorchak, who started the campaign on Change.org. “Tucson Greyhound Park is perhaps the most infamous dog track in the country, and multiple cases of neglect occurred only weeks prior to the shoot. We are hopeful that the company will hear our concerns, realize its mistake, and withdraw this misguided promotion of dog racing.”
The ad, for Skechers' GORun line of shoes, reportedly features a French bulldog wearing the company's shoes to race against a pack of greyhounds. While the company says the commercial is intended to be a humorous portrayal of "underdog achievement," opponents say there's nothing funny about dog racing, an activity banned in 38 states and frequently the subject of cruelty and neglect allegations.
News of the online petition campaign’s success is likely to increase pressure on Skechers. More than 45,000 people have joined GREY2K USA’s campaign, and the controversy has already received coverage in Business Insider and USA Today.
GREY2K USA launched a ‘Boycott Skechers’ website and is planning a protest at the Skechers store in Tucson later this month.
Here's how you can join GREY2K USA's campaign:
1) Keep the petition going. Sign and share so Skechers and NBC know that the public wants to keep this ad off the air.
2) Ask Skechers via Twitter (@SkechersUSA) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/SKECHERS) not to air the ad promoting greyhound racing.
3) Download the boycott image (right-click and save the image in this post or go to BoycottSkechers.com) and share it on your blog, Tumblr and Facebook page.
4) If you're in the Tucson area, join the protest at the Skechers store on January 28: https://www.facebook.com/events/146013628845262/
5) Host your own Skechers protest. Start by downloading a flyer to distribute to your local Skechers retailers: http://www.grey2kusa.org/pdf/skechers.pdf
Last year, an estimated 111 million people watched the Super Bowl. That's a lot of people to be exposed to Skechers' advertising, and an opportunity for the company to seal its reputation with millions of dog lovers in the crowd. Let the company know what you want them to do.
Photo by GREY2KUSA at Tucson Greyhound Park
In the spirit of the season, U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett played Santa Claus and granted a preliminary injunction ordering the return of Snickers, a service dog to his owner, Jim Sak. Sak, a retired Chicago Police Officer, suffered a stroke three years ago. Snickers, a sturdy pit bull mix was trained to assist him. All was well until Sak and Peggy Leifer moved to Aurelia, Iowa so Leifer could care for her elderly mother. From there, the townspeople circulated a petition requesting the city enforce its breed discriminatory ordinance targeting "pit bulls" and banish Snickers.
Sak and Liefer tried to sway the city council arguing that Snickers is a certified service dog with no history of aggressive behavior. The council didn't agree and voted 3-2 to enforce their breed discriminatory ordinance. Kristine Elizabeth, a change.org member, was also outraged and started a petition targeting city officials. Over 1,250 member have signed the petition to date.
Mr. Sak, devastated by the loss of his service dog, contacted Stacey Coleman of Animal Farm Foundation who assisted in helping pay the boarding/foster care fees for the Snickers because "this case highlights the injustice caused by breed discrimination."
At the hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Bennett called pit bull ordinances "myopic." Indeed, The Department of Justice does not believe it is consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to defer to local laws that prohibit certain breeds of dogs based on local concerns that these breeds may have a history of unprovoked aggression or attacks. The opinion is that "(s)uch deference would have the effect of limiting the rights of persons with disabilities under the ADA who use certain service animals based on where they live rather than on whether the use of a particular animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others."
Because of the ADA and the expense of enforcing canine profiling laws, many cities are repealing them. Topeka, Toledo, and Cleveland all have stricken their discriminatory "pit bull" ordinances from their books. Indeed, the American Bar Association, Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section is proposing the ABA House of Delegates pass a recommendation calling for all political subdivisions to repeal or amend all laws or policies inconsistent with the ADA. The American Bar Association House of Delegates will consider the recommendation in February.
The federal court will ultimately decide whether Snickers can remain in the city permanently, but no court date is set, and there is word of a pending lawsuit. Let's hope all those involved can embrace compassion this season and put a sensible policy in place. Stay tuned for updates and be sure to keep an eye out for local campaigns you can take the lead on for 2012.
Photo Credit: Jim Sak leaving the courthouse provided by Animal Farm Foundation
Mercy For Animals revealed the findings of its latest undercover investigation today. The expose offers a rare look into a Butterball turkey facility in Shannon, North Carolina.
According to Dr. Temple Grandin, the world's leading expert on farmed animal welfare, the investigation documents "abuse and cruelty" to turkeys, and Mercy For Animals has video footage which seems to support such a bold claim. Workers were caught kicking and stomping on turkeys, dragging them by their wings and necks, and throwing birds onto the ground or into transport trucks in view of company management. You can learn more at ButterballAbuse.com.
Authorities have been notified and are currently investigating the facility. In fact, the Hoke County Sheriff's Department raided the facility this morning. Now, Mercy for Animals is looking for everyone's help in demanding that Butterball implement an animal welfare program which includes "regular veterinary care for sick and injured birds, humane euthanasia procedures performed by qualified veterinarians, an end to the genetic manipulation of turkeys to promote unnatural weight gain, and the implementation of less cruel slaughter methods."
Will you sign to support Mercy for Animals in its campaign to help turkeys at Butterball factory farms? Dr. Ian Duncan, a professor of applied ethology in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Guelph, states that birds are "fully sentient creatures and able to experience pain, fear and distress," then goes on to say the turkeys in this case must have felt severe pain and extreme fright.
Please share the information with everyone you know and remember to always speak out for causes important to you. If you need some suggestion of existing animal protection campaigns worth checking out, visit http://animals.change.org/.
Editor's note: PETA let us know this is not the first time Butterball has faced allegations of abuse. Read more about its previous investigation here.
Photo credit: Mercy For Animals
This is a guest post by Karen Van Atta Luce, petition creator and volunteer with the Wild Burro Protection League.
Not too long ago, burros were considered important heritage animals. These gentle animals literally built the Southwest, hauling supplies and serving as loyal companions. They embody the cultural crossroads of Native Americans, Mexicans and settlers in the region.
For hundreds of years, wild burros have been part of the ecosystem, supporting other wildlife by enriching the desert in places like Big Bend Ranch State Park.
If you go even further back in time, the bible says that Mary rode a burro into Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and Jesus rode a burro into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.
Most people have no trouble finding reasons to want to protect the burro. But Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, under Gov. Rick Perry’s administration, keeps looking for reasons to shoot them. They even created an entire “fact sheet” to justify the slaughter (which Wild Burro Protection League founder, Marjorie Farabee, reveals is actually a false claim sheet).
More than 100,000 people aren’t buying the lies. They’ve signed the petition because they don’t think burros should be killed when there haven’t been any studies proving that the animals negatively impact the park or that they can’t co-exist with other species like bighorn sheep. Or because they don’t agree with the cruel policy of gunning down burros and then leaving the injured animals to wander off and die. Or because they believe in the cultural or religious significance of these animals.
Texas officials are feeling the pressure. But they need to keep hearing from us.
This is the season of peace, of mercy, of giving, and of family -- all things that the burros of Big Bend Ranch State Park need right now. This weekend, share the message with your friends and family by posting the cards in this blog post on your Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. (Just right-click the image and “save as” to download to your computer.)
Then post these images and your message asking for mercy for the wild burros on Ricky Perry’s Facebook wall and Texas Parks & Wildlife.
If you’re still getting out last minute Christmas cards, send one to Gov. Perry with a message for the burros at: Office of the Governor, P.O. Box 12428, Austin, TX 78711-2428.
Last but not least, sign and share the petition, and let’s make sure the wild burros of West Texas have a happy New Year.
This is a guest blog post written by Pam Sordyl, founder of Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup of Southeast Michigan, a volunteer group working to end the mass production of dogs in puppy mills.
While a puppy under the tree might seem festive this time of year, the industry that stocks stores like Petland is full of Scrooges.
Pet store puppies are mass-produced by commercial breeders (a.k.a. "puppy mills") who keep hundreds of dogs in cramped, unsanitary conditions, breeding the females over and over. Due to poor veterinary care and little to no socialization, that pet store puppy with the bow around its neck likely has a bunch of health and behavioral problems to unwrap after the holidays.
This cruelty isn't what people want for pets. More than 130,000 people have signed the petition on Change.org asking Petland — the largest puppy-selling pet store chain in the U.S. — to stop supporting puppy mills and choose to offer pet adoptions instead.
Despite the huge public outcry, Petland is digging in, saying they hope to keep selling puppies for decades to come. They need to keep hearing from us so they know this decision will hurt their business.
Petland is built on franchises, which means your local Petland store is probably locally owned. That means individual Petland stores can choose to start changing the company's reputation of cruelty by cutting their ties with puppy mills, so taking action locally can have a big impact.
In Michigan, we only have one Petland left. My group, Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup of Southeast Michigan, has seen six pet stores close down since we started taking on the puppy mill business in our backyard.
Here are a few steps you can take to take on puppy mills in your neighborhood, whether they've come to town in the cages at Petland or at another pet shop:
1) Talk to the Store: Have a local citizen visit the store and speak with the owner or manager. I recommend bringing The Humane Society of the United States' Puppy Friendly Pet Store Pledge to help them become part of the movement trading in puppy sales for adoption programs. Follow-up on the visit with a phone call and a letter. Be polite and professional, and if they don't respond, at least you tried to reach out to them.
2) Start a Petition: Stores survive on consumer demand, and starting a petition is an easy way to start showing what consumers want. Check out the Tip & Guides to walk through starting your own Change.org petition.
3) Keep the Pressure On: There are a lot of ways to pressure a store, from holding an event like a rally or parade nearby, passing out literature on puppy mill cruelty to the store's neighbors, writing your local paper and news channels, and holding weekly protests. (Note: If you're going to protest at the store, remember to check with your city clerk and police department for any local ordinances that might apply.)
You can also hold a virtual protest, by spreading images like the pledges in this post via Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, targeting the social media pages of the store in your area. (To download the images, just right-click and "save as.")
Want to join the virtual protest, but don't have a Petland in your area? You can start with these key stores.
Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup has been protesting at Michigan's last remaining Petland all season. We've seen an increasing interest from the media in what we're doing and have talked to dozens of would-be customers to educate them on the truth behind that puppy in the window.
You can help our campaign by signing our petition asking Petland Novi to stop supporting puppy mills. And if you're looking to add a pet to your home this holiday season, please adopt.
Photo credit: Puppy Mill Awareness Meetup
If Ryan Gosling, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Deschanel, Alicia Silverstone, Maria Menounos, Kristin Bauer, Ed Begley, Jr., Wendie Malick, Bryan Adams and Steve-O all signed and sent you a letter, you'd probably read it very closely. Today, Jim Skinner, CEO of McDonald's, got just such a letter as part of the Mercy for Animals (MFA) campaign to pressure the company to step up and make a difference for chickens suffering for McMuffins and other foods at the restaurant chain.
When MFA broke a shocking undercover investigation into a McDonald's egg supplier last month, the news hit hard everywhere from television to local stores across the United States. Many consumers got their first glimpse into a factory farming system where animals are often crammed into cages so small they can hardly spread a wing for their entire lives. The video evidence of chicks left to suffocate in plastic bags and live hens being swung around by their legs was not only an education for people, but also a call to action to treat animals more kindly as a society.
While McDonald's quickly agreed to cut ties with the supplier in the video, it has not taken the step of implementing a comprehensive assessment of its entire chain to ensure that such cruelty does not occur. In fact, McDonald's has been unwilling to switch from these 'battery cages' to a cage-free system which allows the birds to spread their wings and engage in other basic behaviors.
Did I mention McDonald's is already purchasing from 100 percent cage-free suppliers in Europe? It's unclear what the hold up is over here in the U.S., but hopefully this cast of celebs can get a response from McDonald's to shed light on this situation.
You can send a letter to the company, too, by joining the more than 30,000 people who have signed Mercy for Animals' petition asking McDonald's to go cage-free.
The Cumberland County Animal Control Board in North Carolina recently weighed a proposal to ban adoptions of purebred, mixed-breed, or look-alikes of any American Staffordshire Terrier, Rottweiler, Chows, Presa Canario, or Pit Bull.
Hundreds of miles away in Iowa, Christine Salek heard about this proposal and knew she had to take action to put a sensible policy in place. She created her own petition at Change.org on a Friday and, by the following Monday, more than 60,000 animal advocates from around the world contacted officials in Cumberland County to demand that this proposal be dropped. Moreover, 100 dog defenders also filled the room at the Board's meeting to speak out against the proposal, creating quite some buzz.
The result? Cumberland County Animal Control decided to scrap its original proposal in favor of better background checks for those looking to adopt out these breeds. The media was all over it with stories ranging from The Fayetteville Observer to the local NBC affiliate. Christine says, "Even though I'm out here in Iowa, I felt it was a problem that everyone needed to hear about, and it seems like that was justified since there were so many international responses!"
She added, "I was so surprised at the response to the petition! When I created it, it was just as a knee-jerk response to seeing the initial report on the proposal. I already knew Change.org was an incredible way to effect change for any and all issues, so I immediately visited the site and created the petition."
Thanks to Christine, tens of thousands of people around the world were able to support Cumberland County animal lovers to give dogs a chance in their community. If there's something you'd like to change in your community, you can start your own petition on Change.org.
Editor's note: The list of breeds for the proposal did not include Akitas, Dobermans, German Shepherds, Great Danes, Siberian Huskies or Mastiffs as originally reported, so they have been removed from the post.
Photo credit: Hotash
In photos, the Kearneys' dogs look like Great Danes, big and gangly, but they haven't had DNA testing done to prove their heritage, so who knows what breeds they really are? But Amanda Kearney made a mistake on Facebook that has cost her pets their freedom. She referred to her dogs as "pit bull mixes" and a nosy neighbor reported them to the Wentzville police. So much for being neighborly. Now the pets can't be outside a kennel unless they are leashed and muzzled. The Kearneys can't even open their windows if the dogs are inside the house. Unbelievable.
Paul Emmerich and his fiance, Tyanna Flynn, heard about what happened to the Kearneys and decided to start a petition on Change.org to end the Wentzville witch hunt against dogs.
Paul says he has seen how the town's breed discriminatory law can be manipulated and used against good owners and good dogs. He and Tyanna believe that breed specific legislation, like the Wentzville ordinance that restricts dogs who look like pit bulls, is a form of discrimination against dogs and their owners.
Paul and Tyanna own two dogs, two cats and two rabbits — all rescues. They wanted to adopt a pit bull type dog but couldn't because of the law, so they have boxer mixes. Now they worry that the pet police will come for their dogs next.
Cities that enact canine profiling have the burden of proving the breed of the dog. As Dr. Victoria Voith's study has shown, visual identification of dogs of unknown heritage is correct only 25 percent of the time, which means DNA testing is the only way to get to the bottom of whether a dog is actually a pit bull or not. This is colossal waste of taxpayer dollars.
There is hope in Wentzville though. Alderman Chris Gard has drafted some revisions to repeal the breed discriminatory provisions. Alderman and humanitarian Nick Guccione also thinks breed-specific laws are wrong, and the aldermen intend to debate the pit bull ordinance during a work session on December 7th.
Please help change the ordinance by signing Paul and Tyanna's Change.org petition. It will be presented at the work session, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, December 7 at City Hall. All Wentzville dog owners are encouraged to attend the meeting and speak out. Your pet could be next.
Photo Credit: Best Friends Animal Society, Melissa Lipani
More than 1,000 people have joined a campaign on Change.org calling on the University of Delaware, whose mascot is the blue hen, to stop supporting the inhumane treatment of egg-laying hens by switching to cage-free eggs.
Chelsea McFadden, a University of Delaware student, launched the campaign on Change.org after learning that Harvard University switched to 100 percent cage-free eggs in response to another campaign on Change.org, which gained more than 7,000 supporters. University of Delaware is the only large university in the Philadelphia-Baltimore corridor that has not gone cage-free.
“The University of Delaware has already made significant strides in supporting more responsible methods of meeting its needs — such as introducing hybrid buses, instituting single-stream recycling throughout the campus, starting a composting program, and more. Switching from battery-cage eggs to cage-free is another step the University should take on its current path,” said McFadden. “Cage-free eggs are more humane, more environmentally sustainable, and a healthier option for UD students — all things that should be a top priority for the state of Delaware's largest institution of higher-education.”
McFadden’s campaign is supported by The Humane League, a grassroots animal advocacy organization.
"Over the past few years, student activists at hundreds of colleges across the country have successfully campaigned to get their dining halls to go cage-free,” said Nick Cooney, Director of The Humane League. “Not only are they succeeding in making their schools more sustainable, humane, and higher in food safety, but they're also proving that a small group of passionate people really can educate an entire campus and bring about a crucial sustainability improvement."
Within hours of the campaign’s launch, McFadden had recruited hundreds of supporters. The Vegetarian Students Association is also gathering signatures on campus and has received pledges from alumni who say they will withhold donations unless the university purchases exclusively cage-free eggs.
Students and alumni hope the administration will respond to the demand for compassion in the dining halls. "Dining Services teams usually welcome student involvement and are happy to go cage-free once they learn that it's an important issue to students," Cooney added.
Like conscientious students across the country, Chelsea is finding time between classes to organize support on an issue that’s important to her, gathering hundreds of signatures from her peers, alumni, staff and people around the world.
Photo courtesy of The Humane League
This week, the Ohio Senate Judiciary Criminal Justice Committee will start hearing testimony on a bill that would change the status of pit bulls in the state and end discrimination against the dogs. Ohio is the only state in the U.S. that singles out a breed of dog at the state level.
More than 10,000 people have joined the campaign on Change.org, led by Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates president Jean Keating, to pass H.B. 14, which would remove pit bulls from the state’s definition of vicious dogs. The campaign has also gained the attention of actor Ian Somerhalder of Lost and The Vampire Diaries, who recently announced his support for H.B. 14.
“The Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates, along with Ian Somerhalder, is thrilled that the Ohio Senate is ready to hear testimony from dog lovers across the state in support of House Bill 14,” said Keating, who launched the campaign. “Over 10,000 people have already signed our petition on Change.org, and people will keep calling on their Senators asking them to improve safety in their community and end breed discrimination by voting yes on HB 14.”
Somerhalder is also rallying support around the bill. The Ian Somerhalder Foundation has thousands of supporters in the state of Ohio.
“It's not the dog who is born vicious but the person who teaches it to fight for its life,” said Somerhalder “H.B. 14 would give innocent dogs in Ohio a chance.”
News of the online petition campaign’s success is likely to increase pressure on Ohio Senators to pass H.B. 14, as committee hearings begin with testimony from the bill's sponsor, Representative Barbara Sears, on Wednesday. The bill already passed the Ohio House of Representatives.
In addition to asking dog lovers everywhere to sign and share the petition, Keating encourages Ohioans to keep calling their state senators to express their support for H.B. 14.
Photo credit: Valerie Everett
This is a guest blog post written by Mary Haight, who owns the Dancing Dog Blog and launched the campaign on Change.org calling on Petland USA to stop selling pets.
Stocking more than 150 stores across the US with puppies of all breeds is a model responsible for causing pain, suffering and death. Breeding females are locked in cages until they can no longer breed, around 5 years, and are then killed. Even if a change from the top in a franchise-structured company affects only corporate stores, the intent to do no harm is a clarion call that every company should want to take up, especially one that deals directly with living things.
Sadly, Petland is not interested.
After more than 45,000 people joined my campaign on Change.org calling on Petland USA to stop supporting puppy mills, I sent questions to the company’s headquarters, and the answers received do not recognize the pain and suffering factory farming of family pets inflicts.
Sometimes pictures can be more effective than words. Since they have the power to help stop this, remind Petland USA what breeder puppy mill dogs look like. Estimates report there are more than a million of them trapped in hopeless lives.
We need your help THIS WEEKEND with this simple action. It should only take 10 minutes of your time:
1) Download the images in this blog post to your computer (right-click and “save as”).
2) Post these images to your Facebook profile and ask your network to share.
3) Post these images to the wall of the following Petland franchise FB pages:
Chilicothe, OH - http://www.facebook.com/PetlandChillicothe
Naperville, IL - http://www.facebook.com/petlandnaperville
Chicago Ridge, IL - http://www.facebook.com/PetlandChicagoRidge
Laredo, TX - http://www.facebook.com/PetlandLaredo
Cicero, NY - http://www.facebook.com/PetlandofCicero
St. Paul, MN - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petland-St-Paul/152617481423032
Racine, WI - http://www.facebook.com/PetlandRacine?sk=wall
Las Vegas - http://www.facebook.com/PetlandLasVegas
4) If you have a blog, please re-post these instructions and share widely! If not, then please email your networks with a link to this blog post.
How responsible is Petland Corporate for the animal welfare in their franchise stores? It depends what you’re asking.
The company lays claim to the Adopt-a-Pet program, calling it “a national Petland program in which stores help their communities find homes for abandoned or unwanted pets.” They were also sure to mention that the company has a Director of Animal Welfare Education who visits USDA-licensed breeders to make sure “certain standards are maintained.”
But once you question those standards, “Petland stores are individually owned and operated and responsible for visiting and choosing where they select their puppies.”
According to Petland’s rep, blame cannot be laid at the feet of Corporate Headquarters. Yet while that is a technicality, it is not actually true. It’s an issue of leadership.
Petland Corporate boasts that it’s been “a leader in the pet industry” for 45 years. So why not lead? The question I had from a business perspective was why keep selling pets when pet stores who have converted say the money is in the supplies? Petland claims that is not true for them, but ignored my follow-up asking for specifics on their pet sales.
However, they were quick to turn the blame around, referring back to their belief that people interested in the welfare of animals have a desire to get rid of the idea of having pets, while at the same time, falsely accusing pet lovers like the tens of thousands who have signed the petition on Change.org, of spending too much time “targeting responsible pet stores like Petland” and ignoring other issues in the pet trade.
Petland's franchise structure is an opportunity for local stores to pressure corporate by choosing to do the right thing, as some stores already are. That's why we're targeting some of their most prominent local franchises on Facebook.
Join in the weekend social media campaign to show Petland why we are completely for and about the care and welfare of the animals, and they should be, too.
It's a pet owner's worst nightmare: their senior, arthritic dog gets out of the yard, but instead of finding his way home or to the safety of a friendly neighbor, he's shot and killed by police. That's what happened to Boomer, the 12-year-old golden retriever of Lauren and Roy Glass of St. Petersburg, Florida.
Boomer was less than a block from his home when he died. According to Roy Glass, not only did the police fail to call him, they never even called Animal Services as they should have done per Pinellas County Ordinance. Instead, Boomer became the seventh dog shot by St. Petersburg Police this year.
When Nancy Smith heard Boomer's story, she started a petition on Change.org, with the help of the internet-based volunteer group Hand4Paws, asking St. Petersburg officials to establish new training protocols and policies for police dealing with dogs. Even though she doesn’t live in St. Petersburg, Ms. Smith felt compelled to act because she too owns a senior golden retriever who now growls when you try to lift him on the bed or into the SUV. But that shouldn’t be a death sentence.
The sad reality is that, although there is roughly one dog for every four people in the United States, most police officers receive little or no training in canine behavior.
Boomer’s family is grieving. According to Roy Glass, “That grief is real, severe, and continuing, passing from sorrow to anger. With the help of others, we established the “Boomer’s Voice” Facebook page to improve pet handling in police training and education, and to sponsor and promote legislation to provide a means of statutory redress for the deliberate or reckless injury of killing of pets by others."
Boomer's story also touched Peter Fitzgerald, a Professor of Law at Florida's Stetson University who is involved in dog rescue. “Proper training for police officers and others likely to be involved in dog related incidents is crucial," said Professor Fitzgerald. "While there may be circumstances where lethal force is appropriate and required in an encounter with a dog or any animal, that should be the very last resort. There are certainly many more situations where non-lethal alternatives might be more appropriate, especially when the animal is collared and tagged and appears to be socialized as a pet.”
The majority of Americans now view their dogs as family and are outraged by dog shootings. The U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office recently issued a publication entitled, The Problem of Dog-Related Incidents and Encounters to help first responders apply force continuum principles in dog encounters. The guide states that “the use of a weapon is seldom required in dog-related incidents or encounters.”
“Many fine and caring people from all walks of life have joined in our effort," said Glass. "We respectfully ask all for the support and assistance needed to realize our humble and salutary goals.”
Join the Glass family, Nancy and Hand4Paws in honoring Boomer's memory by taking action to prevent more dog shootings by St. Petersburg police officers.
Photo courtesy of Boomer's Voice Facebook page
Actress Kristin Bauer, who plays the vampire Pam on HBO's True Blood, has launched a campaign on Change.org with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect captive chimpanzees.
Bauer’s online campaign asks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend the endangered species protections currently given to wild chimpanzees to captive chimpanzees used in experiments and the entertainment industry and kept as pets in United States. A proposal to extend protections to captive chimpanzees is currently under consideration by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The public comment period ends October 31.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the incredible intelligence and rich, complex social lives of chimpanzees,” said Bauer. “It would be shameful to see them go extinct in the wild as we continue to exploit them here in the U.S. in invasive experiments, entertainment and as pets.”
Bauer cites studies demonstrating that when people see chimpanzees used in commercials and interacting with humans in the media, they are more likely to believe that chimpanzees not only make good pets, but that they are not endangered in the wild.
“The Endangered Species Act should protect all chimpanzees, including those being used in laboratory experiments,” said John Pippin, M.D., F.A.C.C., of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “No other developed countries allow invasive research on chimpanzees because of ethical and scientific problems with such experiments. The U.S. must do more to protect humankind’s closest genetic relatives.”
This campaign is Bauer's first online petition. She tweeted that she was inspired by Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Jane Goodall in getting behind the campaign.
“Chimpanzees are emotional and suffer much as humans do," Bauer said. "They express joy and fear, and when they are traumatized in captivity, these amazingly sensitive animals also show signs of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder."
Bauer’s campaign is likely to draw national attention to the lack of protections for captive chimpanzees. Several True Blood fan sites have already stepped up and featured the campaign on their blogs. Teddy Hilton, the animal blog of internet gossip columnist Perez Hilton, asked readers to sign the petition, too.
The petition has also received the support of another TV vampire: Ian Somerhalder asked his Twitter followers to join the campaign, boosting it by several hundred supporters.
Help Kristin Bauer reach 5,000 signatures to protect all chimpanzees by the Halloween deadline.
There may be fewer than 3,200 tigers left in the wild in the entire world, but you might be surprised at how easy it is to own one of the big cats in Ohio. Or eighteen of them.
Last week, when Terry Thompson of Zanesville, Ohio opened the cages of his 18 tigers — along with more than a dozen lions, several wolves, bears and primates — before killing himself, it led to a tragic end for the animals, with 49 shot and killed by local law enforcement and the few survivors (including the leopard pictured here) sent to the Columbus Zoo, where they face a life of captivity.
It's easy to blame local law enforcement for the deaths of these animals, but their tragic story started long before the day they were let loose. It started with some of the weakest regulations in the country that make it perfectly legal own this kind of menagerie. That's why Liz Dumler, an Ohio native and Ohio University student, started a campaign on Change.org calling on Governor John Kasich to immediately ban the sale, ownership and harboring of exotic animals.
In just a few days, more than 90,000 people have joined Liz's campaign. On Friday, Gov. Kasich held a much-anticipated press conference on Friday to sign an executive order on exotic animals.
When Kasich had entered office, there had been an emergency executive order in place from his predecessor, banning new ownership of exotic animals. But Gov. Kasich told wildlife officials not to enforce the ban because "it would hurt small businesses." Namely, businesses like roadside zoos and events like bear-human wrestling matches staged by the Ohio exotic animal owner who made headlines last year. Then he let the executive order expire.
Gov. Kasich's new executive order emphasizes the importance of enforcing current laws around animal cruelty and public safety and asked for a temporary moratorium on animal auctions. No mention of a ban on exotic animal ownership.
“I’m very happy that Governor Kasich has taken steps to respond to the tragic situation in Zanvesville this week, but there are still no exotic animals regulations in Ohio to prevent this from happening again,” said Liz on Friday. “The world is watching and people aren’t happy with what they’re seeing. Today’s executive order shows that Governor Kasich is hearing our concerns, but it’s disappointing that he has yet to commit to banning private ownership and trade in exotic and wild animals.”
Kasich set a November 30 deadline for proposals for a new statute to regulate exotic animals in the state. Dumler plans to continue putting pressure on Governor Kasich for the statute to be a ban on the sale and ownership of exotic animals.
Liz says that it was the lack of regulation that allowed last week's tragedy to happen. "The deaths of these innocent animals shouldn't be in vain, let's change the laws in Ohio concerning exotic pets in their memory."
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