Action Alerts

DawnWatch: NPR on a free kennel for deployed service personnel 1/5/09
“Today, Monday January 5, the National Public Radio show “All Things Considered” included a lovely segment, from reporter Susan Phillips, on a free kennel in Pennsylvania, created by a former marine, where service personnel can leave their animals when they are deployed.”

Dogs Deserve Better (DDB): Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week, February 7-14, 2009
“Join us February 7-14th for Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week. OUR GOAL in our 7th Season is to SEND OUT 12,500 VALENTINES TO CHAINED or PENNED DOGS. We are striving to raise awareness for chained and penned dogs in a positive way…by delivering Valentines, a brochure and a treat coupon to dogs living outside all over the U.S. and into other countries where we have representation, such as Canada and Australia. Here’s what you can do: 1) Make Valentines; 2) Mail Coupons for Free or Reduced Cost Treats or Dogfood; 3. Send addresses for Chained or Penned Dogs.”

Gene Baur’s Bloggings: Big Problems – Simple Solutions
“Today, we would benefit from a return to growing Victory Gardens, and the Obamas could help lead the charge. Contact the Obama transition team and encourage them to plant an organic garden at the White House. Check out this website, which is focused on this idea. Also, please consider growing some of your own food. Even if you have limited space, there are options. The United Nations has a program that is helping to promote vegetable growing, especially in drought stricken areas. Check out their website here.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Tell Fort Dix to Stop Burning and Stabbing Live Animals!
“A whistleblower has informed PETA that military medics are required to burn, stab, shoot, and break the limbs of live pigs and goats in outdated trauma-training exercises conducted at Fort Dix in New Jersey. Similar exercises occur at other military bases, such as Fort Sam Houston and Schofield Barracks. [...] Read PETA’s letter to Fort Dix and please take action today to help animals who are suffering in Fort Dix’s trauma-training exercises.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Stop Iams Cruelty
“Call, write, e-mail, or fax Iams and Proctor & Gamble. Tell them that you won’t buy Iams products for your animal companions until they stop conducting experiments on animals and, instead, rely on laboratory analysis of formulas for nutritional composition and in-home studies using dogs and cats who have been volunteered by their human companions.”

(more…)

Via Suicide Food, I bring you what is possibly the most obscene animated gif in the history of the internets. You know it’s bad when an atheist starts praying to the Big G.

(more…)

I love this series of anti-vivisection ads from the Australian animal rights organization Animal Liberation:

(more…)

Mix 1/2 cup of Silk’s seasonal Pumpkin Spice soy milk with 1/2 cup water. Microwave until hot-hot-hot – about two and a half minutes – and then throw in one or two bags of your favorite tea. Let steep for five minutes, add a bit of sugar to taste, and enjoy!

I’m sipping on a cup now (Bigelow’s Earl Grey Green Tea; I prefer their Green Tea with Peach, but I’m plum out), trying my very bestest to find my calm zen place, after hearing rumors on the internets that Obama plans to both adopt and buy a dog, in an incredibly stupid attempt to play even the most trivial of issues* both ways. And no, the run-on sentences definitely aren’t originating from my zen place.

For what it’s worth, I’m so glad I voted my conscience this election cycle. Otherwise, I probably would have thrown my mug through the front window by now.

* Relatively speaking, and totally removed from the decision’s context and long-term consequences.

—————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare tea soy milk silk pumpkin spice green tea barack obama dog canine pet companion animal flip flopper flickr photos

Action Alerts

Change.org: What Are Your Top 10 Ideas for Change in America?
“The Ideas for Change in America competition was created in response to Barack Obama’s call for increased citizen involvement in government. The final round of voting began on January 5 and is comprised of the top 3 rated ideas from each of the 30 issues in the first round of the competition, which collectively received more than 250,000 votes. Voting ends at 5pm ET on Thursday, January 15.”

DawnWatch: Elephants on CBS and hens on ABC 1/2/09 — Happy New Year!
“It’s the New Year! How great to be able to get DawnWatch rolling with two terrific animal stories that aired over the first weekend of 2009. The CBS Evening News on Friday, January 2, included a lovely story on a sweet interspecies friendship at the Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. San Francisco’s ABC affiliate did a strong story on hens and eggs.”

PETA2: Can You Make A Call To Help Bunnies?
“Armani sells real rabbits’ fur! Will you give them a call real quickly to ask why they went back on a promise not to use real fur? Enough with broken promises! On behalf of all animals who are on fur farms right now—with their paws tangled in wire cages, their bodies crippled on top of dead cage mates, their necks seconds away from being broken, or their bodies seconds away from being skinned alive—we’re asking you to raise your voice for the breath they’re about to lose.”

The Wilderness Society: Protect Western Colorado’s spectacular landscapes
“This is your opportunity to speak up! Help the BLM determine how western Colorado’s spectacular gorges, mesas and wild areas will be managed. Send the letter below, or even better, edit it to include what you love about this land and what is important to you as the BLM prepares management decisions that will impact the land for decades.”

(more…)

When I first spotted this series of ads for Hobie Kayaks on Ads of the World, I was taken aback. Flabbergasted, actually.

This is some violent imagery – the kind you’d expect to see on the box of an adult video game.

(more…)

Nathan Runkle, founder of Mercy for Animals, was brutally assaulted last Saturday. Nathan is an openly gay man, and was apparently the victim of a hate crime.

From MFA’s press release:

Dayton, OH – Nathan Runkle, the 24-year old openly gay founder and Executive Director of the national animal advocacy organization, Mercy For Animals, was brutally assaulted on Saturday morning in an apparent hate crime. Runkle is a nationally recognized leader in the animal protection movement, who was recently named one of the world’s “25 Most Fascinating Vegetarians” by VegNews Magazine. The assault, which occurred at Masque, a gay night club in Dayton, Ohio, was completely unprovoked.

The attacker, believed to be a heterosexual white male with no previous relationship to the victim, has not yet been identified or apprehended. Runkle was briefly hospitalized after sustaining two facial fractures, a broken nose, deviated septum, and severe facial bruising. The incident has been labeled a felonious assault and is currently under investigation by the Dayton Police Department. Runkle believes the assault was motivated by hatred toward gays and was intended to send a fearful message to the local gay community.

Sexual orientation-motivated crimes are currently not addressed under Ohio hate crimes laws. The laws address only crimes motivated by race, color, religion, or national origin. Gay rights advocates have long urged state legislators to follow the lead of 31 other states who have already enacted specific legislation protecting gays from hate-based violence.

I’ve never met Nathan, but my heart goes out to him, his family and his friends. Hate is hate – and, for the life of me, I’ll never understand how humans can be so intolerant and cruel. In a word, this is heartbreaking.

As pattrice – who knows Nathan personally – observes,

A lot of people in the AR movement have been calling me, wondering what we can do. Gay bashing is a lot like rape in that it’s especially important to be mindful of what the victim wants when framing a response. So, first, we can all look out for what Nathan and Mercy for Animals say about what should be done. Next, we can use informed inference to figure out what else might be appropriate.

The press release says that Nathan wants sexual orientation included in Ohio’s hate crimes legislation. So, one thing that those of us who know and love — or just know of and respect — Nathan can do is join the effort to make that happen.

Next, we know that Mercy for Animals, as the press release states, “has long worked to bridge the gap between the common prejudices which lead to oppression and abuses faced by both animals and minorities.” MFA has marched in gay pride parades carrying a banner reading “NO ONE IS FREE WHILE OTHERS ARE OPPRESSED” and has picketed gay rodeos.

So, if you’re somebody who cares about or works on LGBTQ issues but has not (yet) integrated the animals into your analysis of oppression, let this attack on a gay man who has dedicated himself to animal rights motivate you to educate yourself about the connections. And, if you’re a straight animal liberationist or veg*n advocate who hasn’t thought deeply about your heterosexual privilege and what obligations you might have to divest yourself of that, let this near-deadly attack on a gay animal advocate remind you (if Proposition 8 and Obama’s selection of a homophobic preacher to speak at his inauguration did not) that homophobia is still alive and dangerous.

In both instances: Educate yourself about the intersections and then figure out how you might integrate what you learn into your activism and your daily life. Those of us who are already hip to that particular intersection ought to realize that there’s always more for us to learn too. Finally, all of us can be inspired by Nathan’s relentless activism and take up the charge to do just a little bit more while he’s recovering from this terrible trauma.

With so much suffering and oppression in the world, we all have to set priorities, decide which causes are most worthy of our time, money and support, and make some touch choices in the process. However, whether we choose to throw our resources behind animal advocacy, women’s rights, civil rights, GLBT rights, whatever – we must all remain mindful of our own privilege, whatever form(s) it may take, and refrain from engaging in and encouraging “isms,” if not actively campaigning against them. This means voting against hate-mongering legislation such as Proposition 8, encouraging Ohio to include sexual orientation in its hate crimes legislation and speaking out against homophobia in our daily lives. Especially when it emanates from fellow activists.

Violence is violence, no matter the target, and prejudice poisons us all. No one is free while others are oppressed.

————-

Tagged: Nathan Runkle Mercy for Animals MFA homophobia hate crime intersections glbt LGBTQ parallel oppressions activism

Action Alerts

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Help Free Pigs From Gestation Crates and Chains
“Recently, we were contacted about a pig operation in Sequoyah County, Okla. Sadly, the facility appears to be a prison more than anything else. According to several people who visited the operation, the animals there are being mistreated. We were told that pigs are kept in gestation crates, on concrete floors, and chained to the walls by their necks. By all accounts, the pigs at Pat’s Pig Palace are being subjected to an intense degree of confinement that is inherently cruel and unnecessary.”

Contests

PETA2: Free Stuff Friday: Skinny Bitch Workout DVDs!
“Enter for your chance to win this awesome pair of DVDs, by commenting below with how you plan on getting in shape for ’09. Entries must be received by January 9 and the lucky winner will be notified by January 12.”

(more…)

Prince Edward reportedly attacked one of his two dogs with a 4′ stick while on a recent hunting trip, hitting it him (her) once and then chasing after the dog in order to strike the cowering animal a second time. The incident was caught by a local photographer; you can see a series of photos here.

Abusing one species of animal while on a weekend jaunt, the sole purpose of which is to murder another species of animal…disgusting, yes. Shocking, not so much.

People who get their rocks off by slaughtering pheasants most likely enjoy hurting other animals, too. I wouldn’t be surprised if Edward physically disciplines his wife or the domestic “help,” as well.

Violence breeds violence, and abusers will continue to abuse.

—————

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare hunting prince edward animal abuse violence

Even though the song title is Happy Xmas (War Is Over), I’ve always fancied this more of an ode to the New Year – to starting over, blank slates, opportunities renewed. “Another year over, and a new one just begun.”

So here’s to another year of peace, love, compassion and activism.

And many, many thanks to all of you who have stopped by and (hopefully) taken action on behalf of the animals in 2008!

(Video via Cara @ The Curvature; incidentally, and even though it’s not at all related to animal advocacy, you should totally go check out her “Yoko Ono: A Feminist Analysis” series. Part Two is here, along with links back to previous posts.)

—————–

Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare happy new year john lennon yoko ono happy xmas war is over pcrm ecard