Action Alerts

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Act Now: Stop Secret Spying Deal
Late Friday night, the ACLU caught wind of a dangerous backroom deal brewing. The “deal” would rush a House vote that would push through a dangerous sellout on government spying powers, possibly in the next few days.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Demand More Media Choices
The consolidation of TV, radio and newspaper ownership hinders vigorous public debate and poses a great threat to the First Amendment rights of all Americans. Tell your members of Congress to support S.J. Res 28, and get the FCC to end media consolidation.

Born Free USA / The Animal Protection Institute (API): Help Us Keep Animals Like Indy from Being Caught in Cruel Traps
Work with us to protect dogs, cats, and other animal victims from suffering in traps. Most state agencies do not track incidents like Indy’s death, but we do, and we need your help.

CREDO Action: Tell the Senate: Stop Big Media
Sign the petition at right to Majority Leader Harry Reid and your senators in support of Senator Dorgan’s resolution of disapproval of the new media ownership rules.

DawnWatch: KFI interview on “Thanking the Monkey” and animal cruelty — 5/3/08
Wayne Resnick, on Los Angeles’s largest talk radio station, KFI, interviewed me about “Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way We Treat Animals” on his weekly show last Saturday, May 3.

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Action Alerts

CREDO Action: Tell Speaker Pelosi: Stand Strong on Wiretapping Legislation!
Our hard fought victories on the Bush administration’s illegal wiretapping program are in danger once again.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Don’t Let the Justice Department Harvest DNA from Innocents
An outrageous Justice Department proposal directs federal law enforcement agencies to collect DNA samples from anyone they arrest. Speak out against this proposal that turns the principle of “innocent until proven guilty” on its head!

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Ask Kentucky horse racing chairman to make safety reforms to protect animals
One study shows that over 800 horses die every year from injuries sustained in races because of the dangerous conditions they are forced to run in. Please Take Action to urge the chairman of the Kentucky state agency that regulates horse racing to make reforms that will protect horses from injury and death on the track.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Ask your legislators to pass laws regulating factory farms
The Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production (PCIFAP) has put the factory farm industry on the defensive with a major independent study showing the devastating impact that intensive animal agriculture has on human health, the environment, rural economies and culture, and animal welfare.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Ask your state’s Governor to ban animal electrocution for fur
New York recently became the first state on the nation to ban one of the cruelest methods used to kill animals for fur – anal and genital electrocution. If other states follow New York’s lead by passing similar legislation of their own, even more animals will be spared from this horrific end to their lives.

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Action Alerts

DawnWatch: NY Times columnist asks why we keeping giving horse racing “a pass.” 5/4/08
William C. Rhoden, of the New York Times, has written eloquently on horse racing before. I quote him extensively in my section on the issue in Thanking the Monkey. And while every paper has carried the story of the death of Eight Bells at the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, I wish to share Rhoden’s column, on the front page of the Sunday, May 4, New York Times sports section.
It is headed “Race’s Aftermath Shows Sport’s Brutal Side.”

Ecological Internet / The Rainforest Portal: Agrofuels on Stolen Lands Continue to Threaten Colombian Rainforests and Communities
It is gravely unethical and ecologically devastating to expand production of biofuels by allowing land to be stolen from local Afro-Colombian communities; and at the expense of Colombia’s ancient primary rainforests, food security, water resources and regional climate.

Just $6: Thank you Senator Rudman!
We’re building a broad coalition of support for publicly financed elections from across the political spectrum, and we are fortunate to have former Senator Warren Rudman on our side. Senator Rudman has tirelessly advocated for better elections and better government. He has written an Op-Ed on the subject as well as testified to the Senate Rules Committee on behalf of the Fair Elections Now Act.

League of Conservation Voters (LCV): Serious global warming legislation is at your doorstep
Unless we take immediate action, a chance to pass a strong piece of legislation through the Senate this year, with the potential to make a real impact on global warming, could be lost. The Climate Security Act is presently being debated in the Senate, but requires a number of amendments to improve its effectiveness.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Urge Your Senator to Stop Supporting High-Risk Development!
The Senate is now debating the National Flood Insurance program, which has a significant impact on how development decisions are made in coastal areas and natural floodplains. These areas will feel the worst impacts of global warming with sea level rise, intensified hurricanes, and increased flooding.

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Action Alerts

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): Act Now: Stop Secret Spying Deal
House leadership is on the precipice of caving in and handing over everything the President has demanded: expanded surveillance powers, and immunity for big phone companies that broke the law. Help stop them.

Center for Biological Diversity: Tell Congress: Protect our Parks and Wildlife From Pesticides!
A February 2008 study funded by the National Park Service documented extensive chemical contamination in 20 western U.S. parks. Researchers found that persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like the pesticide endosulfan are threatening park ecosystems and wildlife health. Alarming levels of these chemicals were found in some of America’s most seemingly pristine areas, including Rocky Mountain and Glacier national parks along with 18 other western parks from Texas to the far northern reaches of the Arctic.

Center for Food Safety: Keep Antibiotics Working!
Did you know that an estimated 70 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States are regularly added to the feed of livestock and poultry that are not sick—a practice with serious consequences for our health? Bacteria that are constantly exposed to antibiotics develop antibiotic resistance. This means that when humans get sick from resistant bacteria, the antibiotics prescribed by doctors don’t work.

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Help Support The Great Ape Protection Act
The Great Ape Protection Act (H.R. 5852) has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to end invasive research on the 1200 chimpanzees remaining in laboratories, retire the approximately 600 federally-owned chimpanzees to permanent sanctuary, and make the recent decision by the National Center for Research Resources—part of NIH—to stop funding the breeding of federally-owned chimpanzees statutory.

Levees.org: Demand the 8/29 Investigation Act!
Demand the 8/29 Investigation Act, a truly independent and truly complete analysis of the flood protection failures in metro New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

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Action Alerts

Compassion Over Killing (COK): Crack the Cruelty: Take Compassion Over Killing’s 30-Day Egg-Free Pledge!
The egg industry’s busiest time of year is the Easter season. After the holiday, “sales go down, but the hens keep on laying eggs,” says the American Egg Board. In an effort to boost post-holiday sales slumps, egg producers across the country celebrate May as “National Egg Month.” COK is asking you to put a compassionate spin on this month-long industry-declared holiday by pledging to Crack the Cruelty and choose egg-free foods for at least 30 days!

DawnWatch: Lead NY Times article on goat leg rescue at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary 5/1/08
There is a lovely article, featuring Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, on the front of the Metro section (page B1) of the Thursday, May 1, New York Times. The article, by Fernanda Santos, is headed, “A Rescued Goat Gets a Chance For a Normal Life On Four Legs.”

Environmental Defense: Urgent Alert: Oppose the Voinovich Proposal
Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) proposed legislation that would postpone meaningful action on global warming pollution for at least twenty years. In the meantime, the proposal would take away state authority to control global warming pollution, undermining efforts in dozens of states.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Tell Congress to Ban Wildlife Poisons!
Recently, the Bush Administration stripped endangered species protection from gray wolves in Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies. These wolves face a range of threats, including the use of two toxic chemicals in government-run predator control programs. Please ask your Representative to support HR 4775, a bill banning two deadly poisons that kill gray wolves and many other wildlife species.

Oil Change International: Take Action on Mother’s Day!
This Mother’s Day join Oil Change International and the 1Sky campaign to take action on behalf of your children and all children. In connection with efforts 1Sky is coordinating nationally, Oil Change is asking you to trace the hands of your child or children onto a letter to send to your members of Congress. If you don’t have a child, trace your own hand, and then forward this on to any parents you know!

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Action Alerts

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): Be a Voice for Animals in Circuses in Your Community
Ever wish there was something more you could do to make a difference for animals in the circus and help end the suffering they are forced to endure? How about working with us to enact protective legislation in your city?

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Protect Digital Privacy at the Border and Beyond
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in the case U.S. v. Arnold holding that the Fourth Amendment does not require government agents to have reasonable suspicion before searching laptops at the border, including international airports. Meanwhile, a number of national newspapers have documented unnerving reports from travelers whose electronic devices have been seized as they crossed U.S. borders.

Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): May 1: Make the Call to Protect Downed Farm Animals!
Please call your U.S. Representative and urge support for any bill to protect downed animals—including H.R. 661, the Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act, and H.R. 5762, the Food Safety Recall Information Act.

SaveTheEnvironment.org: Help save the home of the black bear! [Yazoo Pumps project]
Your voice is needed to protect 200,000 acres of Mississippi Delta wetlands—habitat of the endangered Louisiana Black Bear. For the first time in nearly 20 years, the Environmental Protection Agency is using its “veto authority” to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from constructing the controversial and environmentally destructive Yazoo Pumps project. For the final veto to go through, however, the EPA needs to hear from as many people as possible that want this project gone!

We Can Solve It: Time is Short: You can help protect polar bears today
The Bush Administration has until May 15 to decide whether to place the polar bear on the Endangered Species list. Tell Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne that the polar bear, and its fragile Arctic habitat, requires protection from the effects of global warming. Sign the petition today.

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Action Alerts

Finnish Support Group for Bear Rescue in Asia: HELP RESCUE CAGED MOON BEARS
Please sign this petition to be sent to the Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean Governments. Our bear rescue petition has already been forwarded to the Chinese government, but signatures are still being collected in petitions to be forwarded to the Vietnamese and South Korean governments.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Ask That Charges Be Filed Against Trooper Caught on Tape Abusing Police Dog!
Many of you may have heard about the recent outrage generated by a video in which an apparent North Carolina state trooper strings up his canine partner by the legs and kicks and yells at the dog, apparently as a twisted form of “discipline.” According to news sources, former Highway Patrol Sgt. Charles Jones was fired last September after the video came to the attention of North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, who apparently asked that Jones be dismissed from duty.

Public Citizen: Demand a Strong Consumer Bill
With your help, we recently pushed the House and Senate to pass legislation that will make consumer products safer. Now we’re heading to the finish line. Today, members of the House and Senate will begin negotiating differences in the legislation they passed and writing a final bill.

Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA): Washington County Bill Is Still Unacceptable for Wilderness
On April 9, Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT) introduced S. 2834, the Washington County Growth and Conservation Act of 2008. While in some ways this bill is better than Senator Bennett’s 2006 version, which you helped to defeat, it still contains some of the same damaging provisions for southwestern Utah that would perpetuate bad precedents for all future public lands bills. Once again we need your help! Please let your Senators know that S. 2834 is bad for Utah wilderness!

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Action Alerts

Defenders of Wildlife: Make the Call for Wyoming Wolves
Since the Bush Administration ended protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies, at least fourteen wolves have been killed in Wyoming — the most of any state in the region.
Help change the political climate that is driving the wolf slaughter. Call the Wyoming Governor’s Office at (307) 777-7434 and deliver this message…

National Horse Protection Action Fund: Senators, Stop Stalling!
Horse slaughter plants in Illinois and Texas were officially shut down last year, but this success is only temporary until the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S 311/HR 503) is passed. This law would outlaw slaughter throughout the entire United States and prohibit the export of horses for the same purpose.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Tell your representative not to reverse important protections against dirty fuels
Coal industry supporters in Congress have introduced legislation that would repeal important provisions of the 2007 energy bill that prevent federal agencies from purchasing liquid coal and other dirty fuels. Urge your representative to oppose any legislation that would reverse these important protections.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Help End the Sale of Cruel Glue Traps
Many major companies—like CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Safeway—have stopped selling glue traps because of the suffering that they cause. Sadly, other corporations insist on stocking glue traps despite repeated letters and phone calls from PETA staff trying to convince them otherwise. Now we need your help!

Save the Manatee Club: Help Ensure Emergency Treatment for Manatees
Thanks to your help, the Florida House recently concurred with the Florida Senate during the Budget Conference and has agreed to fund the manatee rescue and rehabilitation program, University of Florida Marine Mammal Veterinary program, and retention of 66 law enforcement positions for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), but this funding is conditional on the passage of the vessel fee increase bill (SB 1286).

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Action Alerts

Amnesty International: Please Support the Global Online Freedom Act, H.R. 275
Ask your Representative to support H.R. 275, the Global Online Freedom Act of 2007, which would prevent U.S. companies from carrying out or facilitating the suppression of online speech in repressive countries.

Center for Biological Diversity: Act to Protect Coral Reef Habitat
Take action now to protect critical habitat for some of the world’s most imperiled coral reefs. A federal proposal to protect coral habitat is making its way through the government channels, and your voice counts.

DawnWatch: Veggie baseball star on NY Times Sports front page 4/27/08
The lead story on the front page of the Sunday New York Times sports section, April 27, is headed “A Cleanup Hitter Who Leaves Something on His Plate.” The article, by Alan Schwarz, is about the newly vegetarian sports star, Milwaukee’s first baseman, Prince Fielder.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Save America’s Redrock Wilderness
Urge the Bush administration to protect the natural and cultural values of Nine Mile Canyon.

Public Campaign Action Fund: Support The Voters First Pledge!
Sam Waterston and other citizens have teamed up with Public Campaign Action Fund to support our Voters First Pledge, which urges federal candidates to support Fair Elections or full public financing of elections.

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OK, so the weather isn’t quite as nice as I’d hoped…no landfill reclamation today. Here be your links.

Action Alerts

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA): Federal: Protect Nonhuman Primates–Support the Captive Primate Safety Act
The Captive Primate Safety Act would bar interstate commerce of nonhuman primates for the pet trade, including monkeys, apes, marmosets and lemurs. This vital legislation would protect the public and captive primates from the dangers that result when these exotic animals are sold as pets.

Audubon: 200,000 Acres of Mississippi River Wetlands at Risk [Yazoo Pumps project]
The Army Corps of Engineers wants to spend $220 million of your tax dollars on a project that could drain and damage up to 200,000 acres of wetlands in the heart of the Mississippi River flyway—an area that contains some of the richest natural resources in the nation.

Audubon: Stop Federal Government from Building Misguided and Damaging Border Wall
Join thousands of Audubon supporters across the country in the fight to protect the fragile environment along the U.S./Mexico border, including the Sabal Palm Audubon Center & Sanctuary.

Born Free USA/Animal Protection Institute (API): Help Us Hold Zoos Accountable
With our Zoo Check Campaign, you can help us track abuses and substandard conditions suffered by animals in zoos, aquariums, circuses, or other places that exhibits animals.

Born Free USA/Animal Protection Institute (API): Colorado Residents: Tell Colorado Wildlife Commission Prairie Dogs Aren’t Pop Cans
Sign the petition to end prairie dog shooting in Colorado

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Action Alerts

Center for Biological Diversity: Help Protect Polar Bears
After months of illegal delays (and two lawsuits by the Center for Biological Diversity and its allies to end them) the Bush administration has announced it will decide by June 30, 2008 whether to formally list the polar bear as an Endangered Species. A positive decision will immediately protect polar bears while setting the stage for protecting their habitat and developing a long-term recovery program. A negative decision will consign them to extinction.

Earthjustice: At Last: A Chance for Real Action on Global Warming
On Earth Day 2008, the House of Representatives was presented with a plan for real action on global warming. Chairman Henry Waxman, Chairman Ed Markey, and Representative Jay Inslee introduced their Principles for Global Warming Legislation, a roadmap to produce a comprehensive program for the U.S. to reduce global warming emissions.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Stop State Secrets Privilege Abuse!
The state secrets privilege has been misused by the White House to hide evidence of its wrongdoing, and even to try to dismiss important lawsuits, with a unilateral claim that “state secrets” are endangered. The doctrine was adopted by the Supreme Court in the McCarthy era, and was originally meant to be used only in exceptional circumstances. However, since 2001, the Bush Administration has repeatedly abused the privilege in attempts to cover up potentially embarrassing or illegal activities.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Tell Congress to end invasive research on chimpanzees
The Great Ape Protection Act (H.R.5852) is an important new bill in the House of Representatives that aims to end invasive biomedical research and testing on chimpanzees in U.S. laboratories. Please Take Action to ask your federal Representative to support and co-sponsor the Great Ape Protection Act.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Urge your legislators to co-sponsor the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S.311) is a bill that would end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption, and prohibit the export of horses for slaughter in other countries. The bill has been introduced several times in recent years, and if it does not pass during this legislative session, we will have to start from scratch yet again.

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Action Alerts

DawnWatch: NY Times and International Herald Tribune on in vitro meat 4/21/08
The International Herald Tribune and the New York Times, Monday, April 21, both have stories about in vitro meat.

DawnWatch: Newsweek tells us that Botox safety animal tests were inaccurate 4/21/08 edition
“A New Reason To Frown; Does Botox get into the brain? Troubling research contradicts earlier findings about the treatment.”

Defenders of Wildlife: Help End A Bear Poaching Plague
Representatives Raul Grijalva (AZ) and John Campbell (CA) have introduced legislation that will help bears by banning the trade in gallbladders at the federal level. The Bear Protection Act will end a patchwork of state laws that create an enforcement nightmare and allows the illegal killing of bears to continue.

Ecological Internet / Forests.org: For Earth Day, Protest Home Depot’s Complicity in Destruction of Patagonian Wilderness by Proposed Chilean Dams
Patagonia’s wild rivers to be dammed, destroying ancient temperate forests, for 50 years of electricity; please let supposedly environmentally responsible Home Depot know they should not be doing business with the project’s primary Chilean advocate.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Support the “No Child Left Inside Act”
Are America’s children environmentally literate? Today’s overscheduled kids are increasingly “plugged in” to electronic devices and media, while at the same time unplugged from the fundamental and formative experience of nature in their own neighborhood. Their senses–including, sadly, their sense of wonder–are bombarded, overwhelmed and ultimately diminished.

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Action Alerts

Defenders of Wildlife: Earth Day Call for Responsible Conservation Leadership
Since being appointed almost two years ago, Interior Secretary Kempthorne hasn’t listed a single new species under the Endangered Species Act — even though federal biologists warn that at least 280 native species could disappear forever without such protections.

Farm Sanctuary: Speak Out On The Undeniable Connection Between Large-scale Animal Farming and Our Earth’s Environmental Problems
Industrial animal agriculture is responsible for some of the worst abuses to animals, but it’s also responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the transportation industry, making it a leading cause of global warming.

Farm Sanctuary: Farm Sanctuary Calls on California to Reject AB 2296
Farm Sanctuary calls on all those who care about animals and civil rights to contact members of the California Judiciary Committee and urge them to reject AB 2296. Euphemistically known as the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, AB 2296 is a state version of the controversial, chilling federal legislation known as the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, quietly passed by a lame duck Congress in November of 2006. (Elaine has more here.)

Forest Ethics: Tell the BC government to uphold its commitment to save the Great Bear Rainforest!
We need your support to remind BC Premier Gordon Campbell and Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell that they need to meet their deadline to save the Great Bear Rainforest.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Writing Alert: Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages in NYC
On April 10th, the New York Sun published two editorials on the issue of horse carriages in New York City. One, by ASPCA president and CEO Edwin Sayres, supports a ban on the horse carriage industry because of the suffering it causes to equines. The other, by an editor at the Sun, paints a deceptively rosy picture of the horse-drawn carriage industry.

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Action Alerts

American Rivers: Protect Rivers by Fighting Global Warming
There is currently a bipartisan bill, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act (S2191), before Congress that would curb greenhouse gas emissions. This legislation is the first step toward long-term reductions in global warming pollution.

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA): Illinois: Let Animal Rescuers Do Their Jobs Without Fear
Illinois House Bill 5076 contains “Good Samaritan” provisions for individuals who rescue or provide care for injured animals in emergencies or disasters. The bill also clarifies the statute of limitations for violations of the Humane Care for Animals Act.

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): Sign a Petition to Stop Mink Farming in the Netherlands
An organization with whom Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute works as part of the Fur Free Alliance (FFA)* will soon present a petition to key decision-makers in the Netherlands parliament. With just a few moments of your time to sign the petition today, you can show the Netherlands that the world is watching — and supports a ban on mink farming.

Born Free USA / Animal Protection Institute (API): North Carolina Residents: Protect Animals and People in Your Community
We need your calls and letters today, in support of legislation to regulate the ownership of exotic animals in North Carolina.

Dawnwatch: UK Guardian on global hunger — “If you care, eat less meat” 15 April, 2008
The Tuesday, April 15 Guardian (London) has a commentary piece, by George Monbiot, headed “Credit crunch? The real crisis is global hunger. And if you care, eat less meat: A food recession is under way. Biofuels are a crime against humanity, but - take it from a flesh eater - flesh eating is worse.” (p 27)

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Action Alerts

The Center for Food Safety: Missouri Labeling Bill Could Restrict Your Right to Know [Missouri residents]
Senate Bill 1279, which would make it illegal for dairies to label their milk as “artificial growth hormone free,” is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee on Tuesday, April 15th. Senators need to hear from you!

Environmental Defense: Help Stop the Yazoo Pumps Project!
The EPA has recommended a veto for the Yazoo Pumps Project - a plan proposed by the Army Corps of Engineers to build the world’s largest hydraulic pumping plant in the middle of Mississippi.

The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO): Dog Fighting Bill Threatened [Missouri residents]
Senate Bill 819 will strengthen Missouri’s dog fighting law. It is supported by the Humane Society of Missouri, the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation and many animal welfare organizations. Unfortunately, the Missouri Federation of Animal Owners, a group of mostly commercial breeders, has come out in opposition to this bill.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Stop Canada’s Cruel Seal Hunt
Right now, the European Commission is considering proposing a ban on the trade of seal products in the European Union (EU)—a move many believe could spell the end of commercial seal hunting globally. Please sign this petition to let the EU know you support this ban!

Oceana: Take Action: Close the Shark Fin Loophole!
In 2000, the U.S. government enacted the Shark Finning Prohibition Act, intending to make shark finning illegal. But the law only applied to fishing vessels, not all vessels - a loophole that has been grossly exploited.

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