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Morality Aside, is Violence an Effective Strategy? By Michael Greger
Sep 5, 2006
May 6, 2002, Volkert van der Graaf, a 33 year-old vegan animal rights activist was waiting nervously in a parking lot outside of a Denmark radio studio. It was days before the Dutch general elections. Inside the studio, political candidate Pim Fortuyn swore that if his party rose to power he would lift the ban outlawing fur farming in the Netherlands. Minutes later, as Fortuyn was about to get into his limousine, our activist pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot the politician five times, point blank, in the chest, gunning him down, dead, in broad daylight. Later he told the Court that he committed murder “guided by my conscience.”

Last year in California, animal activists claimed responsibility for two predawn pipe bombings. Thankfully, no one was hurt—except, perhaps, the animal rights movement.

Take, for example, the failure of right wing religious terror in this country. Although the morally contemptuous murders of nine abortion doctors and supporters seemed to have reduced abortion availability by intimidating providers and their support network, most analyses view the terror as ultimately backfiring against the anti-choice movement in terms of public credibility. In fact, according to the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center, the percentage of people considering themselves pro-choice actually peaked in 1994, the anti-choice murderers’ single bloodiest year.

The animal exploitation industries are drooling to have us hurt someone. They know that our power is our compassion. That’s why they try to take away our power by painting us as violent misanthropes. In fact, they’ve wanted to make us look violent so bad that they weren’t even willing to wait around until one of us snapped. November 11, 1989, U. S. Surgical company, a long-time target of animal activists because of their use of live dogs in surgical stapling demonstrations, furnished pipe bombs to a young animal activist and drove her to place them in the company president’s parking space. In the ensuing trial it came out that the whole assassination plot was engineered by U.S. Surgical’s president Leon Hirsh himself. In the PR industry exposé Toxic Sludge is Good for You, authors Stauber and Rampton write, “Normally, of course, company presidents do not arrange their own murder, but Hirsch was neither crazy nor suicidal. He was trying to engineer an embarrassing scandal that would discredit the animal rights movement.”

They want us to look like violent militants. It pushes us off our moral high ground. This is even spelled out explicitly in the official 1988 American Medical Association white paper on how to discredit our movement. Quoting from the report, the AMA advises corporations that people who believe in animal rights “must be shown to be...responsible for violent and illegal acts that endanger life.” Animal rights activists must be seen as people who are “terrorists,” who are “opposed to human well-being.” And this is the same advice you find in the strategy papers of Ringling Brothers, the pork producers, the Fur Information Council of America. I fear we are walking right into their trap.

The corporations know that their Achilles heel is the truth. They have to do everything in their power to keep people ignorant. A quote from a 2004 animal agriculture textbook: “For modern animal agriculture, the less the consumer knows about what’s happening before the meat hits the plate, the better.” They know that hundreds of millions of people would be against them if they only knew the truth. Everybody is against cruelty to animals. So the industry’s only chance is to marginalize our movement and distract the public from the real issue. And the real issue is the violence that goes on inside their factory farms, their labs, their slaughterhouses. Our secret weapon, therefore, is effective education.

What do I mean by effective education? Is screaming Compassion is the Fashion! at passersby in our best death metal voice at a fur demo effective education? I don’t think so. The “open rescue” tactic, pioneered by Patty Mark in Australia, where unmasked activists openly liberate abused animals, is effective education. Vegan Outreach’s adopt-a-college campaign, where volunteers hand out free copies of their influential “Why Vegan?” booklet to students, is another example of effective education. And while preaching to the convertible on some school campus may seem less sexy than living out our macho fantasies, the animals deserve no less.

In our sheltered activist circles it’s easy to forget how effective the industry has been at concealing the ugly truth. People still simply don’t know what goes on in factory farms. Most people, for example, don’t even know that dairy cows are slaughtered. In the biggest study on transitioning towards vegetarianism to date involving thousands of high school seniors across 52 schools, only 29 percent of the young women and 17 percent of the men disagreed with the statement “I think meat production is done humanely.” There is much educational work to be done.

We animal rights activists tend to live in a fantasy world. Too many activists wrap themselves in vegan cliques and insulate themselves from the real world. When hundreds of animal activists on the 1996 March for Animals were asked to guess the odds that everyone in America would go vegetarian over the next 15 years, the average respondent predicted that there was over a one in five chance of everyone in the U.S. giving up meat by the year 2011! And the chances that animal experimentation would be abolished by 2011? Forty percent. I hate to be the one to have to break it people, but we’re deluding ourselves. One can see, though, how seductive political violence might seem to those under the delusion that the vegan revolution is right around the corner. We need to take a step back, though, and recognize that we need to be in this for the long haul. And that means we have to recognize that public opinion matters.

A few pipe bombs are not going to topple multi-billion dollar industries. What they may do, however, is play right into the opposition’s blood-stained hands and make our education efforts more difficult. It may plant a wedge and further distance society from being open to our message.

Who cares what they think, though? Why should we care about public opinion? Because unless we think there are enough vegans in this world, unless we think there are enough animal activists, unless we are content that we have reached some kind of revolutionary quorum, then it matters what society thinks because we need to grow. We need to be a movement that people want to join. We can go on and on about the victorious availability of soy milk everywhere now, but we’re losing. We’re losing more and more animals every single year. We need to become a mass movement.

The T-shirts of Animal Rights Hawaii quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kinds of extremists we will be.” I think we should be nonviolent extremists for the animals.

Michael Greger, M.D., facilitates discussions on violence at the national animal rights conferences. He can be reached through his website at www.veganMD.org.

Source: http://www.satyamag.com/mar04/greger.html

Related Topic:

Goal: The Most Effective Activism for Animal Liberation
By Joyce Friedman

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/169340

Second Thoughts on the Animal Activism Approach
By Emily Weissman

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/169324
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Posted: Sep 5, 2006 3:27am
Goal: The Most Effective Activism for Animal Liberation By Joyce Friedman
Sep 5, 2006
“When is the next protest?” “Is there going to be a protest?”

“Ask Joyce; she’ll know.”

Over the past five years, these questions would flow regularly into my email inbox or voicemail, or from activists passing by my table at vegetarian restaurants. I was the protest queen of sorts. As northeast campaign coordinator for a national animal rights organization, I organized and attended dozens in New York City. Along with many extremely dedicated volunteers, I put great amounts of time and effort, and the organization put forth large amounts of money, into these endeavors—the famous Ringling Brothers protests, for example.

When a circus enters our city, animal advocates feel deep sadness for the enslaved animals, and intense anger at the exploiters. The first and strongest urge most of us have is to go out in front of the circus arena, shout at anyone who will listen about the cruelty and injustice, make sure the circus owners hear us, show video footage of what really goes on, and try to ensure that audience members never return again. Laudable actions, right? We are speaking out for these poor animals and not remaining silent. Yes, laudable intentions, but… are these actions effective?

Every dedicated animal activist should be continually exploring what the most effective strategies are to achieve our goals. A crucial preliminary step is to define what our goals are. This process sounds easy enough, but in fact can be a difficult one, clouded by the intense emotions we feel about the horrific animal suffering we know occurs every moment of every day. After years as a protest organizer, I recently started reflecting on how effective the circus protests, for example, really are in reaching my goal—for circuses to stop using animals. Period.

I used to measure the success of protests by such things as the number of thumbs up we got from passing motorists, the number of people who said they will not return next year, and, most satisfyingly, the number of people who actually ripped up their tickets right on the spot after they saw our video and spoke to us. This was exciting! However, I realize now that even if, for example, 30 people honked their approval, four families promised never to return, two families ripped up their tickets, and hundreds more saw a few seconds of video footage who may tell others, this sadly does not have an iota of an effect on the continuation of Ringling Brothers’ exploitation. There are still enough audience members to fill arenas and Ringling Brothers continues their shows in Madison Square Garden and nationally. To educate enough people to reduce the tens of thousands across the country who willingly attend the circus will take decades, if we can do it at all. Unless consumer-oriented campaigns are able to successfully target and influence hundreds of thousands of consumers, if not millions, to change their buying habits, targeted industries will not change because they still have enough consumers to profit from.

A perfect example of this dilemma is the campaign against Macy’s in which extremely dedicated activists regularly and creatively protested outside the famous New York department store to convince customers to boycott Macy’s until they stop selling fur. Stacks of petition signatures were gathered from passersby and meetings were attempted with Macy’s president. A few years later, Macy’s continues to sell fur, still citing large enough customer demand. Despite the periodic media coverage and the number of passersby influenced, there just wasn’t a large enough consumer base reached to have an effective boycott.

This type of analysis led me to realize that we have to do something different or we will be protesting for the next 40 years outside such exploiters as Ringling Brothers and Macy’s, and elephants, tigers, minks, foxes and other sentient beings will continue to be bred, captured, enslaved, tortured and killed. Upon much reflection and assessment, and from discussions with others who were also questioning and reflecting, I realized that while education is a crucial part of the road to animal liberation, it is simply not enough. The momentary release we get from chanting in solidarity on a street corner and educating an unfortunately tiny portion of the “mainstream” is simply not the most effective way of reaching our goal, if our goal is to really stop animal abuse. If a few thumbs-up is what we want and nothing more, then let’s continue to protest.

Getting Political
And so I came to find political action. I got involved with a New York-based political action committee (PAC) called the League of Humane Voters (LOHV). Animal rights PACs work to get laws passed to make animal exploitation illegal. Isn’t that what we want? Political action is direct, assertive and meaningful—we go after the abusers and say “you cannot hurt animals anymore; it is illegal!” We force industries via laws to stop unjust acts. Will it take awhile? Yes. Is it worth it? Darn right it is!

The purpose of LOHV is to mobilize public concern for animals through the democratic political process. We campaign for the election of candidates for public office who will work to enact animal rights legislation. We assist them in a variety of ways, such as sending mailings to their constituents, volunteering for their election campaign, and running ads and issuing supportive press releases. We ask the candidates to make a public statement acknowledging our support of their candidacy and their support for humane legislation and specific issues.

If the candidates are elected, we then lobby them on the bills they agreed to support while they were running for office. It is really quite simple: they recognize that they need us—we helped them get elected and may do so again—so they want to help with what we ask for. That’s how politics works—let’s have it work for the animals.

It is noteworthy that the National Rifle Association has fewer supporters than do animal protection organizations yet are much better organized and politically influential. There is no longer an excuse for animal rightists to not be the same. Recognizing that animal exploitation is not just a moral issue, LOHV intends to make animal rights a mainstream political issue by building support among citizens, activists, political parties, candidates and elected representatives. We consistently work to grow our database of animal-sympathetic voters through outreach and education. We are not just passing legislation; we are growing a grassroots political movement for animals which can increasingly influence lawmakers. Long-term planning for long-lasting results.

Some of the bills being worked on by LOHV will ban canned hunts (recreational shooting of confined animals), ban force-feeding of ducks for foie gras, give local governments the power to ban wildlife trapping, extend the felony cruelty law to include wildlife, and ban some forms of the use of animals in entertainment (with a goal of eventually banning all forms).

I like the LOHV approach in that it takes on winnable issues. For example, it is strategic to first work against the production of foie gras before an attempt to ban the raising of chickens for their flesh. Yes, we’d like to outlaw the killing of all animals for food. But we all know this cannot happen immediately. However, most individuals will agree the production of foie gras, not a staple in most people’s diets, is cruel once they learn about it; then they will become a humane voter on this issue. It is strategic to bridge the gap between animal rights and more mainstream sentiments by starting with more winnable, less “extreme” issues; grow the number of supporters and then move on to larger issues. Just as in consumer boycott campaigns, we have to reach out to large numbers of people but the difference here is we are trying to reach those who agree with us (i.e. are animal friendly to some extent), not try to convert those who do not agree (such as fur store customers). The former is a more realistic task.

An excellent book on creating strategic, winnable, grassroots campaigns, growing your organization as well as a grassroots movement, is a book that LOHV has come to consider its “bible”—Organizing for Social Change; Midwest Academy Manual for Activists by Kimberly Bobo, et al. We learned from this book how crucial it is to create a campaign strategy by choosing appropriate short- and long-term goals, analyzing who your targets are (that is, those who can give you what you want, such as a politician whose support you want on a bill), figure out who your allies and opponents are, and being aware of organizational considerations.

Many activists have fears and often animosity about politics. Many of us believe politicians are dishonest, corrupt, and uncaring. Others don’t trust or even understand politics. I felt all of the above and more. I am now comfortable in the world of politics, although I am still learning something new each day. I have found politicians who truly do want to stop animal abuse, but even if most don’t in their hearts, that is not important. What is important to them is votes. So we approach them when they need us; we offer them help, and in return they, once elected, help us.

Since I joined LOHV in late 2003 I have had extremely positive and rewarding meetings with several local politicians whom we have endorsed and who want to introduce and support animal rights legislation and even help us to lobby their fellow politicians.

So who should get involved in political action for animals?
• You who no longer attend protests because you doubt their value but feel guilty that you aren’t being an advocate.
• You who attend protests but want to do more.
• You who feel burned out from traditional techniques.
• You who are aware of animal suffering but haven’t been spreading the message.
• All animal activists!

For more information on animals in circuses, visit www.circuses.com. To learn more about political activism, volunteering, or financially supporting LOHV, see www.humanevoters.org or contact Joyce at klinjoy@aol.com or (718) 807-6748.

Source: http://www.satyamag.com/apr04/friedman.html

Related Topic:

Second Thoughts on the Animal Activism Approach
By Emily Weissman

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/169324

Morality Aside, is Violence an Effective Strategy?
By Michael Greger

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/169345
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Posted: Sep 5, 2006 3:21am
Second Thoughts on the Animal Activism Approach By Emily Weissman
Sep 5, 2006
I would like to bring attention to the issue of animal rights. I am an animal rights activist, as well as vegan. I choose not to eat meat. That is my choice. It is my personal belief that eating meat is wrong. That doesn’t make me right.

There is something else I would like to bring attention to. Each year, millions of animals are slaughtered in a cruel and unjust manner, for food, clothes, and for countless other uses. Animals do not deserve to be treated the way they are. I feel it is wrong. Most people would agree.

As an animal rights activist, my goal is to inform people about the atrocities that involve animals, including the horrific conditions in which animals live before being killed, and the manner in which they are slaughtered. If I focus on my personal beliefs and convey the message to others that “Eating meat is wrong,” meat-eaters will most likely defend their right to eat meat. While becoming angry, they might start a “controversial debate” and we might sit for hours arguing our personal beliefs—whether eating meat is right, or wrong.

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only activist with her head still attached. Have we all lost our minds somewhere along the way? Have we become so completely absorbed in our self-righteous attitudes that we can no longer process thoughts in a rational manner?

I have found that when I bring to light the alarming facts on how animals are treated in order to become food, people actually listen to what I have to say. When I speak of other atrocities involving animal cruelty, people maintain their interest, often listening closely. I provide facts; I speak about animals who are subjected to much abuse and torture throughout their lives. By not citing my personal belief that eating meat is “wrong,” more people opt to listen to what I am saying, instead of providing an immediate rebuttal. After providing these facts I might add, “I do not eat meat because of these facts… I feel it is wrong.”

There is much too much sadness in this day and age. There are too many sentient beings that suffer in pain and misery, while we sit on our leather couches, wash our hair with shampoo that was tested on animals, and live a sheltered life in front of our televisions and computers. If animal activists want to get through to people, we must pick an issue. We must provide facts to educate people. When trying to gain support we must prioritize. We can’t pick a million and one issues and expect people to pay attention. It is too overwhelming for them; for anyone. Truth is a lot to handle. Once your eyes are unveiled, truth pours in like harsh rays of sunshine.

We need to start small. Encourage people to eat less red meat. Educate them so that they may eventually choose to not eat meat at all. In order for someone to change their way of living, they must first obtain the desire to do so. We have become such fanatics that we will not accept others unless they have conformed to our perfect ways. We must be accepting of others’ diets, and inform them first of why we fight for our cause. If someone stops eating red meat, but still eats fish or chicken, I can’t jump down their throats screaming for them to stop. I am happy when they have stopped eating red meat—it is a step in the right direction. I would much rather people eat fish than cows. I would much rather people not harm any kind of creature, but I can’t tell them that they are “wrong” for what they eat. Hopefully that realization will come with time. Once they have adapted to a life without red meat, perhaps I will speak with them on shifting towards a vegan diet. I would rather they accept the vegan lifestyle first; let the diet come later.

Animal activists, more often than not, come across as “crazy.” I wonder if they realize that calmly educating with facts goes further than drowning someone’s ear in personal beliefs and opinions. I could tell you eating meat is wrong, but that is my opinion. I could show you how animals suffer in pain and that could be a fact you might come to understand and perhaps it might become a cause you deem worth fighting for. People have a right to their thoughts. If this article is printed, then I have had a right to mine.

Emily Weissman is an animal advocate and freelance poet from Long Island, New York. Her work appears regularly on the Internet. You can contact her at: MleWeissman@aol.com.


Morality Aside, is Violence an Effective Strategy?
By Michael Greger

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/169345


Goal: The Most Effective Activism for Animal Liberation
By Joyce Friedman

http://www.care2.com/c2c/share/detail/169340
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Posted: Sep 5, 2006 2:08am
My Public Apology
Sep 3, 2006
Dear Care2 Members,

Since most of the people I know are here, I like to take this opportunity to make a public apology to all the people that I have hurt in the past during my time here in Care2.


It has been my main objective to advocate the protection of all animals since the very day I became a Care2 member. However, it seems, at times, I have let my emotions of anger on humans, driven by compassion towards animals to get the better of me. And because of that, I have said things or done things via my actions and postings in many groups that may have hurt or have angered certain people or individuals. Please accept my sincere apologies to everything that was done before. I promise that from now on, I will make improvements and conduct everything including my actions and postings with the utmost respect.


I am thankful that through the humane education program provided by the Humane Society of the United States and other well intentioned individuals or groups, I have come to realize the importants on the way or method of approach to be taken if it's going to be taken seriously by others. Each individual is unique deserving our respect while sharing information with a mutual understanding for each others emotions, believes, opinions and / or suggestions.


I have aslo opened a group called, "Humane Living" and I am cordially inviting everyone to visit or better still, join us in friendship:


Humane Living is about bringing into thought in the many ways that we can make the most humane of choices in our daily lives whenever possible to the best of our ability. Humane Living does not limit veganism as the only way. We also like to welcome other ideas of humane living such as raw veganism, fruitarianism, vegetarianism or simple choices that has no ideologies at all. I believe, we should always be open to welcome all opinions and suggestions that can contribute to our goals and end results to help us live a Humane Lifestlye.

And to those who wish to continue eating animal products, I appreciate it that you have realized that not all animal products are equal when it comes to animal welfare. Each industry has its own abusive practices, and some are much more cruel than others. For example, the chicken, egg, turkey, and pork industries tend to be far more abusive to animals than the beef industry. And a growing number of producers are raising animals without intensive confinement. Refining your diet by choosing cage-free animal products, instead of the conventional factory farm products that fill most supermarket shelves, will help to diminish animal suffering. Thank you for making that choice. You have also considered humane eating and should be commended for the achievement that you are doing to the best of your current ability. Better something than nothing right?

 

Every hour in the United States alone, one million animals are killed for human consumption. Thus, for those who have decided to at least cut back on your animal consumption by only 10%, approximately one billion animals would be spared a lifetime of suffering each year. And from the bottom of my heart, I wish to thank you for taking that important step.

    



the energy in humane = empathy

       
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Posted: Sep 3, 2006 6:05am
Oxford Animal Testing Debate by BBC Newsnight Special
Jul 31, 2006
A BBC Newsnight special in which scientists and campaigners debate the use of animals for medical research. Watch it online and please note it:

Animal Testing Debate


Details:

The BBC has finally given animal rights people a chance to sit across the talking table. The program "Newsnight" is devoting the whole program to the Oxford Debate.

Along the panelists for vivisection will be Professor Tipu Azis (who advocates animal testing for all the cosmetics industries.)

The against vivisection panelists will be Kathy Archibald (Europeans for Medical Advancement), Dr. Caroline Lucas (Member of European Parliament (MEP) for the Green Party), Andre Menache (Scientific Advisor to Animal Aid) and Mel Broughton (spokesman for SPEAK)

The program was recorded on Thursday July 27, 2006 ) at 8pm (GMT) and was aired on national tv from 9.30 to 10.15pm.
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Posted: Jul 31, 2006 12:56am
The Ant and the Contact Lens: A True Story
Jul 29, 2006

untitled.bmp

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather as this is her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry." She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her...

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains.

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

ant.bmp

Now that Brenda got her contact lense back, she was happy that she clould clearly see across the range of mountains which she could not earlier... all thanks to our friend, Mr. Ant.

This story has been edited to shorten the length, and to shine the spotlight on the ant alone.

Moral of the story:

"Most people don't think frogs, toads, ants and alike are cute or very charismatic, but saving animals isn't a beauty contest." ~ From Animal Showboat to Animal Lifeboat

"Each time we walk out of our front door, we are in another animals home. We need to pause, imagining the world through their eyes, their ears and their noses. And we need to walk softly, taking care in not to crush our shared earth with each and every step. Being compassionate isn't scientific, but it is our responsibility and opportunity to make the earth a more humane place, for all creatures, great and small." ~ From Animal Showboat to Animal Lifeboat
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Posted: Jul 29, 2006 11:48pm
[MIDDLE EAST] Forgotten Casualties Of War - Disaster Rescue Needs & News
Jul 18, 2006
A Dog's-Eye View of the Middle East and Beyond
SOURCE: http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0205/articles/020522b.htm

(Israel, West Bank, Afghanistan) — Do you ever wonder what dogs think about
these crazy humans who seem to be so involved with driving tanks and
launching giant sticks?

We can only guess.  As the Middle East Crisis and other violent conflicts
rip through Southwest Asia, the silent observers—the dogs—form an eerie,
omniscient presence.

1.bmp

"Phew. For a minute, I thought it was Animal Control. OK, everyone... as you were."

Armored personnel carriers pass by stray dogs during the daily curfew
imposed by the Israeli army in the West Bank town of Nablus. (Photo: 5 Apr. 2002, Pavel Wolberg / AP) http://www.DogsInTheNews.com


2.bmp

"And they tell me I'm not supposed to dig holes!"

A stray dog looks on as International Security Assistance Force Peacekeeper Lance Cpl. Aaron Hayward, of Bury St. Edmonds, England, keeps evening watch over crime-plagued west Kabul in Afghanistan. (Photo: 6 Apr. 2002, Suzanne Plunkett / AP) http://www.DogsInTheNews.com


3.bmp

"Ah, now there's something worth fighting over."

A cat walks under an Israeli tank stationed inside PaIestinian leader Yasser Arafat's compound in the besieged West Bank city of Ramallah. (Photo: 5 Apr. 2002, Jerome Delay / AP) http://www.DogsInTheNews.com


4.bmp

"OK, that was a little too close."

Palestinian militants were blamed for this Quassam rocket attack that hit an Israeli town in March, miraculously leaving this one terrier unscathed. As Christopher Walken said (playing the role of Gabriel, the Angel of Death in the 1997 film The Prophecy II): "Try not to hit the dog." (Photo: AFP) http://www.DogsInTheNews.com

Resources & Where To Donate In War-Torn Middle East

Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA):
http://beta.beirut.com/

CHAI: Concern for Helping Animals in Israel:
http://www.chai-online.org/chai_is.htm

Alley Cat Rescue Mission In Israel:
http://www.saveacat.org/rescuemission.htm

Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals In Israel:
http://www.haifa-spca.org.il/
Israel, Ra'anana / ph: 972 9 774 5532
Israel, Tel Aviv / ph: 972 3 682 7621, 972 3 6810061, 972 3 5181420
Israel, Mifrad Haifa /  ph: 972 4 729696
Israel, Jerusalem / ph:  972 2 585 1531

Let the Animals Live - Nonprofit organisation for animal shelter and aid:
http://letlive.org.il/english/home.php
Israel, Tel Aviv / ph: 972 3 647 5812, Evening: 972 3 5441735
Israel, Haifa / ph: 972 4 222874, 972 4 253094, 972 4 326060

Rehovot Society For The Protection Of Animals
http://www.israelpets.org/eng/
ph: 08-946-0135; email: rspa@israelpets.org

Animal Welfare Organizations, ISRAEL:
http://info.jpost.com/C005/Supplements/CafeOleh/animals.html#1

Worldwide Shelter Directory:
http://www.h4ha.org/shelters/

World Society For The Protection Of Animals:
http://www.wspa-usa.org/

More Forgotten Victims: Animals In Beirut Shelter
SOURCE: Veda Stram <veda@wavecable.com>

Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA):
http://beta.beirut.com/

Veda Stram <veda@wavecable.com> writes, 7/14: Any financial assistance you
can provide for the animal shelter in Beirut would be much appreciated.

Joelle Kanaan (BETA) joelle_k@idm.net.lb writes, 7/14: Our shelters, cats
and dogs, are both situated in Beirut and the dog shelter in particular is
very close to where they've been bombing lately. A rocket fell only about
1km away from the shelter at 4 am this morning and the dogs are ALL so very
scared. They all have diarrhea now from fear and they're not stopping
barking.

The sad thing is that we don't have any other place to move them to and
boarding them in foster homes is also kind of impossible as we currently
have 130 dogs at the dog shelter and 95 cats at our 2 cat shelters.

We urgently need financial help as we are stockpiling bags of food + bags of
litter + medicines at the shelters and fundraising now is impossible in
Lebanon... Pray for Lebanon and the poor voiceless animals in it!

DONATE ONLINE: http://beta.beirut.com/donate.php

Joelle Kanaan, Co-Founder, BETA
Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA)
Beirut, Lebanon
http://beta.beirut.com

Emergency Appeal For Funding
SOURCE: BETA <Animals@Beirut.com>  

BETA <Animals@Beirut.com> writes, 7/15: War in Lebanon threatens the lives
of hundreds of rescued animals. Beirut for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(BETA) is a registered charity actively working on animal welfare issues in
Lebanon.

Since its inception, BETA has been at the forefront of the battle to ensure
animals are respected and cared for in Lebanon. Now a registered NGO, BETA
has rescued over 500 stray and abused cats and dogs, founded Lebanon's first
cat and dog shelters while spaying / neutering almost half of its rescued
animals. A pioneer in its field, BETA has also found homes for many of its
rescued animals. We now have three separate shelters caring for more than
130 dogs and 100 cats.

As we hope you are all aware, sadly the country of Lebanon is now at war.
The country is under attack and in the last two days the only international
airport has been completely destroyed, foreign warships are now stationed in
its sea ports, and the main roads to Syria are now in ruins. Lebanon is
effectively cut off from the rest of the world, it is nearly impossible to
enter or leave the country and trade has come to a halt.

The necessary goods to care for our animals are becoming more difficult to
find, and what is available is now becoming more expensive due to their
scarcity.

BETA and the animals in its care urgently need your help. With the country
shut down, all of our in-country fundraising projects have been forced to
stop.

Many of us are quite literally risking our lives to visit each shelter and
care for the animals early in the morning and again before nightfall. The
dog shelter is located on the border of Dahye (a block street from Dahye), a
suburb where many of the attacks are taking place. The shelter is in
sustained danger and many of the dogs are visibly suffering due to the
ongoing noise and near destruction. Trips to our cat shelters take us
through a large part of Beirut and the attacks and destruction continue
making this more difficult and dangerous.

We urgently need funding to get the animals through this period, most of our
normal fundraising options have been forced to stop, and we are now calling
on you to help support these animals. While cash donations will be the most
effective to get us through these days, we are also in need of cat and dog
food as well as cat litter. Our vet is still donating his services for free
but donations of medications are extremely helpful.

While we realize this is a trying time for all people in Lebanon, we do ask
that you assist with this urgent appeal and recognize the importance of the
lives of these animals. Thank you for your support and with your help these
animals will be able to get through this without having to suffer more than
they already have.

For bank details and more information on how to help, contact:
maggy_sha@yahoo.com, joelle_k@idm.net.lb, animals@beirut.com
Or view our website http://beta.beirut.com

''We exist solely on the kindness of your adoptions, donations and assistance"
--BETA team * BETA is a an officially recognized charity #205/AD

Trying To Survive The Fighting In Lebanon
SOURCE: Michaela Newell <mnewell@hn.ozemail.com.au>
http://www.animalpeoplenews.org/
anpeople@whidbey.com

BERUIT (ANIMAL PEOPLE)--The young Lebanese humane movement is struggling to
avoid becoming a collateral casualty of the July 12 Israeli invasion of
Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah militia members, who raided Israel earlier
in the day.

"I just came back from two weeks in Lebanon, and by chance left just two
hours before the airport was destroyed," Kenya-based wildlife trafficking
investigator Jason Mier emailed to ANIMAL PEOPLE.

Mier has worked closely since January 2006 with Beirut for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals to facilitate several rescues of illegally obtained and
exhibited nonhuman primates. "I am speaking to BETA twice a day by phone,"
Mier said.

"Lebanon is now at war," affirmed an emergency appeal from BETA. "We are
effectively cut off from the rest of the world. The necessary goods to care
for our animals are becoming more difficult to find, and what is available
is now becoming more expensive due to scarcity. With the country shut down,
all of our in-country fundraising has been forced to stop.

"Many of us are quite literally risking our lives to visit our shelters
early in the morning and again before nightfall," BETA continued. "The dog
shelter is located on the border of Dahye,  a suburb where many of the
attacks are taking place. The shelter is in sustained danger. Many of the
130 dogs are visibly suffering. Trips to our cat shelters take us through a
large part of Beirut. Attacks and destruction continue making this more
difficult and dangerous."

BETA houses about 100 cats, divided between two locations.
 
BETA was formed in 2004 through the collaboration of five individual
activists, Hania Jurdak, Marguerite Shaarawai, Katia Sleiman, Joelle Kanaan,
and Sylvie La Voie, who had all been working alone, assisted by Beirut
veterinarian Ali Hemadeh.

CONTACT:
maggy_sha@yahoo.com, joelle_k@idm.net.lb, animals@beirut.com
Or view website: http://beta.beirut.com

Postal contact has been disrupted by the fighting.

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Posted: Jul 18, 2006 1:38am
Cruel Killing of 13 Dogs, Shot to Death by the Malaysian (Seremban) Municipal Council!
Jul 11, 2006
Please sign the petition:

Cruel Killing of 13 Dogs, Shot to Death by the Malaysian (Seremban) Municipal Council!
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Posted: Jul 11, 2006 8:18am
Undercover Rescue Saves Baby Gorilla
Jun 29, 2006
Baby gorillaA risky undercover operation by Innovation pour le Development et la Protection de l'Evironment (IDPE), a WSPA member society, has led to the rescue of a baby gorilla. The gorilla's family had been slaughtered for food in Africa.

IDPE stepped in when they were recently alerted about the sale of an orphaned infant gorilla. IDPE Director Bantu Lukambo and his team posed as buyers and immediately confiscated the traumatized 4-month-old infant.
‘‘The infant was in a terrible state with injuries to its arms and weak from lack of food and being drugged with sedatives,” said Bantu.

IDPE took the infant to the Congolese National Parks Institute (ICCN), where it is now being cared for.

Retribution against rescuers

However, for Bantu and his team, the story did not end with the infant's return to safety. Two days after the rescue, the gorilla's seller, a rogue military officer, took his vengeance by having Bantu locked up in prison on false charges. Fortunately, Bantu was freed from prison four hours later with the help of other activist groups. Bantu and his team remain undeterred by incident.

“Such acts will not stop us from continuing our efforts to stop the destruction of the national park and the indiscriminate and inhumane slaughter of our wildlife." Bantu Lukambo, IDPE Director, upon his release from prison.

Working for animal welfare
IDPE works on a variety of issues ranging from direct assistance to companion animals in surrounding villages and towns to tackling the bushmeat trade - the killing of wild animals for food in Africa - through intense lobbying, education and enforcement. Recently, the group was awarded a small grant to purchase equipment to enable them to continue enforcement and provide much needed education to the public on the need for animal welfare and conservation.

Mountain gorillas homes at risk

The Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the few remaining indigenous homes of mountain gorillas and other tropical forest wildlife. Years of civil unrest and war have led to increased human encroachment on the land, which has in turn led to rampant deforestation and an expansion in the capture and trade of wildlife for bushmeat consumption.  In the wake of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, a massive influx of refugees fleeing for their lives took refuge in Virunga, further contributing to the massive deforestation and poaching. As a result of the ensuing devastation, the UN inscribed Virunga as a “World Heritage in Danger” site in 1994.

Since that time, several international organizations have made considerable efforts to restore the park and conserve wildlife habitat. However, continuous civil unrest, lack of government resources and population pressure are still taking their toll on the environment, and the poaching of all mammals remains rampant.

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Posted: Jun 29, 2006 11:04pm
United Nations Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare - A Global Petition Launch
Jun 17, 2006
The ANIMALS MATTER TO ME petition calling for a United Nations Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare was officially launched on the 8th June 2006, at the WSPA Biennial Symposium meeting in London. The event is attended by more than 300 animal welfare groups from over 110 countries around the globe.


Hundreds of the worlds animal welfare groups have begun the massive task of building a petition of ten million signatures in order to secure a Universal Declaration for the Welfare of Animals at the United Nations.

http://wspa.org.uk/news.asp?newsID=244

Help us achieve global recognition that animals matter, that they can feel pain and can suffer and that we have a responsibility to put an end to cruelty around the world. We seek 10 million signatures to let the governments of the world know we are serious about achieving a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare at the United Nations. The scale of suffering for animals in the world today is unprecedented.

1. Around 60 billion farm animals are used each year globally to produce meat, milk and eggs. The majority are raised in industrial farming systems where their welfare needs are not met.

2. Globally, there are some 600 million dogs, and a similar number of cats, of which an estimated 80% are stray or unwanted.

3. The illegal and often inhumane trade in wildlife and wildlife parts is a soaring black market worth $10 billion a year, exceeded only by arms and drug smuggling. Millions of wild animals are killed, captured or traded inhumanely in this shady business.

4. An estimated 80% of power input on farms in developing countries is supplied by draught animals, however the resources made available are often woefully inadequate, leading to significant welfare issues.

5. Animals are also affected on a huge scale by natural disasters, though seldom considered.

You can help us achieve recognition and protection of animals around the world by joining a global voice of 10 million in support of our campaign.

Animals and our treatment of them matters to everyone, including you. Tell your government that animals matter to you.

http://www.animalsmatter.org

AM2M.jpg

Also added to be displayed on the Care2 News Pages

Please "Note it" so we can get it onto the Care2 front page! We will get more signature and cross-post support this way...

If you are confused on how to "Note it", well, all you have to do is:

- Click on this link: http://www.care2.com/news/member/163022030/113891 to go to the Newspage

- At the newspage, on the left hand side of the title, "United Nations Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare - A Global Petition Launch", there will be a note like icon in gold with a number on it. Click on it and you're done! 

The process above is how you "Note it."  You could also leave a comment if you wish in order to express how you feel about this petition and such.

Thank you for your time and your continous support for the animals,

Nick
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Posted: Jun 17, 2006 3:29am

 
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