Help animals

Power to the Chickens!
Here are some quick ways you can help animals:

NEW! 1. Cruelty at Christmas - during this holiday season,
please help WSPA to put an end to cruel and inhumane
treatment of reindeer:

Recent World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)
video footage clearly shows the suffering inflicted on massive
herds of reindeer as they are rounded up, transported and
slaughtered for their meat in Sweden and Finland. Visuals from the investigators’ report show in distressing detail the extreme suffering experienced by reindeer at every stage of the largely commercial process. Despite both Sweden and Finland's’ Animal Welfare Acts as well as the Växjö Declaration which states the Nordic Council of Ministers’ support for the belief that animals are sentient beings with their own intrinsic value and that they should be respected as such, the footage obtained by WSPA shows how the reindeer suffer horrific levels of fear, pain, acts of cruelty and are forced through a process that prohibits their natural behavior in many ways. Opinions of whether abattoirs should exist at all aside for a moment, we must stop the suffering of these beautiful creatures in this heinously broken system, and demand that Finland and Sweden adhere to their OWN laws. For more information, please visit:
http://www.wspa-international.org/latestnews/2010/christmas-cruelty-reindeer-mistreatment.aspx

Whether you choose to watch the video footage showing the horrific cruelty or not, you can still take action to help end the suffering of these reindeer. Write to the Nordic Council of Ministers and call on them to uphold the Växjö Declaration and both Sweden and Finland's’ Animal Welfare Acts (a link is provided on the WSPA webpage referenced above for better Declaration understanding). A pre-written letter is provided and simply requires your name to be attached to the effort:
http://e-activist.com/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=24&ea.campaign.id=8670&ea.param.extras=Organization:WSPAINT&ea.param.extras=Source:website

Also take a quick second to sign thepetitionsite.com petition as supported by the WSPA:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/116/923/742/

NEW! 2. PLEASE Help Animal Australia Be A VOICE For The Animals:

The findings of Animals Australia's seventh Middle East investigation into ongoing cruelty in the live export industry were aired on ABC's 7/30 Report, bringing the stories suffered by Australian animals half a world away to the eyes of Australians and the world.

Kuwait is an oil rich nation situated on the Arabian Gulf. It is also the major destination for Australian sheep in the Middle East. Some 22 million Australian sheep have been exported to Kuwait over the past 20 years. In early 2004 and again in 2006 Animals Australia investigators visited Kuwait and brought the brutal treatment of sheep and cattle in Kuwait at the Shuwaikh abattoir and the Al Rai livestock market to the attention of the Federal government and live export industry.

Australia has exported over 23,000 dairy cattle and 17,000 beef cattle to Kuwait since 2003. Last month Animals Australia's Lyn White returned to Kuwait for the Festival of Sacrifice and visited once again the Kuwaiti livestock market and abattoir that had presented such grave animal welfare concerns in the past.

"The streets of the Al Rai market on the morning of the Eid turned into a mass slaughter area for animals. Australian sheep were being purchased, bound with wire and shoved into car boots whilst others were being dragged terrified on their stomachs towards filthy slaughter areas on the side of roads where they waited amongst the dead and dying to have their throats cut. Within 30 minutes of the slaughter starting the streets were running with blood.

"The treatment of two young dairy bulls was so horrendous that it was almost soul destroying to witness. One was killed on the side of the road, and the other in a carpentry workshop. Both were brutally forced to the ground where they struggled, terrified as they were trussed with rope over a period of many minutes until tightly bound, they had their throats cut by inexperienced slaughterers resulting in long, painful deaths.

For the entire devastating story, please read (warning: video footage is graphic, but should you choose to not click on/witness the videos, photos are this webpage are mildly graphic) :
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/investigations/live-export-investigation-2010.php

What You Can Do - Be A VOICE For The Animals
Now that the ABC 7.30 Report has alerted the Australian public to the horrific cruelty that Australia's live export industry is responsible for, Australia's Government is under intense pressure to respond. Australia now has a new Agriculture minister who is willing to meet with and listen to animal welfare advocates about the inherent problems of live animal export. Please help spare millions of animals from suffering by sending a short, polite message to encourage Minister Ludwig to ban the cruel live export trade:

Senator Joe Ludwig
Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6277 7200
E-mail: senator.ludwig@aph.gov.au

Please also send the same brief and respectful message to the Australian Prime Minister via email:
http://www.pm.gov.au/PM_Connect/contact_your_pm_form

NEW! 3. Emergency: Don't Let the U.S. Senate and Secretary Salazar Sell Out the USA Wolves AND the Endangered Species Act!

Recent reports suggest that President Obama's Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, is prepared to agree to, and is actively promoting, legislative language that would eliminate Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for all gray wolves in the Northern Rockies, including those in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and portions of Washington, Oregon and Utah. Not only would wolves lose protections, they would also be put beyond the reach of the ESA forever unless the Secretary, at his sole discretion, chooses to restore them to the list of threatened or endangered species. Even worse, under the language, there would be no ability for the American public to petition for these protections in the future... regardless of how egregious state wolf management plans become.

The proposal is arbitrary and strikes a blow at the very foundation of the Endangered Species Act. Hundreds of wolves -- maybe more than a thousand -- could be killed. And we all could lose America's most effective tool for protecting imperiled wildlife.

We don't have much time to stop Secretary Salazar's plan. Please urge your senators to reject Interior Secretary Salazar's backroom deal to remove protections for wolves and harm the ESA. Please take a moment to sign the Defenders of Wildlife petition here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/emergency_dont_let_salazar_sell_out_our_wolves_and_the_endangered_species_act

And due to the ongoing suffering and slaughter of dolphins at the killing cove in Taiji, Japan, PTTC will be re-posting the following effort until there is good news for these beautiful marine mammals:

4. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: Help put an end to The Killing Cove!
Highly intelligent, beautiful, socially dynamic families are being slaughtered as we speak. The dolphins of Taiji are currently loosing their right to life in the most horrific ways - despite ongoing, hard-fought efforts by multiple organizations bringing this heinous activity to the public's consciousness (Earth Island Institute, Oceanic Preservation Society and Sea Shepherd, to name a few). Reuters and Japanese media are reporting that fisherman in Taiji, Japan, have "shrugged off" protests by international activists and resumed their grisly annual dolphin hunt recently.

According to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who are spearheading protests against the dolphin hunt with their on-site 'Cove Guardian' observers, many dolphins have been slaughtered at Taiji over the last several weeks. And if all of this isn't bad enough, according to a statement posted by the group, Japanese fishermen have rejected the activists' offer to buy the captive dolphins before they were killed.

It is clear that the people doing the slaughter, as well as the 'trainers' who come to select a few most unfortunate wild dolphins (who will spend the rest of their miserable lives in captivity for our human 'entertainment' purpose) know that they are doing something wrong simply by the way they hide behind tarps and move around in the cloak of night so they are not witnessed by the world while they perform horrible acts of extraordinary cruelty.

For daily updates, please visit the Sea Shepherd website - where Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians are documenting everything that is happening to these desperate dolphins: http://www.seashepherd.org/dolphins/cove-guardian-reports/

In the meantime, find out more about the many Social Networking options available to you that describe what you can do:
http://www.takepart.com/thecove/

Sign the Facebook petition:
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/252?m=e3173521#sign

Not on Facebook? Sign this petition:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/724/210/624/

UPDATE - NOW from Sea Shepherd Guardian Libby Katsinis - December 8th, 2010:
There has been a Changing Of The Guard - ian! Libby Katsinis has taken over for the brilliant efforts of Scott West for working tirelessly for the dolphins in Taiji, and keeping us apprised in devastating detail. Scott - for your inspirational and extraordinary desire to create awareness and change - I and the World send a love filled THANK YOU.

For ongoing Sea Shepherd Cove Guarding updates, visit: http://www.seashepherd.org/dolphins/cove-guardian-reports/

...and due to your efforts, some GOOD NEWS:

Amid all the devastation continuing to surround the killing of dolphins in Japan, it is important to take a moment to remember the progress that has been made. In a letter sent out by 'The Cove' - Save Japan Dolphin Campaign Director, Ric O'Barry, he reminds us of some 'battles won' this year to be grateful for, even though we know the war is still a long way from being over:

Thank you for an epic year!

It's hard to believe the year is drawing to an end, and what a year it has been!
Your support has led to some of our most important successes - things that just two years ago I wasn't sure would be possible: Here are just a few of the highlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXJat1f2P-4

We opened "The Cove" in Japan despite intense opposition, and received unprecedented coverage of the issue. Before "The Cove" came out, I was beating down the doors of media in Japan begging them to cover the story. After "The Cove," they met me at the airport and followed us to almost every location. Our press conference was attended by over 100 media representatives, including every major broadcast outlet. We still have a lot of work to do, but the secret is now out!

Japan is one of three nations hunting dolphins. The other two are The Faroe Islands and The Solomon Islands. Because of your support, we were able to negotiate a deal that ENDS the majority of hunting in The Solomon Islands after 450 years. We estimate that around 2000 dolphins will now be saved each year.

You all took unprecedented actions. Almost 100 of you went back to Japan with me at the beginning of the hunting season to present our petition signatures (1.7 million at the time.) More still called or showed up at Japanese Embassies and Consulate offices in Miami, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, New York, London, Toronto, Ottawa, Dublin, Cape Town, the Philippines, Canberra, Hong Kong, and more. Activists from all over the world and many different organizations are now on the ground monitoring the fisherman daily.

We were called to Egypt, where we found four dolphins from Taiji languishing in someone's backyard pool. Working with local activists from HEPCA we were able to get them moved and the city passed a ban on all imports from Taiji.

Again, and I can't say this enough, we couldn't do any of this without YOU. And we still have a long way to go - in Japan especially - but know that with your continued support we'll be able to do much more.

Thank you for all that you do!
Ric O'Barry
Campaign Director
For more information about this cause, please go to:
http://www.causes.com/causes/331088-the-cove-save-japan-dolphins?m=766d263e

United States Veterinarians promise to be active in animal cruelty prevention!
Some serious good news for animals this holiday season: there has been a little bit of progress on behalf of animals in the United States. The AVMA (American Veterinary Medical Association) last week announced the addition of the words "animal welfare" in the oath taken by new veterinarian graduates. The concept of animal welfare is not new, but recognition by an organization that represents U.S. veterinarians is a huge step forward for animals. Animal welfare can be defined as not just the physical but the mental well-being of non-humans. Concern for a creature's psychological well-being implies recognition that an animal is a sentient being with feelings of pain, pleasure, joy, sadness, fear -- all emotions. The semantics may seem minor but the implication is major - it suggests that today's veterinarians will be taking an oath to not only relieve animal suffering but to prevent it! (most of this information came from care2.com). For more information, please visit the AVMA website article:
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jan11/x110101a.asp

The International Gorilla Conservation Programme (IGCP) coalition brings GREAT news to us regarding collaborative gorilla conservation efforts!
The International Gorilla Conservation Programme has just notified the world that the mountain gorilla population in the Virunga Massif has GROWN from 380 individuals in 2003 to 480 individuals in 2010! "This is vivid testimony to the commitment of the Rwanda, Uganda and DRC governments, in addition to their supporting partners including IGCP, to ensuring the sustained protection of this charismatic species,” said David Greer, African Great Ape Coordinator at WWF. “The survey results provide us with an excellent demonstration of how strong law enforcement efforts put in place to safeguard flagship species can advance species conservation, benefit local communities, and provide important revenue to governments." For all the wonderful details, please go to:
http://www.igcp.org/igcp-coalition-members-react-to-good-news-in-mountain-gorilla-conservation/

Kim Sgro
PTTC Founder