Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights? LEARN MORE.

* Animals Are Not Ours to Eat
* Animals Are Not Ours to Wear
* Animals Are Not Ours to Experiment On
* Animals Are Not Ours to Use for Entertainment
* Animals Are Not Ours to Abuse in Any Way

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What Is So Special About Animals?

Animals are a big part of our lives, and play a very important role here. They too are an expression of God. We don’t even realize how much of our lives they are. Animals are an essential piece of the work of art that Nature is. We see them everyday. Every morning I like to step outside to my yard with my dogs and contemplate on the majestic beauty of Nature, and everywhere I look I see a creature of Nature. I hear them, and I’m sure they hear and see me too. I dont go out much, so my direct interaction with humans is quite limited, with the animal kingdom, however, is a bit different. Daily I see squirrels, dogs and cats, birds and butterflies of all colors, sizes and shapes, lizards, bees, and I like to interact with them. My dog’s ears stand up when he hears a bird nearby, or sees a bird on a low branch, I believe it’s because the bird has greeted him hello, and he acknowledges. His facial gestures show so kind, his tail wags very gently showing content for seeing a friend.
My neighbor has a huge tree in the yard, it looks old and beautiful, full of wisdom. Sadly, last week one of its big branches ripped right off and fell over the house. Fortunately, there was no damage done, its as if the branch had gently settled over the roof. Ever since this happened the squirrels have taken this tree branch like an amusement park, running and chasing after each other all around the branch, onto the roof and right back up the tree. It’s truly enjoyable to watch. Nature is healing, when we embrace her, She embraces us back giving us Her Love and Her Strength. Interacting with Nature and the animals is a way to practice Natural Healing, we are engaging in an interaction with that realm, which means there is an exchange of energy. This is why its becoming more common to see therapy pets, specially dogs, but also cats, birds, dolphins, apes, and the list goes on. Give yourself the gift of welcoming the animals into your life, you won’t regret it.
Animals help us feel grounded, they also assist us in relieving stress. I like to sing, and when I’m in Nature I feel inspired to chant. It’s an amazing sight how Nature and Her creatures react to our vibrations. I recommend trying it, if you already haven’t .
This routine is a daily blessing to me, I hope it brings you the same.

In The Greatest Degree of Love & Divine Light.

Rev. Adriana Zotelo, RMT

The morning of May 20, the USDA announced that it will implement a complete ban on slaughter for human consumption of cattle unable to stand and walk unassisted. The decision comes after The Humane Society of the United States documented horrible abuses of downed cows in a series of undercover videos.
For far too long, sick and crippled animals have been allowed into the food supply, subjecting them to needless torment and putting consumers at risk. Thanks in part to many thousands of animal advocates who emailed and called public officials about the scandalous mistreatment of these animals, the USDA is moving to close the downer loophole. We are calling on the agency to expedite the process and ban the slaughtering of downers without delay.

Once the loophole is closed, we’ll push for additional reforms. Stronger federal legislation is needed to ensure humane euthanasia of downers and protect all farm animals from this kind of abuse. We’ll continue to lobby for further reforms and keep you updated.

New Law Cracks Down on Animal Fighting and Puppy Mills

The U.S. Senate yesterday followed the lead of the House of Representatives and overrode President Bush’s veto of the Farm Bill, ushering in key new protections for animals. The final bill — which is now considered law, except for one section excluded due to a technical glitch — bans the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills for commercial sale in the U.S. The law spares young, unweaned, and unvaccinated pups from harsh, long-distance transport — during which they are exposed to extreme temperatures and often die in cargo holds — and will keep foreign breeders from adding to the tragic overpopulation of pets in this country.

The Farm bill also adds a provision to federal law to make almost any form of animal fighting a federal felony. It’s also now a federal crime to knowingly possess or train animals for fighting, and the maximum prison time for a single violation of any section of the law goes from three years to five years. It is hard to overstate what a blow this is to dogfighters and cockfighters, and it brings us one step closer to eradicating these criminal industries.

The law also authorizes an increase in potential fines — quadrupled from $2,500 to $10,000 — for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, fines that haven’t been upgraded in more than 20 years. Such penalties will more effectively deter abuses at puppy mills, laboratories, circuses, and other facilities that use animals.

Animal Fighting Magazine to be Pulled from Amazon.com

On Tuesday, in another blow to animal fighters, we reached a settlement with one of the defendants in our federal lawsuit challenging the sale of two criminal animal fighting magazines on Amazon.com in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act. The publishers of “The Gamecock” magazine agreed to permanently change the magazine’s format to exclude all ads for fighting animals, knives, and other illegal paraphernalia, and to stop selling the magazine on Amazon.com until it has demonstrated full compliance with federal law for one year.

Sadly, Amazon.com has vowed to fight on in the case, arguing that the First Amendment gives it the right to sell illegal animal fighting contraband. It wants to remain the only online retailer selling “The Feathered Warrior,” soon to be the sole remaining cockfighting trade publication sold on Amazon.com in violation of federal law. Tell Amazon.com what you think of its decision to continue profiting from illegal animal fighting.

All these victories were made possible by your emails, phone calls, letters, and donations. Thank you for standing with us, and for all you do for animals.

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States

The U.S. Department of the Interior has listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, which gives the bear important new protections. More than 16,000 WWF supporters spoke out for this icon of the North during the public comment period on the proposed listing. Thank you!

The polar bear was listed due to the threat from climate change-induced loss of its sea ice habitat. Based on current ice models and projections for polar bear populations, experts believe that two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population may be lost by 2050. While the Endangered Species Act listing is an important step forward, urgent additional action is needed by governments and societies to reduce our carbon footprint.

Please urge your friends and family to get involved as WWF activists. We are counting on your continued support as a part of our team. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Margaret Williams
Priority Leader,
Bering Sea and Kamchatka
World Wildlife Fund

One of PETA’s undercover investigators was documenting the horrific conditions on a Tyson Foods factory farm as woekers walked among more than 18,000 peeping baby chicks. As they walked, the workers grabbed sick birds and threw them onto a heap of dying chicks. Disgusted, our investigator asked if he could have two of the discarded babies.
Kokun, a hen, and Potpo, a rooster, were only a few weeks old. PETA immediately took them to a veterinarian, who diagnosed them with a respiratory illness caused by the noxious fumes in the severely crowded warehouse. The vet gave the chicks a guarded prognosi.
After a few days of rest at PETA’s headquarters, Kokun and Potpo went to their permanent home at a nearby sanctuary and soon began to recover. In time, the chicks were able to go outside, sun themselves, preen, and investigate their new home and exciting back yard.
Kokun and Potpo are very affectionate to each other and to their caregiver. The birds run th their caregiver every time she walks out to the birds’ little yard. When she stoops down, the birds jump up on her back and shoulders!

These young chickens are the lucky ones who escaped the misery of a factory farm. With your help, PETA can open the world’s eyes to the plight of these smart, sensitive animals so that millions more chickens will be able to enjoy their lives.

Please, join me in thanking HUGO BOSS for their rapid action towards ending such horrible acts against animals.

In Spirit Blessings

Dear Rev. Adriana,

Danielle Katz
Outreach Program Coordinator

Thank you so much for standing with us in our fight to end the cruel Canadian seal hunt.

Over the past few weeks, the world has watched in horror as Canadian sealers brandished clubs and rifles, brutally slaughtering thousands of defenseless pups, most only a few weeks old. As you read this today, the commercial seal hunt has moved farther north where the killings will resume — with sealers allowed to kill 275,000 seals this year.

Because of your support, we have achieved many landmark victories in our campaign to save the seals — and our efforts are reaching a critical mass. This year, it is clear that the end of the seal slaughter is finally in sight.

Here’s the most exciting piece of news: the European Environment Commissioner has announced a plan to ban the trade in all seal products originating from inhumane hunts. This builds upon the historic declaration by the European parliament in 2006. If an EU-wide ban is enacted, the fashion houses serving the main markets for seal skins today — China and Russia — would be forced to stop, and millions of baby seals would be saved from cruel slaughter. In the meantime, many nations have either banned seal product trade or announced their intentions to do so. They include: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Austria, Slovenia, Panama, Mexico, and the United States. Just the potential for an EU ban on seal products has saved thousands of seals already. Prices paid for seal skins this year have declined so much that most sealers have chosen to stay home.

And we have more good news! The HSUS-led boycott of Canadian seafood in the U.S. has attracted more than 618,000 individuals, 3,500 restaurants, and major grocery chains such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. With more than 80% of Newfoundland’s fishing revenue coming from shellfish and less than 3% from the seal hunt, we have tremendous leverage as consumers to end this hunt! Fishermen are fast realizing they stand to lose more from killing seals than they will ever hope to gain.

To tell the EU that you strongly support a total ban on trade in seal products, please sign our petition here.

Remember, we’ll continue to apply the heat as long as the hunt continues. It’s a ghastly practice, and the scale of the cruelty requires our persistence and perseverance.

Thank you for your continued support during this tragic time on the ice floes of Canada.

Namaste

When Freedom came in she could not stand. Both wings were broken, her left wing in 4 places. She was emaciated and covered in lice. We made the decision to give her a chance at life, so I took her to the vet’s office. From then on, I was always around her. We had her in a huge dog carrier with the top off, and it was loaded up with shredded newspaper for her to lay in. I used to sit and talk to her, urging her to live, to fight; and she would lay there looking at me with those big brown eyes. We also had to tube feed her for weeks.
This went on for 4-6 weeks, and by then she still couldn’t stand. It got to the point where the decision was made to euthanize her if she couldn’t stand in a week. You know you don’t want to cross that line between torture and rehab, and it looked like death was winning. She was going to be put down that Friday, and I was supposed to come in on that Thursday afternoon. I didn’t want to go to the center that Thursday, because I couldn’t bear the thought of her being euthanized; but I went anyway, and when I walked in everyone was grinning from ear to ear. I went immediately back to her dowl cage; and there she was, standing on her own, a big beautiful eagle. She was ready to live. I was just about in tears by then. That was a very good day.
We knew she could never fly, so the director asked me to glove train her. I got her used to the glove, and then to jesses, and we started doing education programs for schools in western Washington. We wound up in the newspapers, radio (believe it or not) and some TV. Miracle Pets even did a show about us.

In the spring of 2000, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. I had stage 3, which is not good (one major organ plus everywhere), so I wound up doing 8 months of chemo. Lost the hair -the whole bit. I missed a lot of work. When I felt good enough, I would go to Sarvey and take Freedom out for walks. Freedom would also come to me in my dreams and help me fight the cancer. This happened time and time again.

Fast forward to November 2000, the day after Thanksgiving, I went in for my last checkup. I was told that if the cancer was not all gone after 8 rounds of chemo, then my last option was a stem cell transplant. Anyway, they did the tests; and I had to come back Monday for the results. I went in Monday, and I was told that all the cancer was gone. Yahoo!

So the first thing I did was get up to Sarvey and take the big girl out for a walk. It was misty and cold. I went to her flight and jessed her up, and we went out front to the top of the hill. I hadn’t said a word to Freedom, but somehow she knew. She looked at me and wrapped both her wings around me to where I could feel them pressing in on my back (I was engulfed in eagle wings), and she touched my nose with her beak and stared into my eyes, and we just stood there like that for I don’t know how long. That was a magic moment. We have been soul mates ever since she came in. This is a very special bird.

On a side note: I have had people who were sick come up to us when we are out, and Freedom has some kind of hold on them. I once had a guy who was terminal come up to us and I let him hold her. His knees just about buckled and he swore he could feel her power coarse through his body. I have so many stories like that.
I never forget the honor I have of being so close to such a magnificent spirit as Freedom’s.

Hope you enjoy this.
Jeff Guidry
www.sarveywildlife.org

Visit Sarvey Wildlife Center for more wonderful stories like this one.

The Think.Act.Unity Team has signed the pledge to help end Canada’s Cruel Seal Hunt … Join us!

The Canadian seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth. In the past 4 years more than one million baby seals have been killed for their fur. You and Us, together we can help stop this atrocity!

Watch known fashion photographer Nigel Barker’s video of the interaction between him, his crew and the seals in their natural habitat.

SIGN THE PLEDGE NOW

We received an email from HSUS where Nigel Barker wrote:

Thank you for signing the pledge to boycott Canadian seafood until the seal hunt is stopped. Now, I invite you to take my Pledge Challenge — a contest to see who can recruit the most new pledge signers to help the seals!

The person who recruits the most new pledge signers will win a fabulous seal-themed prize pack from me. This prize pack includes a signed photo, my new T-shirt (see photo to the right), a campaign hoodie, and cute seal mug and baby seal plush toy. Ten runners-up will receive a signed photo and the baby seal plush toy. The more people you get to sign the pledge between now and midnight March 24, the greater the chance you’ll have to win!

After what I have witnessed these past several days, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to help prevent these defenseless baby seals from being brutally slaughtered for their fur — most of which is exported to Europe. You see, I’ve just returned from the ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where I joined my friends at The Humane Society of the United States in viewing an extraordinary sight — the birth of thousands of harp seal pups across a pristine and peaceful winter landscape. View my photos of this amazing place here. It’s painful to think that in only a few weeks’ time, this beautiful seal nursery will be transformed into a scene of bloody carnage.
Your continued involvement these next few weeks is critical — because our campaign is starting to achieve real results. Since the ProtectSeals boycott began, the value of Canadian snow crab exports to the United States has plummeted $465 million (in Canadian dollars)! Help us keep the pressure on Canada’s fishing industry by asking your friends to join you and more than 545,000 people who have already signed the pledge!

It only takes a few minutes to speak up for baby seals. If we all act now, this may be the last commercial seal hunt any of us ever has to witness.

Sincerely,

Nigel Barker

Legislation to Curb Illegal Logging Advances: Legislation to stop U.S. imports of illegal wood was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee and many of the bill’s provisions were added to the Farm Bill passed by the Senate. That progress is great news because illegal logging, driven in part by the U.S. market for imported wood products, threatens some of the most biologically significant forests around the world.

Take Action: U.S. activists, please act now to protect Sumatran tigers and rhinos, Siberian tigers, orangutans and many other species that depend on forest habitat around the globe, if you haven’t already done so, by urging your representative to support the Legal Timber Protection Act.

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Senate Committee Votes for Law of the Sea Treaty: The prospects that the United States will join an international ocean protection treaty greatly increased when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the treaty last fall. Overfishing, wildlife trade, pollution, and climate change have combined to put our oceans and the plant and animal species they sustain in peril. The Law of the Sea promotes sustainable use of marine resources at the same time that it strengthens our sovereignty and security.

Take Action: Please help win full Senate approval.

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Big Increase in Biodiversity Protection Fund: The U.S. Congress approved $195 million for biodiversity conservation in developing countries for fiscal year 2008, a huge jump over last year’s $165.5 million and a far cry from President Bush’s budget request, which would have eliminated all dedicated funding for biodiversity. The funds will help conserve species and habitats around the globe. Learn More…

Senate Approves $4.8 Billion for Conservation in Farm Bill: Currently many farmers are turned away due to a lack of funding when they seek to participate in federal programs that compensate them for protecting the environment. The Senate’s Farm Bill funding levels came close to what is needed to meet this demand. Unfortunately, the House approved only $4.5 billion and the Bush administration has recommended vetoes of both versions of the bill because of the spending levels. House and Senate negotiators are working on a new proposal. Learn More…

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More Funds for International Species Conservation: Congress provided nearly $12.3 million for fiscal year 2008 for special funds to conserve rhinos, tigers, elephants, great apes, sea turtles and neotropical migratory birds. That’s the most ever allocated for these programs and a substantial increase over 2007 levels. Thanks to the support of committed activists who are willing to speak out each year for adequate funding for international conservation, we have achieved increases for the past 8 years. Learn More…

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Manatee Protections Maintained: The state of Florida was considering changing the status of the manatee from endangered to threatened on the state endangered species list, but decided instead to maintain the manatee’s current status while it conducts a review of the state’s endangered species classification system. The review could take months or years and our hope is that it will provide a much needed overhaul of the state’s system to make it compatible with the international system for classifying imperiled species. Learn More…

Message sent by:
Jason Patlis
Vice President and Managing Director
U.S. Government Relations
World Wildlife Fund

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Please join WWF’s Conservation Action Network and let’s love the planet together!
As one we can accomplish many wonders, our voices are heard louder, as one.

Namaste
The ThinkActUnity Team