AMAZING VICTORIES IN 2008

Let’s celebrate our victories for 2008 and may they serve as inspiration and motivation for the work to be done in 2009.

- Illegal Logging Ban Enacted. The United States became the first country in the world to prohibit the import and sale of illegally-sourced wood and wood products. Siberian tigers, orangutans and many other species dependent on forest habitat around the globe will benefit.
by WWF

- Clean Energy Tax Incentives Extended. The U.S. Congress extended tax incentives that encourage individuals and businesses to install renewable energy systems and build energy-efficient buildings.
by WWF

- Sumatran Elephant and Tiger Habitat Protected. Indonesia committed to doubling the size of a national park that is one of the last havens for endangered Sumatran elephants and critically endangered Sumatran tigers.
by WWF

- 50 Million People Switched Off Their Lights for Earth Hour 2008. WWF activists were among the estimated 50 million people around the world who turned off their lights for one hour on March 29, 2008, to demonstrate their commitment to slowing the effects of climate change. Sign up to join us for Earth Hour 2009
by WWF

There is still a lot of work to do and the WWF has a list of campaigns where we can all be a part of and help reach the ears and eyes of the world. Visit World Wildlife Fund.

- Donna Karan dumps fur! Thanks to the hard work of PETA’s staff, members, and volunteers and after nearly a year of pressuring designer Donna Karan to drop fur from her designs—by protesting outside her boutiques, crashing her runway show, and exposing her cruel use of fur online—Donna Karan has announced that all her Fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has “no plans” to use fur in the future. Well done, everyone!
by Peta

For more ways to help and getting active visit Peta’s Action Center.

- Four years have passed since the devastating Asia tsunami of December 26, 2004 — the biggest emergency response in Save the Children’s history.

Today, our primary focus is on helping families become more self-sufficient and enabling children to succeed in school. Thousands of children affected by the tsunami are attending schools. And many of these children are also benefitting from our health, nutrition and child protection programs.
by Save the Children

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Play FreeRice and Help End World Hunger

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In the past week, more than 30,000 ONE members have signed our petition to Barack Obama and John McCain asking them to keep their poverty-fighting commitments to the world’s most vulnerable people. Together, we’re proving that, even in tough times, we stand up for our principles. And so far, it’s working. Since our campaign began, the candidates have continued to stand by the promises they made earlier in the campaign.

Now we need to keep the pressure on, and to do that we’re going global and breaking records. This Friday, October 17th, through Sunday the 19th is the “Stand Up and Take Action” weekend against poverty, when we’ll join the Global Call To Action Against Poverty and the U.N. Millennium Campaign to set a new Guinness World Record of 67 million people standing up, literally, against poverty – 1% of everyone on earth.Add your name to the petition. Show John McCain, Barack Obama and the world that Americans are serious about keeping our commitments to meet the Millennium Development Goals and halve extreme poverty and global disease by 2015. When you do, we’ll also add your name to the millions around the globe who are standing up against global poverty this weekend.

Barack Obama and John McCain have already gone On The Record in response to the call from ONE members like you, and made historic commitments to end extreme poverty and global disease. In two weeks, we’ll deliver your petitions and give them one more chance to reaffirm where they stand on our issues. Between now and then, let’s Stand Up, set a world record, and make our voices heard as Americans, and as part of a global movement against global poverty.

Thank you for making a difference,

David Lane, ONE.org

* Give purchasing preference to suppliers that use controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK)—the least-cruel method of bird slaughter available. By the end of 2010, the company will purchase 5 percent of its turkey meat from suppliers that use CAK.
* Give purchasing preference to suppliers that don’t use gestation crates—restrictive metal enclosures that confine pregnant pigs. The company will also increase the total amount of pig meat that it purchases from crate-free suppliers by 5 percent each of the next three years, for a total increase of 15 percent.
* Give purchasing preference to producers of cage-free eggs and increase the amount of cage-free eggs that it sells to 4 percent by the end of 2009 and 5 percent by the end of 2010. The company will also work toward increasing that amount to 10 percent within the next 5 years.

Winn-Dixie is following in the footsteps of other major grocery and restaurant companies that have recently made animal welfare improvements following discussions with PETA, including Safeway, Harris Teeter, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., and Hardee’s.

While this agreement doesn’t mean that the eggs and meat sold by Winn-Dixie—or any other company—are produced without causing animals to suffer (visit PETA’s Web site Meat.org to learn more), Winn-Dixie has begun to phase out its suppliers’ worst abuses, which is a real victory for animals.

Please use Winn-Dixie’s online customer service form to thank the company for improving the lives of animals killed for its stores.

Thank you for all that you do for animals!

Sincerely,

Brooke Jones, Activist Liaison
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

One week after a 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook southwestern China,
Save the Children plans to set up child-friendly spaces and temporary classrooms for primary schools in one of the most devastated communities
in Deyang Prefecture, part of Sichuan Province.
More than 3 million children live in the earthquake zone. For them, the disaster has meant the loss of everything that gave them a sense of security: their families, their homes, schools, and their daily routines.
Save the Children child protection adviser, Deborah Barry, arrived in China this week. Barry and other experts say child disaster victims need to quickly return to their routines. Even though they might be living in tents, families should try to get back to some normal activities like eating dinner at the same time as before the quake, and children should return to school as quickly as possible.
For children whose caregivers have survived, Save the Children, working alongside the local Red Cross, is preparing plans for five temporary child-friendly spaces to create a sense of normalcy and provide a safe place for children to play, learn and socialize. These areas also will help to support parents and caregivers.

In cases where children have no caregivers, while family tracing begins,
Save the Children will support the Women’s Federation of Sichuan Province, which is creating four temporary child-friendly centers in Mianyang, Deyang and Chengdu.

In Mianyang and Deyang Prefectures, Save the Children also is working with the local Education Bureau to help set up 12 temporary classrooms — providing desks, chairs, textbooks, and other school supplies — for primary school children, ages 6 to 12.

Read more on Save the Children’s response in China.

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.

HSUS MySpace Page | Stop Puppy Mills Website

The puppy mill industry will thrive as long as consumers are kept in the dark about the “mass production” of purebred and designer dogs. With your help, we’ll shed light on the cruelty of puppy mills and put them out of business for good. We can’t do it without your help!

7 Things You Can Do:

1- If you are thinking of bringing a new dog into the family, or know someone who is, request a free copy of our puppy buyer’s guide for information on how to find reputable breeders, shelters, and rescue groups.

2- Ask your federal legislators to crack down on puppy mills.

3- Get the word out about puppy mills: write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Visit StopPuppyMills.org to educate yourself.

4- Download one of our Stop Puppy Mills campaign badges or banners to your own MySpace or Facebook page, blog, or website.

5- Did you adopt your canine companion from a rescue group or shelter? Then order our Proud to Adopt care package.

6- Download Puppy Mill Cruelty flyers and post them or give them out at your neighborhood dog park, to engage fellow dog owners and help spread the word.

7- Help us place advertisements and billboards to spread the word about puppy mill cruelty.