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

One year ago today, authorities raided Michael Vick’s property in Virginia, gathering evidence that led to his imprisonment on charges related to dogfighting. Although The Humane Society of the United States has battled animal fighting for more than fifty years, your actions last summer and into this year have helped us make great strides in bringing more animal fighters to justice.

These are just a few of the many milestones we’ve already reached in 2008.

- Raids on dogfighting operations increased from 27 between January and April last year to more than 67 raids to date in 2008 — more than doubling the number of reported arrests for this crime.
- Wyoming and Idaho made dogfighting a felony offense — and these two states had been the last holdouts with weak penalties for fighting crimes. Lawmakers in Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, and Virginia also passed stronger laws against dogfighting, as part of a wave of 26 states considering legislation to increase penalties.
- Our program granting awards to people helping us bust animal fighters, made possible by the Ware Foundation and our donors, precipitated dogfighting raids in half a dozen states. We paid out 20 rewards and have several pending. The cases range from a Texan who reported on his neighbor and his six scarred pit bulls to major busts with dozens of animals confiscated.
- In February, we worked with the Pima County sheriff to bust two of the nation’s most notorious dogfighting kingpins, Pat Patricks and T.L. Williams, in Arizona. Officials seized more than 150 dogs and arrested six people.
- Our press conferences announcing the reward program — held with five state attorneys general, the Chicago Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney — have shined a bright spotlight on dogfighting. We plan more conferences with attorneys general in three additional states.
- We trained more than 700 law enforcement officers on animal fighting and produced a new video about dogfighting. Tens of thousands of our rewards posters are helping ferret out animal fighters across the country.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of dogs are exploited by dogfighters and countless vulnerable animals suffer hunger, thirst, malicious wounding, and death.

I’m proud to report this progress, and I thank you for helping to make it all possible.

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.

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