Happy Easter. On this holiday, let’s remember the rabbits and chicks who will suffer in animal shelters as discarded pets shortly after this holiday. Rabbits are one of the most common animals euthanized in animal shelters, right along with cats and dogs.

Here is part of an article from Best Friends Animal Society about the Easter Bunny:

Every year around Easter, wherever you turn, live baby rabbits start popping up in pet stores, feed stores and even parking lots. Sad to say, there always seems to be enough demand for all the extra rabbits. Until a few months later, that is, when shelters and rescues are bombarded with holiday castaways.

Accordingly, rabbit rescue groups (including Best Friends) often try to push all sorts of alternatives at Easter time — especially to the gift-giving crowd. There are chocolate rabbits, stuffed animal adoptions, and more. The problem with the gift-giving approach for real rabbits is that most of the time these are unplanned decisions that often end badly. And nothing is more unfair to a rabbit than being whisked off to a new home then discarded months or even weeks later.

How you can help:

ADOPT DON’T SHOP
Adopt or foster a homeless bunny from a local shelter or rescue group. Search petfinder.com for rabbits.

SPONSOR A RABBIT OR CHICK
Animal sanctuaries like Farm Sanctuary, Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary, and Animal Acres welcome animal sponsorships. You can choose an animal to sponsor and then visit your sponsored animal when you visit the sanctuary.

SPREAD THE WORD
Please pass it on. Please share this information with your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and others.

An open letter to anyone using the phrase “Happy Turkey Day”:

To whom it may concern:

More than 300 million turkeys are killed in the U.S. every year. 40 million turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving dinners alone. Today’s farmed turkeys, who have been bred to such extremes that they can no longer reproduce sexually, are overcrowded by the thousands into ammonia-laden sheds where disease spreads quickly. The birds often cannot spread or flap their wings and most will never see sunlight or breathe fresh air, except on their way to the slaughterhouse. A t the slaughterhouse, turkeys are roughly snapped into moving shackles and have their throats slit by a spinning blade, often while fully conscious.

Turkeys are excluded from the federal Animal Welfare Act and Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Without any legal protection from cruelty, turkeys face institutionalized and rampant abuse that would warrant felony cruelty charges if the victims were cats or dogs.

Thanksgiving day is not a happy day for turkeys. Nor is the day a happy one for animal lovers who don’t discriminate by caring only for cats and dogs. Please reconsider your phrase “Happy Turkey Day.” Please consider simply saying “Happy Thanksgiving” instead. And if you consider yourself an animal lover, please remember that when choosing your Thanksgiving menu.

Sincerely,
Elaine Vigneault
Animal Lover

The inspiration for this letter:

• An email I received from a local animal shelter with the subject line “Our Shelter Animals wish you a Happy Turkey Day!“
• MFA Turkey Slaughterhouse Investigation
• Some lines above are “borrowed” from MFA
• PETA Minnesota Turkey Farm
• Our Hen HouseEpisode 45: “Now I can look at you in peace…”
• HSUS Inhumane Treatment at Turkey Industry’s Largest Hatchery

Image above from MFA’s newest billboard campaign. Details here >>

The USDA is supposed to uphold the integrity of the Animal Welfare Act, yet it has failed.

Failures include refusing to revoke the licenses of those who violate of the Animal Welfare Act. The legislation was designed to protect lost or stolen pets from becoming research subjects, but it’s not being adequately enforced by the USDA. Animal brokers who obtain dogs and cats from shelters and then sell them to research and education facilities – random source Class B dealers -  have a long history of Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations, some of which include illegal acquisition of animals, improper record keeping, and failure to provide adequate veterinary care. Yet the USDA doesn’t seem to care.

In September, the Government of Accountability Office (GAO) conducted an audit of USDA’s oversight of random source Class B dealers, and concluded that USDA is failing to adequately monitor the activities of animal brokers. The GAO audit revealed multiple AWA violations, and record keeping that was so poor that 16% of original sources for animals could not be confirmed and 13% of tracebacks from 2009 remain incomplete.

Random source Class B dealers are animal brokers that obtain dogs and cats from shelters and other sources, and then sell them to research and education facilities. Class B deals are only required by the AWA to only obtain animals from licensed dealers or breeders so that lost or stolen pets do not mistakenly become victims of animal experiments. Today, there are 10 random source Class B dealers operating in the U.S., and six are under investigation for AWA violations. Despite this, random source Class B dealers continue to reap huge profits from their unscrupulous business dealings.

Animals cannot count on the USDA to protect them from random source Class B dealers. Animals need more protection. The Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 3907 & S. 1834) will stop random source Class B dealers from acquiring cats and dogs from shelters.

Please support the Pet Safety and Protection Act. Please contact your Senators and Representative and urge them to spare America’s dogs and cats from a life in research laboratories by supporting the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 3907 & S. 1834), legislation that would ban random source Class B dealers. To take action, go to www.aavs.org/PetSafety or visit the HSUS Humane Alert on the same topic.

I’ve tried to meet with Wayne Pacelle [HSUS] in order to work out our differences, only to be rebuffed [...] I’ve met in the past with the American Humane Association, only to watch them continue to promote arcane policies that harm animals. I’ve actually tried to establish a dialog with Ingrid Newkirk [PETA]. And for two years, I tried to keep Ed Sayres focused on saving homeless animals at the San Francisco SPCA, rather than promoting his own aggrandizement. All, to no avail.

OK, so what? So there are people who don’t “get it” or are slow-movers. Why waste time on them?

I can’t really understand Winograd’s perspective here. It just doesn’t make sense to me. Why waste time on futile efforts? Why bang your head against a wall that won’t budge? Why not look for the door or window?

Why not go directly to the source of the killing – the people at “shelters” – and deal with them? Why debate with the HSUS, SPCA, or PETA at all? Why try to “work out differences” or “establish a dialog” when that’s not really what you want?

If you want the killing to end, work to make that happen. Prioritize, strategize, and make it happen. Don’t waste time arguing with nay-sayers, just make it happen.

Maybe I’m missing something, but it just doesn’t make sense to me. Does it make sense to you?

I am attending the Best Friends’ No More Homeless Pets Conference for the first time this year.

I slid into the Best Friends’ Conference on homeless pets last Friday morning at about 8:30 a.m. I was waaaay behind the curve. The first panel was just getting started and the large room was full. I found an empty chair at the back, fortunately.

The panel was labeled “Game Changers”, and featured people who have challenged the status quo and taken different kinds of leaps for the sake of animals. The panel included Rick DuCharme, Elizabeth Oreck, Becky Robinson, Bill Bruce, and Holly Sizemore. Rick founded First Coast No More Homeless Pets in Jacksonville, FL, then later worked with the city to introduce the Feral Freedom program. Elizabeth manages Best Friends’ Los Angeles programs. Becky is president and co-founder of Alley Cat Allies. Bill is Director of Animal and Bylaw Services of Calgary, Canada. Holly is Executive Director of No More Homeless Pets in Utah.

All of the panelists have developed and had remarkable success with programs that reduce the number of animals dying in shelters. It was clear from the different activities that they represented that it takes a multitude of actions to achieve the goal of no more homeless pets. And not everyone will agree on every step.

For example, the moderators posed the question of mandatory spay-neuter laws.  Elizabeth went on record as supporting such laws, but clarified that she supported them only when sufficient low-cost and free spay-neuter services are available and accessible to the residents. And when the law is punitive only of those who simply refuse to have their animals fixed. The other panel members did not support such laws because they criminalize people who simply have not the means to get the work done so they either throw away their animals or are fined, which does not accomplish the goal.

I was gratified to hear a common theme – that the commitment of shelter operators to no-kill is a critical component of successful programs, and that widespread education in the form of public service videos and other means can bring a community together in support of no-kill.

It is gratifying, too, to find that so many rescuers attend these conferences and are exposed to new ways of approaching their jobs. The old ways do not work and we cannot wait for some Utopian future when everyone is compassionate and responsible. We have to use techniques that work in peoples’ and organizations’ self-interest. Then we can really achieve no-kill nationwide. It can be done today, and I hope conferences like this one lead the way.

Look to the conference website for more detailed blogging on each session and an opportunity to comment as well.

“The Difference between Euthanasia and Killing”

“Millions of cats die in U.S. animal control pounds and shelters every year. The pounds and shelters say these animals are ‘euthanized.’ But they’re not—they are killed. An animal is only euthanized when she is terminally ill or untreatably injured.”

“‘Euthanasia n. The act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition, as by lethal injection or the suspension of extraordinary medical treatment.’ The American Heritage Dictionary”

“Genuine euthanasia is a medical decision and is always done in an individual animal’s best interest. It can be an important part of end-of-life care. But most animals who die in pounds and shelters are killed for very different reasons. Facilities kill animals to make room for new ones, to manage disease, or to compensate for inadequate staff or funding. Decisions to kill reflect the operating interests of facilities, not the best interests of animals.”

“Using the word ‘euthanasia’ masks what really happens to cats in pounds and shelters—they are killed.”

(I’ve bolded the parts I think are most important.)

Euthanasia is mercy killing. It is ending an animal’s life because that life is too painful to continue. It is NOT ending a life because it’s in someone’s best financial interests. It it NOT ending a life because that’s what’s always been done. It is NOT ending a life because someone is worried the animal might bite someone or transmit disease. It is NOT ending a life in the hopes that others may live. Those things are KILLING. Those things are NOT euthanasia. Those things are NOT vegan.

I had a recent experience that taught me why the no kill revolution is so important. I found a stray dog. (You can read my story here.) Who knows why she became stray, but one of the reasons she remained a stray (and thus malnourished, injured, and fertile) was a fear of our local animal shelters. She had been cared for by a construction crew. Though they neglected to care for her properly (they didn’t feed her everyday, only on the days when it was convenient for them) they did like her and give her some attention. And one of the reasons they said they didn’t do more for her was they were worried that Animal Control would seize her and put her down. Even my own vegan husband didn’t want to involve the local Animal Control authorities because he was worried they would take her away and kill her.

There is such a social fear of Animal Control that many people are justifiably fearful of “the pound.” And this fear extends to adoption, too. One of the reasons people say they don’t want to get a dog from an animal shelter is that visiting the shelter is “too sad.” People say they’d rather buy puppy-mill dogs from pet stores than adopt from a local animal shelter because they don’t want to see the dogs who might end up dead. They’d rather not see their faces, hear their barks, or watch their tails wag. It makes them feel too guilty.

We can’t fear animal shelters. In order to develop a more compassionate society with justice and respect for all, we MUST create true shelters, places where animals are sheltered from harm, not places where animals are killed. No matter what the excuse, killing animals who aren’t terminally ill or injured is immoral.

The ‘no kill revolution‘ is part of the vegan revolution. IF we interfere with animal’s lives, we do so for THEM, not for us. We can help them. But we cannot in good faith or good conscience kill healthy (asymptomatic) animals and call it mercy. We MUST adopt no kill policies in our animal shelters.