From the Vancouver Humane Society:

Please write to BC’s agriculture minister

The Vancouver Humane Society is calling for a ban on the sled dog tour industry in light of the horrific massacre of 100 sled dogs in Whistler, BC: http://tinyurl.com/5sysgbf

Column in today’s Vancouver Sun: http://tinyurl.com/4ufu8yg

The BC Ministry of Agriculture oversees the provincial Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.  Please write to:

Honourable Ben Stewart
Minister of Agriculture
PO Box 9043
Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC
V8W 9E2

Email: agr.minister@gov.bc.ca
 

Stop UBC Animal Research is raising funds to pay for four monkeys in UBC’s research labs to be transported to a sanctuary where they can live out their remaining days in peace.  Learn more at this article in the Province or see photos from a recent “Dead Monkey Walking” demonstration here.

How can you help?  From Stop UBC Animal Research:

*Write a letter to the Province editor urging UBC to end its experiments on monkeys and to immediately release the animals to a sanctuary.

Email: presidents.office@ubc.ca
Phone: 604.822.8300
Fax: 604.822.5055

From PETA:
 
PETA Asia is looking to fill a new and very exciting position! They’re hiring a Chinese online marketing coordinator to promote animal rights through PETA Asia’s websites and elsewhere on the Internet, with an emphasis on marketing in China. Applicants must demonstrate exceptional written and verbal communication skills in both English and Mandarin/Simplified Chinese.

Interested in joining the PETA Asia team? Click here [http://www.petaasiapacific.com/aboutpeta-jobs-chineseonlinemktg.asp] for more details. Applicants must be hardworking, have good communication skills, and be extremely dedicated to the cause. Experience in marketing is preferable. Other positions available can be found here: http://www.petaasiapacific.com/aboutpeta-jobs.asp.

Source: Liberation BC . People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - Asia Pacific .

	Thousands of dogs and cats in Brazil have been left homeless, injured and starving in the wake of the country’s most deadly floods and mudslides to date. A WSPA disaster relief team is on the ground now bringing desperately needed relief to these animals, and we need your help. Please help Brazil’s animals. The floods struck before dawn on the morning of January 12, while most people were sleeping. Within minutes, entire villages in the mountains outside of Rio de Janeiro were destroyed, as homes were swept away and people and animals trapped under layers of mud or in ruined buildings. Over 800 people have been declared dead due to the floods, and thousands are now homeless. As humanitarian and government groups rush to aid the people devastated by the tragic floods, WSPA is working alongside them to bring relief to the animal victims. It is estimated that thousands of animals, mostly cats and dogs, were impacted by the flooding. Many were injured and separated from their families when the floods struck, and others were abandoned as people fled, and were left without food and water. WSPA’s disaster relief team is currently helping animals in the worst hit areas in the towns of Teresópolis and Nova Friburgo. Our teams have been hard at work providing food, veterinary care and shelter to animals found wandering, trapped and abandoned. But there are still many animals who need us — please make your gift now to help us reach them. With your support, we have plans to bring medical care, food, and comfort to 4,000 cats and dogs impacted by flooding in Brazil. Our teams will remain on the ground rescuing animals and helping reunite them with their families. We’ll also distribute pet food to families and set up temporary shelters for animals next to human shelters so that families do not have to abandon their animals. Please make your gift now so we can respond to this current crisis and to other disasters around the world. Thank you for reaching out to animals in need. Sincerely, James Sawyer Head of Disaster Management, WSPA         This message was sent by: World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 960 Toronto Ontario, M4P 2Y3, Canada To donate by phone, call 1-800-363-9772 Update Profile | Unsubscribe | Forward to a Friend

.

.

> Cat found with head crushed at Sengkang carpark > worst abuse I’ve ever seen

My letter:

Dear Editor,

I am deeply disturbed that the acts of cruelty to animals in Singapore continues unabated. A few months ago, the physical abuse of a Pomeranian dog and poisoning of cats were reported. On Jan 11, 2011, animal lovers were shocked at the grossly inhumane abuse of a mongrel which suffered horrendous disfigurement and crippling injuries. Recently, a cat was found with head crushed at Sengkang carpark, as reported by your newspaper on Jan 21, 2011.

Gandhi once said that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. These incidents prompt questions from my friends overseas as to the attitude of Singaporeans towards helpless animals. We also wonder how its world-class education system has yet to build nation that would show kindness to animals.

Going by the trend of animal abuse in Singapore, it appears that existing laws against animal cruelty and enforcement are ineffective as deterrents. Can the relevant authorities share with the public what actions are taken to educate the public, pet owners and deter future acts of cruelty to animals ? < END>

Contact the local newspapers ( > The Straits Times ) to voice your concern and press for effective deterrents against animal cruelty to Singapore.  With more voices, this troubling issue will be known publicly and hopefully the Ministry of Law and Ministry of Home Affairs (Singapore) will act.

Foie gras

Paté de foie gras, translated from French, means “fatty liver.” This so-called gourmet delicacy is anything but delicate. Indeed, it is undeniably the product of extreme animal cruelty.

Force-fed cruelty

Factory foie gras farms intensively raise ducks and geese in large, enclosed barns. For the last few weeks of their lives the birds are forced into tiny wire cages, barely larger than their bodies, where they cannot even turn around or spread their wings. As social animals, they suffer greatly when confined to individual cages. Their suffering is further compounded by the fact that they are denied access to enough water to swim and preen, which they do naturally in the wild. This confinement can also lead to lesions of the sternum and bone fractures, as well as foot injuries from the cage floors. Two to three times a day, farm workers grab the immobilized birds and cram metal pipes down their throats, forcing huge amounts of food into them in seconds. The birds suffer tremendously during and after the force-feeding process. The excessive overfeeding (equaling one third the bird’s body weight - each day) causes their livers to become diseased and to quickly swell up to ten times their normal size. Soon they can barely stand, walk, or even breathe. This force-feeding can also cause painful bruising, lacerations and sores. They often die when the metal feeding tubes puncture their necks, when their stomachs literally “burst”, or when force-feeding overfills them to the point of suffocation.

In Canada, half a million birds are killed for foie gras each year.

International response

Due to animal welfare concerns, more than a dozen countries—including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel (formerly the world’s fourth-largest foie gras producing nation), Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland—have prohibited the production of foie gras. In 2004, California became the first U.S. state to ban the cruel force-feeding of birds and the sale of foie gras produced from force-fed birds, effective 2012.

Take action

• Contact your Minister of Agriculture and demand a national ban on foie gras production.
• Next time you go into a store or restaurant or supermarket that sells foie gras, please let the manager know that a product that comes from force-feeding ducks and geese is more than you can stomach and that you will not shop or dine there as long as they sell it. Then, let us know about it by emailing info@hsi.org.

Video Credit : People For Ethical Treatment of Animals . Source: Humane Society International. Video Credit : People For Ethical Treatment of Animals .

I therefore commend the following brands on ensuring no animal testing on their products, urge them to stay that way, and that more cosmetics companies will come onboard:

St. Ives Body Moisturizer - Not Tested on Animals

TRESemme Nourishing Moisture Shampoo - used by professionals - THIS PRODUCT IS NOT TESTED ON ANIMALS

TRESemme 24 Hour Body Shampoo - used by professionals - This product is not tested on animals

> This link allows you to search for products and companies that DO NOT test on animals.

Animals on fur farms spend their entire lives confined to cramped, filthy wire cages. Fur farmers use the cheapest and cruelest killing methods available, including suffocation, electrocution, gas, and poison.

More than half the fur in the U.S. comes from China, where millions of dogs and cats are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, and often skinned alive for their fur. Chinese fur is often deliberately mislabeled, so if you wear any fur, there’s no way of knowing for sure whose skin you’re in.

Animals who are trapped in the wild can suffer for days from blood loss, shock, dehydration, frostbite, gangrene, and attacks by predators. They may be caught in steel-jaw traps that slam down on their legs, often cutting to the bone; Conibear traps, which crush their necks with 90 pounds of pressure per square inch; or water-set traps, which leave beavers, muskrats, and other animals struggling for more than nine agonizing minutes before drowning.

> How You Can Help

Source: People For The Ethical treatment of Animals .