A
Fur-Free Culture
Along
with colorful leaves and crisp apples, fall brings an increase in the
amount of animal fur worn and sold—and untold suffering to furbearing
animals, 40 million of whom are slaughtered each year for nothing more
than vanity. The aim of The HSUS’s new Fur-Free Campaign is to create a
culture for compassionate clothing, from the top executives in the
fashion industry to the single shopper at the local retail store.
Starting at the top, the campaign is raising cruelty-free consciousness
in the fashion industry and networking with opinion makers. During New
York's Olympus Fashion Week in September, campaign members talked to the
fashion world's power brokers to open their eyes about the cruelty
stitched into every fur fabric, including fur trim. You can read about
their efforts in the Fashion Week 2005
Fur Blog.
With an eye on the future, the campaign has launched a new design
contest called "Cool
vs. Cruel," which challenges fashion
design students to create cruelty-free versions of outfits designed with
fur. The winner of the contest, to be announced December 19, will
receive a publicity boost and an expense-paid internship with a pair of
famous designers, Marc Bouwer and Atom Gaelyn, in New York City.
The campaign's "Coats
for Cubs" program is spreading the
message of compassion to even younger people. In cities around the
country this fall, |
|
Girl
Scouts and animal advocates will gather used fur and fur-trimmed
garments and send them to wildlife rehabilitators, who use the fur to
provide warmth and comfort to orphaned wildlife. Traditionally, the day
after Thanksgiving is the start of the holiday shopping season, but to
the Fur-Free Campaign it's "Fur-Free Friday," when we have a special
collection drive and ask shoppers not to buy fur or fur trim.
Finally, there's the grassroots element—in this case, the consumers, who
are the foundation upon which the Fur-Free Campaign is built. Besides
posting our
fall fashion
guide, the campaign is running ads in
People magazine with the
message that the animals need their fur more than we do. In conjunction
with that advertising campaign, we invited people to take the Fur-Free
pledge not to buy or wear fur. Please join the more than 53,000 people
who have already signed
the pledge,
and ask your friends to join you.
Do the Right Thing
Even though the National Marine Fisheries Service recognizes that
continued ship strikes could push the critically imperiled North
Atlantic right whale population to extinction, the agency refused to
issue emergency measures to deal with the problem. The HSUS is
taking
them to court. |
Man's Best Friend, Betrayed
How did the much-maligned and misunderstood American pit bull
terrier become Public Enemy No. 1?
Off the Chain, a new
DVD by director Bobby J. Brown, unflinchingly examines the
subculture of underground dog fighting to find the answer.
Order
your copy of this ground-breaking
exposé. |
Keep Wildlife in the Wild
The Kenyan government is considering a proposal to send 300 wild
animals to a safari park in Thailand. This is a huge step backward
for the country's wildlife conservation efforts, and would condemn
these animals to a life in captivity.
Urge
Kenya to keep its animals wild. |
Recent Victories |
»
Trader Joe's agreed to purchase
only cage-free eggs for the company's house brand eggs. |
|
|
|
|
Humane Heroes
If
local news programs can have "Heroes of the Week" segments, so can
HumaneLines. This week, I want to honor several animal heroes who are
making news and making the world more humane.
Trader Joe's Chairman and CEO Dan Bane announced that the company would
purchase only cage-free eggs for the Trader Joe's brand of eggs, which
are sold in more than 200 stores nationwide. The result is that an
estimated 380,000 laying hens—who provide the more than 100 million
Trader Joe's brand eggs sold each year—will be spared lives of suffering
in tiny battery cages. In announcing the decision, Bane said, "We expect
this change will help further boost the proportion of sales of cage-free
eggs at Trader Joe's."
Read more
about this egg-citing victory for hens.
National Public Radio and Sports
Illustrated commentator Frank Deford told listeners in a
piece titled "Cruel Retirement for Racehorses" that countless
thoroughbreds are sent to slaughterhouses in the United States and their
meat shipped to foreign markets for human consumption. Deford, a racing
enthusiast, chided Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) who tried unsuccessfully to
jettison a recent amendment to stop horse slaughter for the next year,
and called on lawmakers to support a permanent ban by passing the
American Horse
Slaughter Prevention Act sponsored by
Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) and Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY).
Listen to Deford's
moving commentary.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), in a statement on the House floor, called
for policies that will reduce the risk of a bird flu pandemic. In
particular, Blumenauer asked Congress to pass the
Animal Fighting
Prohibition Enforcement Act, which passed
the Senate unanimously in April, but has been
held up in the House
Judiciary Committee. Blumenauer stated, "It is unconscionable that we
would wait on enacting this felony provision. The House needs to act
immediately to strengthen the law to diminish the risk of fighting birds
as vectors for avian influenza."
Read Rep. Blumenauer's
statement.
We salute three heroes for standing up for animals. And salute you for
being a hero for the animals every time you take action.
Sincerely,
Mike Markarian,
President
Humane Society
Legislative Fund
|
|
|