"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men."
Here's some facts about the abuse, the exploitation and the cruelty towards the animals.
Click on the titles to read the articles.
- For the love of animals
- Factory Farming Issues
- Product testing on animals
- The horrible industry of fur
- Animals in entertainment
- Animals are considered as objects in the Criminal code of Canada
- Companion Animals
- What you can do
For the love of animals
It means that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment.
We have to respect them not hurt them. They don't deserve to be treated as
objects and to be tortured. They are as sensitive as we are and they feel as
much pain as we do.
For that we need you to make a difference and change things so animals will live in a better world.
Factory Farming Issues
Factory farms deny animals many of their basic behavioral and physical needs. Whether virtually immobilized in crates or cages, or overcrowded in feedlots and buildings, factory-farmed animals are denied normal social interactions. Such artificial conditions cause animals to suffer from boredom, frustration, and stress, which often leads to abnormal behavior, including unnatural aggression.
The livestock industry claims that productive animals are by nature healthy animals. The reality is that drugs, hormones, and other chemicals are routinely administered to animals in intensive confinement systems to mask stress and disease and to speed growth. In addition, farm animals have been selectively bred for productivity at the expense of their well-being, and are worn out in a fraction of their natural life spans.
Hundreds of thousands of these animals die every day. Physical disorders brought on by exhaustive production demands are common. Dust and toxic gases accumulate in crowded, enclosed systems, causing respiratory diseases and death. Losses are high, yet the industry considers this acceptable because factory-farm profits depend on the optimal use of space and equipment, not on the well-being of individual animals.
Product testing on animals
When Reese Witherspoon's character in Legally Blonde 2 takes on the cosmetics testing industry, everyone in the audience roots for her success against the cruel animal experimenters. In real life, too, most people agree that smearing hair color into a rabbit's eye and pumping shampoo into a guinea pig's
stomach is idiotic. The European Union recently made its distaste for the practice
public policy by voting to phase out all consumer products testing on animals.
In the U.S., most people believe that this is a battle we won years ago. They
are wrong, and their mistaken belief that no one kills animals in order to
produce a new cosmetic or toiletry item means that they have stopped using
their consumer dollars to protest this most despicable animal abuse. If we
are to achieve the goal of the EU (and Witherspoon's character)-an end to the use of animals in product testing-this
must change.
I understand where this myth of total success came from. I led People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals' campaign against product testing on animals from
1989 to 1993. They were heady years, when the giants of the cosmetics industry
fell like great oaks, one by one, crashing down amid undercover investigations
documenting horrendous suffering in the testing laboratories. Videotape footage
of a kitten convulsing after being doused with a chemical, a rabbit whose tender
skin had been eaten away by a corrosive substance, rats in death throes after
huge amounts of soaps were pumped into their stomachs, a beagle cowering alone
in her box-like cage. These images blackened the eye of the consumer-product
industry and sparked massive change.
First Benetton cosmetics, after weighing the benefits and drawbacks of its
animal tests, came to PETA and announced a permanent ban on all use of animals.
Then came Avon, Revlon, and Estée Lauder, in rapid-fire succession. When I
began my job, PETA listed fewer than 50 companies that refused to test on animals,
most of them small, mail-order manufacturers that were the ethical leaders
of the industry.
Within three years, that list had grown to several hundred companies. For the
first time since the animal tests were developed in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s,
consumers could go into any department, grocery, or drugstore and buy mainstream
brands from companies that did not harm and kill animals.
On the scientific side, many non-animal tests were developed. Instead of measuring
how long it took a chemical to burn away the cornea of a rabbit's eye, manufacturers
could now drop that chemical onto donated human corneas. Human skin cultures
could be grown and ordered for irritancy testing. These and dozens more tests
now in use today are cheaper, faster, and more accurate at predicting human
reactions to a product than the old animal tests ever were.
Despite these amazing successes, which translate into less suffering and death
for animals, there are holdouts in the consumer-product industry. They are
huge multiproduct manufacturers, including Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and others, driven by fear of lawsuits (though animal tests have not proved effective in a company's defense when a consumer sues) and, inexplicably, inertia. Their reluctance to change in the face of consumer demand and superior non-animal test methods is difficult to understand, but one company CEO once told me that companies that continue to blind and poison animals do so simply because they have always done so and don't have the vision to try a new and better way. "And," he added, "they don't
want to prove PETA right."
Who would want to buy and use the products of a company whose executives are
more interested in "winning" against a consumer campaign than in sparing animals
miserable, caged lives and agonizing deaths?
The European Union recently voted to phase out all products testing on animals,
but the U.S. government is not following its example. The best way to stop
companies from using animals is to refuse to purchase their products and to
write and tell them why you won't be applying their eye shadow, cleaning your clothes with their detergent, or washing your child's
hair with their shampoo. Now, as in 1989, the power is in the hands of the
consumers.
The horrible industry of fur
A life time in a cage: Animals raised to become someone's fur coat
spend their days exposed to the elements in row after row of barren, tiny,
urine- and feces-encrusted cages. Investigations have found animals with
gruesome injuries going without medical care and foxes and minks pacing in
endless circles, crazy from the confinement. Minks, foxes, chinchillas, raccoons,
and other animals on fur farms spend their entire lives confined to tiny,
filthy cages, constantly circling and pacing back and forth from stress and
boredom, some animals even self-mutilating or cannibalizing cagemates. Foxes
are kept in cages measuring only 2.5 feet square, with one to four animals
per cage. Minks and other species are generally kept in cages only 1 foot
by 3 feet, again with up to four animals per cage. The cramped and overcrowded
conditions are especially distressing to solitary animals, like minks.
During the summer, hundreds of thousands of animals endure searing heat and suffer from dizziness and vomiting before dying of heat exhaustion. Baby animals are the most common victims, as they succumb faster to dehydration. In the winter, caged animals have nowhere to seek refuge from freezing temperatures, rain, sleet, and snow. No federal law protects animals on fur farms. Farmers often kill animals by anal or genital electrocution, which causes them to experience the intense pain of a heart attack while fully conscious. Other killing methods include neck-breaking and suffocation. Sometimes animals are only stunned and are then skinned alive.
Genital Electrocution: A Real-Life Shock-Horror Story: Row after row
of tiny wire-mesh cages, stacked four high and about 25 in a row, chinchillas
peering watchfully through the wires, a rack of pelts hanging on a far wall,
and except for a radio playing softly in one corner of the room, a morgue-like
hush. That's the scene that two PETA investigators found at a fur "factory" farm secluded in a quiet, snow-covered town in Michigan. PETA's Research & Investigations Department sent two undercover teams into fur "farms" in
five states. Our investigators witnessed not only how animals live, but also
how they die in the seedy world of fur farming. One method they documented
had never been made public before: genital electrocution.
Little Animals, Big Suffering: During genital electrocution, the killer
attaches an alligator clamp to the animal's ear and another to her labia and flips a switch, or plugs the wire into the wall socket, sending a jolt of electricity through her skin down the length of her body. She jerks and stiffens. But, according to biologist Leslie Gerstenfeld-Press, although the electrical current stops the heart, it does not kill her: In many cases, the animal remains conscious. The electrical current causes unbearable muscle pain, at the same time working as a paralyzing agent, preventing the victim from screaming or fighting. A chinchilla farmer who uses genital electrocution told our investigators that he leaves the clips on "for one or two minutes" to make sure the heart doesn't start up again but that sometimes animals revive and those who do remember the pain. In front of our investigators, one rancher unplugged the animal, listened to the heart and said, "Nope, still beating," and
plugged the cables back in for another 30 seconds.
Not Killing Them Softly: As one farmer observed, "Sometimes you'll get one that'll argue with you." The chinchillas, like all animals, do not go willingly; although they make no noise as they wait-held upside down as the rancher attaches the clips-their whiskers and mouths tremble constantly until the electrical charge freezes all movement. For the benefit of our investigators, the farmer laid the animal's
body on a table, although normally, he said, he would just hang the animal
by the tail from a clip.
For small animals, neck "snapping" or "popping" is easy and cheap. The owner of one farm that PETA visited wraps the fingers of one hand around the neck of the chinchilla, grasps the lower body with the other hand and jerks the animal's vertebra out of the socket, breaking the neck. Neck-snapping takes just a second, but for "about five minutes" afterward, according to one rancher, the animal jerks and twitches. It might take two minutes for an animal to become brain-dead from cervical dislocation; in the meantime, as shown in our investigator's
video, she or he kicks and struggles. No federal law regulates the killing
of animals raised for fur. The methods vary from one company to another, but
all emphasize concern for the pelt, not for the animal. It takes at least 100
chinchilla pelts to make just one full-length coat.
Suffering in the wild: Animals like raccoons and foxes caught in steel-jaw
leghold traps-the most widely used trap-endure excruciating pain from the steel bars clamped onto their legs, paws, and bodies. Some animals, especially mothers desperate to return to their young, will struggle to get loose, even chewing or twisting off their own legs to escape. Animals suffer for hours or even days in traps before trappers arrive to stomp on their chests or break their necks. The trapped animal is left to suffer blood loss, infection, gangrene, exhaustion, exposure, frostbite, shock, or attack by nonhuman predators. Other animals, such as beavers and muskrats, caught in underwater traps can struggle for up to 20 minutes before drowning. Every year, traps also cripple and kill hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, birds, and other animals-including endangered species-who
are caught by mistake.
Animals in entertainment
In the wild, bears don't ride bicycles, tigers don't jump through fiery hoops, and elephants don't
stand upright on their hind legs. Circuses portray a distorted view of wildlife.
Laws protecting animals in traveling shows are inadequate and poorly enforced. The Animal Welfare Act establishes only minimum guidelines and even these meager standards are often ignored.
Animals used in circuses live a dismal life of domination, confinement, and violent training. It is standard practice to beat, shock, and whip them to make them perform ridiculous tricks that they cannot comprehend.
Most elephants used by circuses were captured in the wild. Once removed from their families and natural habitat, their lives consist of little more than chains and intimidation. Baby elephants born in breeding farms are torn from their mothers, tied with ropes, and kept in isolation until they learn to fear their trainers.
Big cats, bears, and primates are forced to eat, drink, sleep, defecate, and urinate in the same cramped cages.
Elephants often suffer crippling injuries from constant chaining and performing physically difficult tricks.
Children, who are naturally fond of animals, would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the circus if they knew of the suffering these animals endure for a fleeting moment of so- called amusement.
The circus deprives animals of their basic needs to exercise, roam, socialize, forage, and play. Stereotypic behaviors such as swaying back and forth, head-bobbing, pacing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation are common signs of mental distress.
Using dangerous animals in performances jeopardizes public safety and often puts children at greatest risk. Since 1990, 57 people have been killed and more than 120 seriously injured by captive elephants.
Animals in circuses are hauled around the country in poorly ventilated trailers and boxcars for up to 50 weeks a year in all kinds of extreme weather conditions. Access to the basic necessities of food, water, and veterinary care is often inadequate.
A growing number of cities are restricting or banning the use of animals in entertainment. More progressive circuses dazzle their audiences solely with skilled human performers.
Animals are considered as objects in the Criminal code of Canada
Crimes BILL C-10(B)
Strengthening the Cruelty to Animals sections of Canada's Criminal Code
Most people are appalled by cases of cruelty to animals. They expect that charges will be laid and appropriate penalties handed down if a person is found guilty. Unfortunately, both are often difficult to secure under the existing criminal code, largely because our current laws date from the 19th century, and have changed very little since that time.
Currently, less than 1/3 of 1% of all animal abuse complaints lead to criminal charges. Of those charges laid, only about 45% result in successful convictions. Frequently a successful conviction means a fine of $200 or simply being placed on probation.
A modernized anti-cruelty law will make it easier to prosecute animal abuse, as well as send a message to those involved in the criminal justice system that crimes against animals should be treated more seriously.
Bill C-17 It was with this in mind that the Liberal Justice Minister introduced Omnibus Bill C-17(presently named Bill C-10(B)), which included provisions to amend the animal cruelty section of the Criminal Code, to Parliament in 1999. An electronic copy of Bill C-10(B) is available on-line at the House of Commons website.
The intent of the Bill was to provide tougher penalties for those convicted of willful and unnecessary animal cruelty or neglect, including the ability to ban offenders from ever owning animals in the future. This change, along with moving animal cruelty offences out of the property crimes section of the Criminal Code and into a new section, was intended to signal a new level of importance for these crimes. The amendments were to be a critical signal to police, prosecutors and judges to treat such crimes seriously, particularly for repeat offences and for heinous animal cruelty.
Senate Stalls Unfortunately, after 4 years of debate, and despite the support of animal groups and even animal use industries, most Canadians, and every political party, the Canadian Senate has delayed the passing of BillC-10(B) by demanding fundamental changes that would weaken the proposed legislation.
Companion Animals
Cats, dogs and many other companion animals have established a special place in our lives.
To many people, their companion animal is a family member. But many of us don't know the
serious challenges that are faced by our best friends.
In this section, you can learn about better ways to care for your companion animal, the misery
faced by unwanted animals, the importance of spaying and neutering, the horrors of puppy mills,
and the laws affecting companion animals.
We also offer an adoptions section, for those of you who are looking for a new best friend.
Please take just a few minutes to find out more about the wonderful animals who are so important
in our lives.
What you can do
Compassionate living really does begin at home. It can be as simple as choosing to buy a different brand of toothpaste, and as exciting as changing the foods you eat. From the foods we eat, to the products we buy, to the clothes we wear, and the ways in which we treat our companion animals, each decision we make has an impact on those around us. Realizing this fact is the first step in choosing to walk more lightly on the planet.
In this section, you will find links to valuable resources that will give you the tools you need to live compassionately. Please take the time to read the information, and pass on the information to friends and family.
Thank you for being a real friend of the animals.
To make approve the Crimes BILL C-10(B)
Call your MP Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are still fighting to pass Bill C-10B. Please call your Member of Parliament (MP) today and indicate that Bill C-10B is important to the Canadian public, and s/he should push Senators to pass the Bill as it stood when it left the House of Commons on June 6, 2003.
To find out who your MP is, call 1-800-667-3355.
Send a letter to Prime Minister Chretien, asking him to intervene on behalf of animals.
Lobby the Senators who are holding up Bill C10 (B)
Please write, email or phone the following key members of the Senate, and demand that they pass the Bill as it currently reads.
Honorable Senator George Furey
Chair, Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
216 East Block
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A4
Phone: (613) 943-7805
Fax: (613) 943-7807
fureyge@sen.parl.gc.ca
Honorable Senator Mobina Jaffer
(Sponsor of Bill C-10(B) in the Senate)
900 Victoria Building
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A4
Phone: (613) 992-0189
Fax: (613) 992-0673
jaffem@sen.parl.gc.ca
Honorable Senator Sharon Carstairs
Leader of the Government in the Senate
271-S Centre Block
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A4
Phone: (613) 947-7123
Fax: (613) 947-7125
carsts@sen.parl.gc.ca
Honorable Senator John Lynch-Staunton
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
375-S Centre Block
The Senate of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A4
Phone: (613) 943-1481
Fax: (613) 943-8641
lynchj@sen.parl.gc.ca
