YES, there most certainly is a difference! For the last 50 years or more, the debate has raged over the role of animals in human society, with particular reference to the ways in which we use them for our benefit. Animal rights and animal welfare fall at different points on a continuum that runs from animal liberation at one end to animal exploitation at the other.

The goal of Animal Rights Groups, is: to end ALL human "exploitation" of animals! This includes............

• Raising and slaughtering of livestock for human or animal consumption (veganism)
• Raising Animals for Food, Clothing, Etc.......Eating meat
• Hunting
• Using animals for any medical or veterinary research
• Zoos (regardless of how well managed)
• Circuses
• Rodeos
• Horseshows
• Dogshows
• Animals performing in TV commercials, shows or movies (regardless of how well treated any of the above are)
• Guide-dogs for the blind
• Police dogs
• Search & rescue dogs
• Horseracing..........Dogracing
• Breeding purebred animals for pets.....The practce of owning pets
• Any use of animals for industry, entertainment, sport or recreation

Animal Rights is a philosophical view that animals have rights similar or the same as humans. One of the basic tenets of animal rights is that humans do not have a right to use non-human animals for our own purposes, which include food (promoting a vegan diet), clothing, entertainment and vivisection. This is based on a rejection of speciesism (the widely held belief that the human species is inherently superior to other species and so has rights or privileges that are denied to other sentient animals) and the knowledge that animals are sentient beings. Advocates of animal rights argue that many animals are sentient in that they can feel pleasure and pain, and that this entails being entitled to some moral or legal rights.

Here are a few Animal Rights Groups (although perhaps some are up for discussion):

• National Resource Defense Council (NRDC)
• People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
• Center on Animal Liberation Affairs (CALA)
• Animal Aid (UK)
• Animal Defense League (ADL)
• Animal Equality
• The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT)
• Compassion Over Killing (COK)
• Friends of Animals (FOA)
• In Defense of Animals (IDA)
• Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC)
• National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)
• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
• Movement for Compassionate Living (MCL)
• Vegan Outreach
• Vegan Society
• Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
• Animal Rights Militia (ARM)

Some of the more well known animal rights activists are:

Peter Singeris an Australian animal rights activist and philosopher who is credited with inspiring the modern animal rights movement with his book "Animal Liberation" (1975) and "Practical Ethics" (1979) He compared the movement for ethical treatment of animals to the liberation movements of women and blacks. He used philosophical arguments to counter the Biblical concept of man's dominion over animals.

Richard Ryder coined the term Speciesism "to describe the widespread discrimination that is practised by man against other species ... Speciesism and racism both overlook or underestimate the similarities between the discriminator and those discriminated against."[

Tom Regan is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, North Carolina State University. His book, "The Case for Animal Rights"(1983)makes the case--clearly, forcefully and thoroughly--that animals have a basic moral right to be treated in ways that show respect for their independent value.

Henry Spira was an animal rights activist, director of Animal Rights International, and was largely responsible for launching the animal rights movement in the United States in the mid-1970s, devoted his life to fighting injustice. He is well known for a string of successful campaigns against the use of animals in medical experiments and product safety tests.

Ronnie Lee is the founder of the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), extremist animal-rights group whose main bases of operation are Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Ingrid Newkirk* is the co-founder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), said to be the world's largest and most prominent animal rights organization. She believes that animals are sentient, have intrinsic value and deserve equal consideration of interests with humans. However, PETA does support animal welfare measures in the short term to alleviate animal suffering until all animal use is ended.

Gary Yourofsky is an animal rights activist who openly endorses violence against humans and supports eco-terrorist organizations such as Animal Liberation Front (ALF), which has a well-documented reputation for vandalism, sabotage, and arson. He became a convert to to veganism and animal rights after attending the circus with his stepfather in his early twenties. There, as he recounted to one interviewer, he saw an elephant with “nothing but fear and hopelessness in her eyes” and became convinced that “something was wrong.” He founded Animals Deserve Absolute Protection Today and Tomorrow (ADAPTT) in 1996. He has lectured to more than 50,000 students nationwide over the years. While 99 percent of his talks are in college classrooms, a few are in elementary, middle, and high schools. He has been arrested over a dozen times for animal-rights crimes, and was sentenced in 1999 to six months in a Canadian maximum-security prison for a felony raid on a fur farm and he has been banned from both Canada and the United Kingdom.

Watch his speech at Georgia Tech @

• Negotiation is Over
.

Peter Young is a veteran animal activist who served two years in federal prison for rescuing thousands of animals from fur farms across the country. After being wanted by the FBI for seven years, Young was one of the first people prosecuted for “animal enterprise terrorism.” among the most vocal, public supporters of those who work outside the law to achieve human, earth, and animal liberation including the Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F). His website Voice of the Voiceless provides Animal Liberation Front (A.L.F.) updates and analysis, direct action animal liberation news, & useful info for legal animal rights activism. You can hear his interview with Viva la Vegan! @ You Tube.

Anthony Marr is founder and president Heal Our Planet Earth. Check out their website @ HOPE. Anthony Marr is a Canada based conservationist, a wildlife preservationist, an environmentalist and an anti-hunting activist! He has conducted high profile campaigns in Canada for the bears and seals, and been to Japan twice for the whales and dolphins. He is devoted to educating the world's populace on how important animals are to our planet's ecosystem. Marr won the prestigious Henry Spira Grassroots Animal Activist Award at the 2010 Animal Rights National Conference. You can subscribe to the Anthony Marr Channel @ You Tube.

Jason Miller is the Senior Editor and Founder of Thomas Paine's Corner (TPC), is a tenacious vegan abolitionist and animal rights activist who lives in Kansas. He has a boundless passion for animal liberation and anti-capitalism. He is a press officer for the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, and the founder of Bite Club of KC, a grassroots animal rights activist group which he started in Kansas City in 2009. Check out his website @ Bite Club

Dr. Steven Best is an American animal rights activist, author and professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has been described as "one of the leading scholarly voices on animal rights." Dr Best writes: "Every individual who terrifies, injures, tortures, and/or kills an animal is a terrorist; fur farms, factory farms, foie gras, vivisection, and other exploitative operations are terrorist industries; and governments that support these industries are terrorist states. The true weapons of mass destruction are the gases, rifles, stun guns, cutting blades, and forks and knifes used to experiment on, kill, dismember, and consume animal bodies." He is a supporter of the ALF. You can check out his website @ Total Liberation Fest, Part 1

Gary Francione is a prominent and respected philosopher of animal rights law and ethical theory. He is known for his criticism of animal welfare laws and regulations. His "Abolitionist Theory of Animal Rights" promotes veganism and nonviolence (he is not a supporter of the ALF or any violent tactics in the fight for animal liberation) as the baseline principles of the abolitionist movement. Unlike Peter Singer, Francione maintains that we cannot morally justify using animals under any circumstances, and unlike Tom Regan, Francione's theory applies to all sentient beings, not only to those who have more sophisticated cognitive abilities.

These vidoes featuring Professor Gary Francione explain the argument between animal rights and animal welfare:

• Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare Part 1



• Animal Rights vs. Animal Welfare Part 2

The goal of Animal Welfare Groups is: To prevent suffering and cruelty to animals, and to provide care and good homes for pets in need. They celebrate human/animal interactions and works to improve animal well-being. Animal Welfare, as defined by the American Veterinary Medical Association, is a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being, including proper housing, management, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling, and, when necessary, humane euthansia. This includes...........

• The funding and running of animal shelters - to provide a sanctuary for abandoned, abused, homeless, or unwanted pets, and to place them in good homes where possible, provide painless euthanasia for those that cannot be adopted, and to educate the public about the need for spaying/neutering their pets to prevent more surplus animals ending up in shelters
• Enforcement of anti-cruelty statutes (where their authority permits)
• Initiating, lobbying for, and monitoring enforcement of legislation to ensure more humane standards of care for livestock, laboratory animals, performing animals, and pets.
• Belief that humans can interact with animals in entertainment, industry, sport and recreation, and industry, but that the interaction should include provisions for the proper care and management for all animals involved.
• They support self-regulation of animal sports, including rodeo, polo, three-day eventing, FFA competitions, horse racing, field trials and endurance riding.

Here is just a handful of Animal Welfare/Protection Groups. There are many many more.

• Animal Defenders International (ADI)
• Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
• Animal Protection Institute (API)
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
• Animals (ASPCA)
• Animal Welfare Institute (AWI)
• Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)
• Compassion In World Farming (CIWF)
• Defenders of Wildlife
• Friends of Animals
• Humane Society of the United States (HSUS),/li>
• International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
• World Society for the Protection of Animals(WSPA)
• Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals(RSPCA)
• Best Friends Animal Society
• American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA)
• Compassion And Responsibility for Animals(CARA)
• Dedicated Animal Welfare Group (DAWG)

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. (HSUS) began as an animal welfare organization, but over the years HSUS assimilated leaders and ideas from the animal rights movement, moving closer to the complete animal rights ideology it maintains today. Wayne Pacelle. President, Humane Society of the United States is a strict vegan who converted to the animal rights philosophy after reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation, joined HSUS in 1994. From what I understand though, HSUS although working towards the principles of the Animal Rights Groups, is not there 100%. The fundamental philosophy of the animal rights groups is Veganism! Another major difference between HSUS and groups such as ALF are that HSUS has a policy regarding violence which states this: "The very foundation of The HSUS’s work is to protect animals from suffering and cruelty caused by human actions. Any tactic or strategy involving violence toward people undermines the core ethic we espouse. Such tactics are ethically wrong and do fundamental damage to the credibility of the humane movement."

Animal Rights advocates argue that the animal welfare position is inconsistent in logic and ethically unacceptable. However, there are some animal rights groups, such as PETA*, which support animal welfare measures in the short term to alleviate animal suffering until all animal use is ended.

Extremist animal-rights groups' main bases of operation are Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Groups such as ALF (Animal Liberation Front), the Animal Rights Militia, and the Justice Dept., advocate vandalism, sabotage, and arson "to bring about animal liberation". Radical animal rights activists will likely use "any means necessary" to stop what they consider the torture and exploitation of animals.

Welfarists and rightists have radically different perceptions, perspectives and agendas, and solve problems differently. They preach very different codes of conduct. Many experts say it is an impossible marriage. Rightists demand the total abolition of all forms of animal exploitation. Animals should be completely separate from humankind. Seeking empty cages NOT bigger cages! Welfarists believe animals should be protected from suffering and lasting harm, and as long as we make animals' lives comfortable, physically and psychologically, we're respecting their welfare.

My personal feelings can be summed up with these two quotes: "I believe animals should be respected as citizens of the earth. They should have the right to their own freedom, their own families, and their own life." -John Feldman. I believe all animals have a right to be free of oppression, confinement, use and abuse by humans. Treating a non-human animal differently just because the animal belongs to a different species is morally and ethically wrong. The fact of the matter is humans should not have ANY contact with animals! They "share" this earth with us, meaning they were created to lead their own lives.

'The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" -Jeremy Bentham' , It is morally and ethically unacceptable for me to inflict pain and suffering on a human being and likewise, it is equally morally unaccpetable for me to inflict pain on a non-human animal since they feel the same pain.

Having said that, I also can support any organization that is concerned with the well-being of animals. I appreciate anyone who works to benefit animals no matter how seemingly insignificant. In a perfect world we would ALL be VEGAN!!!.......there would be NO slaughterhouses, puppy mills, zoos, factory farms, scientific laboratories, horse racing, animals used in the entertainment industry, NO use of animals for human benefit at all. However I know in my heart that unfortunately, this will never be! We have been so brainwashed into thinking it is the "norm" to kill and eat animals, it's "okay" to exploit them at any cost for our greed that I don't see how that mindset will ever be totally reversed. I truly believe that humankind has become so vile, it will cease to exist before it ever rights itself.

I try to find some feeling of accomplishment regarding the miserable lives we bestow on animals with every dog that is recued from a shelter and every law that is passed to ease an animal's suffering. I am definitely an animal rights advocate, but for me, I support animal welfare efforts as an intermediate step on the path to a true animal rights solution, which is to empty ALL cages and total animal liberation for ALL animals. NOT to make bigger cages! It's not just about loving animals.......it's about justice, respect and equal rights for all beings, be they human or animal.....all beings that we share this planet with. I support whatever means it takes us to reach that goal.

*Since I wrote this I have had a change of heart regarding PETA. I am finding it hard to believe they would ever be called an "animal rights" group when they are responsible for euthanizing thousands of animals that homes were not found for. Also, right on their website: "Since 2002, PETA has been urging major food retailers, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Kroger, Safeway, and Wal-Mart, as well as the nation’s largest poultry producers—including Butterball, Tyson, and Pilgrim’s Pride—to switch from electric immobilization to controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK)." This is extremely disappointing and discouraging!!! They should be classified as an "animal welfare" group.

Oct. 25th, ‘09

“Why aren’t YOU vegan??”…….

This is the question I would like to ask everyone that questions my lifestyle. I pretty much have heard it all over the past 40 some years, the many criticisms or ridiculous questions from classmates when I was young, my family, my friends, but most recently I was at the eye doctors and the nurse asked me if I took fish oil (she said it was good for your eyes) and I said “No, I’m vegan, I take an oil blend every day…….blah, blah, blah” to which she remarked “why are you vegan?” To which I replied, “Why am I vegan? I am vegan for many reasons but mainly because animals do not want to be killed to feed me, to clothe me, to provide me with anything made from any part of them. They don’t want to have products tested on them, to be abused on factory farms, on in any other way for my entertainment or any other needs I may have. I have always loved animals and at a very young age I stopped eating meat and dairy, wearing leather shoes, wool sweaters, etc” “Wow, she said. How young were you?” “I was 11, almost 12”. At 10, though, I was already questioning the food on my plate and the fact that it did not seem right to eat animals.. She seemed amazed and remarked, “Well, I really love animals too, but I also love hamburgers and buffalo chicken wings (as she laughed to herself). Another girl nearby laughed along with her! I said “Well, you can’t ‘love’ animals if you eat them! It’s that simple….. It is a complete contradiction!” We ended up getting into a bit of a debate and there was no way she was going to think too deeply about anything I had to say. I left there completely perplexed (and pissed) how people can ask ME why I am vegan when I want to ask them, why they are NOT vegan! I am Christian as so many people are, based purely on FAITH. I am vegan based purely on FACT, which makes it that much harder for me to understand why so many people easily dismiss the facts that support veganism, the most important fact, that they are paying factory farmers and slaughterhouse workers to be cruel to animals………..along with supporting companies that test on animals, and abuse animals in so many ways. How can they support businesses that deliberately hurt and kill animals, senselessly. When there are alternatives to brutality, why would anyone continue to support and perpetuate it?

Yes, I have SO many questions I want to ask those who are not vegan………

* Why are the vast majority of people not compassionate towards ALL animals? Why do we treat dogs and cats differently than pigs and cows? If you saw your neighbor slitting the throat of his dog and butchering him for dinner, you would be appalled and he would be charged with animal abuse!! Why isn’t everyone thinking about the billions of animals every day that are living miserable lives in warehouses and then suffering agonizing deaths to make a lousy steak or pork chop? Why do they not see those same trucks of animals going to slaughter that I do every day and get as outraged as I do? Does anyone else traveling behind one of these trucks want to open the doors as I do and free them? And it’s not just the animals that are raised for food. This holocaust of the animals is SO vast it blows my mind! Why are more people not completely outraged??? It’s mind-boggling! From animal testing to zoos, to the circus, to horse racing, dog racing, to bull fighting, dog fighting, rodeos, to aquariums, to hunting, puppy mills, fur farms, to pet abuse, to animal breeding..….it just goes on and on.

* Why aren’t ALL Christians vegan? Why aren’t all who follow Christ, whose message was that of peace, compassion, empathy, love and respect, also following the vegan philosophy which also preaches peace, compassion, empathy, love and respect? "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you". We have a commandment “do not kill”! I don’t see any footnotes to that commandment to not include animals (and all life for that matter). I realized this at a very young age so how do other Christians explain it?

Why do we think we have the right to interfere in the lives of animals when they were created to "share" the earth with us? I often think of all those who are not vegan, and wonder what they would do if all of a sudden they lost their voice and could no longer communicate their needs, their wishes, their hopes, etc. How would they feel? How would they feel if they were raped, tortured, beat, cramped in metal cages, never saw the sun, or grass, forced to reproduce constantly, to eat food that is unnatural to them, to have their offspring ripped away from them, to never experience any sort of happiness in their very short miserable lives……..and then to be sent to slaughter to have their throats slit while they are still conscious, to be butchered for someone’s dinner table. The issue here is not death………the issue is murder! Even if these animals led “natural” lives, grazing in pastures, basking in the sun, it still would never justify killing and eating them. Animals have the right to life in their natural habitat, live their natural lives and not be bred to serve us. Animal rights is about giving animals the dignity to live in freedom, to own their own lives. I can’t help but compare our enslaving animals to aliens coming to earth from another planet, who are much more advanced than us, having no regard for our needs, taking us out of our natural lives and making us THEIR slaves.

* Why do meat eaters not consciously think about what they are eating? As they say, ‘if slaughterhouses had glass wall, everyone would be vegetarian’. I guess ‘out of sight, out of mind” applies here. If they saw the grotesque scene of these places, hidden from society, no windows, the horrific sounds, men in boots up to their thighs swooshing around in blood and urine and guts, animals writhing in pain, crying out for someone to help them …….aside from that horror, if they could realize they are eating blood, flesh, muscle, skin, fat, organs, gristle, tendons, gnawing on the bones of animals…..along with lots of drugs, fecal matter, and other bodily fluids of these beings…………it nauseates me just writing it!

* Why do meat eaters search for every possible reason they can to justify what they do?They love to try to undermine the vegan lifestyle........we don't get enough protein, we are not healthy, animals are here for us to eat, vegans are part of a cult, we're "whackjobs", ETC. One excuse I hear a lot is that man has eaten meat since the earliest of times, as if that is enough of a reason for us to approve of and continue this practice. Well since early times man has also murdered, committed adultery, waged war, raped, lied, stole, etc. We do not condone any of these behaviors, so that is not a logical arguement. We were vegetarians until the "Fall" of man.

* How can they say we are born carnivores? Really, then why must meat eaters cook their meat so they can digest it? They tenderize and marinate it, add sauces and herbs and whatever else. If you were true carnivores you would salivate at the sight of a pig or a cow or a sheep….and be able to kill it yourself. We disassociate those nicely packaged hot dogs and ground beef in the grocery store with a living breathing animal.

* Where is our respect for ALL life? Human beings have become so desensitized to the pain and suffering in the world that I find it hard to believe we will ever be able to reverse it. We don’t know how to be compassionate to our own species, so how can we ever be compassionate to the animal species? Or vice versa. We should take responsibility to help the needy, the weak, and the voiceless, be it humans or animals. I thought we were "all created equal".....all created in the image of God. No! Instead, we seek dominance, greed, power, control and exploitation over the defenseless.

* Why also is it assumed that if you are a supporter of animal rights that you ignore human rights issues? Being pro-life includes being vegan and the belief that ALL life, be it human or animal deserve equal respect. I am against the death penalty, euthanasia, discrimination, sexism, racism, abortion and war (in most cases) I believe in equal rights for everyone, whether born or unborn, disabled or abled, male or female, gay or heterosexual, black or white, adult of child, Christian or atheist, human or animal. Anyone who supports animal rights has come to the realization that all life in interconnected and interdependent.

Yea, I question so, so much that makes no logical sense to me. I am confused and sad. I sometimes wonder if I will ever have inner peace, something I believe we all strive for in life. I am instead overwhelmed with guilt that I can't do enough, anger that nothing ever seems to change, and frustration about the future.

* Why do non-vegans not look at humanity as I do? I am disgusted to think am part of a species where majority rules, where we are more concerned with conquering than living in harmony, where struggle and dominance are the norm, one that abuses and murders so many animals every single day around this globe with absolutely no conscience or respect, no regard for these innocent, sentient beings that want to live just as much as they do. This a result of the “majority” has been conditioned to see animals as nothing but commodities. I truly hate the world I live in!

* When will we return to “Eden”? When God created Adam and Eve, they lived in harmony with all species of animals, ALL were vegetarian. There were no predators or wild animals, and no domesticated animals as we know them today. There was a state of accord between God, man, nature and animals, who had dignity and worth. God’s ideal was for man and animals to live together peacefully. Wil we ever see a "peacable kingdom"?

If you are like me, you've adopted a vegan diet/lifestyle, but hopefully it doesn't stop there! Going vegan is the very least that each of us is obligated to do to end the brutality inflicted on animals.. Going vegan is just the beginning in the fight for justice for all animals! Here are a few ideas as to how you can be more involved in animal welfare/rights:

• Sign a petition. I have the "Animal Voices" website listed on my Sharing page. Check out the many petitions, campaigs, boycotts, action alerts, special events, protests, and legislation.....and make your voice heard!



• Familarize yourself with the many vegan websites and sign up for all their newsletters so that you get the latest info on what is happening regarding animal rights issues. There are links to many on my "links" page. There a also many animal rights groups on Facebook that are worth joining.



• Familiarize yourself with companies that test on animals and avoid using their products completely. There are plenty of compassionate shopping choices you can make. You can find them here:Care2. Read labels! Participate in demonstrations and boycotts against individuals, businesses and corporations that abuse animals or do business with those involved in abusive practices Write letters to companies that continue to test on animals and express your dismay.



• Join a local Animal Welfare/Animal Rights/Vegan Meetup group and get to know other activists in your area. Another good networking tool is Facebook, to see what other activists are in your area. Visit: Meetup. and search your area for animal welfare groups.



• Attend hearings in your area/city when animal welfare/rights legislation is being introduced. The more who show up in support, the better the chances of it being passed into law. Again, there is power in numbers.



• Partiticipate in local protests/demonstrations! Do some research online and look for an animal rights group in your area that you can join. (Meetup has a lot of animals rights groups.) If you can't find one, perhaps you can start one yourself. Make sure you stay on top of the issues concerning animal cruelty and exploitation. The circus may be coming to town........your community zoo.......local slaughterhouse or factory farm........pet stores, restaurants, stores that sell fur products, a local marine park, rodeo, 4-H,......or perhaps donkey basketball at your school, dissection of animals in school.......the list goes on and on. Make your signs, distribute flyers, notify radio stations, newpapers, local news of the event so you can get it out there to the public!



• Familiarize yourself with the many Animal Protection/Welfare groups, such as:
• The Humance Society
• Farm Sanctuary
• Animal Protection Institute
• ASPCA
• Animal League Defense Fund
• Animal Rights Resource Site
• Compassion Over Killing
• Farm Animal Reform Movement
• American Anit-Vivisection Sociiety
• PETA
• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
• EarthSave
• Animal Welfare Institute
• Mercy For Animals
• Last Chance for Animals
• Best Friends Animal Society
• SHARK
• Vegan Outreach
• VegSource


Links for all these organizations are available on my "links" page. Find out how you can get involved.......such as boycotts, demonstrations, contacting political officials and signing petitions to assist them in their efforts. Of course, all these organizations are always in need of financial donations also to keep them running.


• Email or call the offices of your political officials and express your support/opposition to animal-related legislation or public policy. Call the White House if you have to!!



• Write a "Letter To The Editor" of your local paper regarding animal issues in your area or to respond to an article published in their paper. Look for ads for rodeos, circuses, and fur stores or articles about medical experiments. Or write a letter to thank the paper for covering a fur protest or for posting ads for animals up for adoption.



• Write or better yet, call, television and radio stations to protest glorification of animal abuse or to compliment them on a program well done.



• Spread the word about the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. Feature animal issues on your Facebook or MySpace......create a website or a start a blog. Encourage friends and family to watch "Earthlings"; to educate themselves about the unbelievable amount of animal abuse that is rampant in our world today...and that one way we can all help is to "Go Vegan!"



• Check your community for animal shelters and and sanctuaries and volunteer. They are always in need of help from compassionate people to walk animals, clean cages, help with fundraising or to make donations of both money and specific items they use. You can help with transporting animals, fostering or better yet, adoption!



• Consider a career helping animals. Working with animals, and helping to make a difference for animals can be so rewarding! Some examples are a vet a vet tech, running a doggie day care, pet sitter/dog walker, dog trainer, groomer, humane investigator or officer, working at an animal shelter or sanctuary........the list goes on and on. Check the websites or animal organizations for employment.



• Find out when/where trials will take place for those arrested for any and all animal abuse violations and arrange to attend. The more who attend, the stronger the message it sends.



• Participate in Vegan Outreach's "Adopt A College Program". Leafleting at your local college is a fantastic way to promote the vegan lifestyle to the young. I honestly think we should be educating kids from birth and throughout the entire schooling program though.



• Make your voice known to your school board to assure vegan lunch choices are available to all children. (I struggled as a kid in school finding absolutely nothing I could eat). This is a great way to encourage all children to eat compassionately.



• Be a shining example to everyone you come in contact with on a daily basis as to the benefits of a vegan lifestyle. I would hope that people would want to become vegan after learning of the extreme exploitation of animals and how wrong it is, but if that doesn't work, there are always the health benefits. I try to bring attention to animal suffering daily........I have an "Earthlings" car magnet that says "Ignorance is NOT bliss - www.earthlings.com - Let it change YOUR life!" along with quite a few other window stickers. Your vehicle is a great way to adveritse : )

I believe most people in Pennsylvania are familiar with Hatfield meats in their supermarkets. Not sure if they are available in other parts of the states or not. I live in that town, where animals (mostly pigs) are “processed” in huge quantities daily at “Hatfield Quality Meats” (as their trucks read). Sadly, there are several other slaughterhouses nearby as well, but Hatfield Meats is the one I am most familiar with. It massive and sits way back off the road, no windows, tree lined road, and almost hidden from the public as are the crimes being committed behind these walls!

I wonder quite often as to ‘what kind of people would choose to work in slaughterhouses?’ What kind of people would willingly be part of the gruesome hell and inhumane treatment of animals everyday? What kind of people would willingly be part of the mass murder of of staggering numbers of these innocent creatures everyday? Streams of blood, excruciating sounds, nauseating stench, brutal violence, inexcusable abuse. It astounds me! I have watched heart wrenching videos online of the daily horrors and mass murder of cows, pigs, chickens, horses, sheep, goats, turkeys, etc, that take place in dozens of towns around this country, just like Hatfield. I can barely make it through a minute of any one of these grotesque videos………..how the hell can anyone day after day, not only watch, but actually partake in the killing of screaming, crying, squealing, panicking, struggling animals, with such ease?? What kind of human beings are they? I am very interested to know if there has ever been any psychological studies done. Do they have a spiritual consciousness? Do they go to church? Do they profess to believe in God? in Jesus? How many are actually "pro-life" supporters?

Are these animals the victims of their enjoyment? Are these workers able to come home at the end of the day and be loving, caring, compassionate, sensitive, kind spouses and parents? Do they feel even the slightest guilt or remorse or sadness when a beautiful strong steer stares them in the eye for a moment and in 25 minutes they are able to transform him into steak?? Do they not see the same loyalty, the same curiosity, the same intelligence, the same affection and gentleness in the eyes of a pig, a sheep, or a cow as they do in their pet dog or cat? Do they talk about their jobs with family and friends? Are they proud of what they do? Can they come home and sit up to the table to pork chops or roast beef or hamburger knowing how it came to be? Certainly can’t take their child to “bring your child to work day”! When your job requires you to be heartless and violent day after day, are these workers not disgusted with what they see and do, not disgusted with themselves and the autrocities that exist in this world? Or has the violence completely dehumanized them?

I'm not a psychologist, nor have I ever conducted a study on slaughterhouse workers, but I don't think I'm going out on a limb here to say that repetitive, methodical killing of mass numbers of animals, on a daily basis has to make what I would say is an already deranged person, even more violent outside of his work.

On a daily basis, as I drive my kids to school in Coopersburg, I must see 5, 6 7 sometimes more, trucks each morning, packed with animals coming down route 309, all going to Hatfield. Sadly, it’s probably the only glimpse of daylight they’ll have had in their short tortured lives. The only breath of fresh air, and even that is minimal, as they are so tightly jammed in those trucks. They will never get to experience what a carefree life of ease can be about! They were stripped of that at birth when their nightmarish life of indescribable misery began, crammed into a metal cage barely big enough to fit them, in complete darkness. As much as I will never understand how anyone can slaughter animals, I also question how anyone can work at these factory farms. The gross mistreatment of these animals begins here.

Every now and then I am stopped at a red light with one of these trucks stopped as well, close enough that I can see the eyes of these sweet animals looking out of the tiny holes. I stare at them and start to cry. It’s like they are begging for me to save them from the horrific death they are about to encounter at the end of this journey to hell. The light changes and I drive away, filled with guilt, filled with anguish, filled with tears and frustration that I could do nothing. I am overwrought with sadness all day long, as I can’t get that picture out of my mind. It overwhelmes my brain. And just like clockwork, when I am driving home at 4 30 pm, later that same day (every day), I pass the empty animal trucks, and also the “Hatfield Quality Meat” trucks going up route 309 to make their deliveries...…… carrying those sweet innocent animals that I couldn't save, that are now unrecognizableas ever being a living, breathing being!!! I am once again deeply saddened and almost brought to tears. They have been disgustingly reduced to neat little styrofoam-and-saran-wraped packages, some even adorning a nice sprig of parsley for decoration. No sign of the pain, no sign of the suffering, no sign of the unspeakable acts of violence and abuse that human beings inflicted on each and every one of those very animals that looked to us to take care of them and protect them.

Although I have been vegan most of my life, and feel good about that, I am completely torn apart inside knowing that I am as helpless as those animals staring at me through the tiny holes of those trucks. I am tormented every day because I see the reality of what is happening and can do nothing to save them…….animals are bred, raised and slaughtered without even a thought as to what their lives would/should be if given the chance to follow their natural instincts. They never got to carry out the life that God intended for them. What every happened to the commandment 'thou shalt not kill'?? How can I be part of such a vile species?

When the sight of one truck of animals going to slaughter can bring me so easily to tears I ask myself again and again, 'what kind of person chooses to work in a slaughterhouse'?!?!

I know I, myself, have been hearing the many excuses from meateaters for years! The fact of the matter is, there is NO way to justify killing an innocent animal and eating it's flesh! OR using an animal in any other way, shape or form. There is just NO argument that can win out on the many arguments that support veganism! Being vegan is good for your health, good for the environment, good for the world’s starving peopl, but most importantly, good for the animals! Watch The List @ The List.

After you've heard it all, learn How to win an arguement with a meateater!:

The Hunger Argument

• Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
• Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
• Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
• Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
• Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
• Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
• How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
• Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
• Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
• Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
• Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16

The Environmental Argument

• Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels
• Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
• Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
• Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
• Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
• Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
• Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
• Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
• Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year

The Cancer Argument

• Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times
• For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
• For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
• Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
• Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

The Cholesterol Argument

• Number of U.S. medical schools: 125
• Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
• Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
• Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
• How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
• Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
• Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
• Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
• Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
• Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
• Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
• Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
• Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

The Natural Resources Argument

• User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
• Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
• Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
• Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
• Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13
• Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260
• Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
• To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
• Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
• Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2

The Antibiotic Argument

• Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55
• Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13
• Percentage resistant in 1988: 91
• Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban
• Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument

• Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection
• Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues
• Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
• Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
• Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
• Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level

The Ethical Argument

• Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000
• Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker
• Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker

The Survival Argument

• Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner)
• Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian
• Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)

Personally, if I see another "Happy Cow" commercial, I"m going to scream! There is no such thing as a "happy cow" if they are being bred for food or milk. Advertisements and commercials would have us think that dairy cows are grazing, eating grass in the sunshine, content and carefree. This is NOT the case at all!! Please view this You Tube video: There is NO such thing as "Happy Cows - Behind The Myths." to see what life is really life for these intelligent, gentle animals.

There’s absolutely no reason to drink cow’s milk at any time in your life. It was designed for calves, not humans, and we should all stop drinking it today. Aside from the health aspect (and I will address this later) dairy cows are the most mistreated farm animals today!

Like humans, cows only produce milk to feed their young. We have no right to drink cows milk. Once we have finished drinking our mothers milk we have no rights - and definitely no need - to drink any other mammals milk.

So, what is the life of a dairy cow actually like? Typically, she'll be bred, probably by artificial insemination which is done by force obviously. This involves a person inserting his arm far into the cow’s rectum in order to position the uterus, and then forcing an instrument into her vagina. The restraining apparatus used is commonly called a “rape rack.”

When she's about 16 months old. She'll bear a calf approximately 280 days later and briefly nurse the calf; the calf is removed within 24 hours. Cows and calves cry out for each other as they are separated. Calves recognize their mother and the bond between mother and calf is very strong.

Female calves are raised as replacement stock. If prices are high enough, male calves go to the veal market, to cattle farmers or to rendering plants to make other products (the Rennet used to make most commercial cheeses has to be taken from the stomach of newly-born calf). Male calves used for veal production suffer a crude castration process and are killed after 4 months spent in small crates or pens. However, if prices are low, the calves are destroyed at the dairy after birth.

Today, dairy cows are forced to have a calf every year. Calves born on dairy farms are taken from their mothers when they are just one day old and fed milk replacers so that humans can have the milk instead. Like human beings, the cow's gestation period is nine months long, and so giving birth every twelve months is physically demanding. The cows are also forced to give milk during seven months of their nine month pregnancy. In a healthy environment, cows would live in excess of 25 years, but on modern dairies, they are slaughtered after just 3 or 4 years and then used for ground beef.

If the abuse these animals endure is not enough, now on the the health reasons to eliminate milk/milk products....... Humans are the only species that drink the milk of another animal. You will never see any other baby animals drink the milk of another animal! However, we have been conditioned to think that we must drink milk from cows and that we must drink it our entire life. Wrong! Human breast milk is meant for babies to build our bodies and for proper growth, until they reach around 22-24 months of age, and then they should be weaned. We should not be giving our children cows milk! Cows milk is meant to turn a 200 lb. calf into a 2000 lb cow.

The protein, casein, in cows milk can not be broken down by the human body and it is absorbed into the blood indigested........and can harm the human immune system and stimulate mucus production. Humans also can not digest the natural sugars in milk, lactose, known as "lacose intolerance", because our bodies stop making the enzymes needed. As a result, many suffer from gas, cramps and diarrhea whenever milk/milk products are consumed.

Some of the diseases that can resulf from consuming milk and dairy products are: Crohn's Disease, Asthma, Early Sexual Maturation, Early Breast Growth, Diabetes, Breast Cancer, Colon Cancer, Leukemia, ADD or ADHD, Prostate Cancer, Osteoporosis, Arthritis, Sinuses, Autoimmune Disease, Lung Cancer, Childhood Anemia, Diarrhea & Constipation.

Another reason not to drink milk is because it contains "Bovine Growth Hormone" (BGH) This forces the cows to produce up to30% more milk than naturally possible, which increases IGF-1 insulin like growth factor 1 that is absorbed very easily by humans. IGF-1 is know to promote the rapid growth, progression and invasiveness of cancerous tissue and is especially effective at transforming human breast cells cancerous. BGH is also responsible for girls menstruating at an increasingly early age and early breast development.

BGH isn't the only thing present in milk...whenever cows are forced to produce more milk, they become more susceptible to udder infections called mastitis. Mastitis is a condition which can increase the amount of cow’s pus which ends up in the milk. Mastitis is treated with antibiotics, increasing the antibiotics residues which are present in milk fed to consumers, as well.

One last note for all my vegetarian friends.......I hope after reading this and viewing the you tube video I've posted here, you will think about the suffering these poor dairy cows and calves endure. There are no words to describe their miserable lives! Consider a vegan lifestyle and eliminate all dairy products from your diet. Do it for the animals! Thanks : )

I can honestly say these videos made me physically sick to my stomach. I am just astonished at the vast worldwide acts of animal cruelty inflicted upon these beautiful defenseless creatures. I will never be able to understand how any human being can engage in such activiity, no matter what the financial gain is.

In the United States there are no federal laws governing the care, treatment, or killing of animals on fur farms. Animals raised for fur are not covered under the Animal Welfare Act nor the Humane Slaughter Act. State and local laws specific to fur farms are also nonexistent. Of the 31 million animals killed on fur ranches each year, about twenty-six million are mink and 4.5 million are fox. In addition, 250,000 chinchillas, 150,000 sable, 100,000 fitch, 100,000 raccoon dogs (a separate species from the American raccoon). Some of U.S. fur farms have attempted to “diversify” by raising bobcat, coyote, raccoon, and beavers, along with coypus and rabbits. Animals spend their entire lives stacked on top of one other in barren cages with nothing beneath their feet but wire mesh.

Fur-bearing animals are killed by gassing, neck breaking, anal electrocution, clubbing, trapping and injection with poisons so as not to damage their pelts. These animals live horrendous existences when they are "ranch-raised" on a "fur farm", or are brutally killed in the hands of trappers. On ranches, they spend their entire lives in tiny, filthy cages and suffer tremendously, many become deranged until they meet with brutal deaths. The U.S. produces about 10% of the cage-raised fur in the world; 60 to 75% of the fur in coats sold in the U.S. comes from cage-raised animals, and 90% of cage-raised foxes are used in fur-trim. Trapping is another incredibly cruel method used on fur bearing animals.

In China, there are no present laws to protect the welfare of animals bred on fur farms. Millions of dogs and cats are slaughtered every year for the cruel Chinese fur trade. The Swiss Animal Protection report said slaughter methods range from beatings with a metal or wooden stick or swinging the animal until it slams to the ground. Then they are skinned..........alive!! The process is repeated millions of times, as China processes up to 100,000 pelts in a day at times.

Check out these videos:

• China's Shocking Dog and Cat Fur Trade Video
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• Horrors of the Fur Industry Video
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• Fur Trade
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Fur farming was banned in England, Scotland, Wales and most of Austria. Switzerland’s stringent legislation prevents cage-rearing of animals, and in the Netherlands, farming of foxes and chinchillas has been banned.

See this website for the work being done to end the fur trade:Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT)

PLEASE BEWARE of any "fake" fur products! Investigations from the last couple of years, show that 80 percent of fake fur has actuality been real! Raccoon dogs from Asia, mostly China, Japan, and Korea, are hunted and raised on farms for the "Faux Fur" industry. U.S. law protecting dogs and cats from such cruelties have yet to catch up with the cruelties and misrepresentations involving racoon dogs- since they are not actual dogs. (source: www.threadbanger.com) Pleae note that a lot of fake fur is actually real dog and cat fur also! You will find faux fur on figurines, as lining to gloves and coats, trim on coats and gloves, as animal toys, etc. My advice is to not purchase anything that even looks like fur.

Humans have used animals to amuse and entertain themselves for centuries. Most of these innocent creatures have been unwilling participants in these games for man's financial profit and greed. Many have paid dearly with their lives or through extreme suffering. "Entertainments" which exploit animals include dog racing, horse racing, cock fighting, dog fighting, bull fighting, rodeos, circuses, hunting, and even zoos and aquariums. Both domestic and wild animals are used and I'd like to look at each one and give a little insight as to what these animals' lives are really like.

(1) DOG RACING - Greyhound racing sort of slips through the cracks because too many people are still in the dark about its horrors. Greyhound racing doesn’t draw the money, the media, or the celebrity that horses do. According to the Humane Society of The United States (www.hsus.org) every year, the industry breeds tens of thousands of greyhounds, more than it can place at racetracks. This overbreeding is motivated by the desire to produce "winning" dogs. Thousands of greyhounds at each track are disposed of yearly to bring in a "fresh" group of dogs. Many dogs, when they are no longer profitable, are adopted into good homes through rescue groups, but thousands are not. They are destroyed, sometimes by gunshot, bludgeoning or starvation. It's easier to kill them to to find homes for them. Racing greyhounds spend the majority of their adult lives in tiny crates or pens or in fenced enclosures with little human contact. They are muzzled by their trainers at all times Greyhound training activities have been known to maim and kill thousands of domestic rabbits and wild jackrabbits every year. The racing industry also sells thousands of dogs considered unfit for racing to laboratories, which experiment on animals. Thus, greyhound racing functions not only as a "sport" and gambling enterprise, but as a breeding facility for cruel vivisection practices.

For more information on what you can do to stop Greyhound Racing, check out http://www.greyhounds.org/gpl/contents/entry.html.

(2) HORSE RACING - Often called the "Sport of Kings" there is much cruelty behing the glamour of horse racing. Stallions are seen as nothing but "semen machines" and breeding females are subjected to a punishing regime of artificial treatments to control and speed up reproduction. The racing industry creates thousands upon thousands of foals each year. Out of those foals, only a few can ever be fast enough for the track. The rest have to be disposed of. Once the horse has finished racing, usually at a very young age, it is either retired, put to stud, or disposed of. The total number of horses being bred is on the increase, so there is a rise in the percentage of animals who are failing to make the commercial grade.

According to "Downbound" (www.downbound.com) injuries at racetracks concluded that one horse in every 22 races suffered an injury that prevented him or her from finishing a race, while another estimates that 800 thoroughbreds die a year in North America because of injuries. Many are euthanized in order to save the owners further veterinary fees and other expenses on a horse who can’t race again. Many racehorses are turned into junkies by their trainers and sometimes by veterinarians, who provide drugs to keep horses on the track when they shouldn’t be racing. The United States has a multimillion-dollar horsemeat export business and slaughters tens of thousands of horses every year. Many of these horses sent to slaughterhouses are former thoroughbred wining racehorses that have been retired............so even the winners become losers.

A New York Daily News reporter remarked, “The thoroughbred race horse is a genetic mistake. It runs too fast, its frame is too large, and its legs are far too small. As long as mankind demands that it run at high speeds under stressful conditions, horses will die at racetracks. For a list of horse rescue organizations by state, check out http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/horse-rescue.shtml..

(3) COCK FIGHTING - Gamecocks, are placed in an enclosure to fight, for the primary purposes of gambling and entertainment. A cockfight usually results in the death of one of the birds; sometimes it ends in the death of both. The birds cannot escape from the fight, regardless of how exhausted or injured they become. Common injuries include punctured lungs, broken bones, and pierced eyes. Such severe injuries occur because the birds' legs are usually fitted with razor-sharp steel blades or with gaffs, which resemble three-inch-long, curved ice picks. These artificial spurs are designed to puncture and mutilate. (from The Humane Society of the United States)

(4) DOG FIGHTING - According to a CNN report, an estimated 40,000 people in the United States are involved in professional dogfighting, an illegal blood sport with fight purses as high as $100,000. Two dogs are forced to fight for the sake of human entertainment and profit. The dogs, usually Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, or Dobermans, are raised under horrific conditions and abusively trained to be aggressive. Dogs are chained to treadmills which are used to build the dog's endurance. Drugs are used to numb pain from injuries or to "jazz up" the dogs. Mesh bags, which are used to suspend kittens, rabbits, puppies, and other small prey above the dogs are to encourage a "fighting spirit". These brutal, bloody fights can go on for up to 10 hours until one of both can no longer go on. The dogs suffer serious injuries or often death in the match. Many times, the owner of the losing dog will shoot or abandon the injured dog to die slowly from injuries. Dogfighting is illegal in all 50 states and a felony offense in almost every state, but is still a popular underground sport.......and it IS legal in most countries around the world. One other example of the brutality dogs are subjected to outside the pit is the so-called rape stand. It allows an overly aggressive dog to be held down so she can be bred, against her will, to another overly aggressive dog.

How can you help? If you live in one of the states where dogfighting is still only a misdemeanor, please write to your state legislators and urge them to make it a felony.

How to spot dog fighting in your community:

(5) ZOOS - Although there are many people who work in zoos that love animals, confining animals in artificial and often small enclosures inside zoos is stressful and causes them harm. According to "Animal Frontline" (http://www.animalfrontline.nl/index-eng.php), Zoos claim to educate people and preserve species, but they frequently fall short on both counts. Most zoo enclosures are quite small, and labels provide little more information than the species' name, diet, and natural range. The animals' normal behaviour is seldom discussed, much less observed, because their natural needs are seldom met. Birds' wings may be clipped so they cannot fly, aquatic animals often have very little water to live in and the many animals who naturally live in large herds or family groups are often kept alone or, at most, in pairs. Natural hunting and mating behaviours are virtually eliminated by regulated feeding and breeding regimens. The animals are closely confined, lack privacy, and have little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise, resulting in abnormal and self-destructive behaviour. The purpose of most zoos' research is to find ways to breed and maintain more animals in captivity. It is nearly impossible to release captive-bred animals into the wild. Most animals housed in zoos are not endangered, nor are they being prepared for release into natural habitats. Zoos often sell or kill animals that no longer attract visitors. Deer, tigers, lions, and other animals who breed often are sometimes sold to "game" farms where hunters pay for the "privilege" of killing them; some are killed for their meat and/or hides. Other "surplus" animals may be sold to smaller, more poorly run zoos or to laboratories for experiments.

Animals in zoos around the world are taken out of the wild, out of their natural habitat and have their right to freedom erased.

Preserving natural habitats and animal welfare should be the priority -- not entertainment. Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups like the International Primate Protection League, The Born Free Foundation, the African Wildlife Foundation, and other groups that work to preserve habitats, not habits. We should help non-profit sanctuaries, like Primarily Primates and the Performing Animal Welfare Society, that rescue and care for exotic animals, but don't sell or breed them.

(6) AQUARIUMS - At aquariums around the country, orcas leap through the air for a handful of fish and are ridden by human performers as if they were water skis. These parks and zoos are part of a billion-dollar business built on the suffering of intelligent, social beings who are denied all their natural behaviors and needs. The aquarium is a very different environment from the natural environment of these large and beautiful animals, and causes them to suffer physically, psychologically, and mentally. The whales and dolphins, known as cetaceans, are housed in cement aquariums very different from their natural habitat. The most commonly kept cetaceans are killer whales, beluga whales, and dolphins. In the ocean, orcas and dolphins stay with their families, or “pods,” for their entire lives and communicate with each other in a “dialect” specific to their family pod. Imagine, then, the trauma inflicted on these highly social animals when they are ripped from their families and put in the strange artificial world of a marine park. The capture of marine mammals is a violent procedure. Those selected are taken ashore and will never see their ocean world or their pod again. Many die from shock or injuries. Tanks are kept clean with chemicals (chlorine being one) that have unknown side effects. Newly captured dolphins and orcas are forced to learn tricks. Former trainers say that withholding food and isolating animals who refuse to perform are two common training methods. (adapted from www.downbound.com)

You can help by refusing to attend marine parks and aquariums.

(7) CIRCUSES - According to www.dosomething.org, In many circuses, wild and exotic animals are trained through the use of intimidation and physical abuse. Former circus employees have reported seeing animals beaten, whipped, poked with sharp objects and even burned to force them to learn their routines! Elephants who perform in circuses are often kept in chains for as long as 23 hours a day from the time they are babies. Most circus animals are wild creatures that are plucked from their natural habitats, that are not accustomed to the same life that humans lead, and are forced into doing so....having said that though, neither domesticated OR wild animals belong in circuses! Bears do not ride bikes.........tigers do not jump through hoops of fire and elephants do not march in circles holding the tails of other elephants. Just because circus animals seem well-tempered during a performance doesn’t mean anything. They are wild by nature, and the only way to get an animal to submit to humans is to train them through aggressive and often crueltechniques. The most common tool used in the training of elephants is called a bullhook, which is a sharp metal hook attached to a long pole or handle. (there is a link on my links page, www.circuses.com that has a video depicting elephant abuse.)

Circus animals are kept in cramped, unhealthy conditions, that they are transported in cages, which are too small for them. According to In Defense Of Animals Animals in circuses either travel in 18-wheelers or by train. During transport and between performances, tigers, who in the wild would secure 75-2,000 square miles, are kept in cages with barely enough room to turn around. Elephants, who walk up to 25 miles a day with their families in their natural habitat, are shackled in chains by their front and back legs so that they can't take a step forward or backward. They are forced to eat, sleep, and defecate in the same trailers, where they can be kept for stretches of more than 24 hours.

How can you help? Support animal-free circuses! There are several, and one is CIRQUE DU SOLEIL which travels nation-wide performing spectacular theme-based shows with magnificent costumes and acrobatics. There are others. Check your city.

(8) RODEOS - According to www.citizens-times.org, Bull riding is an event that was specifically created for public entertainment, and has nothing to do with ranching skills. Prior to being ridden, these docile animals are restrained in tiny chutes, and have ropes tightly tied around their sensitive abdominal areas. It is not uncommon for electric prods to be used as the animals are released from the chute to make them even more agitated. To relieve the pain caused by the ropes, the bulls buck. They stop their wild behavior as soon as the ropes are released. The bulls are tormented, harassed and stressed while being exposed to pain, injury and sometimes death. Check out www.sharkonline.org to see an 11-minute video - a sampling of the horrors that come to horses, steers, and calves in rodeos all across America. (It's heartbreaking.)

(9) BULL FIGHTING - Bullfighting takes place in several European countries and parts of Latin America. It is the most indefensible type of animal abuse! If you are able to get through them, www.sharkonline.org has bull fighting vidoes that are the ultimate in animal abuse. It pits a bull against men wielding barbed spikes, spears, swords and daggers. These weapons are designed to inflict intense pain and cause blood loss to weaken the animal. The bullfight usually concludes with the death of the bull by a sword thrust.

(10) CANNED HUNTING - Canned hunting is the killing of an animal in an enclosure to obtain a trophy. The animals are sometimes tame exotic mammals; some, in fact, have been sold by petting zoos to the canned hunting operation. These animals do not know to run from humans. The Humane Society of the United States estimates there are more than 1,000 canned hunt operations in at least 25 different states. The sale of exotic mammals to canned hunts is big business for private breeders, animal dealers, and disreputable zoos. The over breeding of captive exotic animals exacerbates the problem. Hunt operators can purchase animals directly through dealers or at auctions. The victims are exotic (non-indigenous) animals, including several varieties of goats and sheep; numerous species of Asian and African antelope; deer, cattle, and swine; and bears, zebra, and sometimes even big cats. The killing of a confined or restrained wild animal is abuse for the sake of amusement. Most states allow canned hunting.

(11) TROPHEY HUNTS - According to Delaware Action For Animals (www.da4a.org), every year, tens of thousands of wild animals, representing hundreds of different species, are killed by American trophy hunters in foreign countries. The heads, hides, tusks, and other body parts of most of these animals are legally imported to the United States by the hunters. Trophy hunting requires tens of thousands of dollars to participate in each hunting trip. Many trophy hunters belong to organizations which promote and enable the so-called "sport," such as Safari Club International (SCI). While the trophy hunting of endangered and threatened species attracts a great deal of attention, the vast majority of wild animals that American hunters kill and import—such as impala, black bears, common zebra, warthogs, eland, African buffalo, African lions, giraffes, and baboons—are not protected under the ESA or any other domestic law. If the foreign government allows the animals to be killed, as many do, the American hunter can import the trophies.

(12) HUNTING and FISHING - These are the obvious examples.... all sorts of hunting, shooting, and fishing boil down to slaughtering other animals for sport and pleasure. No-one needs to eat meat at all and for moral, health, and environmental reasons they should not (go vegan!) As for fishing, again there is absolutely no need to catch or eat fish; even when anglers throw their catch back in they have first put a hook through its palate.

Don't patronize events that exploit animals and pass that message on to others! ALL animals have a right to live in this world, freely and peacefully, in their natural habitat, just like you and I.

Many people don't realize they are supporting the meat industry wearing leather, since the animal is already killed for it's meat. However, much of the value of cattle comes from it's byproducts, including hide, tallow, and bone. Hides are the single most valuable by-product! Although cattle hide is used to make glue, gelatin, and "pet" treats, almost all the economic value of hide comes from its use in leather production. Every leather jacket, shoe, purse and wallet is a symbol of factory farming. In fact, pound for pound, leather–not meat–is a slaughterhouse's most profitable item!

Most leather produced and sold in the United States is made from the skins of cattle and calves, but leather is also made from horses, sheep, lambs, goats, and pigs who are slaughtered for meat. Other species are hunted and killed specifically for their skins, including zebras, bison, water buffaloes, boars, ostriches, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes.

Other “exotic” animals, such as alligators, are also factory-farmed for their skins (and meat). Although alligators may naturally live up to 60 years, on farms they are usually butchered before the age of 2, as soon as they reach 4 to 6 feet in length. Humane treatment is not a priority of those who poach and hunt animals to obtain their skin or those who transform skin into leather. Alligators on farms may be beaten to death with hammers and axes, sometimes remaining conscious and in agony for up to two hours after being skinned.

Kangaroos are slaughtered by the millions every year, their skins considered to be prime material for soccer shoes. Although the Australian government requires hunters to shoot the animals, orphaned joeys and wounded adults are, according to government code, to be decapitated or hit sharply on the head to destroy the brain. Snakes and lizards may be skinned alive because of the belief that live flaying imparts suppleness to the finished leather. Kid goats may be boiled alive to make kid gloves, and the skins of unborn calves and lambs—some purposely aborted, others from slaughtered pregnant cows and ewes—are considered especially “luxurious.

Source: http://www.thenazareneway.com/vegetarian/leather.htm

Vegetarianism is first mentioned by the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras around 500 BCE. He promoted benevolence among all species, including all humans. Many of the great minds, including Tolstoy, Socrates, Plato, Einstein, Voltaire, Da Vinci, Edison, Einstein, Hippocrates, to name a few, advocated non-violence and a vegetarian/vegan diet.

The first vegetarian society was formed in 1847 in England by a small Bible Christian Church. Other religious groups also advocated refraining from eating animal flesh (Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism) The vegetarian lifestyle never really caught on in the West, though, until years later...........but it is from this "parent society" that all other Vegetarian Societies have received their inspriation.

Vegetarianism was not very common in the U.S. until the early seventies. Tremendous changes have occurred regarding the vegetarian movement since that time. In 1975, the bi-annual World Vegetarian Congress was held in Orono, Maine. It proved to be a turning point, because for the first time in the United States, almost 1500 vegetarians from across the world got together and began to form alliances.

November 1 is World Vegan Day, a celebration of people who don't eat meat. Or eggs. Or cheese. Or milk. Or mayonnaise. Or honey. Or whey. Or gelatin. Or anything that comes from or includes an animal. Nor do they use any clothing, accessory or object made from an animal. No leather, no wool, no pearls, no ivory, etc. The animal-free holiday began in 1994, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vegan Society.

The basic foundations of Vegetarianism stemmed from ethical princlipes and the acknowledgement that all life, even animal life, is sacred and to be respected. The early pioneers did not have the scientific knowledge of nutrition. Today there are many adaptations to the Vegetarian diet.......Vegan, Raw and Living Foods, Fruitarian, etc.

I find all of the following people absolutely fascinating to read about.......and all have had some life-changing experience that enlightens them to change to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, or they have choosen to make a difference in the world on behalf of animal welfare and animal rights for health and eithical reason. There are SO many individuals to be mentioned here. I will continue to add to this list.....

• 1.) Howard Lyman - I must admit I was not fully aware of Howard Lyman's story and how he came to be a vegan. Please read this interview. It is So amazing that someone who was a 4th generation farmer could have such a complete change of lifestyle and diet! Very interesting read. Check out: Howard Lyman Interview and also his website Mad Cowboy
• 2.) Ingrid Newkirk - President and co-founder of PETA. She is the author of 'Kids Can Save the Animals!'; 'The Compassionate Cook'; and 'Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty', and numerous articles on the social implications of our treatment of animals. She served as director of cruelty investigations for the second oldest humane society in the U.S.; Check out her website at: Ingrid Newkirk and read her biography. In her book, "One Can Make a Difference: How Simple Actions Can Change the World", she shares the wisdom and insight of more than 50 world-changers like herself, and shows how one CAN make a difference in the world.
• 3.) John Robbins - He stood to inherit Baskin-Robbins, the largest ice cream company in the world, said no. After looking closely at the factory farms of the dairy industry, and studying the health implications of the products the company was selling, he concluded that he had to remain true to his conscience Robbins became a vegetarian in his free-thinking adult years, and now avidly advocates a plant-based diet. He has help founded Earth Save International, an environmental advocacy organization. Robbins is author of "Diet for a New America"
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• 4.) Neal Barnard, M.D - He founded the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Barnard grew up in North Dakota in a family that included two doctors and four cattle ranchers. He actually worked at a local McDonald’s during high school. Before going to medical school, he had a job helping out with autopsies in a Minneapolis hospital. He witnessed first hand how a meat-eating diet manifested itself in the body, with arteries filled with fatty buildup. Check out his interview with "Satya" magazie at Neal Barnard Interview. He started a group, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which advocates medicine based on nutritious vegetarian diets and other positive life style changes, rather than reliance on animal experimentation and the use of drugs and surgery. He has written quite a few books, one of which is "The Power of Your Plate"
• 5.) Peter Singer, Ph.D - He has been called "the most effective philosopher alive". His views on animal liberation, poverty and euthanasia have helped shape global debate on these subjects. While attending Oxford he was inspired by a Canadian graduate student, Richard Keshen, who was a vegetarian, and who explained to Singer that he didn't think we could justify the way animals were treated to turn them into food. His greatest work is the book "Animal Liberation:.
• 6.)Mohandas Gandhi - When Gandhi spoke to the Vegetarian Society in England in 1931, he said that he would never eat meat even in the face of death: "If anybody said that I should die if I did not take beef-tea or mutton, even under medical advice, I would prefer death." He believed that a man becomes what he eats, and that spiritual progress demands that we cease to kill our fellow creatures to satisfy our bodily wants. Gandhi's had a commitment to non-violence and a belief in simple living.
• 7.)Frances Moore Lappe - Author of "Diet For A Small Planet"(1971), which takes more of a humanist approach to changing to a vegetarian lifestyle. It launched the "vegetarian movement" in the US. The thrust of her book is how eating meat affects the environment and world hunger, and guided readers as to the best diet not only for their bodies but for the planet. She dropped out of graduate school after feeling like something was not right in her life........which led her to write "Diet For A Small Plant". She is a passionate and pioneering thinker and activist in many movements, from the fight to end hunger and poverty, to the struggle for social and democratic reform.
• 8.)John McDougall, M.D - One of the first doctors to advocate a vegetarian diet instead of drugs to reverse heart disease and other medical conditions. While an 18-year-old college student studying hotel management at Michigan State University, John McDougall suffered a paralyzing stroke. The experience inspired him to go to medical school, but it wasn’t until years later that he understood how his diet was to blame. That turning point came in the early 1970s. As a young internist practicing in Hawaii, Dr. McDougall began to notice that his older Asian patients didn’t have the heart disease, arthritis, and other debilitating conditions their American-born children did. He went on to become a passionate advocate for a low-fat, high-fiber vegan diet, an outspoken opponent of unnecessary drugs and surgery, and a pioneer in the burgeoning health movement. He has authored many books, such as "The McDougall Program" and "Digestive Tune-Up"
• 9.)Jay and Freya Dinshah - Mr. Dinshah was raised as a vegetarian from birth by his parents, To help win recognition for the vegan concept in America, Mr. H. Jay and Freya Dinshah started the American Vegan Society in Malaga, N.J., in 1960. Dinshah, of Parsee descent, infused veganism with the Jain and Buddhist doctrine of Ahimsa-(non violence to all living creatures). In fact, Ahimsa was the name of the journal that Mr. Dinshah and his wife published quarterly. Mr. Dinshah’s wife, Freya, published the first vegan cookbook, The Vegan Kitchen, in 1966. Jay Dinshah is also the founder (1974) and served as president of the North American Vegetarian Society. Since 1975, NAVS has organized and sponsored annual educational conferences (including three world events.) "Vegetarian Summerfest" is held every year in Johnstown, Penna.
• 10.)Joanne Stepaniak - She is a renowned activist and award-winning on-line columnist. She is a writer, an educator, a philoshopher, a cooking instructor, and the author of many books that have contributed to the vegan movement, including "The Vegan Sourcebook" , "Being Vegan, Living with Conscience, Conviction, and Compassion", "Compassionate Living for Healing, Wholeness & Harmony" , plus many cookbooks. She became a vegetarian when I was around ten years old. Her motivation was simply a deep feeling in her heart that killing and eating animals was inherently wrong. For her, becoming vegetarian was simply an inner awakening. She became vegan about sixteen years later, along with her husband Michael for both health and ethical motivations. Her highly informative website, "Grassroots Veganism" at http://www.vegsource.com/jo/
• 11.)Donald Watson - The word vegan (pronounced vee-gun, sometimes mispronounced vay-gun) was originally derived from vegetarian in 1944 when Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson, frustrated that the term "vegetarianism" had come to include the eating of dairy products, founded the UK Vegan Society. The term vegan was originally coined to differentiate those vegetarians who (primarily for ethical or environmental reasons) sought to eliminate all animal products in all areas of their lives from those who simply avoided eating meat.
• 12.)Sylvester Graham - He is the inventor of "Graham crackers", and he also co-founded the American Vegetarian Society along with the Reverend William Metcalfe, a pacifist and a prominent member of the Bible-Christian Church, who preached vegetarianism. Graham was a Presbyterian minister and his followers, called Grahamites, obeyed his instructions for a virtuous life which included vegetarianism.
• 13.)Eric Marcus - In 1997, he wrote a book, "Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating" which gtives a compelling argument for the case for veganism. He has also written some compelling articles related to veganism and conducted a major speaking tour of the United States to promote veganism.
• 14.)Jack Norris - He is president and Co-Founder of Vegan Outreach. In 1986, he had an unpleasant fishing experience which made him wonder why humans thought it was okay to treat animals in ways we would never think of treating other humans. The next year he found out about factory farming through the PETA benefit record album, Animal Liberation. About a year later, he became vegan. Vegan Outreach produces booklets that describe factory farming and slaughterhouse conditions, and how to change one's diet so as not to support such businesses.
• 15.)Matt Ball - He is a member of the Animal Rights Community of Cincinnati, Matt Ball, along with Jack Norris and Phil Murray, now co-owner of Pangea Vegan Products, spent the winter of 1990-1991 holding fur protests outside of cultural events. They funded the printing and distribution of 10,000 pro-vegetarian flyers entitled "Vegetarianism." Matt Ball and Jack Norris also formed Animal Liberation Action and started a campaign of holding "Stop Eating Animals" banners on street corners. This would become the foundation of Vegan Outreach's current tactic of distributing information on college campuses and in other high-traffic areas, such"Why Vegan" in 1996.
• 16.)Gene and Lorri Bauston - They are founders of Farm Sanctuary, an organization that confronts agribusiness on all issues affecting farm animals and works to end cruel factory farming practices through investigations, public education, legislation, and litigation. Lorri became vegan at age 16 when her love for animals made her question eating them for dinner. She and Gene started Farm Sanctuary when they began investigating farms and found an injured sheep in a pile of dead sheep. They resuced her and started the first animal shelter for farm animals. They rescue injured or sick animals from slaughternouses, factory farms and stockyards.
• 17.)Jeff and Sabrina Nelson - They developed VegSource.com after decades of living the vegetarian life which they adopted for both health and social reasons. VegSource contains information on the type of foods that a vegetarian can stick to and what they should be avoiding. Its “Why and How to Go Vegan” menu may be a resource for those who are considering the vegetarian life. The website has many links to products, recipes and other information related to vegetarianism. Jeff and Sabrina Nelson are close personal friends to John Robbins ("The Food Revolution).
• 18.)Andrew Linzey - He is an Anglican priest, theologian, writer and Christian vegetarian. He is a member of the Faculty of Theology in the University of Oxford, and holds the world’s first academic post in Ethics, Theology and Animal Welfare. Rev. Linzey preaches compassion to all creatures and speaks out against cruelty. His books include: "Animal Gospel", "Animal Rites", "Animal Theology", "Christianity and the Rights of Animals", "Animals and Christianity", "Animals on the Agenda" and "Love the Animals" (co-authored with Tom Regan). Website: http://www.animalsvoice.com/sites/godandanimals/PAGES/edits/linzey.html
• 19.)Henry Salt - He was a British social campaigner, writer, naturalist, prominent anti-vivisectionist and vegetarian. After attending Cambridge University he taught classics at Eton preparatory school but left to adopt a vegetarian life-style growing vegetables at a remote country cottage while writing for a living. Salt believed animals should be free to live their own lives and that humanity has a responsibility to treat them compassionately and justly. He wrote the first book entirely devoted to animal rights: "Animals' Rights: considered in relation to social progress", published in 1892.
• 20.)Jim Mason - He is best known for his 1980 book, "Animal Factories", written with philosopher Peter Singer. The book exposes America’s "brave new world" of factory farming. Mason was the founding editor and co-founder with Doug Moss of The Animals’ Agenda, the news magazine of the animal rights movement. His latest book, also co-written with Peter Singer, "The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter", looks at factory farming, organic farming, commercial fishing, and the vegan diet.
• 21.)Steven Best - He is a controversial figure partly because of his involvement with the British originated Animal Liberation Front and their actions to rescue animals and destroy the property of companies that harm animals. While eating a burger at a fast food restaurant he made the connection between what he was eating and animals and he converted to veganism. Some of Best's animal liberation books are: "Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?" ; "Animal Rights and Moral Progress"; "Igniting a Revolution". Also check out: Direct Action and The Politics of Nature.
• 22.)Michael W. Fox - He is a veterinarian, author, and the well-known writer of the syndicated Animal Doctor column in the Star Tribune. Fox also served as the former vice president of the Humane Society of the United States. writes, consults and lectures on animal health, rights, and welfare, holistic and environmental health, bioethics, biotechnology and sustainable agriculture. Fox holds the radical view that humans and animals have the same moral standing. “We are not superior. There are no clear distinctions between us and animals.” He is the author of more than 40 books, including "Eating with Conscience: The Bioethics of Food". He and his wife founded the India Project for Animals and Nature (IPAN) and its sanctuary, Hill View Farm Animal Refuge.
• 23.)Lawrence Carter-Long - He is both the Network Coordinator for the Disabilities Network of New York City and Issues Specialist for In Defense of Animals, a national animal advocacy organization. Lawrence has dedicated his life to promoting progress primarily in the areas of animal protection and disability rights. He is also a Contributing Editor to the New York based-SATYA Magazine, a monthly publication committed to increasing dialogue among people from diverse backgrounds and helping readers integrate compassion into their daily lives.
• 24.)Rynn Berry - He has been a rawfoodist since 1995. He is a historical advisor to the NAVS (North American Vegetarian Society) and is on the Advisory Board of Earth Save. In his lectures, articles, and books, he has specialized in the study of vegetarianism. His books include "The New Vegetarians", "Famous Vegetarians and Their Favorite Recipes", "Food for the Gods: Vegetarianism and the World's Religions", and "Fruits of Tantalus: A History of Vegan Rawfoodism and Fruitarianism"
• 25.)Eddie LamaHe is an ethical vegan and animal rights activist. Eddie Lama's inspiring and life affirming journey to compassion is the subject of the award-winning documentary by Tribe of Heart, The Witness. Eddie grew up in a Brooklyn neighborhood steeped in violence, and transformed his own experience of being victimized into a commitment to protect the vulnerable. Eddie runs a New York City construction company and is also the Founder of FaunaVision, a charitable non-profit organization which operates the Oasis Animal Sanctuary in Upstate New York, providing homes for hundreds of abandoned and neglected cats, dogs and farm animals. FaunaVision also designs unique audiovisual mobile systems that empower the efforts of activists to educate the public about animal issues.
• 26.)Shaun Monson Writer/producer/director Shaun Monson began work on a series of PSAs about spaying and neutering pets in 1999. The footage he shot at animal shelters around Los Angeles affected him so profoundly that the project soon evolved into EARTHLINGS, a feature-length documentary about how dependent human beings are on animals, primarily in five key areas: pets, food, clothing, entertainment and science. EARTHLINGS would take Shaun another six years to complete because of the difficulty in obtaining footage within these profitable industries.
• 27.) Aaron Scheibner The director and producer of A Delicate Balance-The Truth. This film clearly illustrates how diet and non violence are critical to the health and well-being of all Life on earth and that it's possible to live a life that's conducive to peace, love and prosperity. The main theme of A Delicate Balance is human health: how we become sick through the consumption of animal based foods and how our environment suffers as a consequence. Aaron Scheibner also founded a line of vegan foods calledHappy and Healthy Foods
• 28.)Victor SchonfeldWrote and produced the film "The Animals Film" in 1981. This remarkable, pioneering and definitive documentary about the exploitation of animals in modern society caused huge shockwaves and received worldwide critical acclaim. It turned thousands of people vegetarian or vegan and started a countrywide debate about how we treat our animals.

Statistics from the Humane Society

Each year millions of unwanted pets are born and most are treated like "living garbage" and disposed of. Take a trip to a local shelter and look in the eyes of the many cats and dogs stuck in cages, who are distined to be killed.........it's heartbreaking. Their nightmares could of been prevented. Every pet owner can be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

• Every day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born in this country while only 10,000 people are born. It’s simple math — there just aren’t enough homes for all of these animals.
• On average, 100 dogs will find themselves in shelters every day.......and about 60% of them will end up euthanized.
• Every year over 6 million animals are euthanized in shelters for lack of available homes. If the numbers were “only” 7 million, that would mean 135,000 per week, or 20,000 pets euthanized every 24 hours, 365 days a year!
• An animal is euthanized in the U.S. every 2 seconds.
• Animal overpopulation has reached a crisis point in this country.

The facts are startling, but true. Pet overpopulation is said to be the cause of pet abandonment and abuse since pet owners don't take their responsibility seriously. The cause of over population is simple, pet owners are not having their pets spayed or neutered. It is not startling that pets procreate and do it at a prolific rate. In fact, a population of 420,000 cats is derived in 7 years from just 1 female cat and her offspring…female dogs and her offspring on the other hand produce 67,000 pups in just 6 years! Most times, reluctance to spay and neuter pets rise from misconceptions, misplaced pity and blind acceptance of pet ownership. What is worse, there are defiant pet owners who refuse this practice since it is costly and it is convenient to just abandon the unwanted offspring.

Benefits of Sterilizing Your Pet:

• YOUR PET WILL BE HAPPIER AND MORE CONTENT. An unsterilized pet is often anxious and frustrated. He or she may pace or whine, act aggressively or inappropriately to furniture or people. He is not happy inside or out, and is driven by something he cannot understand.
• IT CAN INCREASE YOUR PET'S LIFE EXPECTANCY. Spaying eliminates uterine infection and reduces the risk of mammary cancer. Neutering prevents testicular and prostate cancer. In addition to the health benefits, your pet won't face the danger of being in fights, run over or exposed to diseases while on the prowl in search of a mate.
• BENEFITS FOR FEMALES: You are preventing the birth of unwanted liters. No hard-to-place puppies, No messy heat cycles. Lessens their risk of developing certain cancers and infections.
• BENEFITS FOR MALES: 94% reduction in roaming, 66% reduction in mounting, 63% reduction in inter-male aggression, 59% reduction in urine marking. Most bites to hjmans are by un-neutered males. Most dod to dog aggression involves un-neutered males. Will lessen their chances of developing certain cancers.

You can click on the link below for a state-by-state listing of free or low cost spay/neuter programs OR you can call: 1-800-321-PETS OR Call the "Friends of Animals" spay/neuter hotline, and they will send you a list of participating veterinarians in your area -and an order form for your low cost spay/neuter certificate.

Be a responsible pet owner and encourage others to be as well. Our pets depend on us for lots of attention, shelter, food and love..........and getting them spayed/neutered is one way of showing them we love them, and also showing our community we care. There are many non-profit groups that do more than their part to provide free or low cost help to spay/neuter your pet and also with rabies shots.

Today in the United States, the term shelter encompasses a wide range of facilities—everything from lifetime-care facilities for animals without homes to temporary homes for animals that will find a permanent home to others that are not much more than death houses. They may be run by the government, local humane societies, or private individuals. Some are funded by donations alone, while others receive tax support.

All shelters have "wishlists" of items they are in need of such as kitten/cat food, puppy/dog food, cat litter, etc. Each one has their own individual needs and they are grateful for any and all donations.

See below for several websites that provide a list of shelters by state in the US and also Internationally.......find one in your area and check out their website. You will find volunteer positions that are available.

If you have a day a week, a day a month or even just a few hours occasionally, there is an Animal Shelter/Rescue in your area that needs your help and would greatly appreciate your time. A true animal lover has a responsibility to ensure that animal shelters and animal control programs are adequately funded and supported so they can provide the services that help the homeless, stray, abandoned, neglected and abused animals that end up in shelters. If you can help financially, that is commendable and always well needed. In fact many shelters depend solely on generous supports to keep their facilities operating.............however if you want to be more "involved", volunteering is an even more personal way of showing your compassion for these animals.

There are so many ways you can volunteer, such as office work (data entry, filing, typing and stuffing envelopes), website design, fund raising events (this is a big need. Most of these places are privately funded), fostering an animal, medical help (participate in spay-neuter clinics, perform medical tests or administer medications), maintain shelter bulletin board or scrapbook, assist adoption counselors, mauanl labor (maintaining the shelter itself, cages, fences, etc), telephone work (calling those who adopt to make sure things are okay with their new pet), lanscaping and lawn service, transportation for animals, grooming and bathing or animals, public relations and advertising, or just socializing with the animals. If you have a special talent, see if you can be of service!

If you love animals and want to dedicate yourself to saving and protecting them, as well as find them forever homes, perhaps you should consider starting your own animal rescue. Depending on your resources, you can help 2 pets—10 pets—or even more. You can always start out small and then expand as you go along. Of course this involves a lot of homework on your part, resources such as money, manpower and space, researching the laws in your state, etc., but where there is a will there is always a way.

Be part of the solution. You will help make the world safer and more humane for all living creatures. You'll make the jobs of everyone working for animals a little easier by lending a hand and spreading the message of responsible pet ownership. The most rewarding part of volunteering at an animal shelter is, you'll never find a more grateful friend and companion than an animal you have comforted. (You never know.......you may fall in love with one and have no choice but to take him/her home : ) They only know unconditional love of the truest kind. The best things in life really are free!

For shelters listed internationally, see http://www.h4ha.org/shelter-directory/index.php

If you happen to be in Lehigh County, PA, please do what you can to help Animals In Distress in Coopersburg, PA at http://www.animalsindistress-pa.org/index.php.......link is on my links page. My daughter Kristina works fulltime there and she loves it.

We seem to hear more often about the "10 billion land animals" that are killed for human consumption every year in the US. The number of aquatic animals killed goes unreported, but it is estimated that in the US, 17 billion are killed for human consumption. Those numbers do not include the millions of aquatic animals killed by mistate, though. (These numbers are staggering......and when I think about the combination of land and sea animals killed for human appetite, it's unbelievable. We are not talking about survival here, but rather human appetite!)

Commercial fisheries strive to profit by catching as many fish as possible, while marine mammals are considered competition. The fish that these marine mammals eat to survive is seen as lost industry profit. Too often, many marine mammals become scapegoats for declining fish stocks and are killed. Other times, certain types of fishing gear inadvertently harms non-target marine mammals.

Bycatch is the incidental capture of species other than those specifically targeted. It is becoming a greater problem as commercial fisheries expand. Nets and lines are hauled aboard filled with unwanted creatures, ranging from unacceptably young fish to seabirds, marine mammals, and endangered species such as sea turtles. Most bycatch is considered worthless by industrial fishers, and is discarded overboard, already dead.

According to Culum Brown, a researcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, “Fish are more intelligent than they appear. In many areas, such as memory, their cognitive powers match or exceed those of ‘higher’ vertebrates including non-human primates." Fish can communicate, think, and feel pain.

Commercial fishing threatens marine species by over-fishing, habitat destruction, and by-catch. Some sad facts:

• It is estimated that over 300,000 whales, porpoises and dolphins die as "bycatch when they are caught in nets that they can not escapse from. Several species have been pushed to the verge of extinction (Greenpeace Video)



• Sharks are the "bycatch" when fishing for tuna. Shark catches are almost as high as tuna catches. More than half of the world’s sharks are at risk. Eleven species are near extinction.



• About 100,000 albatrosses are killed each year when they dive for bait planted on long fishing lines, swallow the bait along with the hook and are pulled under the water where they drown.



• Fishermen claim that seals are a costly menace, because they damage nets and eat or wound fish that “belong” to the fishermen. Complaints by fishermen often lead to seal slaughters or “culls,” which are crude and cruel attempts to boost fishery yields. Canadian harp seal hunt, by far the largest marine mammal hunt in the world and the only commercial hunt in which the target is the infant of the species. For six to eight weeks each spring, the ice floes of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the eastern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador turn bloody, as some 300,000 harp seal pups, virtually all between 2 and 12 weeks old, are beaten to death—their skulls crushed with a heavy club called a hakapik—or shot. They are then skinned on the ice or in nearby hunting vessels after being dragged to the ships with boat hooks. The skinned carcasses are usually left on the ice or tossed in the ocean. (Humane Society Seal Hunt Video)



• 155,000 sea turtles drown in shrimp nets each year — many in U.S. waters. Many are now endangered. Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), which attach to shrimp nets, allow turtles to escape. While sea turtle drownings are almost entirely eliminated by the use of TEDs and are required in U.S. waters, some fishermen disable them because they mistakenly believe that TEDs reduce shrimp catches.



• There are some species of tuna that swim with dolphins. This special relationship has led to the depletion of both species, as fishermen locate tuna by looking for leaping dolphins. Tuna companies that encircle dolphins with huge nets are also allowed to label their tuna as “dolphin safe.”!



• An Otter will consume on a daily basis roughly 16 pounds of crab, lobster, urchins, oysters, and clams. The shellfish industry has pushed for "otter free zones", where otters are relocated to other less productive areas, where many otters fail to thrive.



• "Trawling" (which is the dredging and disturbance of the sea bed, creating a cloud of muddy water which hides the oncoming trawl net and generates a noise which attracts fish.) can be compared to the complete cutting of forests. It has been called the largest single disturbance of the Earth's surface of any practice except agriculture. Tens of thousands of trawlers each year drag their nets across ocean bottoms that are twice the size of the lower 48 states, the groups said. Besindes the facdt that trawling severely damags fragile underwater ecosystems, and has detrimental effects on the environment, millions of "bycatch" are caught this way as well.



• Driftnets, also known as a "wall of death", are large floating nets, which are used in the open ocean or along the coast, often stretching for many miles. They are designed to trap and entangle large fish such as tuna and swordfish. The largest driftnets used were more than 30 miles in length, extending to a depth of more than one hundred feet from the surface. Dolphins, whales and turtles are often the nets' unintended victims.



• Billions of corals, sponges, starfish, and other invertebrates are caught as bycatch every year.



• Coral reefs are often described as the tropical rainforests of the oceans. A lethal combination of pollution, rising sea temperatures, over-fishing and the acidification of the sea have put our coral reefs on the critical list.



• There will be virtually nothing left to fish from the seas by the middle of the century if current trends continue!

Like the flesh of other animals, the flesh of sea animals contains excessive amounts of protein, fat, and cholesterol; 6.5 million Americans are believed to be allergic to it. Seafood also causes more food poisoning than any other type of food and is responsible for 40% of all foodborne illnesses in the U.S. The flesh of fish (including shellfish) can accumulate extremely high levels of carcinogenic chemical residues, such as PCB's and mercury.

I must admit, I was not aware of this practise until recently. I doubt many Americans are aware of bear bile farming. (It just seems to me that there is no animal in this world that goes untouched by abuse and cruelty.) The practice of bear bile farming in China was first discovered and subsequently exposed by Animals Asia's Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE, in 1993.

Bear bile has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for over 3000 years. It is used to aid ailments ranging from fevers to heart disease. They have the highest content of bile compared to any other animal. That is why they are such a target and it is a main reason for the species being endangered. Until the mid 1970s, bears were captured from the wild and killed for the bile in their gallbladders and for their paws, which are considered a delicacy. The rest of the animal was discarded.

In the mid 70s, a Chinese delegation visited North Korea where they discovered that the Koreans had established bear farms to extract bile without killing the animal.

The bears are housed in cages hardly large enough to hold the animal itself. To get the bile, an incision is made in each bear's abdomen and a catheter (which is basically a plastic or rubber tube) is then inserted into the gallbladder. The bile is drained through the catheter and then gathered for sale.

To gather the bile, some bears wear a "metal jacket". It is worn around their bodies and it has a collection container attached to it. Bile is collected twice a day, and this goes on for the rest of their lives.

"The tragedy is that this is all unnecessary" says Robinson. "Synthetic bear bile which is just as effective and costs only a few pennies is widely available yet still this barbaric practice continues."

Check out these vidoes:

• Bear Bile Farming
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• Bear Farming
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• Bear Rescue-Animal Asia Foundation
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Polar bears are the world's largest land-based predator. They have only one enemy, traditional Inuit natives who hunt the bear for their meat and fur. But now they have another enemy - human-caused global warming.

Global Warmings effect has serious consequences for all living organisms, but it is of especially great concern for the polar bear. According to the U.S. Geological Survey Office, reduction in sea ice in the Arctic can see a loss of 2/3rds of the entire word’s Polar Bear population over the next 50 years.

You may be asking yourself, "what is global warming and how does it affect the polar bears?" Scientists who have been working in the polar and arctic regions have taken ice core samples from deep within the snow and ice that covers the northern pole. They have made alarming discoveries. The C02 (carbon dioxide) levels have never before, over the last ten thousand years, reached 300 parts per million (ppm). However, within the last few decades the carbon dioxide level has not only reached 300 ppm, but also has greatly surpassed it. The earth’s atmosphere is now getting thicker, and not allowing as much heat from the sun to go back into space. The green house gasses, CO2, are holding this heat back, and raising the temperature of the earth. (from www.endangeredpolarbear.com)

Polar bears need the spring pack ice as support for their dens and to enable them to travel large distances in search of prey, particularly seals. Ice is melting there about three weeks earlier than it did 30 years ago, says IanStirling (a research scientist for the Canadian Wildlife Service) who has been studying polar bears for 35 years. Recent study shows that the polar bear populations are declining at an alarming rate . Fewer cubs are being sited every year , which means that their reproductive cycle is being effected also . This animal is slowley being starved to the brink of extinction .

Polar bears evolved from brown bears about a quarter-million years ago to become specialist carnivores, marine mammals that can thrive on ice packs and feast on seals. Climate change, though, is happening too fast for the bears to adapt, experts say.

The polar bear is not the only one of the species in this habitat which are being affected. The Walrus, seal, arctic fox, arctic hare, and many others are being affected also. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that warming temperatures not only will lead to the extinction of the polar bear, but will affect other ice-dependent species in the Arctic and lead to widespread and highly disruptive shifts in the entire Arctic ecosystem.

What can we do to stop global warming?? Without federal protection, the polar bear could become the first mammal to lose 100 percent of its habitat to global warming. Global warming is the leading threat to our planet as a whole. A rise in global temperature of one degree Fahrenheit has already caused the polar ice cap to shrink, malaria and other illnesses to afflict more people, and heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes to intensify. Allowing temperatures to rise more than another 2 degrees Fahrenheit threatens to trigger the irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheet, a 20-foot rise in sea levels, and the extinction of species, including the polar bear.

When we burn fossil fuels -- oil, coal and gas -- to generate electricity and power our vehicles, we produce the heat-trapping gases that cause global warming. The more we burn, the faster churns the engine of global climate change. Thus the most important thing we can do is save energy. And we can do it. Technologies exist today to make cars that run cleaner and burn less gas, generate electricity from wind and sun, modernize power plants, and build refrigerators, air conditioners and whole buildings that use less power. As individuals, each of us can take steps to save energy and fight global warming.(source: NRDC-Natural Resources Defense Council @ http://www.nrdc.org/)

Check out these vidoes:

• Polar Bear SOS
• Polar Bear Extinction
• Greenpeace-Polar Bears

Mankind has the honor of quite possibly being the most destructive force to ever hit mother nature! These animals have all been driven to extinction either as a reulf of over hunting or over population.

• Thylacine - Also known as the Tasmanian Tiger, was over hunted because it was thought to be a threat to sheep and other farm animals.
• Quagga - A subspecies to the Zebra, they were ruthlessly hunted for their meat and leather by South African farmers.
• Passenger Pigeon - Hunted on a massive scale for meat. They were considered cheap meat for slaves and the poor.
• Caribbean Monk Seal - Discovered by Columbus who ordered them to be killed for food, which paved the way for the exploitation of this animal. They were hunted for their meat and oil, along with their habitats being destroyed by man.
• Pyrenean Ibex - Native to the Pyrenees, a mountain range in Andorra, France and Spain. Their population declined due to a slow but continuous persecution.
• Bubal Hartebeest- Once roamed North Africa and the Middle East, they were hunted for both recreation and their meat.
• Javan Tiger- Subspecies to the tiger, once found on the island of Java. As the population increased and their habitat was destroyed, these animals were considered nothing more than pests and were ruthlessly hunted down or poisoned.
• Baiji River Dolphin - Once resided in the Yangtze river in China. These animals became extinct as a result of industrial and residential waste flowing into the river, colliding with the propellers of fishing boats, entaglement in fishing geat and destruction of their habitat.



• Rhino - Despite the international ban on trade of rhino horn, poaching continues to push the rhino perilously close to extinction. Rhino horn is used for traditional Chinese medicine including the treatment of fevers and other conditions such heart and liver problems. In Taiwan, rhino horn sells for $9,000 a pound and is the most sought after horn in the world by Asians.
• Bears - All eight species of bear are listed as critically endangered. Poaching for skins and body parts is a major factor behind the declining numbers. Bear teeth and claws are in big demand for jewellery whilst the various organs and meat are used for traditional Chinese medicine. The most expensive and sought after part of the bear is the gall bladder, which is widely used to treat liver disorders.
• Orangutans - A large underground trade in these great apes exists in SE Asia and globally. In Asia they are smuggled from their natural habitats in Borneo or Sumatra and used primarily in theme parks to entertain tourists and visitors. Often they are taken from the forest as babies and the mothers are often killed in the process of capturing a baby as they are known to fiercely defend their young.
• Asian Elephants - They are more endangered than the African Elephant. Loss of habitat and deforestation continue to threaten existing populations. Elephants are brutally slaughtered for their ivory tusks to supply the international ivory market, especially in Japan, the world’s largest ivory consuming country.
• Sharks- Shark fin is considered a delicacy and a status symbol amongst the Chinese - can command prices of up to US$ 560 per kilo making it one of the most expensive fish products in the world. The rapid growth of commercial shark fishing in recent years, however, has led to a serious depletion of the stocks of many shark species.
• Tigers - Poaching for skins used as trophies and rugs, and the demand for tiger body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine is now considered the main threat to the species survival. Tiger meat is also consumed at restaurants in Asia specialising in exotic dishes. Major threats facing tigers’ habitat are deforestation, population growth and agriculture.

Source: Wildlife 1 (www.wildlife1.org) See link on my "Links" page.

Listed here are the addresses of every known fur farm in North America.