April 30, 2012

Ed’s Corner: Please Help America’s Horses

Ed Sayres, ASPCA President & CEO

Few causes are able to unite people such as Lorenzo Borghese from ABC’s The Bachelor, actors Bo Derek and John Corbett, school children and animal welfare organizations, but all of them got together last week to participate in the “Horses on the Hill” event on Capitol Hill. The ASPCA was proud to co-host with the Animal Welfare Institute and The Humane Society of the United States publicly urge legislators to stop our nation’s horses from being slaughtered at home or abroad.

The ASPCA’s very special guest at Horses on the Hill, nine-year-old Declan Gregg of New Hampshire, has created an organization and blog called Children 4 Horses. Declan spoke eloquently about the urgency of protecting our horses. He was joined by Senators Mary Landrieu and Scott Brown as well as Representatives Jim Moran, Ed Whitfield and David Rivera—all of whom spoke strongly to the need for passing a ban on horse slaughter.

Killing American horses for human consumption is simply not acceptable. The ASPCA’s founder, Henry Bergh, loved all animals, but initially focused his efforts on stopping horse abuse. Mr. Bergh would not have been surprised by the people who turned out in D.C. to help horses because he believed animal protection was an issue that crossed party lines and class boundaries. More than 140 years have passed since Mr. Bergh founded the ASPCA, but our commitment to horse protection remains steadfast.

Take Action

Horses in this country are in grave danger, and they need your help! You can make a difference by contacting your Congress members to request that they cosponsor and support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. 

April 25, 2012

Will Exotic Animals Finally Be Banned in Ohio? We Hope!

Great news: The Ohio exotics bill just passed the Senate! Ohio is one of only seven states where almost any animal can be kept by almost any person. Since the vast majority of people who try to keep exotic animals as pets don’t understand and cannot meet their needs, these animals often are caged, chained, beaten into submission, or mutilated via preemptive removal of their teeth and claws.

Last fall’s tragedy in Zanesville—where 56 privately owned big cats, primates, wolves and bears were released, and many were killed—showed the entire country what can happen when exotic and wild animals are kept in captivity.

We congratulate the Ohio Senate for passing Senate Bill 310 and hope the House will soon follow suit.

April 16, 2012

FDA Asks Farmers to Voluntarily Stop Using Antibiotics—Is It Enough?

Guest blog post from Suzanne McMillan, ASPCA Director of Farm Animal Welfare

As many of you know, animals raised on factory farms often receive antibiotics in order to remain healthy in an otherwise harmful environment as well as to promote growth. But there are dangers involved for both humans and animals! Antibiotic resistance in humans is a very big concern, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been under increasing pressure to do something about it.

Last week the FDA finally responded, releasing three documents addressing the use of antibiotics in livestock. While it’s great that the FDA is acknowledging a problem, these documents are extremely disappointing. Producers are simply asked to voluntarily curb their use of antibiotics, and pharmaceutical companies are asked to voluntarily stop labeling certain antibiotics as useful for livestock growth. All of this despite a federal court ruling just last month that ordered FDA to stop relying on voluntary programs to curb the use of certain antibiotics. Further, these programs focus only on using antibiotics for growth promotion—not on the similarly common practice of feeding animals antibiotics to prop up their already weak immune systems.

The coalition Keep Antibiotics Working, of which the ASPCA is a member, calls the FDA’s new plan an “inadequate response” and urges it to, at the very least, establish “an enforcement mechanism and timeline” for achieving the voluntary protocols it proposes. 

For more information on the ASPCA’s efforts to help farmed animals, please visit our Farm Animal Cruelty section.

April 10, 2012

Happy 146th Birthday, ASPCA!

Gee, that sure is a lot of candles on our cake. Yep, today marks the 146th birthday of the ASPCA, the oldest humane organization in the Western Hemisphere (but we’ve been told we don’t look a day over 100!).

When our founder Henry Bergh first spoke up for animals in Civil War-era New York, America was not a very animal-friendly place—but Bergh rallied people to the cause and succeeded in getting the New York State Legislature to pass a charter incorporating the ASPCA on April 10, 1866. Nine days later, the first anti-cruelty law was passed and, with a team of three, the ASPCA began working to enforce it.

Within five years, SPCAs had sprung up in cities including Boston, Buffalo and San Francisco. By 1888, 37 of the 38 states in the Union had passed anti-cruelty laws! We’re proud of the ASPCA’s role in changing the way people think about animals, and even prouder of you, our supporters, for helping us do such great work. In celebration, please join us this month in going orange for animals!

Want to Donate Your Birthday to the ASPCA?
Henry Bergh spent his life helping to fight animal cruelty—think of how proud he would be if you donated your birthday to help animals. It’s easy. Just set up your own special ASPCA birthday page and watch as your family and friends donate critical funds to animals in your honor.

And thank you for 146 years of compassion!

April 3, 2012

ASPCA Speaks Up for Wild Horses!

Guest blog post from Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations.

Did you know that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the federal agency in charge of protecting our country’s wild horses and burros?  Enacted more than 40 years ago, the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act states that the federal government is required to protect wild horses while balancing their presence on rangelands with commercial activities of humans and the needs of other wildlife.

Unfortunately, in the 40 years that the BLM has been managing our wild horses, we have seen a continuous cycle of roundups and removals with little regard for the welfare of these living creatures.

Taking Action on Capitol Hill
I was recently invited to testify before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior and the Environment to discuss the importance of protecting wild horses.

My testimony focused on four main requests. We asked the committee to 1) reinstate language to prevent the sale for slaughter and mass euthanasia of wild horses, 2) prohibit removal of more horses and burros than can be adopted, 3) prioritize on-range management of wild horses and burros, and 4) require the swift creation of standard operating procedures for humane, transparent roundups, if any are to occur.

As I spoke to the committee, I could see their obvious disgust at the descriptions I provided of recent roundups, during which:
 - Foals were forced to run extreme distances, losing their hooves.
 - Horses were driven to physical exhaustion.
 - Horses and burros were physically assaulted with helicopter skids.
 - Electric prods were used on wild horses by BLM staff or contractors.
 - Horses were kicked and beaten with lunge whips.
 - Metal gates and panels were slammed into horses.
 - Horses' tails were twisted and pulled during loading.

Looking Ahead
Congress oversees federal agencies to ensure that government services are delivered appropriately and fairly, and it can direct agencies like the BLM to reform programs that are not working as they should. The BLM has indicated a willingness to examine parts of its wild horse program and we hope they will work with us to make needed changes.

For now, we are encouraged that both the BLM and Congress are open to input from the ASPCA and other animal protection organizations regarding the plight of these majestic animals.

Learn more about our efforts to protect equines.

December 16, 2011

Taxpayer-Funded Tragedy—Beloved Pet Killed by Wildlife Services

Guest blog post by Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations.

Recently, we received word of a tragic story from Oregon in which a family’s beloved dog was strangled to death by a heavy-duty trap left by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services division. This little-known federal agency uses tax dollars to kill wildlife species that homeowners and ranchers consider to be problematic or nuisances. Unattended traps and poisons—and even helicopter hunting—are all routine features of Wildlife Services’ campaign to kill wildlife. Their work is often carried out without oversight or public notification, and as the event in Oregon shows, can have heartbreaking results.

Doug and Denise McCurtain found their seven-year old Border Collie, Maggie, caught in a Conibear trap set by Wildlife Services to kill nutria (a small, non-native wild animal) in their neighborhood. This trap, which is designed to break the neck and strangle an animal, was placed less than 50 feet from their backyard, near a pond where children and pets often play. The McCurtains’ homeowners’ association notified them that traps would be set, but the McCurtains were not informed that such a dangerous trap would be used on land, or that an unmarked trap would be placed so close to their home.

Unfortunately, Maggie’s case isn’t the first time a family pet has been killed by Wildlife Services. Tragedies like this happen all too often. Earlier this year, a beloved family dog in Texas named Bella was poisoned by an unmarked explosive device left by Wildlife Services containing sodium cyanide.

U.S. Wildlife Services must do more to prevent tragedies like these. Better notification of the dangers in the community could have spared Maggie’s life. As long as Wildlife Services continues to use lethal means to manage wildlife, the agency places our pets at risk and causes terrible suffering and death to thousands of wild animals each year. If this disturbs you, we urge you to contact your U.S. senators and representative and ask them to stop spending your tax dollars on dangerous programs to kill wildlife.

December 9, 2011

Ed’s Corner: Greyhounds Need Your Help

Ed Sayres, ASPCA President & CEO

Can we all agree that confining dogs in small cages for 20 to 23 hours a day, almost every day, is cruel? 

True, this confinement doesn’t meet legal definitions of cruelty, but, legal or not, most of us who love dogs know that this is wrong. Yet this is the way of life for the thousands of greyhounds who are forced to race in this country’s greyhound industry.

Greyhound racing only occurs in seven states, with the majority of greyhound tracks located in Florida. This week, GREY2 USA, with funding from the ASPCA, released a report detailing the horrific conditions racing greyhounds are subject to in Florida. You can access a copy of the report here [PDF].  

Racing greyhounds are in their cages nearly all the time. They are fed “4-D” meat, which means meat that comes from dying, diseased, disabled and dead livestock deemed unfit for human consumption. Their owners feed them this raw meat simply because it is the cheapest available, and they don’t even bother to cook it to destroy the bacteria.

Florida does not require its greyhound racing facilities to report injuries to the public, but we have documentation of dogs with broken legs, backs and skulls; dogs who have died of seizures after racing; dogs who have died of heart attacks; and a dog who was electrocuted.  Racing dogs have repeatedly tested positive for drugs such as cocaine.

While the dogs suffer every day as part of this industry, few people even seem to notice.  Attendance at greyhound races has dramatically declined through the years, and tracks actually lose money on the dogs. But since Florida law won’t permit dog track owners to continue gambling operations at those tracks unless those tracks hold dog races, the races continue.

Two bills (HB 641 and SB 382) are pending in Florida that would remove the requirement that dog tracks offer live greyhound racing in order to also offer card games or slots. If you live in Florida, please contact your legislators to ask them to support this legislation.

November 18, 2011

Ed’s Corner: The Sad Reality of Puppy Mills

If a friend told you that his dog came from “Happy Times” Kennel, what would you imagine that dog’s birthplace to have been like? Perhaps a place where the puppies were nestled by their mother as their human guardians attended to their every need? Sadly, the truth is far from this idyllic image, as the ASPCA witnessed firsthand last week.

Happy Times Kennel in Hot Springs, Arkansas is also known as Rainbow Kennel and Spa City Pets—clearly names meant to connote images of happy and healthy dogs. But when customers contacted law enforcement because the dogs they purchased were sick, the Garland County sheriff’s office, along with the Humane Society of Garland County, began investigating.

Garland County law enforcement purchased dogs in an undercover investigation, and each of the dogs they purchased had multiple illnesses and parasites. This was enough for the Garland County Sheriff’s Department to cite the breeder with violations, but not sufficient to shut down this substandard breeding facility. Garland County contacted the ASPCA for help.

Last week, 30 responders from the ASPCA and other animal welfare organizations assisted law enforcement and other animal welfare groups in the raid of this facility. The sights our responders witnessed were enough to make any animal lover weep. They saw precious Chihuahuas, West Highland Terriers, Boston Terriers and Dachshunds living in filth. Some dogs had open lesions. In fact, many had severe skin problems and flea infestations. We couldn’t even initially tell the color of some of the dogs because they were completely covered with fleas. And perhaps worst of all, dead puppies were found intermingled with live ones.

Our immediate task was conducting triage—the ASPCA veterinary forensics team evaluated the more than 150 dogs we found that were still alive and determined which needed immediate care in a veterinary hospital and which animals could be treated in an emergency shelter. We had sent our Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) unit to the site. This vehicle has state-of-the-art forensic tools and medical equipment and was invaluable in being able to treat animals quickly on-site.

Our forensics team also took photos and video to help law enforcement prepare its case against the breeder, who has been charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty. All of these animals are being cared for now and we hope that they can be released for adoption soon.

This is a terrible reminder of the abuse occurring in puppy mills. Sadly, people looking for a puppy unknowingly support this industry when they purchase puppies from pet stores or through the Internet. To stop this kind of abuse from occurring, please don’t buy anything from a pet store that sells puppies. You can read more about our campaign at www.nopetstorepuppies.com.

November 16, 2011

Update from Capitol Hill: Congress May Allow Government Funding for Horse Slaughterhouses

Guest blog post from Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations.

In a heartbreaking development, we learned this week that Congress is abandoning an important piece of existing legislation that relates to horse slaughter. Since 2005, Congress has prevented the commercial slaughter of horses in the United States by blocking the use of federal money for horse meat inspections. This language was routinely included in the annual Agriculture Appropriations bill after the original amendment to defund horse slaughter inspections enjoyed bipartisan support and passed by large margins (269-158 in the House and 69-28 in the Senate). The 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which is currently being considered by Congress, does not include this provision.

This is distressing on two counts. First, at a time when Congress is cutting funds for education and other vital programs, it is outrageous that taxpayers would be asked to add $5 million to the budget for something as senseless as horse slaughter. Second, since Americans don’t eat horse meat, this action will only benefit foreign markets in Asia and Europe, where horse meat is considered a delicacy.

The members of the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade have worked hard contacting their legislators on this issue with calls, emails and letters of support. Congress is clearly ignoring the will of the American people if it allows our tax dollars to be used for this gratuitous cruelty.

Though this setback is unfortunate, it signals the need for us to redouble our efforts for a complete ban on horse slaughter. While the funding amendment protected America from the horrors of horse slaughter plants operating on our home soil (where, despite past USDA oversight, gross abuse and rampant cruelty were routine), it didn’t necessarily prevent horse slaughter—in fact, thousands of horses continue to be sent over our borders for this purpose every year. However, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 would not only ban horse slaughter in this country, but also ban the export of our horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter. I encourage everyone who cares about horses to contact their federal legislators to press for passage of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. You can do so by visiting www.aspca.org/AHSPA.

Those in favor of horse slaughter are celebrating Congress’s decision, and there’s already talk of opening horse slaughterhouses in the Northwest. Given the controversial nature of this issue, it may be tough to find investors unwise enough to take such a leap knowing that we’ll be working to defund horse slaughter again immediately.

It is now more important than ever that Congress hears from horse advocates who know how essential it is that we protect these majestic animals. To learn more about the issue of horse slaughter, please visit ASPCA.org.

November 9, 2011

Victory: Together We Are Bringing an End to Puppy Mills!

Every single day our team works hard to bring an end to puppy mills—and our efforts are paying off.  Three weeks ago, Jack’s Pets, a pet store chain with 27 stores in the Midwest, pledged to stop selling puppies. Instead, the store will work with local animal rescue groups and shelters to find homes for homeless pets.  

Just a few days earlier, the ASPCA assisted in the treatment and sheltering of more than 100 dogs rescued from a puppy mill in Kentucky. The dogs are now safe and the mill’s owner has been charged with 46 counts of animal cruelty.

Today, our team is on the ground in Arkansas, where we are caring for nearly 200 dogs saved from a puppy mill in Hot Springs. The owner was arrested and charged with three counts of felony animal cruelty. We are making real progress!

Take Action
It is thanks to the support of our members that we are able to rescue puppy mill victims and take another step toward shutting down this cruel industry. To find out how you can help us fight puppy mills, please visit www.nopetstorepuppies.com.

October 20, 2011

ASPCA Calls for Emergency Order Banning Exotic Pets in Ohio

Schools were closed. Businesses shut down. And the majority of residents stayed locked in their homes as local law enforcement hunted down more than 50 exotic animals—including lions, tigers, wolves and bears—roaming loose on city streets. While this may sound like a scene from a horror movie, it actually took place yesterday in the city of Zanesville, Ohio.

The animals belonged to exotic animal collector, Terry Thompson, who freed them before committing suicide. According to the Muskingum County Animal Shelter, Thompson had a long history of neglecting his animals. Of the 56 roaming animals, only a grizzly bear, two monkeys and three leopards were captured alive.

“We are outraged and horrified by the events that took place in Zanesville,” says Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations. “In response, we are strongly urging Governor Kasich to issue an emergency order to prevent any more needless loss of life for released or escaped exotic animals, as well as to ensure the safety of Ohio residents.”

In an official statement made last night, the ASPCA called on Ohio Governor John Kasich and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to restrict the sale and possession of exotic animals. Ohio is currently one of only eight states that do not regulate private ownership of exotic animals.

Since the vast majority of people who keep exotic pets cannot meet their needs, the animals often become the victims of abuse and neglect—they are caged, chained, tranquilized or even beaten into submission. Further, thousands of people are attacked and seriously injured by exotic pets each year.

“The exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar industry that contributes to the suffering of millions of animals and endangers countless people,” says Perry. “It needs to end.”

For more information about the exotic pet trade, please visit our Fight Animal Cruelty section.

October 6, 2011

ASPCA Demands Missouri Abolish New Shelter Adoption Tax

Come on, Missouri, where’s the puppy love? A newly proposed tax by the state’s Department of Agriculture would require all nonprofit animal shelters and rescues to pay the same fees and taxes as for-profit puppy mills. Well, our foot is down. That’s just not fair, and we’re doing our best to set the state straight.

Along with The HSUS and Best Friends Animal Society, the ASPCA is demanding the Missouri Department of Agriculture abolish the Shelter Adoption Tax. Not only do these animal rescue organizations often clean up after the problems created by puppy mills, but the fees could cost groups as much as $2,500 per year.

“The new adoption tax could not come at a worse time,” says Randy Grim of Stray Rescue in St. Louis, Missouri. “We are working tirelessly to solve the problem of homeless pets. We are performing a service for our community and we should not be lumped into the same category as commercial puppy mills.”

For more information on the newly proposed tax, please visit our Pressroom.

August 30, 2011

ASPCA Supports New Bill to Turn Around NYC's Animal Shelters

Guest Blog by Michelle Villagomez, ASPCA NYC Legislative Director.

We have some exciting news! After months of talking with representatives from the New York City government, the City has agreed to support legislation to improve conditions in our city’s shelters. A bill has been introduced in the City Council that would not only restore programs and services to our animal shelters, but increase funding for our animal care and control programs. The City has already agreed to raise funding so that by July 2014 the annual budget for Animal Care & Control will exceed $12 million—a 77 percent increase over the current budget! 

Intro. 655, sponsored by Councilmember Jessica Lappin, would improve New York City’s animal shelter system by:

• Requiring animal receiving centers in the Bronx and Queens, as well as field services, to operate seven days a week, 12 hours per day. (Currently the receiving centers are only open one and two days, and the field services program has been cut);
• Ensuring the maintenance of full-service animal shelters in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island;

• Requiring owners to spay or neuter any cats they own who are free-roaming outdoors;
• Implementing trap-neuter-return (TNR) rules; and
• Requiring the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to provide a report providing key data on trends on the progress and quality of care at each full-service animal shelter and animal receiving center.

Take Action!

This legislation, in conjunction with the increase in funding over the next few years, will allow the shelters hire as many as 100 additional staffers. If you’re a New Yorker, visit aspca.org/NYC_ACC to see how you can help make this happen!

August 25, 2011

ASPCA Member Story: Callie, a Mustang Filly

This guest blog is written by Linda Kramer, a long-time supporter of the ASPCA.

Callie was captured as a yearling filly by the Bureau of Land Management in Nevada, home to more than half of America’s wild horses. Before she was rounded up into a crowded holding pen, she roamed freely with her family in the majestic mountains near Mount Callaghan. She was rescued, along with Valor, by the Kaeli Kramer Foundation and was named after her wild mountain home.

Callie is friendly and outgoing and learns quickly. If left in the wild, she might have become a “lead” mare, making decisions about where the herd would travel and eat. While in the care of her trainer, Callie was a star pupil, mastering the art of relating to humans and adjusting to a life filled with constraints with grace and ease.

Callie’s job now is to educate people [PDF] about the importance of preserving the untamed beauty of America’s last wild horses and our rapidly deteriorating public lands.

For more heartwarming tales of equine rescue, visit our Equine Section. Also, learn about the ASPCA’s special equine adoption event happening next week at the Hampton Classic Horse Show.

August 4, 2011

Breaking: New York Governor Signs Animal Fighting Bill!

ASPCA lobbyists have done it again! Last night, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law a bill that will make attending a dog fight or cockfight in New York State a misdemeanor offense. The law goes into effect in 30 days.

“Animal fighting is an extremely cruel, but lucrative, underground business," says Debora Bresch, an attorney and Senior Director of ASPCA Government Relations. “This new law will allow law enforcement to pursue and punish the spectators who drive the market for animal fighting, keeping it alive."

Animal fighting is a felony in all 50 states, and most activities relating to it—including training animals to fight and allowing one's property to be used for an animal fight—are also felonies in New York. But up until today, attending a fight was merely a violation punishable only by a small fine.

“Spectators who patronize these barbaric events in New York, cheering and placing bets while two animals fight to the death, deserve to be charged with a crime," adds Bresch.

For more information on the ASPCA’s efforts to tackle animal fighting, please visit our Blood Sports Section.

July 27, 2011

Victory: California Bans the Roadside Sale of Animals!

We have declared a victory for animals in California—and we couldn’t be happier! Yesterday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a bill that will not only prohibit the roadside sale of animals, but increase the penalties for animal neglect.

“SB 917 is the first animal protection bill to cross Governor Brown’s desk,” says Jill Buckley, Senior Director of Government Relations for the ASPCA. “We applaud him for helping safeguard animals sold in public parking lots and roadside venues—puppies, kittens and other pets will no longer be left to suffer in unsanitary and overcrowded cages without proper food and water.”

• The new law goes into effect this January, and will make it a crime to sell a live animal on any street, highway, public right-of-way, parking lot, carnival or boardwalk.
• In addition, SB 917 also increases fines and the maximum allowable jail sentence for those convicted of misdemeanor animal neglect.

The ASPCA congratulates and thanks our California supporters for all your efforts on behalf of this bill!

July 7, 2011

Breaking News: Sweeping Reform Pledged for Nation’s Hens!

A promising and unprecedented agreement has been reached that could improve the lives of hundreds of millions of hens across America.

Under the agreement, United Egg Producers (UEP), a cooperative representing the owners of approximately 80 percent of the nation’s egg-laying hens, and the Humane Society of the United States will jointly push for federal legislation to improve the welfare of all laying hens in the United States. The ASPCA and other animal welfare groups have also agreed to support this legislation. This could lead to the first federal law improving the treatment of chickens used for food, the first federal law improving the daily conditions for animals on factory farms, and the first federal farmed-animal protection legislation in more than 30 years.

The agreement came as two ballot campaigns aimed at improving conditions for egg-laying hens in Washington and Oregon—both of which were championed by the ASPCA and our citizen Advocacy Brigade—were gaining momentum. As a result of today’s news, the initiative drives will be suspended.

"This is a historic and ground-breaking proposal, and the ASPCA calls on Congress to swiftly enact legislation to protect hens from some of the most shocking abuses on factory farms,” states Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the ASPCA. “The legislation and ballot initiatives on hen welfare already adopted in California and Michigan, and those pending in Washington and Oregon, prove the American public will no longer tolerate the mistreatment of animals anywhere.”

More than 90 percent of egg-laying hens in the United States are confined in enclosures called “battery cages.” The footprint of one of these cages is smaller than a single sheet of standard letter-size paper—they are so small that the hens within them can’t even extend their wings, and the discomfort and stress they experience manifests in constant self-mutilation and fighting. If enacted, the proposed language advocated by UEP and animal welfare groups would, among other improvements:

• Require the nationwide elimination of barren battery cages over a phase-out period, replacing them with hen housing systems that provide birds with nearly double the amount of space;
• Require environmental enrichments so birds can engage in important natural behaviors;
• Mandate that all egg cartons be labeled to inform consumers of the method used to produce the eggs, such as “eggs from caged hens” or “eggs from cage-free hens.”

For updates on this amazing development, please sign up to receive Advocacy Brigade emails from the ASPCA.

June 29, 2011

Come on Washington: Let’s Get Rid of Battery Cages Forever!

It’s an ugly truth: More than 6 million egg-laying hens in Washington State can’t spread their wings. They are kept in cages so small and crowded that this instinctive movement is impossible. Proposed ballot Initiative 1130 will allow Washington’s voters to decide whether this cruel practice should be allowed to continue. We hope not.

If passed, the measure will completely phase out battery-cage confinement throughout the state and ensure that all whole eggs sold in Washington will come from cage-free birds. California passed very similar laws in 2009 and 2010.

Initiative 1130 is not yet guaranteed to appear on the November state ballot. In order for it to qualify, more Washingtonians need to sign paper petitions saying that they support it. We need your help!

Take Action!
If you live in Washington State and want to make sure this basic animal welfare measure qualifies for the November ballot, please help us gather as many signatures of registered Washington voters as possible before the July 8 signature deadline.

Let’s get started! Visit the following link and sign up to gather signatures from your friends and neighbors: http://yeson1130.com. For more information on this initiative and other ways you can help in your state, visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center.

Thank you for your help, Washington!

June 23, 2011

Take Action for Circus Animals!

Most people go to the circus because they love animals—but the hard truth is they’re unwittingly supporting an industry that engages in animal cruelty.

In most circuses, animals are trained through fear and physical abuse. Even former circus employees have stepped up to the plate and reported seeing animals beaten, whipped and denied food and water—all to force them to learn their routines.

Circus animals are deprived even their basic needs to roam, socialize, forage and play. Disturbing behavior such as swaying back and forth, head-bobbing, pacing and self-mutilation are all common signs of distress.

Take Action!

• Don't attend any circus that features wild animals. Instead choose animal-free circuses and encourage your friends and family to do the same.
• Ask local school boards to ban circus promotions.Circuses often engage in promotions with schools to encourage class field trips. Be sure to speak out against this!
• Fight for state and federal laws that help protect circus animals. Join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade to be alerted when it’s time to take action on animal-related legislation.

For a complete list of actions you can take, read our Top 10 Ways to Help Fight Circus Cruelty.

June 6, 2011

The Ugly Truth about Horse Slaughter

For years the ASPCA has worked hard to protect American horses from terrifying, inhumane deaths at slaughterhouses. In 2007, the last three U.S. slaughterhouses processing horses into meat for human consumption were shut down for good—the year prior, they were responsible for killing more than 90,000 horses. Because Americans do not eat horses, this meat was shipped overseas to countries like France, Belgium and Japan, where it is considered a delicacy.

Not a Humane Alternative
Horse slaughter is NOT humane euthanasia. Horses suffer horribly on the way to and during slaughter—it is not unusual for them to travel more than 24 hours at a time in cramped conditions without food, water or rest. The methods used to kill horses rarely result in quick deaths: The animals often endure repeated stuns or blows, and sometimes remain conscious during their slaughter.

Some well-meaning animal advocates feel it would be more humane to reopen horse slaughterhouses in the U.S. than to continue to allow the animals to be sent to Mexico and Canada for processing. They may be surprised to learn that even when there were horse slaughter facilities in the U.S., tens of thousands of American horses were still exported and slaughtered in other countries every year. Re-opening slaughterhouses here is not the answer to ending this cruelty.

Take Action!
The ASPCA advocates for a federal ban on the international transport of horses intended for human consumption. Over the last few years, different bills that would have achieved this have been introduced in Congress—and even though each has had strong bipartisan support, none have made it over the finish line. Until such a law passes—and we have no doubt one will—it is critical we don’t allow the horse slaughter industry to gain a foothold in the United States. Once it is here, it will be much more difficult to get rid of.

Please join the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade to be alerted when legislation on horse slaughter is introduced. And to learn more about alternatives to slaughter, visit our Equine Cruelty section.