Animals

I've been an on-again, off-again vegan for years, but you'v finally won me over.  For years, I have borne a deep-seated guilt for my contribution to the cruelty of farm animals.  While I have always detested hunting and trapping, I have sheepishly overlooked the even crueler treatment of the animals we eat.
Nancy T.

Nancy, you just absolutely made my day--maybe even my month. :) Congrats and kudos on your renewed commitment!

Does it bother anyone else that this cause has more members than both End Homelessness and Humanitarian Relief? Frankly, when we've succeeded in ending human hunger and war, maybe I'll give a damn about the animals.

Animals doen't cause homelessness, hunger and war, people do.  Animals suffer the consequences of human cruelty and greed.  Just because I, for one, support animal rights, does not mean I ignore the plight of humanity.  My husband and I donate several hundred dollars worth of food and clothing to our local family services each year, and we also give a damn about animals.
Nancy T.

I often point out to people that causes regarding the helpless members of our world (human or animal) are not competing for a "place" in our priorities.  It's not as if you have to ignore one cause just because you care about another - or lose one to make room for another.  It's not "all or nothing" - we give more money to human causes than animal causes annually, and for us that's because there are so many different human charities covering such a wide range of issues, whereas for animals where you put your money goes to roughly the same end. 

It makes me sad when people say I don't care about people just because I happen to care about animals. 

I am very saddened by Ed's response.  It is this very attitude that keeps the respect and concern for animals and all of the abuse that they suffer on the back burner. For those that have had the experience of having animals as their companions and friends comes the ability to know how important animals are and what their gifts are to this world.  Only an open heart can understand why it is so important to work against the abuse of these species. Open your heart Ed! you will see and experience so many wonderful things...

Ed, I respect your comment about putting humans first in these issues, however, we must look at how society as a whole operates.  Over centuries bright minds have stated you must set a good foundation before you build.  Animals, children, elderly, the sick, the needy... is how you move from the bottom up.  Those who can't speak for themselves.  We must do better as a society overall.  Give voice to the voiceless.  Animals are important in this process.

Ed's response is very disappointing to me.  I've been doing outreach for animals about 4 years now (1-2 times a week).  I've heard comments of all kinds.  Comments like Ed's usually come from the most wealthy looking people who really don't give a damn about anything and have never done anything about helping anyone.  I truely hope this is not the case with Ed.  And surprisingly enough (or maybe not surprising at all) the homeless people usually come by and lend a word of support.  In more than one occasion, we've had homeless people drop change into our donation can because they are so angered by the way animals are treated in our society. Many of those people have at one point worked in a slaughterhouse and can tell you the horrors from experience.

My response to this is to pick your passions, and support them with everything you can give. I've learned that you need to be passionate to put in the heart, time and money. Our passions aren't going to be the same; however, if we all pick one/some, and support them passionately, the entire world benefits. I also weep about the multiple abuses/crises in the world, it can all get a bit overwhelming at times. I feel Ed's frustration, and at the same time I realize that I can't take them all on at once. So I pick the ones that I personally feel the most passionate about, and support those with all my resources. If every person did just that ... pick something, anything, and support it with all your heart ... if we all do just that we'll make a difference. I'll never debate anyone that my "cause" is more worthy than their "cause." They're all worthy, and they all need our support. Animal advocacy and the earth are my passions, what's yours? And, more importantly, how can we work together?

Number 11 for this list.

Ban BSL. These laws have caused the death of innocent animals, not based on temperament or behavior, but by the dog appearance.

Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”

I think this means that the way a country treats the most defenseless is a measure of how advanced it is morally (the same goes for individuals).

I've heard PETA suggest that people commit to a vegan day, as in one day a week!  I thought, what a great idea!  Much more realistic in terms of getting more people to think about and eventually adopting meat alternatives.  Honestly, to say "go vegan," even for those sympathetic to the plight of animals, is too daunting a prospect for most folks.  One day a week is a do-able commitment with the idea being that it will lead to 2 than 3 days, etc.  I really wish there was a visible campaign for this idea. 

1 day vegan a week is doable - my mother tried it as a way to cut cholesterol & it turned into 2 days then 3 days... and now, she rarely eats any meat, found that she doesn't even crave it.  And like a snowball rolling down a hill, she's changed to soy milk, non-dairy margarine... And she's not the only person I know who's "one day" has turned into multiple days or a vegan/vegetarian diet. 

And if you're committed to ending the suffering of animals, then it's a simple transition to boot.

How wonderful!  How to spread this idea?  I only know people who think and talk about going Vegan, but never actually get on track.  And, sadly, I'm one of them -- I feel like such a animal lover fraud.  I did give up pork 2 yrs ago...  and no longer crave it.   My thinking was to give up 1 meat at a time, but never got past pork!  By culture, I eat mostly fish/seafood and chicken.  Is there such think as a modfied vegan?  What do animal loving vegans think of such?

I appreciate Sue Kanno Kay's honesty about her approach to veganism and can see she is working on how to change her palate, tastes and attachment to animal flesh and I have a solution. You see most of the people who are vegans do it from a very different angle and motivation which has nothing to do with how wonderful this flesh tastes and how hard it will be for me to stop eating this.

   Step 1.  Please watch the videos posted on this website showing the harsh reality of the immense cruelty of animals being ripped apart limb by limb while still alive.

Step 2. Watch the videos of "factory farming" animals being smashed into cages so tiny that can barely turn around much less even sit on the dirty feces covered cement floors.  The profound loss of their right to exist in a humane way causes them to exhibit mentally depraved signs of losing their mind.

Step 3. Plaster photos on your walls of male baby chicks that have been piled in containers ready to be ground to death weeks after being born because there is no profit in keeping them alive but much profit in their female babies who can keep churning out eggs for humans until their bodies are spent and ready for slaughter themselves.

Step 4. Listen to the cries of animals as they are being slaughtered to death. Watch the videos of the slaughterhouse methods of slamming cows on the head hoping to stun them so they can then gut them and slice up their body parts for profit.

If you need more convincing, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the available material depicting the cruelty to animals available.

And after all of this, it your heart is not breaking open with a drive to stop this holocaust and you still feel yourself reaching for animal flesh then nothing will convince you that supporting the animal flesh trade even partially is part of the problem and not the solution.

Excellent list.

Per Gary's comment, kudos to the list. I "stumbled" into animal-loving, I guess, when I fed a stray cat about 15 years ago. He apparently went out and got his relatives; today, the brood is 62 cats at last count, and the house gets crowded when they all clamor for shelter in Indiana's often brutal winters. I go through about three 18-pound bags of dry food and 72 cans of moist food a week. I get asked a lot why I feed them. My answer is that I'd hope someone would feed me if I showed up homeless on someone's porch before they called the cops. I have learned that how we treat an animal is a reflection of how we might treat another human being. I choose not to do to an animal what I choose not to do to another person. 

I think that this list is really well-put together. I'm shocked to hear from some people that animals do not deserve rights. I mean, if you cut them do they not bleed? If you hurt them, do they not scream, shriek, howl, etc. in pain? Animals are living organisms and they deserve to treated as such.

I moved to Dallas, TX. I want to find a way to volunteer with animals and really get involved. I am looking for any suggestions or ideas if anyone is in DFW area..

I do believe it is also very important to remember that, especially in the case of horse racing, that reform could do a great deal to improve the quality of care given to these animals.

From the perspective of a person (myself and others) who have worked with and around horses for quite some time including inside the racing industry, I believe that increasing the quality of the standards we use to determine what is cruelty would be very helpful.  Also, better breeding would make sure that horses are able to withstand the racing environment, and if they are not fit, they should absolutely not be raced.

The plight of animals is very important, but it is also important to remember that racing is very much not like that of rodeo in which intentional harm is caused.  Rather, the animals do have a job and in very many cases are taken very good care of by their handlers and trainers.  There are of course trainers who do not think enough of taking care of the horses first and that issue must be taken into account, which is why I suggest reform of racing standards across the board.

Ultimately, if we were to ban horse racing, it would cause more suffering to all of the displaced race horses of which animal shelters and organizations are already struggling to find good homes for.  I personally believe it makes good sense to reform the system rather than to cause more needless suffering by banning horse racing altogether.

I just wanted to say thanks...a simply explained step by step explanation is just what people need to wake up and realize that they must be the change they want to see in the world...people need to stop shrugging their shoulders and get with the program...I posted this up on facebook  and encourage everyone to spread it around as much as possible!...people need steps that they can personally apply in their life, and they need to be  shown those steps are!...now..no one can shrug their shoulders with excuses ANYMORE.....
with love and gratitude

No. 8 just applies to the US.

Is it still on anyway?