New Political Times, Breathing Space for Animal Rights
Dear Friends of Animals,
We welcome hopeful news today. The 20th of January 2009 marks the closure of George W. Bush’s assaults on the environment — that’s the other animals’ home.
Friends of Animals, as a tax-deductible organization, cannot endorse particular candidates. And yet, we can, and do, tell the world about our public figures’ attitudes to animals.
We can express our priorities. While we promote agriculture without animals, we also insist that free animals get to thrive. That, after all, is what animal rights means.
We have zero tolerance for the killing of young seals or any other animals for their fur. Let free animals be.
We have been exposing Sarah Palin’s and other politicians’ violent projects consistently. This time, our perspective was underscored in some unexpected ways.
Gov. Palin took a prank call from comedian Marc Antoine Audette of radio station CKOI, Montréal, who pretended to be French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Audette discussed shooting animals from a helicopter, noting that “like we say in French, on peut tuer les bébés phoques aussi.” The English refers to killing baby seals, and Palin went right along with it.
Not only was Palin exposed, but the whole of Canada is now reminded that the killing of seals itself should be a political issue.
Barack Obama’s election enables Friends of Animals to work for what matters to you with more strength. With higher expectations.
We look forward to a government that learns to disengage from the old, violent methods: violence that harms us all, human and non-human.
A government that learns to stop painting with the broad brush that allows civil disobedience, or standing up for the birds, deer and bears, to be chilled by out-of-control anti-terrorism laws.
A government with a serious focus on respecting the environment, reducing greenhouse gases, and preventing extinctions.
We believe that these issues should constitute the change that Barack Obama has promised. Congratulations to Obama, whose offer of hope was accepted!
Now, we advocates have a special role to make it work.
Friends of Animals will be pressing our new executive and congressional representatives to institute change with animals’ interests in mind. The Arctic Refuge is targeted by corporate interests, and oil and gas developers want to disrupt the home of the caribou and polar bears. Roads are interrupting natural passageways; animal agribusiness gets massive subsidies; and government-run predator control is in place everywhere ranchers are.
We are demanding an end to the caged-bird trade in North America, pressing the federal government to close down the trafficking of tropical birds, including Hyacinth Macaws, Grey-Cheeked Parakeets, Red-Crowned Parrots, Philippine Cockatoos and many others.
We are working diligently for an end to harassment and roundups of wild horses, on the East Coast and in the West. An end to Alaska’s war on wolves.
And nonhuman apes are still in government-funded labs and holding sites, even though most of the world’s people reprehend this.
We’ll be pressing politicians, but also working with the root causes in a way no other animal-advocacy group does, to use the political breathing space to the animals’ best possible advantage.
You make it happen. We depend on your support every day, and the final days of the Bush administration will be a time of working to head off eleventh-hour exploitations, and keep critical projects on the table.
Then, on to the new. “This is your victory,” said President-elect Obama.
And the other animals? Let’s work together to turn this new breathing space into the beginning of victory for them as well.
I know many non-profits are going to be asking for your help over the next 76 days. Thank you so much for keeping our work for animal rights on the top of your support priorities.
Sincerely,
Priscilla Feral,
President
Friends of Animals
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11 Comments
On November 5, 2008, Michelle wrote:
THE life of a animal is as important as ours, to protect love and serve, not to kill thank you for helping the critters they are innocent creatures!! And they dont deserve to die in any unnatural way!!!Please keep supporting these helpless animals thank you much love Michelle
On November 5, 2008, priscilla chevrette wrote:
regarding your observation of the “interview” of Sarah Palin conducted by the Canadian comedian, I think you should check your facts on that. It is my understanding that the so called interview was actually the comedian asking questions & he and his crew pieced together responses she gave in other news situations or on the campaign trail …
[Blog editors’ note: You’re mistaken. We’ve heard and read the transcripts which have been recited repeatedly by legitimate news sources. Further, it was a phone conversation, not an interview. ]
On November 5, 2008, Barry wrote:
If there is no hope for non-human animals, there most certainly is no hope for human animals!
And, by corollary, if human animals are recipients of hope, then those non-human animals, all of whom are our responsibility, must be recipients of the benefits which hope brings into existence.
If all animals are not free, no animal is truly free.
It is time we ended the non-human animals “Eternal Treblinka”.
On November 6, 2008, g. preston wrote:
I am so overjoyed that we, here in MA, won our vote to stop the dog racing. Hopefully all tracks will be shut down as soon as possible.
I look forward to Pres. Obama helping us to stop the killing,
hoarding, and importing of animals in the very near future.
Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end for all those who don’t respect the animals. I will forever speak for them in any way I can.
On November 6, 2008, Tiffany wrote:
Good morning,
I have been receiving your emails for a few reasons, for the most part I was looking for a way to neuter my cat cheaply and someone gave me your site. I have not read much but understand your position, you want to save the animals and stop cruelty to them. I am all for that…
I am glad there are groups such as this to keep the world in check we need to balance the world, not everyone can fight every battle.
On November 6, 2008, Peter Hood wrote:
A good day, to rejoice the Question 3(ballot measure) in Massachusetts that banned dog racing. Unfortunately, however, also we must also deal with the loss of the honorable Christopher Shays, the Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus.
[Blog editors’ note: Newly -elected Jim Himes (D-CT) has promised to vote against oil development and drilling of the Arctic Refuge, so that’s promising. Himes will replace Shays in the House. FoA is grateful for Rep. Shays’ support of good measures over the last 21 years.]
On November 6, 2008, elsa nichols wrote:
I am a very conservative republican and a passionate defender of animal rights. I have not been happy with the record of the republican party on animal issues, but the democrats have done a lot of talking but nothing positive has happened in democrat run states, such as Washington with their dreadful slaughter houses. I hear Sen. Byrd always talking about animal rights but what has he done? I thing that the conservative run government (not liberal republican) is the best for the economy, and when the economy is strong animals profit as well.
On November 6, 2008, priscilla chevrette wrote:
I stand corrected that the Palin incident was a phone conversation, not a phone interview. In any case, the election is over and it is my profound hope that all your expectations regarding the protection of our precious animals will be realized with the new pols in office - both national and local. I have been profoundly disappointed in our state politicians for not protecting our monk parakeets. So many empty promises, so little action.
On November 7, 2008, Deb Smoot wrote:
The struggle for true animal rights will continue to be a long one; but it will occur. Like any of the past successful movements for human liberation,we need to be non-violent,relentless and unapologetic in our cause. The non-negotiable advocacy for veganism is necessary now. Thanks to Priscilla, Lee, & Friends of Animals we have intelligent and steadfast examples of the role we all must undertake.
On November 7, 2008, Lee Hall of Friends of Animals wrote:
Thank you for that encouraging and supportive note. You, Deb, are the steadfast and intelligent example we need in order to keep working for true animal rights.
On November 11, 2008, Esther Peterson wrote:
Since I have been a member of Friends of Animals for many years I was surprised that Palin’s policy of killing wolves by air never came up. Why? A good friend happen to tell her good friend that Palin shot wolves from the air, she (and she is definitely an animal lover)never heard of it. I really think Palin needs more exposure for “hunting” harmless animals.
Thank you
FoA comments:
FoA is directly engaged in legal action against the State of Alaska — including its current governor — to end its aerial wolf-control program. Most people didn’t know the governor’s name until she entered the national political scene. Now that she has made a name for herself, people are beginning to understand the threat she represents to the wolves and all of the free-living animals in Alaska.