An article in the March 2, 2010, edition of The New York Times calls rabbits “the right meat at the right time.”
“Don’t Tell the Kids” covers a recent rabbit-killing seminar, at which people gathered in a parking lot to practice killing rabbits for home butchering: “The idea was to place the rabbit on its belly on straw-covered asphalt, press a broomstick across the back of its neck and swiftly yank up the rear legs. Done right, it’s a quiet and quick end. But it takes a little skill and a lot of fortitude, which some of the novices lacked.”
Please send a letter to the editor explaining that rabbits are sensitive, intelligent animals who are the third most popular pets in the country. They form lifelong bonds with their guardians and other animals, have distinct personalities, know their names, play with toys and can learn to use an indoor litter box. So-called “meat rabbits” are no different than the pet rabbits rescued by SaveABunny and other rescue groups.
Letters up to 150 words can be emailed to letters@nytimes.com or faxed to (212) 556-3622. You may also mail your letter to:
Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
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For advice on writing letters to The Times, please see http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/opinion/23READ.html
One in seven garments made with animal fur is allowed to be sold unlabeled under a loophole in the law. Many consumers do not want to support animal fur, but without full labeling, they are stuck guessing whether the trim on a jacket is real or faux.
The Humane Society of the United States needs your help to pass The Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2009 (H.R. 2480/S. 1076), which requires all garments made with animal fur to say so on label, so that consumers can make informed decisions.
What You Can Do:
Please make brief, polite phone calls to your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators and urge them to support and co-sponsor H.R. 2480/S. 1076. You can reach your federal legislators by calling the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Next, click the link above for additional steps you can take.
The bloody, panic-stricken environment of a slaughterhouse is no place for any horse to meet her end.
But as long as horse slaughter is legal in the United States, this covert, predatory industry will have its buyers at American horse auctions, outbidding legitimate horse owners and funneling these animals off to foreign slaughterhouses to be sold as meat overseas.
Cruel industry
Horse slaughter is a death fraught with terror, pain and suffering. Horses are shipped for more than 24 hours at a time in crowded cattle trucks—vehicles with ceilings too low for a horse to stand up straight—without food, water or rest.
Horses bound for slaughter often sustain severe injuries from the bites and kicks of other, more aggressive horses. They frequently fall, and unable to regain their footing, are often trampled to death. Healthy, very young, injured, pregnant, blind—all endure the grueling journey.
Once horses arrive at the slaughter plant, their suffering intensifies. Terrified, they struggle in the kill box, making it difficult for the often untrained staff to render them unconscious. In Mexico, our undercover cameras documented the use of the puntilla knife to stab horses repeatedly to paralyze them for butchering.
Lethal loophole
Although some state legislatures have acted to stop horse slaughter, shuttering the last remaining foreign-owned horse slaughter plants in the United States in 2007, Congress has yet to enact a federal ban.
This means that not only can horses continue to be exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter, but more foreign-owned horse slaughter plants could even try to set up shop on U.S. soil.
Fortunately, many members of Congress remain committed to horse protection. "I will continue to fight in Congress to end this brutal practice and ensure that American horses will no longer be savagely slaughtered for human consumption," says Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), who is the lead Senate sponsor of the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (S. 727) to ban horse slaughter. Sen. John Ensign (R-NV), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), and Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN) all join her in that fight as lead authors of S. 727/H.R 503.
At the forefront of the fight
In addition to our legislative efforts, The HSUS has taken an active role in the rescue and care of horses heading to slaughter.
When all three U.S. based horse slaughter plants closed, The HSUS offered to take the horses that were already at or en route to the plants. While most of the horses were reloaded and sent to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada, The HSUS was able to rescue a group of 30 horses who had literally been standing inside one of the plants, waiting to die, when the court order came to shut down the kill floor.
These horses were distributed between many different horse rescues, all opening up their barn doors and offering to take them in. In fact, two of these horses are enjoying the green pastures at the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, one of The HSUS' two horse sanctuaries.
The HSUS will continue its efforts as the nation's largest direct care provider for at-risk equines with the opening of the Doris Day Rescue and Adoption Center at the ranch later this year.
Second chances trump slaughter
Proof that slaughter isn't the answer is evident in the stories of horses rescued from that horrible fate only to go on to successful careers:
Ten years ago, a 17-year-old Dutch Warmblood named Jamaica was nearly sent to slaughter, saved at the last minute from a killer buyer's pen. Jamaica has now racked up numerous awards, and was recently named "Horse of the Year" by the United States Equestrian Federation. (Unfortunately, Thoroughbred racing's 1987 Horse of the Year and 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand, was not so lucky and was slaughtered in Japan.)
Miss Judge also escaped slaughter. After years of making money for her owners on the racetrack, the 11-year-old Thoroughbred mare was sent to an auction—one that killer buyers frequent—but Angel Acres Horse Haven Rescue stepped in, paying $350 to save her life. Miss Judge went on to strut her stuff as a featured horse at an event with world-renowned natural horsemanship horse trainers Pat and Linda Parelli. She was adopted by someone who fell in love with the gentle mare.
You can give horses a second chance
While The HSUS and horse rescue organizations across the country work tirelessly to give every horse a second chance, thousands of American horses are still shipped across our borders each week for slaughter because the horse slaughter industry can outbid them.
Ask your U.S. Representative and Senators and to support The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act (H.R. 503/S. 727). It will ban the barbaric killing of American horses for human consumption, including the export of horses across our borders for slaughter.
"Green?" Lots of "nose to tail" offerings,but they proudly recycle their twist ties! Two great examples of where NOT to go if you even marginally like animals.
If you have even a teeny-weeny bit of interest in protecting the environment and animals you'll cringe at the menus of La Folie and Incanto.
Longchamp, an upscale accessories brand with headquarters in Paris and boutiques around the world, is selling a rabbit-skin bag with calf-skin trim. The bag can be seen here: http://bit.ly/3QlWfm
Please contact Longchamp and let them know that accessories made from companion animals are not fashionable. Remind them that rabbits used for their fur and skin are kept in tiny wire cages, surrounded by their own waste. They spend their entire lives standing on wire, denied nearly all their natural behaviors, such as digging and running. The methods of slaughter are no more humane: they are killed by having their necks snapped or having their skulls crushed before being strung up by the legs and having their heads cut off.
Some stores justify the selling of rabbit fur and skin by saying that they’re “just a byproduct” of the rabbit-meat industry. However, the UN reports that “few skins are now retrieved from slaughterhouses,” and countries such as France are killing as many as 70 million rabbits a year for fur.
You can either call Longchamp’s customer relations department toll free at 1-866-566-4242, or use one of their online forms to contact them. Use this form to send an email: http://www.longchamp.com/en/contacts/customer-service-262.html or fill out their online opinion form: http://www.longchamp.com/en/contacts/opinion-263.html
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