animal cruelty

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Petition to Ban (Incredibly Cruel & Dangerous) Wet Markets

Please consider signing this petition: click to view and sign

Threat to Public Health

Animal Equality has launched a worldwide campaign and petition calling for the immediate closure of wet markets across the globe. Wet markets get their name in part from the blood, guts, scales and water that soak the stalls’ floors, remnants from animals brutally killed for customers who desire to eat freshly killed meat.

In exclusive footage shot by Animal Equality at wet markets in China, Vietnam and India, animals such as deer, raccoons, crocodiles, and dogs are shown living in filthy conditions, suffering from dehydration, starvation and disease.

These markets are also a threat to public health and have been the source of documented disease outbreaks in the past, including SARS. Researchers also believe COVID-19 most likely originated from a wet market in Wuhan, China, notorious for trading in wild animals.

It is because of the public health crises wet markets cause, as well as the intense suffering inflicted on farmed animals, that Animal Equality is urging the United Nations to ban all wet markets. Not only do these markets pose an immediate danger to humans, but they are also intensely cruel and abhorrently inhumane to animals.

“I think we should shut down those things [wet markets] right away. It boggles my mind how when we have so many diseases that emanate out of that unusual human-animal interface, that we don’t just shut it down. I don’t know what else has to happen to get us to appreciate that.”
~Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
“If you take wild animals and you put them into a market with domestic animals or other animals, where there’s an opportunity for a virus to jump species, you are creating … a superhighway for viruses to go from the wild into people. We can’t do this anymore. We can’t tolerate this anymore. I want the wild animal markets closed.”
~Dr. Ian Lipkin, Infectious Disease Expert
“The animals have been transported over large distances and are crammed together into cages. They are stressed and immunosuppressed and excreting whatever pathogens they have in them. With people in large numbers in the market and in intimate contact with the body fluids of these animals, you have an ideal mixing bowl for [disease] emergence.”
~Prof Andrew Cunningham, The Zoological Society of London
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The FBI Makes Animal Abuse a Top-Tier Felony

Recognizing the link between animal cruelty and acts of violence against humans, the FBI has started tracking animal abusers nationwide the way it tracks domestic violence, arson, assault, and homicide.  It has made animal cruelty a Group A felony, on par with homicide, arson, and assault. This new policy is likely to help protect both animals and people, and represents a shift toward humane treatment of animals.

Research has repeatedly demonstrated that animal cruelty is often a precursor to violence against humans. Tracking animal abuse perpetrators will help law enforcement to better understand and respond to animal abuse, and help prevent violence against people and animals. The majority of serial killers and school shooters, for example, abuse animals prior to turning on humans.

In the past, animal abuse records were thrown into a broader category with no ability to track the abusers. Now that incidents are tracked, police chiefs and law enforcement are given the data to identify abusers and change the way they police their community.

“Documented research is clear and long-standing, but most law enforcement agencies haven’t acted on it,” says John Thompson, Deputy Executive Director of the National Sheriffs’ Association, who worked to institute the new animal cruelty category. “The documented data is there, and it’s not just guesswork. The immediate benefit [of the new policy] is that it will be in front of law enforcement every month when they have to do their crime reports. That’s something we have never seen.”

Thompson said that translating the link between animal cruelty and violence against humans into enforcement is likely to be similar to the trajectory of domestic violence in the early 70s, when law enforcement was initially perplexed about why the abused woman didn’t just leave. “We didn’t understand the dynamics of domestic violence,” states Thompson, “and as that understanding changed, things got better. Animal abuse is going to follow the same timeline. For this problem to be solved you have to get the legislators to create the laws, law enforcement to enforce the laws, prosecutors to prosecute, and judges to convict.”

Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, states that there will be “a real incentive for law enforcement agencies to pay closer attention to [animal abuse],” and will allow those agencies to better “allocate officers and financial resources to handle these cases, track trends and deploy accordingly.”

While this new FBI policy is focused on tracking animal abusers and not on prosecuting them yet, it is a promising harbinger that stronger animal abuse laws and enforcement will come to pass.

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/2016/01/16/463094761/along-with-assault-and-arson-fbi-starts-to-track-animal-abuse

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/fbi-animal-cruelty-felony_n_5913364.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fbi-animal-abuse-tracking_568fd1d9e4b0cad15e6468c8?section=green

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A Puerto Rican Pup Whose Luck Changed

Valentina was found wandering the inhospitable streets of Puerto Rico. In an act of unthinkable cruelty, someone had covered her from the neck down in hot tar and set her loose to suffer. But Valentina was lucky; someone spotted her.

GreaterGood.org was born out of a desire to make a real difference—to connect people who want to help with people who are on the front lines in adverse situations. We work with over 150 charity partners worldwide, and operate several of our own on-the-ground programs to ensure your donation has maximum impact. Together, we can make a world of difference for people, pets, and the planet.

When emergency cases like Valentina’s come up, when disaster strikes a community in the U.S. or abroad, when biodiversity hotspots are threatened by development; when shelters are crumbling and schools are in desperate need of supplies, you can rest assured that your donation to Help Where It’s Most Needed is supporting meaningful programs that affect real, positive change.

Puerto Rico Animals pulled Valentina from the streets. With emergency medical funding from GreaterGood.org, they prepared for the agonizing process of removing the tar from her fur and skin. Afterward, she was practically a new puppy! We are thrilled to report that not only has she fully recovered from her ordeal, but she’s also been adopted into a loving forever home.

You can help. Your support makes all our work possible. Double the impact of your year-end donation today. 100% of your gift is tax deductible.

Click here to help dogs like Valentina

 

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A Christmas Gift? – Stop Cruelty Before It Starts

children and thailand dogThroughout Southeast Asia, including Thailand, many animals are treated in horrific ways. In fact, some of these cruel practices are socially sanctioned. Based in Thailand, Soi Dog Foundation has embarked on a teacher-training program directed at Thailand’s younger citizens – the children.

Soi Dog Foundation’s Humane Education Program cultivates empathy and kindness by teaching children to understand the feelings of others. The program instills a sense of responsibility to make compassionate choices, empowers kids to improve their communities, and produces caring members of society. The Soi Dog Foundation’s humane education is designed to inspire young people to become compassionate, caring adults that will protect and honor Thailand’s animal population for generations to come. In addition to training teachers, Soi Dog Foundation distributes age-appropriate educational reading materials throughout Thailand’s schools.

You can help. Just $10 educates one child in Thailand about humane practices of animal welfare.  Put humane education materials in a classroom in Thailand for $20.00.  Train a schoolteacher to teach humane education in Thailand for $30.00.  Click here to prevent animal cruelty through education.

© by Soi Dog Foundation