Tails from a Compassionate Planet

Ending Farm Animal Cruelty in “The Bay State”

Farm animals in most U.S. states are kept in extreme confinement, forced to live in spaces so small they can barely move. Massachusetts is no different.

Tens of thousands of farm animals – including egg-laying hens, veal calves and female breeding pigs – are kept in confined cages and stalls throughout the state. But, earlier this year, Sen. Robert L. Hedlund (R-Hingham) and Rep. Jason M. Lewis (D-Winchester) introduced The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act which, if passed, would end the cruel confinement of these farm animals by 2015.

We’re encouraging all WSPA Massachusetts supporters to contact their State Senator and Representative today, and ask them to co-sponsor The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act – the first step in moving this act forward through the State House. (If you don’t reside in Massachusetts, please pass this on to family or friends who live there!)

Several other states, such as Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan and Oregon, have already passed similar legislation. It’s time for Massachusetts to join the national movement and take action to end the cruel confinement of farm animals!

Eat Humane During Boston Restaurant Week!

It’s that time of year again… Boston's Restaurant Week is taking place August 14-26! Once again, we are excited that several restaurants in our Eat Humane restaurant guide are participating, including:

• Flora Restaurant 
• Henrietta's Table at Charles Hotel
• Lumière
• Rialto at Charles Hotel
• Taranta
• The Beehive
• The Fireplace

If you are taking part in Boston’s Restaurant Week, be sure to check out one (or more) of these restaurants!

Not in New England? Search our guide for restaurants near you that offer humane food options. 

Happy humane eating!

Explaining "What's Wrong with Eating Dog Meat?"

Some of you may have seen the article on CNN.com today, “What's Wrong with Eating Dog Meat?” which discusses the dog meat trade in South Korea. While it's great that this issue is garnering more media attention, we felt the need to address a few points in this article.

The article states, “They were… going to show videos of farms raising dogs under sanitary conditions — something, they will tell you, that would become a more ubiquitous practice were the industry legalized and regulated.”

"Sanitary conditions" or not, the deliberate cruelty inflicted on these dogs - during capture, transport and farming - is appalling. The slaughter methods used (which include clubbing, throat-slitting, hanging, electrocuting and blow torching) are purposely designed to intensify and prolong the suffering of the animals, under the misguided belief that torturing a dog before its death results in better quality meat.

In no way, shape or form should such actions be legalized.

The article then poses the question, “So, what's really wrong with eating dog? Just because we don't do it in the U.S. doesn't seem to make for a very good argument.”

While dogs are seen as family members or best friends in some cultures, we understand this is not necessarily true in others. That being said, culture is dynamic, and the inhumane treatment of animals is never excusable. 

All in all, the unnecessary, appalling cruelty associated with the dog meat trade industry is reason enough to end it. Other areas of the world - such as Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong - agree, and have taken a progressive stance by completely banning the consumption of dogs and cats, in response to public concern. Furthermore, WSPA research in China and Korea suggests that the consumption of dogs and cats is reducing in popularity, especially within the younger generation.

For more information on ending the dog meat trade industry, click here.

Humane Easter Egg Options by the Dozen!

Decorating eggs is a favorite spring pastime for many families, and with egg sales soaring during the Easter season each year, WSPA encourages all consumers to add these easy-to-find, "humane" egg brands to their grocery list:

1. Born Free (Certified Humane and Cage Free and USDA Organic)
2. Cyd's Nest Fresh (Certified Humane)
3. Egg Innovations (Certified Humane and Cage Free)
4. Eggland's Best (American Humane Certified)
5. Eggology (Certified Humane and Cage Free and USDA Organic)
6. Giving Nature (Certified Humane)
7. Go-Organic Omega 3 (Certified Humane and Cage Free and USDA Organic)
8. Land O'Lakes (Cage Free and USDA Organic)
9. Nellie's Nest (Certified Humane and Cage Free)
10. Pete & Gerry's (Certified Humane and Cage Free and USDA Organic)
11. Phil's Fresh Eggs (American Humane Certified)
12. Sunrise Fresh (Certified Humane and Cage Free)

These brands are marked with 'Certified Humane,' 'American Humane Certified' or 'Animal Welfare Approved' claims -- meaning the eggs came from chickens who were humanely raised, instead of those raised on unhealthy and cruel factory farms.  By simply choosing to buy these egg brands, you can make a powerful difference in the welfare of animals and the environment!

For more humane eating tips, visit EatHumane.org. Happy Spring!

Boston Restaurant Week, Humane-Style!

Here in New England, we are gearing up for Boston's Restaurant Week, March 6-18. This year, we are especially excited that several restaurants in our Eat Humane restaurant guide are participating, such as:

• Flora Restaurant
• Henrietta's Table at Charles Hotel
• Lumière
• Rialto at Charles Hotel
• Taranta
• The Beehive
• The Fireplace

Be sure to make reservations at one (or more!) of these restaurants if you are taking part in Restaurant Week.

Not in the New England area? Search our guide for restaurants near you that offer humane food options. 

Bon appetit!

Enjoy a Cruelty-Free Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving, WSPA is reminding everyone to think compassionately about their holiday meals and choose foods that come from animals who were raised humanely - not on factory farms.

Luckily, whether you cook at home or opt to eat your Thanksgiving meal out, we have you covered! 

We just updated our Eat Humane restaurant guide with 300 new restaurants that offer at least one humanely-raised menu option. This brings our total to 500 restaurants across the U.S. that will help ensure your dining out experience this Thanksgiving is compassionate and cruelty-free.

Or, if you are planning to cook at home this year, search our Eat Humane grocery store guide to find out where to purchase humane food products near you.

Making more humane choices this holiday season is a simple, but powerful way to make a difference in the lives of so many animals who are raised for food. Thank you and have a wonderful - and cruelty-free - Thanksgiving!

Thank You for Making Noise for World Animal Week!

This year's World Animal Week was a huge success - in fact, it was WSPA's "loudest" celebration ever! A few key highlights:

• More than 5,800 people signed the "Animals Matter to Me" declaration;
• 1,000+ people joined our new Facebook page to discuss animal issues;
• Our first-ever live Twitter discussion shed light on factory farm issues and alternatives;
• Our YouTube channel - including our new videos on bringing relief to animals in disaster, ending mass animal cullings and our farm animal welfare program - received almost 5,000 views; and
• More than 15 people participated in the Boston protest of Japan's dolphin hunts.

Most importantly, you helped spread the word about important animal welfare issues and helped impact the lives of animals worldwide. Thank you for your tremendous support!

But please don't go quiet now!  We hope you will all continue to speak up for animals - follow us on wspa-usa.org and on all of our social media channels for ongoing news, activities and discussions about helping animals.

Finally, a special congratulations goes out to Sherry Bayer of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, who won our "Animals Matter to Me" contest.  Sherry will receive a WSPA gift basket full of cool animal-themed prizes.  Congrats again and thank you for your support!

World Animal Week: Day 5 – Saying "Animals Matter to Me!"

Welcome to Day 5 - the last day of World Animal Week! This week has flown by and we've had so much fun celebrating animals with you! Our last topic of the week is saying "Animals Matter to Me."

As we've discussed this week, millions of animals around the world are suffering from a number of factors, including natural disasters, inhumane culling, factory farming and more. Because of this, we need a unifying, global solution to protect animals from cruelty now and in the future.

Today, we encourage you to please sign the "Animals Matter to Me" declaration!

By doing so, you'll join the more than 2.4 million people (including celebs like Simon Cowell, Leona Lewis, Igor Olshansky, Tiffani Thiessen and John Tartaglia) who have declared to governments and other decision makers that animals - and their welfare - matter to them.

As an added bonus, when you sign the declaration before this Sunday, October 10 at 9pm ET, you will be entered to win an amazing prize from WSPA! Our goal is to gather 10,000 new signatures to the declaration before Sunday, so please forward this on to your friends and family.

Good luck and thank you for making noise for animals!

World Animal Week: Day 3 – Ending Factory Farming

Welcome to Day 3 of World Animal Week! Today's topic is Ending Factory Farming.

Most farm animals in the U.S. are raised on factory farms, where they spend their entire lives in battery cages, crates or overcrowded sheds, and are fed hormones and antibiotics so that they grow faster and bigger than nature intended. They are often times neglected, abused and pushed to their physical limits to make cheaper meat or dairy products for us.

So, what can you do to help?

1. Join us today at 3:00 ET, when we'll host a Twitter discussion about factory farming - what it is, how it contributes to the suffering of billions of animals around the world, and its major effects on human health and the environment. All you have to do is send a question to @WSPAUSA, and be sure to end it with the tag #EndFactoryFarming. We'll respond to your (and others') questions right away, and you can follow the hash tag to stay updated on the discussion!
2. Later, continue the discussion on our Facebook page (click on the "Discussion" tab).
3. Lastly, watch our *NEW* video on factory farming and visit EatHumane.org at any time to learn more about making simple changes and choosing foods that meet humane standards

We look forward to chatting with you - and don't forget to stop in again tomorrow to Make Some Noise for World Animal Week!

Make Some Noise for World Animal Week

World Animal Week is just around the corner and we can’t wait to celebrate, WSPA-style! Every day next week, we’ll reveal a new item on our Website – it could be a new video, a contest or a news story – and ask you to participate in a certain action to help celebrate animals. 

Want to join in on the fun? Here's all you have to do:

• Bookmark or RSS feed http://www.wspa-usa.org today – then, visit the site daily next week to see all five celebration activities
• Make sure you’re following WSPA USA on all of our social media channels, as we’ll be using them to celebrate next week

• “Like" our new Facebook page
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Bookmark or RSS feed our “Tails from a Compassionate Planet” blog

We hope you’re as excited as we are…see you on Monday!