ACTION: Tell the US EPA to ban bee-killing pesticides immediately

Posted on 3 June, 2016 by Veganistan

Around the world, countless millions of bees are dying, in danger of extinction and threatening disaster for farmers and the global food supply.

From Credo:

According to two stunning new reports, the collapse of honeybee populations is worse than we ever thought. In its first-ever honeybee health survey, the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that commercial honeybee populations fell 8.1 percent in 2015.¹ Likewise, researchers in another study found that among all beekeepers 44 percent of bees were lost nationwide from 2015 to 2016.²

In addition to showing the horrific loss of honeybee populations, this research also suggests that bee-killing neonicotinoid (neonics) pesticides are one culprit of colony collapse.³

The Environmental Protection Agency is currently reviewing the effects of neonics on pollinator colonies. With this new data proving honeybees are on the brink of widespread collapse, we must act now to urge the EPA to ban these toxic pesticides once and for all.

Bees and other pollinators play a vital role in our food production system by enabling the production of many of the nuts, fruits and vegetables in our diets. In total, pollinators make possible an astounding 35% of global food production and contribute more than $24 billion annually to the U.S. economy. But the number of managed honeybee colonies in the United States has declined from six million in the 1940s to just 2.5 million today – jeopardizing our food supply and domestic agriculture industry.⁴

This isn’t the first time the federal government has admitted pesticides are a leading contributor to colony collapse. Last year, a similar survey, funded in part by the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, revealed that U.S. beekeepers lost over 42% of their colonies between April 2014 and April 2015, a significant upswing of losses from the previous year.⁵⁶

You can sign the petition here.

ACTION: Protect Sea Turtles from Shrimp Trawl Nets

Posted on 3 June, 2016 by Veganistan

Save sea turtles

From our friends at Oceana:

Of the seven species of sea turtles living in our oceans, all are listed as endangered or threatened. Every year more than 50,000 sea turtles are killed by shrimp trawling nets in the Southeastern waters of the United States as non-targeted catch. Together, we can help protect these sea turtles.

Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) installed in shrimp trawl nets can save 97 percent of sea turtles caught, while also benefiting the U.S. shrimp fishery and protecting fish stocks for the future. And new and improved TEDs could be even more effective.

Raise your voice: Sign the petition to US President Obama here: http://act.oceana.org/sign/obama_sea-turtle-TEDs_foe

Thanks for caring!

ACTION: Tell St. Kitts & Nevis to Save Endangered Fin Whales

Posted on 26 June, 2015 by Veganistan

The beautiful fin whale is an endangered species that has been severely threatened by inhumane whale hunting for meat. Avaaz has launched an urgent petition to pressure the government of St. Kitts and Nevis to end its support of the whale meat trade. Please read below and click through to raise your voice in support of the right of whales to live in peace.

From Avaaz:

The Icelandic whaling fleet is about to leave port to hunt and kill 150 endangered fin whales. We’ve come close to shutting down this barbaric operation before and now we have a chance to end it for good.

As the whalers sharpen their harpoons for this year’s hunt, their boss is trying to ship last year’s whale meat to Japan right now. Over 1,700 tonnes are about to be sent through the icy passage between Russia and the North Pole.

But if the tiny Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis simply removes their flag from the vessel it can’t leave port! Tourism is the main pillar of their country’s economy and we can put their reputation on the line by throwing them into our giant global spotlight.

We have just six days before the boat could set sail.

Our community already helped push European countries to shun this shameful trade. Let’s now get St. Kitts to stop helping the whalers!

Sign now and share with everyone urgently — Avaaz will deliver our voices straight to the new Prime Minister, and if he doesn’t respond quickly, Avaaz’ll target his biggest tourist market – the US – and show how St. Kitts is supporting the slaughter of these majestic beings.

Please sign the Avaaz petition here.

ACTION: Protect Dolphins, Seals & Pelicans from Oil Spill

Posted on 28 May, 2015 by Veganistan

Last week, a major oil pipeline off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, burst — and now thousands of dolphins, sea lions, and pelicans are drowning in oil slicks.

According to Terra Lawson-Remer of Avaaz in San Diego:

“The pipeline that burst lacked basic safety features, like an automatic shut-off valve. And Plains All American is one of the most reckless companies in the US, with over 175 documented violations in the past decade. They’ve been warned time and again, but did nothing.

…While our rocky shores are awash in oil and dead fish, Plains All American CEO Greg Armstrong raked in over $5 million compensation last year, and is guaranteed a $29 – $87 million golden parachute. These guys broke the law to make a quick buck.

But if we hold them accountable, we can prevent another catastrophe by putting oil company executives everywhere on notice that they can’t get away with these kinds of shady games on our watch.

These precious creatures are now drowning in oil because of the profiteering short cuts of the Plains All American, but we can hold the culprits accountable. “

In response, to protect marine life and the California coastline, Avaaz is petitioning California Attorney General Kamala Harris and local District Attorney Joyce Dudly to file civil and criminal charges against Plains All American and its leadership. The petition reads:

“We call on you to file civil and criminal charges against Plains All American and its senior leadership, for reckless and willful disregard of the law and public safety, causing the massive oil spill now contaminating Santa Barbara’s precious coastal waters. The Plains oil profiteers must be held accountable for their reprehensible actions.”

You can read the full text and sign the petition here:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/santa_barbara_oil_spill_loc/

ACTION: Help Stop the Slaughter of African Lions for Sex Potions

Posted on 1 November, 2013 by Veganistan

Does the idea of murdered cats get you hot? If by “hot” you mean “angry,” we’re inclined to agree — and, thankfully, so are the African courts.

For decades, tigers were slaughtered because their bones were highly valued by certain manufacturers of “male sex enhancement” products for the Asian market. Bones, fierce animals… we trust you get the idea. But international outrage over these practices resulted in laws passed to protect endangered tigers. Since then, the focus of the dubious trade has turned to other “manly” animals.

According to Avaaz, which has been active in campaigning to protect the rapidly-declining lion population in Africa:

Lions are farmed under appalling conditions in South Africa for “canned hunting,” where rich tourists pay thousands to shoot them through fences. Now experts say lion bones from these killing farms are being exported to phony ‘medicine’ makers in Asia for record profits. Trade is exploding and experts fear that as prices rise, even wild lions — with only 20,000 left in Africa — will come under poaching attack.

… There is a solution: banning and punishing the trade of lion bones and organs. South Africa is currently the largest exporter of lion trophies, bones and organs — it is also the only African country actively breeding lions in large numbers to supply trophy hunting.

Avaaz placed awareness posters and ads in airports in South Africa, but these were quickly taken down by the government. Avaaz then challenged the decision, and the courts ruled that the censorship was inappropriate and ordered the ads to be restored.

But the battled continues. So far, South African President Jacob Zuma has refused to take action to stop the lion slaughter. According to Avaaz:

But if we can show that allowing this senseless trade can hurt South Africa’s booming tourism industry and make visitors flee, president Zuma could be forced to act.

Follow the link below to add your name to the voices of concern and send a letter to President Zuma and Environment Minister Edna Molewa asking them to put a stop to the brutal trade in lion bones and other body parts:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_lion_slaughter_for_sex_aides_rb_en/

ACTION: Support Avaaz’s Petition to Save the Bees

Posted on 18 July, 2013 by Veganistan

Quietly, across the USA, millions of bees are dying, threatening our crops and food. A new bill this week could ban one group of deadly pesticides and save bees from annihilation, but only if Congress feels the sting of public opinion.

Bees in the USA are facing what Avaaz terms “a chemical Armageddon.”

Just last week, 50,000 died in a single car park in Oregon after being exposed to pesticides, and last winter over 50% of all California’s bees died. Leading scientists blame one group of pesticides called neonicotinoids. The evidence is so compelling that the entire European Union has begun banning them, and the Save America’s Pollinators Act could impose a ban on these deadly poisons in the US…. Big Agriculture and powerful chemical companies like Bayer are already lobbying hard to stop the bill, but if we show an overwhelming public support for a ban, we can counter their influence

Please take a moment to sign the petition at the Avaaz site now.

ACTION: Help save Yellowstone wolves from slaughter

Posted on 21 November, 2012 by Veganistan

Wolves from Yellowstone National Park have been killed just outside the park’s borders. The reported death count as of November 20, 2012, is seven. Five of these animals were wearing radio collars and were the subjects of intensive conservation study.

Wild wolves must roam widely in search of food and mates, both of which are critical for survival of the species. Naturally, it happens from time to time that they venture beyond the unfenced boundary of the park.

We think caring people will agree that the killing of Yellowstone wolves is unconscionable. Please join us in telling the governors of Wyoming and Montana to put an immediate stop to the wolf hunt in lands on the periphery of the park.

The petition is here.

ACTION: Protect Elephants from Ivory Poaching

Posted on 26 May, 2012 by Veganistan

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) has launched a new petition drive to curb elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade, which have been increasing across the globe, with an unprecedented number of seizures of illegal ivory worldwide.

According to IFAW’s petition on Care2:

Within about 30 days in early 2012, 300 to 650 elephants were killed by heavily armed poachers in a single national park in Cameroon, out of an estimated national population of 3,000 to 5,000.

IFAW believes that even one elephant killed for its ivory is one too many. We will not stand by idly while elephants are needlessly slaughtered to meet a demand for luxury goods.

Join the fight to free elephants from the threat of ivory poaching.

Please sign this petition to urge the European Union to take immediate action to stop the poaching and to help protect the world’s elephants from the continued threat of ivory trade.

You can sign the petition here.

Action Alert: Domino’s & “Gestation Crates”

Posted on 13 May, 2012 by Veganistan

Domino’s buys meat from factory farms where pregnant pigs spend their lives trapped in stalls barely bigger than their bodies, called “gestation crates.” They can’t even turn around. Soon after they give birth, they’re re-impregnated. And once their bodies can’t physically endure the constant pregnancies and confinement any longer, they’re killed.

The Humane Society of the United States recently released an undercover video of abuse at factory farm. While other major brands have promised to phase out these cruel practices, Domino’s is continuing to profit from this horrific suffering.

Domino’s can take a very simple step to help eliminate this sort of cruelty. It’s the second largest pizza chain in the world, and eliminating gestation crates will set an incredibly powerful example. Even better, as a huge company buying literally tons of food, if Domino’s changes its practices to stop buying meat from abused animals, others will be forced to follow.

Please sign the petition at Change.org.

Bill Maher on Ingrid Newkirk’s ‘Free the Animals’

Posted on 1 May, 2012 by Veganistan

Bill Maher, host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” has written a poignant (and, as usual, entertaining) article on the new release of Free the Animals, Ingrid Newkirk’s celebrated book that “tells the riveting, real-life story of the people who put on disguises, use fake IDs, or jimmy their way into laboratories in order to carry out the daring rescues of animals used in experiments and of the insiders, the whistleblowers, who risk their jobs to help them.”

One of those rescues involved Britches, an infant macaque monkey who had his eyes stitched closed and some kind of electrical box put on his head in a really lame and truly bizarre experiment. When PETA released photographs of Britches with his eyelids sewn shut, it was a PR nightmare for his tormentors, who switched to doing more benign things — not as benign as, say, knitting, but at least they stopped using baby monkeys.

Maher discusses the progress that has been made since the book was first published twenty years ago, and the work that is still to be done.

Which brings us to something else that’s changed since the book was first released: the widespread awareness that writing letters to your member of Congress isn’t enough and that bold action is needed to get animals out of laboratories, where dogs and rabbits are treated as though they were pieces of lab equipment. That’s something that the surprisingly normal members of the Animal Liberation Front discovered and is discussed in Free the Animals

You can read the full HuffPost article here, and you can buy the book here.

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