letter to Great Lakes Brewing Company urging them not to serve bunnies as food

I just heard about this yesterday at the Ohio House Rabbit Society web page. Great Lakes Brewing Company (a local Cleveland restaurant, but their award-winning beer is sold all over) has been serving rabbit dishes at special events. And why wouldn't they....nothing says 'celebration' like skinning & devouring a bunny rabbit, right? Oh, it makes me sick. Anyway, here's the letter.

February 23, 2006

Kami Dolney
Marketing Coordinator
Great Lakes Brewing Company
2516 Market Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44113

RE: Rabbits being served as food at special events

Dear Ms. Dolney:

I have recently been made aware of the fact that your restaurant is serving rabbit at special events. Please know that rabbits are the third most popular family pet after dogs and cats, and that many people will be outraged to hear of rabbits being served as food.

For my part, although I have been a loyal customer for years, I will no longer be dining in your restaurant or purchasing your beer while this regrettable policy continues. I will also be spreading the word to as many people as I can, urging them to boycott as well.

I've always respected Great Lakes for having a decent number or vegetarian and vegan items available, but to say that serving rabbits as food negates those efforts is a huge understatement. Rabbits are playful, inquisitive, and affectionate family pets. They can even be litter box trained. To encourage people to consume the flesh of these adorable creatures is morally equivalent to encouraging them to eat a cat or dog. Please consider banning rabbit dishes from your menu.

Sincerely,

letter to ohio senators urging co-sponsorship of the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S.451)

note: if you haven't seen the HBO documentary mentioned below, please do! it's on several more times. info at http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/dealingdogs/index.html

i sent this to both ohio senators, George V. Voinovich & Mike DeWine (of course i changed the name for dewine's....)


February 22, 2006

Senator George V. Voinovich
524 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

RE: Co-sponsorship of the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S.451)

Dear Senator Voinovich:

I would like to urge you to co-sponsor the Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 451), which was introduced to Congress by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) on February 17th, 2005. This bill would amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that all animals used by research facilities are obtained legally. It would also strengthen the Animal Welfare Act by prohibiting the use of Class B dealers as suppliers of dogs and cats to research facilities. This bill would end the fraudulent practices of Class B dealers, and the unnecessary suffering of animals in their care.

Class B dealers routinely violate the Animal Welfare Act by acquiring animals from fraudulent sources and abusing and neglecting them. These animals are often stolen pets, strays or animals obtained under false pretenses from “free to good home” ads. It is virtually impossible to know the true history of an animal acquired by a Class B dealer. Each time a Class B dealer sells an animal to a research lab, a strong possibility exists that it is a lost or stolen family pet.

C.C. Baird, one of the largest Class B dealers in the U.S., was charged with hundreds of violations of the Animal Welfare Act by the USDA/APHIS after undercover surveillance by Last Chance for Animals revealed overwhelming amounts of animal abuse, neglect and unsanitary conditions at Baird’s facility, Martin Creek Kennels in Williford, Arkansas. I recently had the opportunity to view the documentary "Dealing Dogs" which chronicled the abuses at Martin Creek Kennels. The footage was some of the most disturbing I've seen. If you've not seen the documentary, please take a moment to view a clip from it at http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/dealingdogs/index.html. I believe it will help you to see why something has to be done to stop these atrocities.

Unfortunately, the conditions at Baird’s Martin Creek Kennels are not uncommon among Class B dealers. Baird is now permanently out of business, but there are still 15 more Class B dealers supplying random source animals to research facilities.

Senator Akaka’s bill would facilitate and improve the Animal Welfare Act and give the USDA the ability to prevent further atrocities like those committed by C.C. Baird. It is in the public interest that Class B dealers not be allowed to sell animals to research facilities. This will help ensure the safety of America’s pets.

Please co-sponsor the Pet Safety and Protection Act and encourage the Chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee to hold hearings on the bill as soon as possible.

Thank you for your consideration of this most important issue.

Sincerely,

okay, so i basically copied it from the Last Chance for Animals template....i'm new at this!

The How

In the three weeks since I started this blog, I've accomplished very little, animal wise. It can be hard to get started. I can't rescue any more animals until we sell our house (and make "SeNoRa" a real place, rather than just virtual). I've sent a number of apps into volunteer places, but apparently these things take longer than I anticipated to get started (either that or they hate me. they probably hate me.) I offered my services as a letter writer to PETA et. al, but...nothing. I know they're busy.

Anyway, it occurred to me that I am a silly girl and I can start my own darn letting writing campaign, so that's what I'm gonna do. I'll post the letters I send here for all to see, and may even update with responses received if they're good. I'll post other stuff too, but putting the letters up here will keep me accountable, and hopefully inspire a person or two to write letters of their own about things they feel strongly about. Sure, each of our voices is tiny (perhaps even tinny) but enough of us together can be pretty damn annoying!

The Why

I work on an alpaca farm a few hours a week. Alpacas tend to fear people, b/c people tend to kill alpacas. So it was a big deal to me one day when I noticed the 'pacas didn't get up from their comfy kushed position as I walked amongst them scooping poop & filling water buckets. For whatever reason, it was a really big deal. Maybe I was hungover. But it occurred to me then that the trust of these animals was about the hugest compliment I'd received. I began to ask myself if I'd earned it. Sure, I loved animals and took good care of the ones in my teensy part of the world. I'd stopped eating animal flesh a while back. But I was still drinking milk, still eating eggs, still wearing leather boots (and coveting more of them). And what had I ever done to help an animal that wasn't cute & fluffy & in my face? Nothing.

I spent the next couple months reading like crazy on the internet, every animal rights, animal rescue, animal anything I could find. I read & read & cried & cried. I felt like an ass. Finally I decided to do something. This blog is one step in my plan. It's not about me. I'm really dull. It's about showing plain old ignorant idiots like myself how they can help, in large ways & small ways. The more I try to live a compassionate life, the more I realize how easy it is to get tripped up or stalled out.

So the piece of advice I will start with...if you're having a hard time committing to veganism, try spending more time with animals. Especially prey animals, animals that are more often than not exploited by greedy, selfish humans. Get a bunny. (And for the love of god get it from the pound and keep it indoors.) Volunteer at the local humane society. Drive out to the country & look a cow in the eye. It's so easy to separate ourselves from the animals we consume. Make it harder.