Hello world!

My name is Helen and for quite some time now I have been contemplating creating a blog with a view to helping animals. Right now, I know very little about creating a blog so I am going to learn as I go along ~ please be patient!

"But how can a blog actually help animals?" 

I hear you cry.  Well, that all depends on you - here's how;

Every week I am inundated with e-mails from organisations such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), The League Against Cruel Sports, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) to name but a few. They tell me what is going on in the world with respect to animals and ask me to do things like write to my MP and ask them to consider supporting the Fox Hunting Ban, or sign a petition asking the Canadian Prime Minister to consider abolishing the Seal Cull. I happily follow the link they provide, fill in my details then click on send hoping that the few minutes I have spent will actually make a difference.  The thing is, I want to do more. At the moment the only thing I can think of doing to help that doesn't involve travelling to Canada and throwing myself in front of a Seal Hunter (I have every intention of actually doing this if the Seal Cull continues) is to try and convince more people to join me in sparing a few minutes helping animals. 

I sometimes have e-mails asking me to donate to causes but unfortunately I can't afford to do this as much as I'd like to, this blog isn't for the purpose of asking you to donate either.

How do I know I make a difference? 

I don't think I make much of a difference alone, but I do think that a lot of people doing something whether it be signing a petition or writing a letter can make a big difference.  An example is something that happened recently, PETA sent out an e-mail to ask for help with stopping the construction of a proposed large-scale intensive dairy farm (battery farm for cows) in which 8,000 cows would be subjected to cruel conditions, confined to tiny stalls without access to grass or sunshine and at risk of disease.  I was asked to write to the Planning Office voicing my opposition.  PETA provided what to write and gave me all relevant links, all I needed to do was add my name and e-mail address and click send.  I happily did this and so did many, many others.  A few days later I received an e-mail from the Planning Office thanking me for my comments and informing me that the planning permission request for the intensive dairy farm has been withdrawn!  All because so many of us gave the animals a voice.  

In order to try and make this blog as interesting as possible I am also going to post lots of animal related news, pictures and stories. It would be lovely if you could keep reading and tell your friends as well, animals all over the world need our help and even the smallest thing can make a difference. I can't do this on my own and would really, really value your support.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” ~ Mahatma Gandhi