More about elephants

Source: IFAW

The International Fund for Animal Welfare are running a petition to ask Governments to crack down on the international ivory trade and reduce poaching.

Please spare one minute of your time and join thousands of others across Europe in speaking up for elephants, click on this link, scroll down and sign the petition now.  Please don't forget to share this with your friends.

Thank you.

PS ~ Another way to help is by joining IFAW's ivory surrender.  If you donate any ivory items you may have lying around you will be removing its commercial value and make a positive contribution to the protection of elephants.  (I am sure someone bought my Mum an ornament of an elephant made out of ivory so I shall be asking if she will kindly donate that)

In order to do this please contact IFAW by e-mail at ivory(at)ifaw(dot)org or ring them on 0207 587 6700.

Seal Cull: News Roundup

Source.

I'm sorry I've not been around at such a crucial time, the Canadian Seal Cull is one of the issues closest to my heart so I am disappointed not to have been bombarding you with information and ways to help.

Here is a short summary of what has been happening in Canada so far.

Update from Humane Society International

Despite the bad weather forecast the seal cull went ahead but there is some light at the end of the tunnel, Rebecca Aldworth from HSI states that "In 2008, sealers killed more than 1,000 pups on Hay Island. Two years ago, 200. Today, half of that. Our campaign is working. Markets for seal products are closing around the world, and the prices for seal products remain very low."  She goes on to say how the ProtectSeals boycott of Canadian seafood is hitting fishermen hard and making them reconsider their support of sealing. 

IFAW have a very useful site full of information, take a look here.

How to Help

Sign the pledge to boycott Canadian seafood (Don't forget to share on Facebook and/or Twitter)

Have a look at Harpseals.org website which is full of ways to help.

Lunchtime Links

Happy December!

As it has been a snowy few days I have been staying indoors surfing the net and I've come across some interesting links I think worth sharing with you. 

Have a Compassionate Christmas with Animal Aid

RSPCA still need people to participate in their Great Big Rabbit Survey

Help IFAW out with their survey

And finally some things to make you feel warm and fuzzy...

Cats who LIKE water!(Well, it does have something to do with food...)

Ever heard of an agoraphobic hare?

Newborn baby Cheetah, awwww.

WHALING BAN STAYS!

After two days of talks in Agadir - Moscow, delegates from the IWC were unable to agree on a proposal which would see commercial whaling being legalised. Therefore the ban still stands. However, Japan, Iceland and Norway continue whaling outside the IWC sanctions.

Despite presentations by pro-whaling advocated the majority were not convinced by their arguments that killing whales via commercial whaling was acceptable. It has also been rejected that quotas be given whilst the ban still stands. (Quotas meaning the amount of whales killed)

Australia and the Latin America countries were clear in their opposition and after weeks of uncertainly the EU took a strong position and rejected the proposed deal but is still willing to negotiate. The pro-deal advocates did not push their proposal to a vote so they didn’t risk being publicly rejected.

WDCS anticipated further discussions but calls on the world to realise that the old world view of whaling is over. Nicolas Entrup the spokesperson for WDCS in Agadir says “We now call on governments to work together to ensure the moratorium is implemented fully and effectively ending commercial, and so-called scientific whaling, which have no place in the 21st century. WDCS believes that the IWC has a strong future, but not one that legitimizes this cruel, unmanageable and unnecessary industry.”

The IWC meeting now continues and will now be looking at agenda items including a demand from Denmark that Greenland is allowed to expand it’s hunt to include 10 humpback whales per year.

WDCS Report
IFAW Report

Update on the repeal

Most of the action alerts appearing in my inbox over the past few weeks have been about the possible repeal of the hunting ban. It really does seem like the new Government is prioritising repealing the ban. Rumor has it that the Prime Minister has appointed Jim Paice as Minister for Agriculture and Food and made him responsible for hunting and shooting. This is a new addition to the role as none of Labour’s last Defra team was responsible for either of these things.

I had an e-mail from IFAW today asking me to contact my MP and urge to protect the Hunting Act but unfortunately my MP, Caroline Spelman has already decided that the Ban should be repealed. Maybe your MP feels differently?

More ways to help.

List - 5 Small Ways to Make A Difference

There are many ways available to make a small difference without putting too much effort in, obviously the more effort the better but I know life sometimes gets in the way. Here are five small ways to make a difference to the lives of animals and the environment:

1. If you are selling on eBay then allow at least 10% of your profit to be donated to charity, I did this recently and made a very small amount for The Dogs Trust and Cats Protection League. Even though it was a small amount it would have helped a little.

2. Pick up litter. Litter can be dangerous for small animals who can hurt themselves and get trapped inside. For example the plastic stringy can holders from multi-packs of cans. These are possibly the most damaging type of litter. I have seen pictures of birds and ducks with them trapped round their necks. If you do see one lying about please pick it up, break it into pieces and put it in the dustbin.

3. Sign up for Action Alerts, if you visit websites such as IFAW, PETA etc you are able to sign up for Action Alerts, they will e-mail you with any causes needing action. The actions are simply taking a few minutes to sign a petition or enter your details on a readily prepared letter. They do send messages asking for donations but as I can never afford to donate I stick to doing the other things to help.

4. Spread the word. Forward the Action Alerts to your friends, share it on Facebook, tell people you know why they shouldn't buy seafood imported from Canada. You'll be surprised what a difference this can make. There is a chance that your friends will tell their friends and so on.

5. Treat your loved ones and make a difference at the same time. Perhaps one of your children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews would like to adopt a dolphin for their birthday this year, or perhaps the person who has everything would like to sponsor a dog from The Dogs Trust for a year? A few years ago I adopted a donkey from The Donkey Sanctuary called Oscar and received cards and newsletters on how he was doing, I even got to visit him once.

Canada's Seal Slaughter

On April 13^th Canada’s annual seal cull began to wind down, despite record low ice cover and dwindling support, this years hunt went ahead with a higher quota than previous years. Thousands of seal pups have been brutally killed despite the Canadian governments declarations that the slaughter will be humane.

In 11 months time the slaughter will begin again, this gives us 11 months to work together and stop this once and for all.

There is good news… Last week Peta informed me that despite increasing the allowable catch of harp seals by cull to be scaled back and close early. This proves that tireless work from Animal Welfare Organisations such as Peta, Humane Society of the United States, Respect for Animals and IFAW really is paying off.

It is vital that we keep pressurising Canada to stop the seal cull for good.

Depending on where in the world you live you can do something important to help.

If you live in the EU

Simply enter your details and when you get to the “State” box just select “none”.

If you live in Canada

Your role is very important as you have more of a say than anyone from another country, please do what you can as it will really make a difference. There are several things you can do here and I promise it won’t take you very long at all.

If you live in the USA

Also, please can you complete this pledge and send it to the address at the bottom of the page?

If you have some extra time have a look here at what else you can do to help.

Resources and Futher Information from the HSUS and HSIC.

Pocket Guide to Boycotting Canadian Seafood

More Information

Fast Facts

Myths and Facts

Seals and Fisheries

Economics of the Seal Slaughter

Why the Canadian Government Supports the Seal Slaughter

I’m sorry for the information overload but this should give you everything you need to know about the seal cull and hopefully inspire you to take action.

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