A United Cause

 It has been two weeks since we’ve started our online petition and Brisbane-streets campaign and results have been very uplifting. We have been getting people from all over the world coming to our site and signing it. The objective of this petition drive is to generate greater awareness on this matter (many many people still do not know that cats and dogs are being farmed for fur and meat!) and also to gather as much support (as many voices – so every signature counts!) as possible with the objective of getting Chinese authorities to ban this trade on grounds of inhumanity. 

 

Announcement #1

We saw a sudden increase in the number of supporters from France. Thank you very much for translating our petition and for telling your community about this matter. We’ve also had many people blogging and posting this link in their facebook profile. Here is an estimate of the number of signatures we’ve been getting:

Australia – 28; Austria – 5; Albama – 1; Argentina – 1 ; Belgium – 15; Brazil – 1; Canada – 18; Cyprus – 1; Denmark – 1; Falkland islands – 1; France – 54; Finland – 1; Germany – 32; Greece – 5; Italy – 6; Ireland – 1; Japan – 1; Malta – 1; Morocco – 2; Mexico – 2; Netherlands – 5; New Caledonia – 1; Norway – 1; Peru – 1; Portugal – 1; Switzerland – 1; South Africa – 4; Singapore – 8; Sweden – 2; Serbia – 2; Spain – 3; Trinidad – 1; USA – 79; UK –  19; Venezuela – 1 

Although this is still a far cry from our goal of 1000 signatures per country, I think it is very encouraging that we are reaching people from all around the world. People with internet access, after learning about this, can then spread the news to their local community. If you would like to help us collect signatures at your local community – please send your signatures to PO Box 895, Indooroopilly QLD 4068. You can obtain a copy of our petition from here. To reach out to non-English speaking countries, please help to translate our petition and send us the link to your site.I’ve included a Chinese version of our petition. 

Announcement #2

On writing effective letters
1) Writing letters to local authorities and embassies in your country
You can customise the letter such that it addresses your country’s problems, listing all the reasons why you feel that as a citizen of your country, you are against this practice. A good example can be obtained here. Again, if you need help translating your letter to Chinese, please email stopliveskinning@gmail.com. 
2) Writing letters to targetted embassies (e.g. all Chinese embassies) in selected countries, including your own
To maximise the effectiveness of this letter, petition signatures can be very useful. You will be writing on behalf of all the people who signed the petition and this makes it much harder for the authorities to ignore the letter. The letter should reflect accurately the petition objectives. For example: In this case, we want the Chinese authorities to acknowledge that live skinning is inhumane and on such grounds, the skinning of cats and dogs for fur has to be banned.

Job Wanted: Fur Testers

I met some wonderful people last weekend. Alongside TWS, the Sea Shepherds – they call themselves – stood proudly next to their  booth. Saving the marine creatures – big and small – was the lifelong mission of John* who gave me a bear hug as we bade farewell. I believe our paths will cross again. We all heard about the seal slaughter up in Canada and how for years, activists – from Canada and elsewhere – had come together to end the seal trade; finally, we see results! The UN voted by a very large margin to ban all seal products – this literally translates to lesser seals killed. 

Because it is easier to identify and locate seal products, the banning of this trade can be very effective to curb the supply. I am very appreciative of Marinka who had provided important information on fur trading and news on current fur regulation in her country (click here, select ‘English’). I’ve also been recently made aware that several countries are not ignorant of the fact that cats and dogs are indeed farmed for their fur and have passed the bill that all cat/dog fur is banned in the country (they include New Zealand, parts of Europe, Hong Kong, Australia and others). However, there is currently no proper infrastrature regulating the testing of the products – cat and dog fur IS mixed into so many of our daily products! See here for detailed reports. I urge the countries who have stood by their decision to ban cat/dog fur to do more. I urge all the science and maths geniuses out there – please invent a device that can enable us to test the fur cheaply.  I would not be able to forgive myself if the stuff toy I’ve hugged for the past few years was indeed made from cat/dog fur. (I’ve learned about this fact that cats/dogs are farmed for fur only in January 2009). Believe it or not – farming cats and dogs for their fur is CHEAPER than making faux fur (read this report now). All of us are entitled to know if we have blood on our hands.

Big Thank You

Announcement #1

Our online petition is up and so far we have 50 over signatures in just over two days. That is fantastic. We’ve got people from all over the world coming to our site and writing in to give their support. For those who have yet to sign it – please take a minute to do so. We need as many voices as possible. Our objective for the online petition is to get at least 1000 signatures from each country so please forward the link to all your friends and family.

Announcement #2

Thank you Simone for posting our website link on your page and for urging fellow members to sign the petition. Care2.com, like gopetition.com, is an extremely useful platform for passionate individuals to come together. To help spread greater awareness on our campaign, please feel free to add our e-flyer on your personal website or email us (stopliveskinning@gmail.com) for a pdf flyer that you could distribute in your neighbourhood.

Announcement #3

Brisbane says ‘No’ to Live Skinning Campaign – We are in the midst of setting up a PO BOX address. Once that is up, you can now have the option of mailing us the signatures you’ve collected in your area. We also need as many volunteers as possible who could spare an hour or so a week distributing door-to-door petitions. These petitions can also be mailed to our PO BOX address. To help, please email stopliveskinning@gmail.com.

Announcement #4

Animal Saviors is organising a few events aimed to raise awareness on this issue.To sign their petition, click here. In the upcoming months, I hope to follow their developments as it is taking place. There are many ways to show support toward a campaign and blogging is an effective way. By setting up a Cause Blog, you are committed to your cause and you are empowering yourself in the process.