Cooper Tires and others are sponsoring Professional Bull Riders (PBR) at the “Tacoma Invitational” on March 30 and 31.
Let’s speak up for the bulls, who are cinched with tight straps or ropes and spurred to make them buck. They often sustain serious injuries, from burns to neck and back damage.
That’s not to mention the electrical “hotshot” used in the chute to cause tremendous pain.
They’re often so bruised and injured that they’re sold to slaughterhouses.
Please speak out using PBR’s social media outlets:
And write to the businesses that support this treatment of animals:
These bills either made it into committees or have a chance. Either way, they need an extra push to pass or fail in the current session of the legislature — so please call (if you have time) or email soon!
Find your legislators here — and fill out a single simple form for all three of your representatives.
ASK LAWMAKERS TO OPPOSE
HB 1323: Would provide funding for Woodland Park Zoo, which is a PRIVATE zoo with a horrible track record with elephants and other animals. More information here.
ASK LAWMAKERS TO SUPPORT
HB 1919: Would expand the circumstances under which a person may commit an Animal Fighting offense to include, among other things. Read more here.
HB 1026: Prohibits a city or county from prohibiting the possession of a dog based upon its breed, imposing requirements specific to possession of a dog based upon its breed, or declaring a dog dangerous or potentially dangerous based upon its breed unless certain conditions are met.
SB 5004: Save Washington Pets says: “This important bill authorizes public animal shelters and nonprofit humane societies to provide expanded veterinary services to benefit low-income pet owners. Under current law, services are limited to spay/neuter, electronic ID (microchipping) and vaccinations. Those restrictions are lifted under this bill.”
HB 1476: [NEEDS TO GET OUT OF COMMITTEE BY NEXT WEEK!] would prohibit contracts that use dogs or cats as security or collateral, so that these pets cannot be repossessed.
SB 5211: Prohibits the use of live animals to practice invasive medical procedures in paramedic training programs.
SB 5212: Promotes the adoption of dogs and cats that have been used for science or research purposes.
If you have time to write more, here are talking points: THANKS for you help in stopping the zoos from getting more of our tax dollars which they will use to confine and breed/capture wild animals. Alyne Fortgang, Co-founder, Friends of Woodland Park Zoo Elephants, asks that we send this one subject line to our state legislators (find yours using your address).
We need to oppose HB 1323, which would exempt zoological facilities from having to pay their fair share of taxes. It has advanced to the Rules Committee. More tax dollars means more money to confine, breed and/or capture wild animals into a lifetime of suffering.
Please copy and paste these legislators’ addresses and choose a talking point from below or write your own. Please use this subject line or one that makes it clear that you are against HB1323.
Subject line: No on HB1323 – No exemption from B&O taxes for zoos
The PRIVATE Woodland Park Zoo has its hand out for more taxpayer welfare in the upcoming King County Parks Levy.
Please urge the King County Council to remove the zoo from getting more tax dollars in the parks levy – money that should go to our beloved PUBLIC parks.
Twitter: @kingcountywa
Email: https://blue.kingcounty.gov/about/contact/
Woodland Park Zoo has already received more than $51 million dollars from King County taxpayers since 2008. In addition, Seattle taxpayers (who are also King County taxpayers) have forked over $133 million dollars to the zoo since 2002. The zoo also benefits from rent-free use of the valuable land on which it sits, rent-free buildings, and free ownership of its inventory: the animals.
It’s time for the PRIVATE zoo to be self-sustaining. Woodland Park Zoo’s gate attendance has declined over the past decade. The public is not supporting the caging and suffering of wild animals as they once did so it’s time to STOP financially supporting the Zoo.
Sample email:
Dear County Council,
Woodland Park Zoo is a private zoo, but it already uses valuable land rent-free. The parks levy should be for our beloved city parks, not a private zoo. Let this private zoo fund itself privately.
Sincerely,
Your Name
The Pike Place Market Foundation is hosting a misnamed “Pigs Day Out” on March 1 to “celebrate” the year of the pig. Included in the event is pig racing. They will be using pigs from “All Alaska Racing Pigs.” While they claim the pigs receive VIP treatment, these pigs are also sent off to “backyard farms,” where they will likely end up in the slaughterhouse. And “climate controlled living environments” and racing on wood shavings, certainly don’t make up for the stress of being forced to race in front of a screaming crowd.
Please contact the Pike Place Market Foundation and POLITELY let them know how you feel about pigs being treated as entertainment:
christi.beckley@pikeplacemarket.org
or use their contact page:
When: Sunday, Feb. 24., 4-6 p.m.
Where: Papas Hot Potatoes, 500 NW 65th St., Seattle
Please join us for a letter-writing party on behalf of the animals over dinner at Papas Hot Potatoes in Ballard.
Letter writing is a simple and powerful way to make change for the animals! You’re welcome to bring your laptop, but NARN also provides stationery, pens, stamps and sample letters.
Topics for letters at past parties have included support for the orcas and wolves, opposition to the creation of new animal laboratories, and raising the spirits of activists and comrades who have been jailed for their pro-animal and political actions.
Check out the yummy menu at Papas Hot Potatoes: https://www.papashotpotatoes.com/menu/
There are committee hearings tomorrow for wo bills in the Washington State House of Representatives would outlaw animal fighting paraphernalia: HB 1919 and HB 1929.
House Bill 1919, sponsored by Reps. Mosbrucker, Appleton, Smith, Ybarra, Dye, Ormsby and Stanford, would:
House Bill 1929, sponsored by Reps. Lovick, Klippert, Leavitt and Stanford, would expand the circumstances under which a person may commit an Animal Fighting offense (a Class C felony) to include owning, possessing, buying, selling, transferring, or manufacturing animal fighting paraphernalia for specified purposes. Paraphernalia would include items such as “breaking sticks; cat mills; treadmills; fighting pits; springpoles; unprescribed veterinary medicine; and gaffs, slashers, heels, and any other sharp implement designed to be attached in place of the natural spur of a cock or game fowl.”
It’s important that both these bills pass. Please contact your representatives to ask that they support HB 1919 and 1929. The easiest way to find your representative is to input your address on this website.
In an email, letter or phone call, you might say:
Dear Rep. So-and-so,
I’m writing to ask that you help ensure HB 1919 and 1929 in the current legislature pass. They elevate animal fighting from a Class C to a Class B felony, expand the definition of animal fighting to include buying and owning animal fighting paraphernalia, and require the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to establish both a statewide voicemail line to allow the public to anonymously report incidents of animal abuse and a central repository for local law enforcement agencies to report incidents of animal abuse for submission to the National Incident-Based Reporting System.
These are important bills that should have no trouble passing. Thank you for taking the time to ensure that they do.
Sincerely,
Your Name
It’s hard to believe that’s what’s being proposed by this bill from Rep. Joel Kretz (R-Wauconda), Rep. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake) and Rep. Carolyn Eslick (R-Sultan), who start strong with mention of enthusiasm about wolves in Washington but quickly degrades into what appears to be sarcasm: “The ecological, economic, and spiritual benefits wolves have brought to eastern Washington needs to be shared with the rest of the state.”
Bainbridge Island “creates a natural border to keep the wolves isolated to an area where they can be protected, studied, and, most importantly, admired by the region’s animal lovers.
Therefore, the state should, “in an effort to perpetuate the species and minimize landowner conflicts, rely on the translocation of wolves as the primary tool for managing wolf-related wildlife interactions in the areas of the state where wolves are naturally occurring.”
Oh, and if they creat problems? “Lethal removal of wolves must be considered for every four confirmed wolf kills of domestic dogs; for every four confirmed wolf kills of domestic cats; and for every two confirmed wolf kills of children.”
Please contact your local rep to oppose Bill 1639. This legislation seems like a joke, but it’s not funny.
Brought to you by four state reps, including the one who keeps proposing a bill to turn eastern Washington into its own state called “Liberty” and one who’s been on the Southern Resident Killer Whale Task Force:
“The legislature finds that there have been 8 recent efforts to develop cell-cultured meat, which is a meat product 9 grown in laboratories from cell cultures of animal muscle or organ 10 tissue. Cell-cultured meat is also known as in vitro meat, lab-grown 11 meat, synthetic meat, or fake meat. There is uncertainty regarding 12 which government entities should appropriately regulate this product 13 and whether the word ‘meat’ is an accurate descriptor in compliance 14 with current laws. The legislature finds that there is insufficient 15 information about cell-cultured meat to authorize its sale safely 16 into the Washington food system.” — House Bill 1519
Seriously, what century is this? Aren’t enough animals being farmed for fur — so many that companies sometimes misrepresent whether clothing they sell uses animal or faux fur — that we don’t need competitions to kill more? People are the beasts in this scenario.
Idaho Fish and Game are part of this depraved situation, which appears to be at least tacitly condoned by U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials, according to The Smokey Wire website, which is administered by Sharon Friedman, Ph.D., forest geneticist, Forest Service retiree (2012) and former chair of both the Forest Policy Committee and Forest Science and Technology Board at the Society of American Foresters.
What’s Idaho Fish and Game upset about? Of the 2.6 million cattle and sheep in Idaho at any given time, about 77 cattle and 61 sheep have been killed each year there since 2009, according to a post on The Smokey Wire by Matthew Koehler. That compares to fewer than 1,000 wolves, last time Idaho counted. It’s worth reading his whole post to learn more about this subject.
If you’re in Boise, please visit Idaho Fish and Game in person to let them know what you think: 600 S. Walnut, Boise, ID. If you’re not, please call them at (208) 334-3700 and call or email Idaho Fish and Game Commission Members:
You also can call the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which funds the wolf hunt: 800-225-5355.