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| Lynx Issue 33: Saks Protest Review, Petland Protest Sat, New Foie Gras Target |
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| Thursday, 12 March 2009 00:00 |
In this week's edition:
Saks 5th Avenue Fur Protest Review A big thank you to all the volunteers that showed up on the chilly evening of February 20th to protest fur at Saks! We were small but our presence was definitely felt. Friday evening seems to be a good time to get our message out to the Pittsburgh public. It seems more than usual people stopped to ask about our cause and take some literature. To demonstrate how adamantly we feel against the use of fur in fashion some volunteers donned burlap sacks and held signs that stated “I’d rather wear a sack than wear Sak’s fur” and “Sack Sak’s fur”. Stay tuned for further updates on where the fur campaign will go next! Foie Gras Campaign Against Toast? Recent discovery revealed the sale of foie gras at a new Pittsburgh restaurant that opened last year: Toast Kitchen and Wine Bar on Baum Blvd. Toast’s website can be found at www.toastpittsburgh.com. Foie gras is listed under the ‘Toast! Tasting Tuesdays’ section of their website, and was also featured on last month’s main menu. Long time members may recall this restaurant is located in the same building of VFA’s very first (and successful) foie gras campaign restaurant target in February of 2004, Baum Vivant. A letter and informational package, including video footage of the undercover investigations inside foie gras farms, were immediately sent to Toast’s owners, demanding foie gras be permanently removed from Toast’s menu and all sales of this gourmet cruelty cease. Despite two weeks allotted for response time, Toast has yet to make contact. Last week a second letter was sent to alert Toast owners of a March 14th deadline to respond or face a public campaign. For more information on foie gras, please visit: www.gourmetcruelty.com For information on our Foie Gras-Free Pittsburgh campaign, visit http://vfaonline.org/ Tiger Ranch Rescue, One Year Later… March 13th, 2008 saw one of Pennsylvania’s largest animal cruelty raids in state history. Hundreds of animals, the majority cats, were removed from Tiger Ranch Sanctuary located in Tarentum, and rushed to a PSPCA branch shelter located in Clarion, Pennsylvania. After the extensive planning and coordination of both dedicated volunteers and the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, hundreds of brave victims of this slow-kill “sanctuary” were able to receive the medical care and compassion their lives so desperately depended on. From severe emaciation and rampant illness to grooming and playing, Voices for Animals volunteers have been present to witness the drastic and ongoing improvement of the health and well being of these wonderful felines. It is because of this that we extend our greatest thanks to all of the dedicated volunteers, committed veterinary team, diligent shelter employees, and generous donors to the rescued animals of Tiger Ranch. You can continue to drop off donations for the cats in our collection bins at Construction Junction in Point Breeze. Continual needs at the shelter include premium quality dry food, all varieties of canned food, litter, cat toys, beds, and scratching posts. We extend our gratitude to all who have, and continue to donate. VFA Tabling at Right By Nature We have two great tabling opportunities coming up in the next 2 weeks. Right By Nature, a local organic grocery store located on Smallman Street in the Strip District, is generously allowing us to table at their store. Come see us on: March 21st between 10 AM-3 PM We will be tabling in honor of the annual national Great American Meat Out with veg literature. March 29th between 11 AM-3 PM We will be tabling for a community event featuring VFA and other organizations. Right By Nature 23rd & Smallman St. Pittsburgh, PA 15222 (2 hours free parking in parking garage and across the street) Petland Protest This Saturday! A dedicated group of volunteers holding weekly Saturday protests against Petland’s newest East Liberty location will be joined once again by a nationwide anti-Petland campaign with Humane Society of the United States. With several groups merging to protest the locale and the spotlight of a nationwide campaign, this event is excellent potential for media coverage to further spread the message of Petland’s appalling relationship and direct connection with the puppy mills paid to abuse and create the very same animals who pay with their lives in shelters across the nation. Signs and flyers are provided (though you’re welcome to bring your own!), all you need is yourself and hopefully some friends. When: Saturday March 14th 1-3pm Where: East Side Petland 6401 Penn Ave. Pittsburgh PA 15206 Please keep in mind that this (and other) Petland locations are the same previously mentioned in our action alert for giving away birds as shopping incentives. To read more on this and notify Petland of your outrage of living beings treated as nothing more than shelved merchandise, VFA’s previous action alert can be found under ‘alerts’ at vfaonline.org, or: For more information, please visit http://stoppuppymills.org/ For a local coordinator of East Liberty Petland protests, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it A blog for Petland protestors can be found: http://pghpetlandprotest. Vegan Potluck March 22nd in Honor of Meatout March 20th marks the first day of spring and the annual nationwide Meatout Day. On this day everyone is encouraged to “kick the meat habit” (at least for a day) and explore a vegetarian diet. This year marks the 25th anniversary! To celebrate this event, the newly formed Three Rivers Vegan Society is holding a vegan potluck at the Nuin Center on Sunday, March 22nd. Everyone-vegans and omnivores alike-are welcome to attend and enjoy some great food! Where: Nuin Center 5655 Bryant St. Pittsburgh PA 15206 When: Sunday March 22nd 2-4:30pm For information about Meatout visit www.meatout.org Help Ban NYC Carriage Horse Rides! Activists in New York City have been working hard over the last 3 years to ban horse-drawn carriage rides within the city. Their campaign has had some great success and they are very close to making a ban on carriage horse rides a reality. On January 30th, the City Council Consumer Affairs Committee held a public hearing on two carriage horse bills but there was no vote. The public is behind the ban but NYC’s City Council needs further convincing. They are claiming that the horse-drawn carriage rides are a popular tourist attraction that the city’s visitors enjoy. Now the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is asking for the assistance of non-New Yorkers and NYC visitors to convince their city council to pass this bill. Please email New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg as well as the members of NYC’s City Council and let them know, as a potential tourist and someone who cares about animals, horse-drawn carriage rides are a blight on the city’s image and you want them to support the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. This is an important and exciting campaign to support because a ban on carriage horse rides in New York City would be a giant step forward towards shutting down the whole entire exploitive and abusive carriage horse industry! Below are the email addresses of the City Council members as well as a sample letter from the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages which you can copy and paste into an email or edit as you wish. In the subject line it’s a good idea to make immediately apparent what your purpose is and the fact that you’re a tourist (ex. Re: Pittsburgher Against Horse-Drawn Carriages) For information on the abusive nature of the carriage horse industry, please visit the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages website at www.banhdc.org and be sure to check out the video documentary on the industry Blinders and the page “Why a Ban in Necessary”: http://www.banhdc.org/ch-why. *COUNCIL E-MAIL ADDRESSES:* The following is a list of *e-mail addresses for City Council members. * They are correct per the Council's new domain. Some may still bounce - *please ignore them. *Copy and paste these e-mail addresses into the Blind Copy section of an e-mail. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. 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New York City still has an inhumane horse-carriage trade. These 19th century
slow moving conveyances do not belong in a very crowded and congested 21st
century city. They impede the flow of traffic, getting in the way of
ambulances, fire trucks and police cars - not to mention cars, taxis, buses,
bikers and pedestrians. Horses suffer in more ways than can be imagined
starting with a denial of their innate horse nature. Please support the bill
to ban this industry. New York should join the ranks of cities like London,
Paris, Toronto, Oxford and Beijing, which have banned the carriage trade.
Tourists come to NYC for its wonderful museums, theater, night life,
restaurants and shopping. The carriage trade brings shame to your city and I
will not travel to New York as long as this inhumane industry continues to
operate.
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