Category: cruelty

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animal welfare compassion cruelty Cruelty-free fundraising News/Blog

Buy an Animal Cruelty Awearness Band and support VHS

Awearness bandVHS is partnering with Animal Rescue Crusade (ARC) in its effort to bring attention to animal issues through International Animal Cruelty Awearness Bands – cool wristbands with a message.

Just visit the ARC/VHS partner page to purchase a band.  For every awearness band purchased, VHS will receive $5.00 toward our work to help animals.

The mission is to bring awareness to all animal cruelty issues. These bands were created to inspire others to speak up and be a voice for animals by wearing awearness bands wherever they go.  By purchasing a band you’ll help VHS and animals everywhere.

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animal welfare cruelty News/Blog rodeo

Does this horse look happy?

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The photo above is of a bucking horse at the Calgary Stampede. Look closely at the horse’s face in the photo below. 

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Can anyone honestly say they think the horse is enjoying the experience?

Rodeo promoters say that horses in the bareback and saddle-bronc events love to buck, that it’s natural, that the horses are “born to buck.”  It’s true that they are bred for a genetic predisposition to buck – an entire industry has been established to churn out horses that buck.  Yet it is still necessary to tighten a cinch strap around the horse’s flank area. If this kind of bucking is so natural to horses, why are special breeding programs and cinch straps necessary? 

Recently, a bucking horse died at an Alberta rodeo.  The rider described the horse as a “mean sucker.”  Who made him a mean sucker? Breeders and rodeo riders, that’s who.

And when horses still refuse to buck, watch what happens.

And when bucking horses are not good enough for the rodeo, this is what happens.

Why would real cowboys breed horses that are almost impossible to ride?  They wouldn’t be much use on a real ranch would they?  They are only useful for “entertainment” in the cruel circus called rodeo.

 

Photos: Jo-Anne McArthur

 

 

 

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animal welfare cruelty News/Blog rodeo

Thank you to everyone who fought against cruelty at the Luxton rodeo

VHS - Victoria Times Colonist Ad -jpegcrop

The campaign against animal cruelty at the Luxton rodeo in Langford, B.C. has gained an unstoppable momentum thanks to the support of compassionate citizens

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Many people on Vancouver Island and across B.C. supported the campaign against cruel rodeo events in Langford, near Victoria.  VHS would like to thank everyone who supported this effort.

VHS partnered with Victoria Citizens Against Rodeo Events (VCARE) and had the support of the BC SPCA, ensuring a strong message was sent to the rodeo, its sponsors, the public and Langford City Council.  We also gained some celebrity support from Island native Pamela Anderson, who tweeted her opposition to rodeo cruelty.

VHS - Victoria Times Colonist Ad - small
VHS’s full-page ad in the Times-Colonist

We reached many thousands of people with our message, using news media, social media and advertising (including a powerful full-page VHS ad in the Victoria Times-Colonist). VCARE campaigned hard locally and organized protests during the rodeo, attracting more media attention and getting further support.

Many hundreds of people sent emails and letters, signed petitions, attended demonstrations and used social media to voice their concerns for rodeo animals.

As a result, ten local businesses dropped their sponsorship of the rodeo and Langford City Council finally agreed to hear a presentation from VCARE organizer (and nearby Colwood resident) Melissa de Meulles, which called on the council to enact a bylaw banning cruel rodeo events.

The message has been heard and it is only a matter of time before compassion triumphs over cruelty.

VHS plans to keep campaigning on this issue.  We hope we can count on your support as we continue to fight for rodeo animals, who are subjected to pain, fear and stress for the sake of entertainment.

Again, thank you to all the compassionate people who helped us speak on behalf of these vulnerable animals.

Categories
animal welfare cruelty News/Blog rodeo

VHS ad targets cruelty at Luxton rodeo

VHS - Victoria Times Colonist Ad - small

This is the ad VHS ran in the Victoria Times-Colonist newspaper as part of our campaign against animal cruelty at the Luxton rodeo in Langford B.C., near Victoria.

Please take action to support our campaign.

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Categories
animal welfare cruelty News/Blog rodeo

Does Heart have a heart for rodeo animals?

calf ropingcrop

Animal advocates in North America and around the world have been thrilled with the decision by a number of music industry artists to cancel concerts at SeaWorld, the controversial marine park in Florida.

The cancellations were sparked by the stunning impact of the film Blackfish, which exposed the suffering of captive Orca whales at marine parks.  Online petitions and social media postings targeted the acts who had signed on to play at the park.

One act that announced it would not appear at SeaWorld is the veteran rock band Heart. The decision, which came amidst online pressure from fans, was announced in a tweet stating that: “Heart has chosen to decline their forthcoming performance at SeaWorld on 2/9/14 due to the controversial documentary film ‘Black Fish’.”

However, Heart is currently set to appear at the San Antonio Rodeo, which, like all rodeos, will feature the inhumane treatment of animals for entertainment.  Can anyone spot the double standard?

It’s great if people in the entertainment industry are going to start including animal welfare concerns in decisions about where they will and will not perform.  But it would be nice if they were consistent.

Perhaps Heart fans who care about animals will make their feelings known to the band.

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Categories
animal welfare cruelty News/Blog rodeo

If you hate this…

rodeo cruelty

… help us fight it.

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The Vancouver Humane Society will be carrying its campaign against rodeo cruelty into 2014.  If you’re opposed to abusing animals for the sake of entertainment, we hope you’ll support us.  

Thank you to everyone who helped with our 2013 campaign.

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Categories
animal welfare compassion cruelty News/Blog rodeo

Majority of BC residents oppose rodeos, trophy hunts and killing animals for fur

Calf-roping is cruel

A majority of British Columbians are opposed to rodeos, according to a poll by research company Insights West.

The poll found that 56% of B.C. residents are opposed to rodeos, with only 38% in favour of them.

The poll also revealed that large majorities of people in B.C. are opposed to trophy hunting and killing animals for fur.

“Across British Columbia, only one-in-ten residents (10%) are in favour of hunting animals for sport, while 88% are opposed to the practice. Killing animals for their fur is endorsed by just 15% of British Columbians, and rejected by 81%,” said Insights West’s press release on the poll results.

Insights West has also published a more detailed report on the poll findings.

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animal welfare cruelty News/Blog

Tell stores to drop cruel glue traps

Mouse in glue trapImagine walking to the store. Suddenly, you can’t lift your feet from the ground – they’re mired in glue so sticky that you can’t lift them out. You scream and fight to get loose, but nobody helps you. You get thirsty and hungry, but there’s nothing you can do. After hours, maybe even days, you eventually succumb to dehydration, starvation, exhaustion and/or exposure. Can you think of a more inhumane death?

Glue traps are the method of choice for removal of rats and mice, because they’re pesticide-free. But they are extremely cruel, causing an agonizing death. And they’re indiscriminate – they can capture birds, squirrels, and other small animals.

They are also unsafe for humans. Mice or rats will void their bowels when they’re caught. This exposes humans to dangerous diseases like Hantavirus which are carried by rodents.  Even Health Canada says they shouldn’t be used.

The best way to deal with rodent infestations is to alter the habitat so it’s no longer attractive to them. This means carefully closing off every possible entry point (after you’ve safely removed the animals) so it’s inaccessible.  We recently had mice in our small cottage, and we waited until night when they were outside and used fine wire mesh to seal every hole in the crawl space and the entire house. We then installed an inexpensive sonic repeller on each level and we haven’t had mice inside since. These electronic devices are available everywhere, even on Amazon.ca!

Mice and rats are social, intelligent creatures and every bit as capable of experiencing pain as the dogs and cats we have in our homes. Excluding wildlife is the kindest way to live alongside them. But as an absolute last resort, a snap-trap is less inhumane than a glue trap or poison (which also causes an excruciatingly painful death). Snap-traps kill instantly.

Unfortunately, glue traps are available everywhere. Please contact these stores who sell them and tell them to remove them from the shelves:

Home Depot Canada: Sold online and in stores
Mouse and rat glue traps
Bill Lennie, President
Home Depot Canada 1 Concorde Gate, Ste. 900 Toronto, Ontario M3C 4H9
Head office phone number (416) 609-0852
(No email address available.)

Canadian Tire: Sold in stores
Mouse glue traps
Stephen G. Wetmore, President/CEO
Canadian Tire
PO Box 2000, Station Main
Welland, Ontario
L3B 5S3

Wal-Mart: Sold online and in stores
Mouse and rat glue traps
Shelley Broader, President/CEO Wal-Mart Canada
1940 Argentia Rd. Mississauga, Ontario
L5N 1P9
Email address: cacustrel@wal-mart.com

Amazon Canada:
Sold online
Mouse and rat glue traps
Jeff Bezos, CEO
Amazon Canada
1200 12th Ave. South, Ste. #1200 Seattle, WA
98144-2734
(Headquarters for Amazon Canada and USA.)
Email address: jeff@amazon.com

Home Hardware:
Sold in stores
Mouse and rat glue traps
Paul Straus, President/CEO
Home Hardware
34 Henry St St Jacobs, Ontario
N0B 2N0
Email: contactus@homehardware.ca

Lowe’s
Sold online and in stores
Mouse and rat glue traps
Alan Huggins, CEO
Lowe’s Canada
5160 Yonge St.
Suite 200
Box 25 North York, Ontario
M2N 6L9

Categories
animal welfare compassion cruelty Food and Drink News/Blog

VHS bus ad now on Metro Vancouver routes

087Our ad “Food, Friend, Why?” is now on Translink diesel buses throughout Metro Vancouver.  The ad raises an important and provocative moral question: why do we eat one animal and befriend another? Most of us wouldn’t dream of eating a cat or a dog, but when one considers the intelligence and sentience of farmed animals, it doesn’t make sense to consider cows or pigs or chickens as somehow so different.

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Thank you to the generous donors who made this ad possible.

 

 

 

Categories
animal welfare cruelty News/Blog

Travel writers, truth and animal welfare

Travel writers should pay attention to animal welfare at events like rodeos

Last week, a travel article appeared on the website of Fodor’s, the world’s largest publisher of travel and tourism information, describing the author’s recent visit to the Calgary Stampede.

The article gushed over the Stampede’s recovery from the flood in June and detailed all the activities to be enjoyed, summing up the experience  this way: “Part rodeo, part party, part fair, part food fest, all fun; the Calgary Stampede’s has bucked and two-stepped its way into stardom. That’s how Canada does the rodeo, come hell or high water. Yahoo!”

A similar article, by the same author, appeared on a Vancouver-based travel website.  In both pieces, not a single mention was made of the animal welfare issues at the Stampede rodeo.  Nor were this year’s deaths of two rodeo animals, a steer and a horse, despite the fact they made headlines across the country.

No one expects travel writers to promote the views of animal advocates when referring to activities involving animal welfare controversies, but shouldn’t such controversies at least be mentioned?  Shouldn’t people who care about animals be warned about any animal welfare issues at an event? Any international tourist reading these pieces would have no idea of the potential harm and suffering animals are exposed to at rodeos.

It is difficult for animal advocates to bring the truth about rodeo to the public’s attention, especially especially when faced with a powerful public relations machine like the Calgary Stampede.  It’s even more difficult when travel writers uncritically accept the Stampede’s public relations agenda.