Successes This Week!

Lautenberg Chemical Act: Historic Victory for Public Health, Animals
Lautenberg Chemical Act

President Barack Obama signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act into law in June. The law, which the Physicians Committee helped pass, places a priority on human-relevant methods instead of animals to quickly and more effectively test chemicals. Lautenberg Billboard >

WATCH: Neal Barnard, M.D., on the End of Animal Use in Medical Student Training
Watch Neal's New Video

After more than three decades of perseverance by the Physicians Committee, we can now announce that the days of using dogs and other animals to teach medical students are finally over. Neal Barnard, M.D., discusses this historic victory in a new video >

Greyhound Racing Banned.
greyhound-by-hv17850
Target: Mike Baird, Premier, New South Wales, Australia

Goal: Find new homes for registered racing greyhounds following a laudable ban on the practice.

Greyhound racing in New South Wales, Australia is set to be banned following an inquiry that revealed widespread mistreatment of animals. This cruelty, which includes live baiting and the mass killing of dogs, created outrage among the media, animal rights groups, and the ForceChange community. The investigation was sparked after a news program aired an exposé of the rampant cruelty within the state’s racing industry.

The inquiry, conducted by the state parliament, found that the use of live bait during training is widespread, with up to 20 percent of trainers using the method. It found that up to 68,000 dogs were killed in 2014 simply because they weren’t fast enough to win races. Furthermore, it was determined that the state governing body for greyhound racing deliberately under-reported the number of injuries and deaths that occurred.

This ban will save tens of thousands of dogs each year from unnecessary death, and many thousands more from exhaustion and injuries due to the grueling nature of the races. New South Wales will soon be joining a growing number of states and countries that have moved to outlaw the barbaric practice, only strengthening the anti-greyhound racing movement. Sign the petition below to praise this move and ask legislators to come up with a plan to rescue and re-home the state’s 6,809 registered greyhounds.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Baird,

In response to revelations of widespread animal cruelty in the greyhound racing industry, the barbaric practice will be banned within a year. A parliamentary inquiry found that tens of thousands of dogs are killed each year if they aren’t fast enough, while the body designated to govern the industry attempted to mislead the public about the high number of injuries and deaths recorded. This body was also found to have attempted to silence a media exposé about the rampant use of live bait during training.

New South Wales is just the latest to ban this brutal sport. This move will not only help tens of thousands of dogs within the state, but will set an example for other localities across the world where the practice is still legal. We, the undersigned, applaud the ban on greyhound racing, and ask that you ensure that the 6,809 registered racing dogs in New South Wales are rescued and re-homed.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: hv-17850

Students Arrested for Throwing Dog Off Roof
Chennai-man-throws-dog-off-roof 
Target: Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate, India

Goal: Applaud swift arrest of students accused of gravely wounding a dog.

A pair of Indian students have been arrested after a video surfaced of them throwing a dog off of a rooftop in the city of Chennai (Madras). The disturbing video created a surge of outrage, with an intense viral campaign emerging to identify and find such heartless individuals.

In the video, a man can be seen holding the helpless dog by the neck and dropping it from the top of a building. The man can be heard laughing as the dog screams in pain on the ground.

The incident, and subsequent calls for justice, are detailed in this ForceChange petition. Thanks to this intense attention, the men have been identified as students of the Madha medical college, and have also been arrested for “maiming or injuring” an animal.

This sequence of events has been extremely encouraging, as it shows that cruelty to animals will not be tolerated. Sign the petition below to thank the authorities for promptly finding the men who so senselessly wounded an innocent animal.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Mr. Javadekar,

I am writing to applaud the recent arrest of two students from the Madha medical college after a video surfaced that allegedly shows them dropping a dog off of a rooftop. In the video, the helpless dog can be seen screaming in pain as the man who dropped it laughs. Such cruelty cannot be tolerated, and the individuals responsible must be held accountable.

The video sparked international outrage as countless social media users shared the video and demanded justice, and the swift arrest of these men proves that cruelty will not be tolerated. Thank you for responding so quickly to this unconscionable act of cruelty.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]