YOUR GUIDE TO CAMPAIGNING FOR ANIMALS

Contents
Why Help Animals?
Animals Feel The Way Animals Are Treated Helping Animals, Helps People Helping Animals, Helps The Environment Helping Animals Is Good For Your Health 3 6 11 11 11

How You Can Help

Consume Ethically Spread The Word Campaigning Local Ways To Help Animals Worldwide Peace For Animals 12 21 28 34 36 36 37

The Positive Page Useful Information

Why Help Animals?

When I tell people Im trying to help animals, I often get comments such as what about all the people suffering in the world? animals dont really suffer or theyre there for our use. These are all fair comments, theyre peoples opinions and everyones entitled to them; theyre also the reason Ive put this chapter in this book; just in case someones picked this up out of curiosity but doesnt know too much about the animal rights/ welfare movement. If you already know and want to do something to help animals, then you could memorise some facts from this material for future conversations with someone whos asked about why you care about animal welfare or to create your own leaflets/ books if you want to. It would also be a useful perspective of another persons point of view which will better enable you to explain your side of the story. The reasons it seems that animals "The time will come when men such continue to suffer is that some people dont see them as having feelings as I will look upon the murder of (they have no voice to let you know animals as they now look on the something hurts), big companies that murder of men." stand to make profit from the suffering - Leonardo da Vinci, artist and of animals spend millions on giving scientist the public an inaccurate picture of how animals are treated by them, some people are too busy to be taking on more responsibility, some people believe the needs of people who are suffering in the world, should come first and some people believe that all the animal welfare issues relate to the health of people which again, should come first. Animals Feel So, well deal with each concern, one by one. Firstly, the matter of animal emotions and intelligence. Descartes famously reported that animals act naturally and mechanically, like a clock which tells the time better than our judgement does. Doubtless when the swallows come in Spring, they operate like clocks. The actions of honeybees are of the same nature and the discipline of cranes in flight, and of apes fighting. All originate from the corporal and mechanical principal. Fortunately, today it seems most people have moved far from this belief. Humans also need to be able to do these things but we know it's our feelings that drive us to do them. It would, according to nature, make sense for animals to have similar feelings to humans as it would make it much more likely that animals would carry out the functions necessary for survival. An animal's more likely to run away from danger if it's afraid, more likely to look after it's young if it feels love for them, more likely to mate if it feels attraction and more likely to play and learn survival skills, if it has fun doing this.

Perhaps when people see animals acting quite violently in the wild by killing another animal for meat or territory, they feel animals lack compassion but if we were in their situation wed have to do the same. Our lives are much easier; were less likely to starve, loose our homes or be killed. If we were in the same situation as animals, wed kill animals for food and kill

humans to destroy the competition for food and housing. Instincts and the need for survival cause animals to kill and hurt leaving us in doubt that nature itself is cruel. Its humans who are capable of cruelty by killing animals when its not necessary and by the way we treat them. Many Scientists argue that its not necessary for animals to feel emotions and that theyre programmed to run from danger and look after their young etc. The same could apply to humans. Theres no need for humans or animals to feel emotions; if we were all programmed to do what was best for our survival with no feeling behind it at all, we could survive like we do now, but the world would be a boring place. Emotions enrich our lives so much and make it so much more meaningful, maybe thats the simple reason for us and animals having them. However, when animals act in a way that isnt to their benefit through emotions, this proves how they are more feeling than programmed, otherwise theyd be acting in a way that works best to aid their survival. For example, when animals freeze in fear, this puts them at greater risk of being caught by the predator. If they were programmed as some Scientists suggest, they would run as fast as they can (which they sometimes do, but then so do humans!). When an animal looses someone close to them they often give up eating and drinking and often die; if they were programmed to survive, they would carry on regardless. It's also important to remember just how convenient the theory of animals having limited emotions is, particularly to the people who claim it! If people felt the capacity of emotions in all animals was similar to that of humans, animal experiments or the treatment of farm animals could no longer be seen as moral. During the slave trade, it was believed by most that slaves had no feelings as they 'didn't blush'. We now know all people blush when embarrassed but it's simply harder to see on darker skin. Women were seen as inferior and less intelligent than men. Until quite recently, it was believed premature babies couldn't feel pain as they showed no signs of stress when given injections etc. Therefore, operations and procedures were carried out, often without anaesthetic. It has since been proven otherwise. Between 1910 and 1970 it was decided by the government that aborigine children would be better off if taken from their families and put into foster care with white people to go to school and in time get a job. Many families were separated never to see one another again and the children this happened to, often grew up feeling outcast from their family and the community in which they lived. This misery was caused with the intention of helping but the emotions of the Aborigines were overlooked by a society which at that time, thought their way of life was better. Did you know that? Most dog owners will probably agree that dogs are able to feel happiness but some scientists still dispute this. Dogs have a hormone called dopamine as humans do. This hormone actually increases when dogs chew. If a dog feels anxious after an owner has gone out for the day, they'll chew cushions and shoes to increase their level of dopamine. In October 2001, a study undertaken by the University of Cambridge, revealed that sheep, when isolated from the rest of their flock, showed signs of extreme distress by bleating, increased level of stress hormones and heart rate. When shown photos of sheep they knew, they experienced a reduction in the previous symptoms. Cows also showed intelligence by learning that they needed to press on a panel to open a gate to obtain food. Studies at Oxford University found that Betty, a Caledonian heifer, instinctively bent a piece of wire, using a gap in her food tray to create a hook that allowed her to scrape food from the bottom of a jar. They also form grooming partnerships as do chimps and gorillas.

"There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties... The lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery." -Charles Darwin

Battery chickens and birds caught from the wild and sold as exotic pets will pull out their feathers, so much so that battery chickens are de-beaked to prevent this from happening. This isnt natural behaviour for birds; this is a sign of extreme distress; similar to that of self-harming carried out by humans. Its a sad reflection on farmers that when their animals are distressed enough to carry out such acts, they then pull off their beaks to prevent it rather than improving conditions for the chickens. Cows are artificially inseminated in order to keep up with the demands for milk making the calf produced from this, a by-product. Usually within the first twenty four hours, the calf is removed and fed on a substitute while the milk is kept for human consumption. This is very detrimental to both the mother and baby. Both parties are said to bellow incessantly for days after the separation. The cows also show the whites of their eyes at an increased percentage. This is a known sign of frustration, when their calves have been taken from them.

In England a calf had been bought and trucked to another farm. The next morning the

people who had bought the calf came in to find him suckling from his mum in his stall, the gate having been knocked down. The cow had travelled several miles overnight to find her son. Similarly in West Virginia, a cow called Winnie was sold without her calf, Beauty. She escaped and was found twenty miles away with her calf in his new placement.

In one experiment on fifteen rhesus monkeys, they were trained to pull either of two chains to get food. After a while a new aspect was introduced; if they pulled one of the chains a monkey in an adjacent compartment would receive a powerful electric shock. Two thirds of the monkeys preferred to pull the chain that gave them food without shocking the other monkey. Two other monkeys, after seeing shock administered, refused to pull either chain. Monkeys were less likely to shock other monkeys if they had been shocked themselves.

Until very recently when studies proved otherwise (2004), people considered fishing to be

humane as they claimed fish don't feel pain. In fact, fish respond similarly to fish hooks as they do to an electric shock in the roof of their mouth. Fish have pain receptors and respond to pain in similar ways to humans. Morphine administered to fish, reduced the behaviour they display when put in a painful situation and reduced their gill rate. When acid or bee venom was injected into the lips of fish, they rubbed their lips against rocks and their gill rate increased by 80%. Where maggots and worms are used as bait, it seems the fish aren't the only ones who suffer. The earthworm's nervous system secretes an opiate substance, used by humans to calm down pain, when it has been injured. The fact that they wiggle on the hook should also be a clear sign of discomfort.

Pigs share the same mental capacity as a three year old child. Fish play and can produce endorphins (feel good hormones) and cortisone (chemicals
produced by stress). Sheep and cows recognise other members of their flocks and herds and have specific friends and grooming partners?

 Chickens can learn to operate switches and levers to change surrounding temperatures or open doors to feeding areas. People who believe strongly in animal emotions and intelligence can be frowned upon for being anthropomorphic or over-sentimental but why shouldntt an animals feelings be considered? More zoologists are starting to believe and write freely of animal emotions. There are plenty of intellectuals who have and do freely talk of animals having emotions; Francois Voltaire, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and John Locke to name a few. All feeling beings have the right to live a happy, peaceful life no matter what their species, race or gender. The Way Animals Are Treated Farming

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treatedTo my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being." - Mahatma Gandhi, statesman and philosopher
To save farmers money, hundreds of animals are kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions, many never getting to see the outside world. Due to the bad conditions, many animals quickly catch diseases and are left to carry on living with healthy animals who inevitably later catch the diseases themselves. Farmed animals are also killed young as this makes for tender meat, if they havent already dies from the conditions in which theyre kept. With a rota of 500 animals to kill a day, abattoir workers have to work quickly, often resulting in animals not being stunned properly before their throats are slit and theyre therefore left to bleed to death, often for hours. As with any other mammal, cows need to be impregnated in order to produce milk. As dairy and beef cattle are so different, male cows produced as a by-product of milk, are seen as surplus and are simply killed immediately or sent to be used as veal. The calf is immediately separated from their mother so that we can use the milk while they are fed a substitute. Chicks are also disposed of by being gassed or shredded alive for the same reasons. Free-range eggs arent much better with the same philosophy as 'free-range' chickens bred for meat, in that as long as they have access to the outside they can be termed as free-range. With up to 16,000 hens in one shed, many are lucky to get to the outside and many break limbs or die in the process of trying to reach that destination. Many animals are still forced to travel incredibly long distances to be slaughtered abroad. They can go 50 hours with no food or water and when they are unloaded they are kicked, punched and given electric shocks to get them moving. Cows really suffer from travel sickness as they are incapable of vomiting. A boat skipper describes this in a letter to Compassion In World Farming; They are ruminants and digest their food by fermentation. When they are exposed to extreme motion, the fermentation increases and the gas production in their stomachs becomes excessive, resulting in the condition known as bloat. The whole abdomen becomes grossly extended, they suffer acute pain, falling down on the floor as they are flung around from side to side, grinding their teeth, moaning and groaning in agony, unable to breathe properly, until after hours or days of the most terrible suffering, their hearts eventually give

out, and, mercifully, they die.

Leather and fur are sometimes said to be a meat by-product. Leather products arent cheap and make as much money as meat for farmers; the dye used on the coats is also tested on animals. For Indian leather, dozens of cows are crammed into small lorries where their limbs are often crushed and elder or weaker cows die during the journey. Animals who are too sick to walk are beaten or have chilli peppers rubbed into their eyes. Once at the abattoir, cows are bound by all four feet and thrown onto the blood covered floor where their throats are then slit and they are left to die in front of all the other cows who are now painfully aware of their own fate. At around fourteen to fifteen months, is the average age at which a sheep is first shawn and then every year afterwards. They are shawn early in the spring when conditions are often still wet and cold causing severe chilling and infections such as mastitis and sometimes even death. Basic Ways You Can Help Go vegan or eat less meat, fish, eggs and dairy. If you do continue to buy meat, fish, eggs and dairy, ensure the animals have been free range. Spread the word. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding farmed animals. Seafood Farmed fish are kept in appalling conditions, with as many as twenty seven trout being kept in the equivalent of a bath tub. Fish tend to be farmed now due to over fishing putting some species at the risk of becoming endangered. Farmed fish often suffer from open wounds on their heads which often reveal skull. This is due to the constant rubbing against the side and other fish due to lack of space. Seine nets are often used to catch fish. These nets trail for miles of the sea entangling any animal unfortunate enough to come near them. Many animals such as dolphins, whales and turtles drown in these nets and are tossed back into the water as they will not be eaten; theyre bodies are completely wasted. Caught fish suffer excruciating decompression when hauled out of the water. This can cause their eyes to pop out and their innards to come out through their mouth. In order to limit the amount of diseases farmed fish can catch, they are given vaccines, antibiotics and chemicals with known human health risks. The smell of fish we so often come across is actually the smell of their saturated fats turning rancid. Thirty per cent of the fats in fish can be saturated, leading to cancers, obesity and heart disease. These fats soak up toxins such as mercury and some cancer causing dioxins from polluted oceans. Unfortunately, three quarters of prawns are caught using trawlers and large nets which catch many other sea animals as well as prawns which are known as by-catch and are tossed

back into the sea, dead. As you can imagine, this has very dangerous implications on our beautiful range of sea life. The rest are farmed using a method called aquaculture. 90% of these farms are in developing parts of Asia where child labour is routinely used and workers are poorly paid. Often land will be destroyed to make way for these farms and the harsh chemicals and fertilisers used often seep into the local water supply. Lobsters are very complex animals; they flirt, they can be right or left handed and they have been known to hold hands with their partners! They are also vertebrates, who, like us, feel pain. When put into boiling water, they have been known to scream and their claws scrape the side of the pan as they struggle to escape what must be the most unbearable pain. Invertebrate zoologist Karen G. Horsley said of lobsters who are cut in half while still alive (another, less used, killing method), "The lobster does not have an autonomic nervous system that puts it into a state of shock when it is harmed. It probably feels itself being cut. ... I think the lobster is in a great deal of pain from being cut open ... [and] feels all the pain until its nervous system is destroyed during cooking."

Basic Ways You Can Help Opt for a seafood-free diet or stick to organic farmed fish or fish with the blue tick which is the mark of the marine stewardship council (MSC), ensuring the fish has come from sustainable resources. Log onto www.fishonline.org to see fish which arent sustainable as there are so few of them and avoid them, encourage others to avoid them and complain to restaurants/ supermarkets that sell them! Write to DEFRA requesting their support in a ban of seine nets at; Defra Customer Contact Unit, Eastbury House, 30 - 34 Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TL. If you see restaurants selling live crustaceans, boycott them and let them know why; if they realise they are losing business by carrying out this cruel act, they will soon stop. Spread the word. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding sea animals. Fur

Be wary of mistaking real fur for fake fur; real fur thats made using stray cats and dogs is sold cheaply. Spot real fur by feeling it; it will feel particularly soft and be very fine. Animals are usually kept in appalling conditions when farmed for fur. Wolves, coyotes, rabbits, mink and many other species are kept in cramped, unsanitary conditions where they barely have enough room to move. Animals in these conditions show signs of extreme stress with acts such as self-mutilation and cannibalism. They are then killed by neck dislocated, gassing, anal electrocution or lethal injection. In some countries, animals have the skin taken off them while they are still alive as this keeps the fur springy and soft. Some shops that sell fur claim the fur is a by-product from animals that are killed for meat but this is simply not the case. Animals killed for meat are usually killed at a very young age; rabbits, for example, are usually killed for meat aged around six weeks old. Animals killed for fur are much older so that the fur has had time to grow; rabbits for fur are on average killed at the age of five to six months.

Basic Ways You Can Help Shops that still sell fur at present are Harrods, Kurt Geiger, Josephs and Burberry; boycott them and let them know why. Log onto their websites for contact details. Spread the word about fur and be wary of buying it. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding fur. Vivisection Every day chemicals are forced into the eyes of rabbits and applied to animals' shaved and raw skin. Laboratory workers place the animals in restraining devices so they cannot struggle while the workers apply the chemicals, which burn into the animals' eyes and skin. Many animals arent anaesthetised or given any pain killers. Animals sometimes break their necks or backs attempting to escape the pain. Whats worse is that a lot of this is carried out for cosmetics, household products and pet food when this isnt required by law and there are plenty of alternatives available. Although it is illegal to test on animals for cosmetics in Britain, it isnt illegal in other parts of Europe and many well-known cosmetic companies have their ingredients and final products tested on animals abroad to sell in England to unsuspecting customers. There are plenty of ingredients that can be used in household products and cosmetics that dont need to be tested on animals as they have already been deemed safe. In order to gain the new and improved label, companies test new products on animals rather than use old safe ingredients.

Pet food can also be tested on animals. Many well-known pet food companies have animals tested on for their pet food. Unfortunately, this requires much more than the animal being fed the food to see if they like the taste. For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer: dogs gone crazy from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs; dogs surgically debarked; horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer with no veterinary care. PETAs video footage shows Iams representatives touring the facility and witnessing dogs endless circling in barren cells, sweltering in the summer heat. Iams knew the truth yet did nothing to protect the animals. Many of these companies hand the dogs and cats over to a retirement centre when they are finished with them but reports reveal these are actually other laboratories so they can be tested on further.

The following companies test on animals; Hills Pedigree Nutrition, Iams, Nestle Purina and Pedigree. Fortunately, there are plenty of other pet food companies that dont test on animals. Basic Ways You Can Help Log onto www.buav.org to find out which products (cosmetics, household products and pet foods) are cruelty free. Write to companies that still test on animals and ask them to use ingredients that are old, proven effective and dont need to be tested on animals. Write to your MP requesting research into the effectiveness of animal testing and for an alternative research centre. Spread the word. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding testing on animals. Animals Used In Sport Needless to say, hunting and killing any living being and to deem it a sport isnt a healthy attitude. However, other sports considered humane, such as greyhound and horse racing, are anything but. The British Greyhound Racing Board admits to 500 greyhounds being put to death every year because (usually between the ages of 2-3) they are no longer fit to race. Ferdinand, a Derby winner and Horse of the Year in 1987, was retired to Claiborne Farms and then changed hands at least twice before being disposed of in Japan; a reporter covering the story concluded, No one can say for sure when and where Ferdinand met his end, but it would seem clear he met it in a slaughterhouse.(23) Exceller, a million-dollar racehorse who was inducted into the National Racing Museums Hall of Fame, was killed at a Swedish slaughterhouse.

Basic Ways You Can Help Dont watch animals being used for sports and encourage others not to. Go along to demonstrations outside race tracks. Log onto http://www.veggies.org.uk/arc.php to find out about demonstrations in your area. Also log onto www.greyhoundaction.org.uk/ for demos and more information. Spread the word. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding animals used for sport. Entertainment That Uses Animals

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Zoos, aquariums and circuses all claim to have high animal welfare standards and zoos often claim they are of benefit to endangered species due to rehabilitation programmes. A lot of animals don't make it through their first year after being released into the wild. Out of the 120 endangered species which are currently under the international zoos breeding programme, only 16 species have been introduced back into the wild and these haven't always been successful. Circuses don't offer particularly pleasant lives for animals; they're constantly travelling in cramped conditions and forced into completely unnatural situations, for example, tigers are afraid of fire and are made to jump through hoops of fire. An estimated 95% of animals used in aquariums, come from the wild and 49-80% of these animals die on the journey to the aquarium. Basic Ways You Can Help Dont visit circuses that use animals; the animals usually have a very unpleasant life. Log onto http://www.captiveanimals.org/ for more information on how you can help. Spread the word. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding animals in entertainment. Exotic Pets Every year, thousand of animals are made to suffer or die due to the exotic pet trade. The process used to catch the wild birds is to take a wild bird, chop off their wings and peg them into the ground. This causes other wild birds to come over and these are then caught in a net. As many as four birds will die for every one that makes it to the pet shop. Those that do make it go from a life of freedom to cramped, unsanitary conditions where many will die due to lack of food or water, suffocation, extreme temperature changes or shock. When the pets finally find a home many die as their owners dont realise how complex and difficult it is to look after an exotic animal. Its only illegal to capture endangered species to be kept as exotic pets. These unfortunate animals are crammed into hair rollers and pipes or sewn into the lining of coats with their mouths taped up so they can be transported long distances to be sold as pets abroad. Victims of the trade include finches, parrots, exotic birds, chipmunks, monkeys, tamarins, scorpions, marmosets, polecats, snakes, tortoises, turtles, terrapins and large spiders. The best way to stop this trade is to avoid buying any exotic pets and encourage others to do the same. Basic Ways You Can Help Dont buy exotic pets unless you know where they came from and how to look after them properly. Spread the word Campaign against pet shops that do sell exotic pets that have been caught from the wild. Keep up to date on legislation surrounding exotic pets. Helping Animals, Helps People Did you know there is enough food to feed the world? Hard to believe when more than a billion people are going hungry. A lot of this is due to meat. The grain that could be used to feed people is instead used to feed animals. Because animals need protein to help maintain lots of inedible body parts such as horns, eyes, hooves etc, in the end it takes 16 pounds of grain to create just one pound of edible flesh. In fact, the amount of veg protein fed to the US beef herd would feed almost the entire populations of India and China; thats two billion people. The amount of grain needed to end extreme hunger is 40 million tonnes. Yet the amount of grain fed to animals in the West is 540 million tonnes. If we all went vegetarian, we could end world hunger overnight. Helping Animals, Helps The Environment Farming livestock is bad for the environment for many reasons. Once land has been used for livestock, it often cant be used again. In fact, deserts spread every year by an area the size of England and Scotland. Livestock grazing is the main cause. Farming livestock also uses more water than vegetables. On irrigated land, 1lb of vegetables uses 25 gallon whereas 1lb of beef uses 5,214 gallons. Rain forests are still being felled to graze hamburger cattle. Going vegan saves one acre of forest every year. Farmed animals rank second in causing

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global warming due to the methane they produce. Helping Animals Is Good For Your Health Many people tell me how saddened they are by animal testing but that if a member of their family was ill, they would want animal testing to find a cure for their relative. Equally, many people dont like the way animals are treated on farms but want to eat meat for protein and good health. While a lot of animal testing is carried out with the intention of helping people, there is a lot of evidence that it is not very effective. If medicine works well for your pet goldfish, would you use the same medicine to help your pet rabbit? Of course you wouldnt! But this same theory is applied to animal testing! Animal Testing Not only is animal testing cruel, its also detrimental to human health because animals and humans bodies are so different. Heres some reasons why animal testing is considered inaccurate by many scientists and doctors; Animals dont get the same diseases as humans and even when they are given similar ones, their bodies deal with them in a completely different way to humans. There have been variations in results from animal testing according to different breeds and even genders. As the animals used are much smaller than humans, a formula ratio has to be estimated and has never proven to be accurate. There is a lot of evidence to suggest animal tests are detrimental to human health; Prescription drugs are the fourth biggest killer in the UK. Four out of ten patients who are given pills suffer from painful side effects or even death. The European Medical Journal and the British Medical Journal published a survey answered by 500 doctors. They were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statements; 1. Laboratory experiments performed on animals can be misleading because of anatomical and physiological differences between animals and humans. 88% agreed. 2. I would like to see scientists trying harder to find alternatives to animals for testing drugs and cosmetics. 81% agreed. 3. Patients would suffer fewer side effects if new drugs were tested more extensively on human cell and tissue cultures. 51% agreed. 4. Too many experiments on animals are performed. 69% agreed.

Vivisection is the blackest of all the black crimes that man is at present committing against God and His fair creation. - Gandhi, Mahatma

But How Else Do We Find Medicines To Help People? There are alternatives to animal testing which are; Complex computer models which can determine and calculate the effects specific chemicals have when combined appropriately Volunteers (when it is safe to use them!) Test tubes with proteins and enzymes Human cells and tissue. So Why Test On Animals? Animal testing is cheap and can be used to make drugs sell whatever the consequences. For example, if a drug helps the animals its tested on, people can claim the drug works and can sell it. If the drug harms the animals its tested on, the drug company will still put the drug on the market, claiming that animals and humans are too different and therefore the result is irrelevant! Meat Do you think you would be healthy after a meal of excrement and rotting carcass? Thats what the animals used for meat are fed on and this was one of the main reasons mad cow disease came about. It will be many years before we know what affect this has had on humans who

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have eaten this meat. Due to the conditions in which animals are farmed, their meat is capable of passing on many illnesses. Dead and diseased animals are kept with healthy ones, their meat is unhealthy due to immobility and they are regularly given antibiotics to reduce disease and many other chemicals and drugs to help fatten them up. Studies have shown that as many as 53% of cow carcasses and 83% of pig carcasses, were contaminated with E-coli and 18% of British and 64% of imported chicken, had salmonella. Lobsters and other crustaceans contain excessive amounts of proteins and cholesterol. They are also often highly contaminated with pesticides, bacteria and many other toxins. If you give up seafood, you can still get omega three from foods such as spinach, soybeans, walnuts, rapeseed oil and flaxseed.

How You Can Help Animals

Consume Ethically Veganism Easy, Nutritious Vegan Meals It can seem daunting to get all your essential vitamins as a vegan but we wanted to make it really easy. Most of these meals incorporate all your essential vitamins but if we couldnt squeeze them all into one meal, weve added some extra snacks so you can still meet your daily requirement. To ensure you get all your vitamins, its important to eat cereal with fortified B12 (in either the soya milk or cereal) everyday and make sure you eat lots of leafy green vegetables. Avocado salad - avocado, tomato, lettuce, cucumber, roasted seeds and nuts, butter beans and mushrooms with a splash of vinegar. Handful of roasted nuts and seeds sprinkled with salt - as long as you have this and some dried apricots, fruit and green leafy vegetables at other points throughout the day, you will have had all of your essential vitamins and minerals! Sweet potato with veg and fake meat of your choice - baked sweet potato with butter, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and broad beans. Baked potato with beans and side salad - baked potato with margarine, beans and a salad of your choice - as long as it has lettuce in it, you have met your daily vitamin requirements. Lentil soup - cook the lentils for as long as required before adding black pepper, beans and chopped tomatoes, then liquidising. Add parsley as a finishing touch and to meet all your vitamin requirements! Shepherds pie with lentils - cook the lentils before adding carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, chick peas, beans and chopped tomatoes. When its all cooked, pop it in a casserole dish and pop mashed potato on the top. A sprinkling of vegan parmesan cheese (available in most supermarkets in the free from section) makes a particularly tasty dish! Add with a side salad for good measure! Chilli - multi coloured peppers, vegan mince (available from most health food shops including Holland and Barrett), chopped tomatoes. Boil the mince first, adding the others later and chilli powder, garlic and mixed herbs. Serve with side salad. Roast dinner - soya meat, brussel sprouts, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, roasted potatoes, peas and swede with vegetable gravy. Stew - sprouts, potato, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and broad beans boiled with a vegetable stock cube.

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Stir fry - pop onions, peppers, cabbage pieces, green beans, sweetcorn, mushrooms, beansprouts, peas and chopped carrot into the pan. Fry in a little oil and add soya sauce later before serving. Tortilla bean wrap pop lettuce, tomato and cucumber into the bottom of a tortilla wrap. Add beans of your choice, chickpeas and egg free mayonnaise. Fruit salad - apples, mango, banana, strawberries, kiwi fruit and oranges all provide you with some of your necessary vitamins. However, as they cant provide them all, its also good to have a salad with roasted nuts and seeds at another point during the day. As a vegan, its essential that you ensure you eat plenty of foods rich in calcium as follows; Calcium Rich Foods; Fortified soya milk Almonds and almond milk Green leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach Swede Broccoli Tofu

Cheap Vegan Products Although by cooking you can usually eat vegan food fairly cheaply, its tough if youre not a natural cook! Unfortunately, vegan treats and ready to eat meals can be expensive as theyre not mass produced. However, there are some treats that you may be surprised to know are vegan and you can usually get them for pretty cheap! Chocolate - Lots of health food shops such as Holland and Barrett sell vegan ice cream (which isnt much more than dairy ice cream and tastes great!), vegan chocolate and you can get many dairy free chocolate products from your local supermarket in their free-from range. Most bourbon creams are actually vegan at as little as 40p a pack and Ruffles, most mint thins and Oreos are also vegan. Cocoa powder is vegan and can make you a lovely warm

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chocolatey drink. Also, most dark chocolate has no dairy in it! If its too bitter for you, try melting it with some soya milk and sugar before pouring it on whatever you fancy or leaving it to cool and eating as a bar of chocolate later. Its particularly nice on chopped banana! Cheese - there are many dairy free cheeses available from health food shops such as Holland and Barrett but they taste best melted onto or into food. To really sort your cheese pangs, try vegan cream cheese with garlic and herbs (also available from health food shops). Milk soya and rice milk is now sold for a reasonable price in most supermarkets. Eggs egg replacement powder, egg free mayonnaise and tofu for scrambled egg. Sweet cravings - many sweet things contain dairy and eggs. So, if you dont want to buy the more expensive vegan alternatives, youll be pleased to know many jam tarts bakewell tarts, apple pies and strudels are vegan. Wool/ leather etc - There are plenty of items you can get that arent made of wool. However, when it comes to shoes, thats a little trickier! The Vegan Store is an online store where you can buy many synthetic leather shoes and belts. Otherwise, check out cheap clothes and shoe shops for plastic alternatives! Easy Vegan Tasty Recipes Although you can get some pretty tasty vegan foods, it can be hard to resist the taste of gooey chocolate cookies and brownies once youve had a taste for them! So, weve compiled a batch of delicious, easy recipes so you can feel free to give in to your temptation with no guilt! Fried Bean Curd with a Sweet and Sour Sauce; Although there are quite a few vegan fake meats out there, fried bean curd has that chewy texture you may miss from most meats and melted cheese and it can really absorb flavours. This is one of my favourite bean curd recipes although there are many - a search on the internet can give you many different tasty ones to try! The sauce: 1.5 teaspoons cornstarch 3 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup vegetable stock 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon tomato ketchup 2 tablespoons Chinese thin soy sauce 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 clove garlic peeled 1/4 inch slice of fresh ginger 1 carrot 1/2 small fresh sweet red pepper 1/2 medium sized green bell pepper 2 scallions 3/4 pound firm tofu cut into 1 inch cubes and fried in oil until lightly browned 2.5 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of the stock in a small cup. Combine the 3/4 cup stock, vinegar, sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoons salt, cayenne pepper and black pepper in a bowl. Heat 1 tablespoons oil in a small pot over a medium flame. When hot, put in the garlic and ginger. Stir. As soon as the garlic browns, take the pot off the flame and pour the vinegar

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mixture from the bowl into it. Put the pot back on the fire and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer very gently for 4 minutes. Give the cornstarch mixture a quick stir and add that to the pot. Remove the garlic and ginger. Peel the carrot and cut into 1/16 inch thick diagonal slices. Cut a few slices at a time into very thin strips. Cut the red and green peppers into very thin strips. Cut the scallions into 1.5 inch lengths. Cut each section lengthwise into very thin strips. Put the cubes of fried bean curd in a bowl. Add 2 teaspoons salt to 6 cups of water and bring to a boil. Pour boiling water over the bean curd, dunk the bean curd cubes a few times and then leave them in the water. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok over a medium high flame. Put in 1/2 teaspoons salt and the carrot, red and green pepper and scallions. Stir fry for 30 seconds, turn off heat. Heat the prepared sauce over a low flame. Take the bean curd out of the water. Squeeze gently to get rid of extra moisture and put cubes on a serving platter. Spread the vegetables over the bean curd. Pour the sauce over the vegetables. Serve with rice. Melty Cheeze; 1 cup of nutritional yeast flakes 1/3 cup white flour 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 cups water 1/3 cup margarine Mix dry ingredients in a saucepan. Gradually add water, making a smooth paste and then thin with the remaining water. Place on heat and stir constantly until it thickens and bubbles. Let it bubble up for about 30 seconds and remove from heat. Whip in the margarine. Good on pizza, casseroles, open-faced tomato sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, and enchiladas. Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies; 50g margarine (vegan) 50g self raising flour 50g sugar 50g cocoa Handful of vegan chocolate chips/ pieces Mix it all together in a bowl. If it has trouble sticking, adding a little soya milk will help. Break the mixture into balls, flatten slightly and cook for about 10 minutes! Caramel Slices; Sweetened Condensed Soy Milk: 1 cup powdered soymilk 3 Tbsp (45 ml) vegan margarine 2/3 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract Pinch of salt 1 cup boiling water or 2 cups of sweetened condensed soy milk with 3 Tbsp vegan margarine and vanilla as above Caramel: 1/8 cup vegan margarine 2 tbsp golden syrup 2-3 Tbsp cornstarch or arrowroot powder Base: Vegan digestive biscuits

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Vegan margarine Topping: 250g (8 oz) vegan dark chocolate First make the sweetened condensed soy milk. This can be made the night before, if you like. In a medium saucepan melt 3 tbsp margarine on low heat. Add sugar, vanilla and salt and stir until sugar has dissolved. Add powdered soy milk and boiling water and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain. Chill in fridge until ready to use. Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease a 20cm (8 inch) square brownie tin and line with baking paper. To make the base, put about half a packet of digestive biscuits into a clean bag, seal the open end and crush. Melt the margarine and once the biscuits have been crushed enough, mix them into a paste with the melted margarine. Place the paste into your baking tray. In a medium saucepan melt an 1/8 of a cup of margarine and the golden syrup. Add the condensed soy milk mixture and cook over low heat for approx 8 minutes. Place 2 tbsp cornstarch in a small bowl, add a few spoon-fulls of the caramel mixture and mix until cornstarch is dissolved. Add this back into the saucepan of caramel and heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens (be careful to scrap the bottom of the saucepan cos the mixture tends to stick there). The mixture should be very thick. If it hasnt thickened enough repeat the procedure with another tbsp of cornstarch. Once the caramel is done pour over the base and bake for another 10-12 minutes, until the rim of the caramel is slightly browned. Let the slice cool to room temperature. Once slice has fully cooled, melt the chocolate in your preferred method, taking care not to burn. Pour evenly over the slice and place in the fridge to set for at least an hour. Check the slice every 10 minutes or so and when the chocolate is still soft but cool enough to keep its shape, run a knife just threw the chocolate layer in the sizes that you would like your slices to be (I suggest small squares as its very rich). This will stop the chocolate layer from cracking when you try to slice it later. After an hour you can cut the slice to your desired size, and store in a tightly sealed container in the fridge. Cherry Chip Brownies; 12 cup packed pitted dates 12 cup packed pitted dried plums 1 cup barley flour 1 cup brown rice flour 13 cup carob powder (or cocoa powder) 112 teaspoons baking powder 12 teaspoon kosher salt 23 cup maple syrup 14 cup canola oil 1 teaspoon vanilla 34 cup chopped walnuts 14 cup vegan carob (or vegan chocolate chips) 12 cup dried pitted cherries Place the dates and dried plums into a small saucepan and cover with 112 cups water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 minute, then remove from heat, cover, and let the dried fruit soak while you assemble the rest of the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside. Sift or whisk together the barley flour, brown rice flour, carob powder, baking powder, and salt.

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Place the maple syrup, canola oil, vanilla, and the date, dried plum, and water mixture into a blender. Process until completely smooth. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and stir together until well combined. Fold in the walnuts, carob chips, and dried cherries. Spread the mixture out in the baking pan. Smooth the top using a spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, until the surface springs back to the touch. Vegan Fudge; 4 cups powdered sugar 12 cup cocoa powder 12 cup vegan chocolate chips 12 cup nondairy milk 2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated margarine 112 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup cut up vegan marshmallows or 12 cup vegan marshmallow fluff, like Ricemellow Crme (marshmallows and fluff are optional, but sooo good) 12 cup chopped nuts Spray a 9 x 9-inch baking pan well with nonstick spray and set aside. (For holiday gift giving, I pour the fudge into seven foil baking cups that I buy in the shape of stars, hearts, and so on.) Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder together into a large mixing bowl, add the chocolate chips, and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the nondairy milk and margarine to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning. When the milk is at a steady, strong boil, pour it over the powdered sugar mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon until everything is well combined and the heat has melted the chocolate chips. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the marshmallows and the nuts. Spread the fudge out into the prepared pan(s) and refrigerate for a day or more to solidify. VARIATION: One inspired test cook used holiday soy nog for the nondairy milk with great results. Triple Chocolate Cupcakes; 3 cups all-purpose flour 12 cup cocoa powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup sugar 1 cup packed golden brown sugar 2 cups water 1 cup canola oil 1 tablespoon vanilla 341 cup vegan chocolate chips (optional) Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray twenty-four muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with paper cupcake liners and spray the liners with nonstick spray. Set aside. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar, water, canola oil, and vanilla. Mix with a handheld beater or stand mixer until well combined and smooth. Divide the batter evenly into the twenty-four muffin cups (about 14 cup batter in each cup the cupcakes will rise to fill the muffin cups). Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with some

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chocolate chips. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. VARIATION: To make a cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Sprinkle each layer with half the chocolate chips. Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Products That Havent Been Tested On Animals Then theres cosmetics and household products; no companies have to test their ingredients on animals, in fact, they have a long list of all the ingredients that work and what harmful effects they have, from previous experiments. It is only when a company wants to use a new ingredient that they test it on animals and they wouldnt have to, if they tried to find an alternative, more effective way of testing. There are plenty of ingredients that can be used in household products and cosmetics that dont need to be tested on animals as they have already been deemed safe. In order to gain the new and improved label, companies test new products on animals rather than use old safe ingredients. Co-op and Marks and Spencers own brands are completely cruelty free and BUAV approved. Aldi and Tescos own brand make up isnt tested on animals. Also Avon and Revlon no longer test the final product or ingredients on animals. By ordering your free copy of The Cruelty Free Book from BUAV you can find out about many more companies that stock and deliver cruelty free make up. Home-made Cleaning Products Bleach and many other chemicals are often poured down sinks and toilets. All this eventually ends up in the water and can have devastating effects on many wild animals. Try some more natural solutions and help the environment and save a few bob! All-Purpose Cleaner: 1 part distilled white vinegar, 1 part water, and a few drops dishwashing liquid Bleach: Hydrogen peroxide or borax and water Carpet Shampoo: 1/4 cup mild detergent or soap, 1 pint warm water, and 2 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar Deodorizer: Baking soda and/or borax Disinfectant: 1/2 cup borax and 1 gallon hot water Drain Cleaner: 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup white wine vinegar (let sit for a few minutes, then follow with a pot of boiling water) Floor Cleaner: 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar and 1/2 gallon water Furniture Polish: 1 part white distilled vinegar and 3 parts olive oil, with a dash of natural lemon oil Glass Cleaner: Club soda Oven Cleaner: Ammonia (set a shallow pan in the oven and let stand overnight) Rust Remover: Salt and lime juice (let stand for several hours) Tub and Tile Cleaner: 1 2/3 cups baking soda, 1/2 cup liquid soap, 1/2 cup water, and 2 Tbsp. vinegar Prescription Drugs Homeopathic treatment is now the second most used treatment in the world. This treatment is reliable, has no side effects and usually isnt tested on animals although you will need to be sure of this and the fact that they have no animal ingredients. Your GP can refer you to one of several NHS homeopathic clinics around the country in London, Tunbridge Wells, Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol. The Faculty of Homeopathy can give you details on homeopathy; their number is 0870 444 3955. Alternatively, the Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (Tel no; 08700 736 339) can give you a number of private homeopaths you can use. You can also log

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onto www.alternative-homeopathic-remedies.com and http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/ for some remedies and more information. Your local health shop is also likely to have a selection of homeopathic remedies. Theres also many natural readily available foods you can use to help with and prevent illnesses and therefore reduce the need for pills; Heart problems; garlic, avocado, beet. Digestive problems; almond nuts, apples. Problems with immune system; cranberries. Depression/ anxiety; counselling, meditation, yoga, potatoes (these contain serotonin). Headaches/ migraines; natural apple cider vinegar can be placed in a pan boiling with an equal amount of water. This can be inhaled, with your head over the pan for around five minutes. Biofeedback (when a person can be trained to control their nervous system), chiropractic care or chiropractic manipulations. Arthritis; olive oil, ginger, cinnamon, carrots, yellow and orange peppers, oranges, acupuncture. Shingles; Natural apple cider vinegar can be applied to the skin.

And The Rest When consuming, we also need to consider animals losing their habitat so heres some more tips for consuming without harming wild animals; Humane Pest Repellents; Ants dislike the herbs pennyroyal, lavender, garlic and a liquid preparation of ferns. Try liberal applications of these (the more concentrated the better) on a regular basis.

Aphids & White Fly are discouraged from nesting by dew and breezes. Try to recreate

these conditions by regular spritsing of plants with water or, for infestations, 1 litre water, 1/2 tsp dish detergent and 1/4 cup vinegar. You could also try a fan for a few hours a day.

Flies and mosquitoes hate the smell of citronella. Try burning citronella oil or basil oil near
open windows to prevent flies from entering. Mice dislike garlic, elderberry liquid or Crown Imperial (Fritillaria). You can also try humane traps although these need to be checked regularly. There are various devices that use ultrasonic sound to deter mice, rats, ants, spiders, moles; one model covers all. Harmless to birds, cats, dogs and people, although might not be suitable for homes with gerbils, hamsters or other rodents. Can be suitable for home, farm, office & warehouse use. Available from mail order companies e.g. Starport www.izola.co.uk tel: 0800 542 5307 or DIY Pest Control Suppliers. www.diypcs.co.uk. Rats dislike Cat Nip (Nepeta cataria). Many good retailers also sell humane traps. Slugs & Snails can be deterred using The Flowerfortress - a round potholder that is an effective slug and snail barrier for outdoor pot plants. Available mail order from Ladybird garden Essentials, Ladybird House, 27 Harwood Vale, Bolton BL2 3QU. 9. 99 plus 2.95 p&p. Or in person for 9. 99 from David Graham, Tel: 0161 860 4869. Slug it Out - protective recycled plastic ring that sits around seedlings or plants, its sloping sides and over-lapping lip keep slugs at bay. Available from The Natural Collection, www.naturalcollection.com tel: 01225 404010 Spiders - A spray made with chestnut and clove scents deters spiders. - If you dont like catching them, The Natural Collection has a Spider & Bug Buster - a battery-operated suction device that allows you to gently vacuum up spiders, wasps, and other crawling and hovering insects, and release them outside without harming them. Available from www.naturalcollection.com tel: 01225 404010

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 Wasps - Some people have harnessed the help of a local beekeeper to move the nest to a safer site. However, you can remove the nest yourself around April when it is no bigger than a tennis ball. Place a clear polythene bag over the nest (with the queen inside) and gently remove it. You can then super glue it in a safe dry place (e.g. old shed, dry old hollow tree, etc). Generally speaking they are useful garden insects and come the Autumn they are likely to abandon the nest. Your Carbon Footprint Limit your carbon footprint; only use the car when necessary, turn off lights when you dont need them, use renewable energy sources where you can, turn off the plugs when youre not using them. Palm Oil Buy from supermarkets who use non-destructive palm oil; thousands of trees are destroyed for palm oil every year; this is having a devastating effect on the already endangered orang utan. . It is estimated that no less than 5,000 orang utans are killed every year. At this rate, complete extinction of one of our closest relatives would occur within 10 years. Ensure your local supermarket uses only non-destructive palm oil and if they dont, write to them and ask that they do! Supermarkets who currently use non-destructive palm oil include Sainsburys, ASDA, Tescos and Iceland.

Wood Use wood with the FSC logo; Many animals such as tigers, elephants, rhinos and crocodiles are increasingly losing their habitat and being forced into places occupied by humans. Wood with the FSC logo has come from sustainable sources. Spread The Word Spreading the word is one of the most important parts of helping animals because so much is spent on spreading the complete opposite! Millions is spent on telling people that testing on animals is essential for human health, meat and dairy are good for your diet and how many fast food places have you seen with a picture of a smiley chicken giving you a thumbs up? You may also have noticed the pictures of animals eating grass in wide open space on pictures on packets of meat or eggs when you know that was far from the case; in fact they probably never even set foot outdoors.

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How you spread the word is even more important than spreading the word. Basically, you are trying to sell your point of view and the best way to do that is to make yourself as likeable, reasonable and understanding as possible. If someone asks why youre vegetarian, while you want them to understand how cruel some farming methods are, you dont want to make them feel wrong for eating meat themselves. For a meat eater to become vegetarian is a huge life change that could be more problematic than is immediately obvious; maybe family wont understand, maybe they dont have a huge amount of choice in their diet or maybe theyre fearful of not getting enough nutrients from a vegetarian diet. If you sympathise and respect their wishes, in return, they are more likely to respect you and what you have to say; you may be able to persuade them to cut down on the amount of meat they consume. Many people also dread asking about vegetarianism as they may be made to feel guilty for all the animals they have consumed and therefore avoid asking the question altogether! Whenever possible, do your best to empower people! Let them know of the facts (as little opinion as possible as it may appear like youre preaching) but dont blame people; the truth is very well hidden from all of us; blame the system rather than any people! Then let people know what a huge difference they can make simply by changing their diet, clothing or cosmetics! Reading a book such as How To Make Friends And Influence People would probably help even more as a good rapport with people will really help get your message across. Until you get stuck into that book, I can give you some simple but effective ways to build a good rapport with someone. Most importantly, you need to match their gestures, tone of voice, body language and spoken language. Of course you dont want this to be so obvious that they think youre taking the mick! Subtle matching of these areas give a sense of sameness which is excellent for rapport. It means a person feels understood, accepted and therefore more comfortable in your presence. With spoken language, try to use the odd word here and there that you notice they have used. As for body language, this is the quickest way to establish rapport and can make a huge difference. When it comes to eye contact, try to match the amount of eye contact they give; this means you wont give too much eye contact (which can make a person feel uncomfortable) or too little (might make a person think youre bored). Some basic points to remember when engaging with people are listed here from the book How To Win Friends And Influence People;

Don't criticise, condemn or complain.

Give honest and sincere appreciation. Arouse in the other person an eager want. Become genuinely interested in other people. Smile. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves. Talk in terms of the other person's interests. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong." If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. Begin in a friendly way. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires. Appeal to the nobler motives. Dramatize your ideas. Throw down a challenge.

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Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. Let the other person save face. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise." Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest. As well as knowing the techniques to influencing people, its useful to remember some facts that will immediately give people an idea of the point you are trying to get across. Heres some that effectively show how veganism is better for animals, you and the world; Animal Cruelty Up to one fifth of chickens may be fully conscious when they enter the scalding tank to loosen their feathers. 80 per cent of all eggs come from battery hens - kept five to a cage no bigger than a microwave oven. 50 per cent of all piglets have their teeth crushed and tails cut off without anaesthetics. 24 per cent of dairy cows are pregnant when slaughtered - many nearing full term. Your Health Nearly all 650 million UK chickens are fed antibiotics daily. 72 million die from disease. Cancer rates among vegetarians are 25-50 per cent less than non-vegetarians. Vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, large bowel disorders, cancers and gallstones. Vegetarians and vegans have higher intakes of folic acid than omnivores. World Hunger The amount of grain needed to end extreme hunger is 40 million tonnes. The amount of grain fed to animals in the West is 540 million tonnes.

35 per cent of the world's people can be fed on a meat-based diet. A plant diet could feed
everyone - then plus some. Sir Crispin Tickell The amount of veg protein fed to the US beef herd would feed almost the entire populations of India and China - two billion people. The Environment More than 90 per cent of all agricultural land in Britain is used to feed animals If Britain went vegetarian, less than half the farm land would be needed - vegan, less than a quarter! On irrigated land, 1lb of vegetables uses 25 gallons. 1lb of beef uses 5,214 gallons. Spreading The Word As An Individual

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There are many ways that you can spread the word; simple badges on your bag can spread a message (for example; testing on animals costs human lives). Stickers, badges or car stickers with bold interesting statements and an easy to remember web address are very effective ways of spreading the message. Then theres simple conversation; friends and family often ask people why theyre vegetarian; how you approach this question is the fundamental part of getting your message across; well explore that a bit more later! Leafleting a few streets or picketing in a busy area are also effective ways of getting the message across. Many groups such as Animal Aid, PETA and Vegan Outreach now send you literature or you can print it off their website. If youre not impressed by the range of badges, stickers or leaflets out there, you can make your own; it helps to bear the following in mind;

What will capture your audience? Maybe a question? As human beings we find it very

hard not to answer a question even if its in our heads! One advert produced by Henry Spira had the picture of a piglet and a kitten with a caption which read which do you pet and which do you eatwhy? This form of questioning causes people to think about why they eat meat. Many people dont even think about it as most people were brought up eating meat and see it as perfectly normal with no idea where it comes from. Maybe a statement that takes people by surprise and they want to find out more; a shocking fact perhaps?

Do you need a picture? Pictures usually attract the eye more and can say a lot (i.e. a

picture of an animal in a factory farm says a thousand words). However, be careful of not having too upsetting a picture! I remember making badges with pictures of turkeys in shackles and mums were ushering their children away from me as I was buying apples in the supermarket! Sometimes horrible pictures just make people not want to know! Pictures of animals looking sad rather than too graphic can be quite effective, especially if its a popular animal such as a car or dog.

Let people know more! Theres only so much you can fit onto any of this forms of communication so a website address for people to find out more is always useful! Try not to be intimidating! Unfortunately, people can get quite defensive about animal welfare issues as they dont want to be made to feel guilty so its best to make a sort of friendly badge/ leaflet. For example go vegetarian now probably wouldnt go down well whereas please ask me why Im vegetarian probably would! Heres some more ideas for how you can spread the word;

Put a link or widget to an animal welfare website or with an animal rights action on your

website, myspace/facebook page or email (as a signature). PETA2, Voice (speakfortheanimals.webs.com) and IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) have many to choose from!

Use window stickers, badges, t-shirts and stickers to get important messages across. Anyone can edit Wikipedia and e-how to; use this to get the message across. Send an animal rights documentary to public access TV; many will allow you to show a
documentary of your choice for free! Log onto www.communitymedia.se/cat/linksus.htm to find out if there is public access TV in your local area (and check your TV channels!). Good animal rights videos can be downloaded from Animal Aid and PETA.

Write letters to the editor on current animal welfare topics in the media and make others
aware of the animals point of view.

Stick stickers on envelopes to friends or use postcards with animal rights messages.

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 If you are confident, you can talk to schools about animal rights issues. Animal Aid hold

workshops to train you for this and will then put you in touch with schools as soon as youre ready to start!

If you have enough money, adverts in the paper are a very effective way to spread

awareness! However, if youre not, you can ask for remnant ad space! Simply contact the advertising executive of a number of newspapers in your area and write to them asking if they will have any remnant ad space in their next issue. Be sure to explain to them what sort of advert you would like displayed.

You can post links to videos and animal rights/ welfare pages on popular blogs or news sites with your email address if people want more information. You could arrange an event with fellow activists (that people would enjoy or a peaceful demonstration) and get a public service announcement on the television, radio or in the newspaper. Contact your local station (TV and radio) and newspapers. Many of these give offer free PSAs for non-profit organisations or causes. Usually college radio stations are the most likely to support animal welfare causes.

Write to or get to know editors of your favourite magazines/ newspapers and let them know
about animal welfare issues. Find out about newsworthy animal welfare events and let eager journalists know. Could you be an undercover investigator for groups such as PETA and Animal Aid? If you can deal with seeing some quite hardhitting things for the sake of animal welfare, you may be the person for the job! If you want to find out more (undercover videos are an excellent way to let people know what animal cruelty takes place certain farms and labs), get in contact with PETA, Aukland Animal Action, Animal Liberation Victoria, Compassionate Action For Animals, Animal Aid or East Bay Animal Advocates. Order some free vegetarian starter kits from PETA and ask to pop a load in your local health food shop, colleges and other suitable places. Log onto Craigslists and under for sale and then free pop a link to a free vegetarian starter kit from PETA. The Animal Liberation Front website have loads of smileys, photos, stories and poems that all support animals emotions, intelligence and suffering. All can be useful to share with others. You could see if your local college or library would allow you to set up a display board. If you can, you could put up posters, leaflets and all sorts to show all the information about a certain animal welfare issue. This is a great way to get the message across as its fun to do, doesnt take long and can reach loads of people in minutes! Are you a budding writer? Stories are a fantastic way of getting people thinking and empathising. Either fiction or non-fiction as long as it is written well and is interesting, is a great way of getting the message across. It doesnt even have to relate directly to animal rights. For example, you could write a book on living healthily and use this to promote a vegan lifestyle. Public Service Announcements TV If you havent planned an event, you can get PSAs for PETA. Log onto www.petapsa.com and click on Television. View the public service announcements and decide which one you would like to place. Once youve then decided on which TV station youd like to pitch to, contact PETA and they can get you the appropriate contact information (PETAPSA@peta.org)

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 Send an email to the station asking them for a free PSA explaining why it is beneficial to animals and the community. Once youve emailed your pitch, follow up with a phone call a few hours later. If they would like a copy of the PSA ask what format is best. PETA cant provide DVC Pro so if that is requested, ask them if they can handle MiniDV or BETA SP instead. Contact PETA (PETAPSA@peta.org) and let them know the TV station and the format required. Thank the station once they have aired your ad! Radio Contact an animal rights group in your area to see if they have a PSA theyd like aired or download one from PETAs website. You can burn a PSA from the website onto a CD or ask the PETA team to do it (PETAPSA@peta.org) Call or visit your local station and ask to talk with the person who handles public service announcements. Ask if they will play your PSA, explaining why it is beneficial to the community and animals (you could email them a copy of it if you cant see them in person). Follow up and find out when it will be played. Thank them once it has aired. Newspapers Contact an animal rights group in your area to see if they have a PSA theyd like printed. Compile a list of local newspapers and magazines. Contact as many of them as possible to find out who deals with PSAs. Contact the appropriate person and ask if they will donate space to your cause, explaining why it is beneficial to the community and animals. Leave your contact details. Follow up a few hours later. If they have space, ask for the space size, their spec sheet, whether it will be in black and white or colour and their required format (i.e. PDF, jpeg etc), who to send it to, the deadline and any other information you may need to know. Thank them after they have shown your ad! Leafleting This can be done in your local street door to door or (much simpler) you could stand in a busy area and hand out leaflets to passers by. It sounds intimidating, but if youre polite and the leaflets arent offensive, you should find it quite rewarding! Heres some tips; Smile, be approachable and friendly. Know your stuff in case people ask you questions. If you dont know the answer, just be honest and maybe take their email so you can find out the answer and let them know later. Look as mainstream as possible; it makes you easier to approach! Retain your composure if someone tries to intimidate or upset you; theyll give up if you just ignore them! Stay focused in conversations about the issue on which you are handing out leaflets. Sometimes its easy to go off topic or people may be interested in your views on different topics. Always be polite even if someone doesnt want to take a leaflet. Offer the leaflet to peoples stomachs; its the easiest way for them to take the leaflet and isnt too in their face. Log onto Vegan Outreach; you can download or ask for some of their leaflets; they are some of the best ones out there! Spreading The Word As A Group There are some ways of spreading the word that you need to do as part of a group. Demonstrations, vegan food fests and campaigns all need to be done in groups. You can find out about a local group in your area or try to organise one. Log onto http://www.veggies.org.uk/arc.php to find out if theres any animal rights groups or demonstrations in your area.

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Demonstrations As with when you are leafleting; Smile, be approachable and friendly. Know your stuff in case people ask you questions. If you dont know the answer, just be honest and maybe take their email so you can find out the answer and let them know later. Look as mainstream as possible; it makes you easier to approach! Retain your composure if someone tries to intimidate or upset you; theyll give up if you just ignore them! Stay focused in conversations about the issue on which you are demonstrating. Sometimes its easy to go off topic or people may be interested in your views on different topics. Always be polite! Hand out leaflets so people know why you are protesting. Have a petition so you can show the company how many people passing agree with your cause and possibly how much business they are losing. Is there a way you can make people take a real interest in your demonstration? Could you dress up or show how the animals suffer in any way? If you want to do a march, make it a fun one! Many marches annoy police and locals as they are seen as an obstruction and a nuisance. If you sing songs, play music, dress up (but make your cause clear) people will be more likely to support you. You could also give out free vegan food; thats bound to make people happy! Information Stalls Make these as interesting and attractive as possible. Use posters to attract people over but dont have anything too gory or it might put them off! Dont clutter up your table with too much information and set it out in an orderly manner. Use paper weights in case of wind! Hand out free vegan food if you want! Try to get permission from your council before setting up the table. If you dont get it, maybe give it a try anyway and move on if a policeman asks you too (but they usually dont!). You could always use a DVD (on a laptop on battery power) to highlight your point; these are often quite effective. Smile, be approachable and friendly. Know your stuff in case people ask you questions. If you dont know the answer, just be honest and maybe take their email so you can find out the answer and let them know later. Look as mainstream as possible; it makes you easier to approach! Retain your composure if someone tries to intimidate or upset you; theyll give up if you just ignore them! Stay focused in conversations about the issue on which you are demonstrating. Sometimes its easy to go off topic or people may be interested in your views on different topics. Always be polite! Animal Rescues Some groups also release animals from laboratories or farms. They dont see this as theft, because they believe animals are nobodys property. If you take a camera in with you, this is another way to show people the conditions these animals are kept in as well as saving some lives at the time and taking them to a sanctuary for a chance of a happy life. Again, you need to be able to see some difficult things and it can get you in trouble with the police. Vegan Food Fests A great way of encouraging people to go vegan and spreading the word about animal cruelty is vegan food fests! Not only will it show people being vegan doesnt mean eating next to nothing, it also shows people why its good to vegan. Its a very positive way of spreading the message as its very rare for people to complain about free food!

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Getting The Food A group of you organising the event can each have several dishes to cook. You can also often get free samples from vegan manufacturers. Food can stay hot for a while if wrapped in foil but generally, unless you have access to heated equipment, its best to serve cold food. Some foods that will go down well are chocolate cake, vegan crisps, biscuits, sausages (fake) with on cocktail sticks, fake meat sandwiches, pastas, salads (interesting ones), cookies, muffins and vegan pates. Booking The Venue Many libraries have rooms you can book for a reasonable price particularly if you arent going to make a profit. Advertising The Event If one of you can design flyers and posters, the venue should allow you to display a poster. Local shops, libraries, doctors and public buildings should also allow you to display flyers as its an event a lot of people would want to attend. Door to door leaflet dropping would also be an effective way of spreading the message. Your local newspaper may also be interested in featuring an article on the event. Spreading The Word As well as having the food, to make the fest/fayre really effective, its also a good idea to display information on why its good to be vegan, where you can get the vegan food displayed and an evaluation form to help you improve the event if you do it again in the future. Campaigning Campaigning is a really effective way of reaching your goals fast. In order to campaign against something, you need a combination of four things: Spread the word Campaign against the company Campaign politically Consume ethically For example, if theres a shop near you that sells fur, you could campaign to encourage that shop to implement a fur free policy. Firstly, you could spread the word by handing out leaflets in the area about fur and how people can encourage that shop to stop selling fur with boycotting, letters and petitions. You could also write to the local newspaper to spread the word. By having demonstrations outside the shop, you can further spread the word and directly campaign against the shop. You could also send in a letter and petition to the shop asking them to stop selling fur. At the same time as doing this you can campaign politically by noting in your literature that it is legal to sell real fur in the UK and that by writing to their MP, people can help to encourage the parliament to propose a bill to ban real fur in the UK. Lastly, you can further strengthen your case by consuming ethically and not buying the shop you are campaigning against. At the end of the day, theyre there to make money and will have to make a change to their policy if they are losing customers. Campaigning seems very hardball but it can be Be the change you want done nicely and is certainly more effective when see in the world. carried out in this way. Further to using the Win Mahatama Ghandi Friends and Influence People technique, its useful to use the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to ensure your campaign is a success, so heres some more tips! 1. Be proactive be in control of your environment and dont let it control you. 2. Begin with the end in mind know what you want to achieve, imagine it and see the path to get there. 3. Plan your steps plan how to achieve your aim, a goal at a time.

to

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4. Think win-win imagine there is plenty of success for everyone. The person you are trying to persuade will win, you will win. Always co-operate and never see yourself in a us versus them situation! 5. Seek first to understand, then be understood know what your audience wants to hear, where their problems lie and give them the message to help them move forward. 6. Synergise see the good in the other persons/ companys contribution. 7. Sharpen the saw this is the process of self renewing. Ensure you are well mentally, socially/emotionally, physically and spiritually to perform to your highest ability. Case Study Henry Spiras Campaign Against Cat Experiments At the American Museum Of Natural History Henry found out that within this museum, experiments were taking place where certain parts of cats brains and internal organs were removed to see how this affected them sexually. These are the steps he took to making this, his first campaign for animals, succeed. Chose a campaign that was likely to succeed. The fact that cats, an animal most people can relate to, were being made to suffer intensely for no benefit to human health and it was costing tax payers money, were all good reasons this campaign was likely to succeed. Used the Freedom Of Information Act to gain as much information for the campaign as possible. Found out who funded the project. Asked for a meeting, this was declined. Tried to have an article in New York Times, this was also unsuccessful. Managed to get an article in Our Town, a free Manhatten weekly. Held weekly demonstrations outside the museum and handed out leaflets to visitors and passers by. Asked people to give a penny instead of the recommended $3 donation as a way of showing they are not happy for the cat experiments to continue. This meant families who had come for a nice day out could still visit the museum and not have to spend as much! Were told if they went into the museum with the placards, the placards would be taken from them so had placards printed onto their shirts (nobody asked them to take their shirts off!) Found out who the benefactors of the museum were. Contacted them and asked them not to support the museum as long as it continued with the cat experiments. Produced an advert showing what the museum did and asked people to have it printed in their local papers; many did and awareness grew rapidly. Asked people to contact the representatives of their states as their tax money was being wasted on this project. The museum agreed to have their own animal welfare committee check on the project. As it was their own committee, they found no fault with it. Henry found the name of one of the Board of Directors and leafleted his neighbourhood, letting them know what he did and asked them to question him about it (a bit risky now as could be seen as terrorism). Some neighbours did question him. Due to the number of letters he had received, congressman Ed Koch took an interest and visited the laboratory.

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Ed Koch wrote to the National Institutes of Health asking them why they were funding a project that had no benefit to human health. An independent committee assessed the project. The campaign was featured in an article in the magazine Science. The American Museum of Natural History agreed to stop the experiments. Henry Spira saved literally millions of animals when he set about campaigning for them. He used all the tactics listed below; Pick An Attainable Campaign Everything can be achieved but it all takes a step at a time. A difficult goal will only leave you feeling burnt out and deflated and will achieve nothing. An achievable goal usually needs to involve an animal that most people can relate to (dont worry; you can help all animals in the longrun but imagine how motivated youll feel after achieving a win in one of your campaigns!) It also needs to involve a level of suffering that will make people sympathise and there needs to be an opportunity for change. Furthermore, it usually needs to start with a big company that other companies are likely to follow. Once you have decided on your main target/ goal, write a mission statement and make this known to all members and supporters of the campaign. Keep this in mind and be careful to stick to it (its easy to get distracted!). This also makes it easy for people to support your campaign when they have a clear knowledge of what they are supporting. Does The Campaign Involve A Newsworthy Event? Is there something going on that the media would take interest in? Keep a look out (and keep studying) for anything that would catch the medias eye; when the media takes interest; your message has a huge audience! You could always make a newsworthy event but this takes a good imagination and you have to be careful to make the event put you in a good light so the topic is still the welfare of the animals and not animal activist terrorists! Maybe you could all dress up as the animal thats the subject of the campaign and walk through the area you are protesting in, put yourself in cages so you have the same amount of room as a battery hen, or do something really brave and a little crazy like abseiling down an important building to raise money for your campaign. Find out as much as you can about this campaign; what are the companys policies; are they complying by them, how many animals are they causing to suffer etc. Keep all evidence and use it. Anything scandalous is great! BUT always stick to the facts; never exaggerate; if you get found out you loose all credibility and anything they have lied about, will be believed. People will turn against a company that is shown not to uphold social values and will be on your side if you show that you do uphold social values. Equally, make your group and movement as mainstream as possible; people tend to steer clear of what they perceive as unusual or radical. Decide On Your Goals Put yourself in the shoes of your target to get an idea of what is achievable by way of them still being able to make a profit and the animals involved being live a reasonable life/ die humanely. For example, a seafood restaurant is unlikely to stop selling lobsters and crabs as this will be one of their main sources of income. However, you could ask that they have a policy which states all animals must be humanely slaughtered rather than boiled alive. Sometimes you may have to compromise; its all a step in the right direction and you dont want to appear unreasonable. Not only that but with attainable goals, youre empowering people making them more likely to act. Its good to have a fallback goal in case it really is impossible to achieve your initial goal. If you go for all or nothing, chances are; youll get nothing! Henry Spira. It is a good idea to evaluate and document your targets for future reference and to know where changes need to be made or where you have been effective. Work With Rather Than Against Your Target Sounds crazy but its very effective! Even although you may not agree with what they are doing, were all people! These are just people trying to make a living and theyre not going to

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want to help or please you if youre making their lives more difficult. Find out who is the decision maker for a company and make sure you make all contacts with them; a one to one meeting is probably the most effective form of contact but often not easy to achieve. Henry Spira always contacted companies before any campaigns to arrange a meeting where they could come to an agreement. Sometimes, given his track record, this worked immediately and sometimes it was just a gesture that made it a little hard to brush him aside. Remain friendly and cooperative and if a company does agree to work with you, be sure to thank them, it often makes them consider animal welfare more in the future! Listen to what the company has to say; sometimes they are tied by law and regulation. If thats the case, there is always action you can take. Cosmetic companies had to prove their cosmetics had been tested using the draize test. Henry Spira asked them to give about 1% of their annual budget to establishing an alternative research centre. This centre enabled an alternative to draize testing and it was slowly phased out. Let the company know the benefits of working with you (i.e. the public will respond well to your ethical policy). Find alternatives where you can to make it easier for a company to work with you. For example, if you want them to abolish gestation crates, how can they ensure pigs dont crush their young or eat most of the food? However, sometimes you will need to be a bit pushy if a company makes promises that it doesnt keep! Avoid Bureaucracy! Many groups spend precious action time arguing, sorting out leaders, spending precious money paying staff and not enough time getting into action! Henry Spira was a one man band but instead had coalitions for each and every campaign. With these coalitions, all who care about the campaign can work together regardless of differences of opinion. An anti vivisection group may not want to know about a group whos current target is the abolition of gestation crates, for example. But they will want to join when the groups next target is the development of a research institute for alternatives to animal testing. Although people fighting for animal welfare and animal rights tend to disagree, they both basically want animals to have better lives and need to work together to achieve their targets. Try to campaign against companies as much as possible. Companies are easier to win campaigns over than going through the legal system. Unfortunately, animal welfare laws are seldom passed as politicians are always busy and its a very long process usually filled with loopholes. Companies are vulnerable as they rely on public opinion. Where you can, try to campaign to companies and through the government so they both back one another up. Otherwise if a bill regarding animal rights ever comes to be discussed (rare), you may need to get acting fast! Find Who The Benefactors Are Of The Company You Are Targeting Are there other companies who own shares or work in cooperation with them? Could they be convinced to stop working with this company if the public were made aware of the kind of things they were doing? Spread The Word To Gain Support For Your Campaign A campaign cant work without public support. When spreading the message, remember to motivate, not educate! Although people need to know whats going on and what is wrong, more importantly, they need to know what they need to do and how they can do it. Keep the actions simple and clear; remember KISS (keep it simple & stupid)! In order to motivate your audience, knowledge of Maslows Hierachy Of Needs, is useful. According to the hierarchy, people fall into one or more of three categories; settler (basic needs and security), prospector (need to be perceived as successful) and pioneer (want to change themselves or the world for the better). When trying to motivate people into supporting your campaign, see if you can appeal to all who fit into those categories. For example, if you were to appeal to people to support a bill to measure the effectiveness of animal testing, you would appeal to the settler by explaining how animal testing is ineffective for humans and that this bill will bring about alternatives that will be more effective. For the prospector, you can say that itll make us the leading country in animal welfare and effective medical research and for the pioneers, you could explain how this would be beneficial to people and animals. Another thing to assess is whether your campaign has a wallet issue. Would it save people money if your campaign was successful? If this is the case, you are more likely to gain support! Another thing to bear

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in mind when getting your campaigning message across is that people are particularly moved by a story (an individual affected by what your campaigning against) and pictures. Sometimes humour is a good way to catch someones eye but needs to be appropriate! Are there people outside of animal welfare who will want to join your campaign? (i.e. a clothes shop that sells fur and clothes made using child labour) Is there a religious group that may want to support your campaign (i.e. Muslims, Quakers and Buddhists are quite sympathetic to animal rights). The more people in your campaign, the more effective it will be and you can work together to achieve much more. Engage in people outside of the movement and do so effectively, focus on the part of the campaign that they would be interested in. Consider Workers And Jobs That Will Be Affected By The Campaign Is there an alternative way they can work or alternative jobs they can do if their current jobs are likely to stop if the campaign succeeds? People will be more likely to support a fair campaign where nobody looses out. Strategise; Your Plan Is As Important As Your Actions Think of your longterm goal and the intermediate goals that will get you there. Do a SWOT analysis (your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to prepare you and assess how you can use the positives and overcome the negatives. Have Faith, Stay Positive And Stay Focused! A bit clichd but true! Henry Spira knew he would achieve his goals, he didnt give up and this really helped keep him going. People respond well to positivity; it makes them feel empowered to make a change and it makes them feel good about acting in support of a campaign. Use Previous Victories To Achieve More Success Once youve had your first success, more success will be easy to achieve. Henry Spiras first campaign was hard and lots of work. After that, success came easier due to his reputation, knowledge and experience. Often he simply had to write to a company, enclosing documents from previous campaigns (adverts telling the public what this company had done, details of the success etc) and his new target would agree to work with him rather than face the bad press. Campaign Planning Strategic planning is essential for any campaign. Filling in the following details will give you a good idea of how to achieve your goal. What is your overall goal? (i.e. stop shop selling fur) Why has nobody else been able to achieve this goal? What are your intermediate goals to achieve your overall goal? (i.e. demos, leaflets, meet with shop, letter campaign, advert in local paper etc) What are the timelines for these goals? Who can give you this goal? (i.e. shop manager) How can you convince them to give you this goal? (i.e. more people will shop there with a new ethical policy, maybe campaigners could arrange a thank you vegan food stall to attract more customers into the shop on the first weekend of new policy?) How can you communicate effectively with them? (i.e. what are their goals? Profit and customers? How will this improve if they stop selling fur?)

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Who has influence over them? (i.e. the public, regular customers, shareholders, providers) How can you communicate with those who have influence? (i.e. ethical customers may not want to buy once they realise they sell fur, shareholders and providers may not want to lose public support etc) Who will want to support your campaign? (i.e. anti-fur individuals and groups, animal lovers, are these coats made using child labour?) How can you measure the effectiveness of your campaign? (i.e. how many people sign petitions? How many people sign up for the campaign website or newsletter? How many people are deterred from visiting the shop? Does the shop show any interest in working with you on this matter? What are your organisational goals? (i.e. to be more organised or gain more members?) SWOT Test Sample Strengths (internal) Dedicated group Group settles differences for sake of cause No beaurocracy Group has good people skills Opportunities (external) Most people are against fur Fake fur can replace real fur Many people are aware of how fur is produced Weaknesses (internal) Some members dont get along

Threats (external) People still want to buy fur The shop is very popular The shop is very unwelcoming to protesters Some people believe that fur is a by-product

When filling in a SWOT test, its good to assess how you can overcome weaknesses and work against threats as well as how you can use your opportunities and strengths to your advantage. For example, with the above campaign, the group can use their people skills to charm the shop; always be polite and friendly, dont make people feel that they cant go into the shop, maybe just ask them not to buy fur and if you charm them enough, they may say something to the shop owner. If someone does buy fur, maybe ask them to read about it and hand them a leaflet. Maybe you could have fun days out (not necessarily anything to do with animal rights) to improve relations between all of those in the group. Use your leaflets (and maybe placards) to let people know that fur isnt a by-product; dispel myths that allow animal cruelty to continue. Political Campaigning As said earlier, you are more likely to have success with a company rather than the government but if it can be done, get the government involved too where possible! Once you have made the public aware of your campaign and on theyre on your side, ask them to write to their MP. With enough letters an MP can look into what a company is doing, sign an EDM (which can sometimes lead to a bill) or even produce a private bill. However, given the little time and pressing amount of issues they have to deal with, it is very rare. BUT when the government and companies are contacted together, results can be achieved! Also, if a bill already concerning animal welfare is being read and discussed, this is your opportunity to act on behalf of animals. Farmers and companies that profit from animal testing, cheap farming methods etc, all have political unions. So basically MPs will vote in a way that keeps these unions happy. Unions know whats going on in the houses of parliament, how an MP has voted and in return will or wont vote for that MP come election time so MPs take their views

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very seriously. You can help an MP take your views equally seriously by attending all the readings of animal related bills and asking as many people within that MPs constituency to write to them asking them to vote according to the best interests of the animals. You can also produce a petition to be signed by as many people from that MPs constituency as possible. If you manage to get 100,000 signatures for a petition, this qualifies it to be raised as a question in parliament. The main reasons political unions have so much power is that MPs are ensured of their vote if they vote the way the union wants and the union knows how they have voted. So when you write to your MP, be sure to let them know that you will be attending readings and using the internet to see how they vote and that they can count on your vote when it comes to election time! You could even offer to help the MP gain facts or with their paperwork regarding the bill if they are willing to support your views on the subject. These following links will help you if you want to fight for the rights of animals in a relevant bill; To keep updated on the most recent bills to go to http://services.parliament.uk/bills/ To find out how an MP has voted on a bill; http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/policies.php or politics.guardian.co.uk/person/howtheyvoted/0,,-169,00.html To find out whether your MP has signed an EDM; http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMList.aspx To find out who your MP is; http://www.writetothem.co.uk To keep updated about animal welfare issues within politics; http://www.vote4animals.org.uk Where We Are Now Some great news is that according to MAP (the Movement Action Plan), we are not far from achieving animal rights/ improved welfare. Bill Moyer, the creator of MAP, explained that all social movements go through eight stages; 1. Business as usual (the companies that are abusing the animals or people can continue with no forseen problems. 2. Normal channels fail (people start to see theres a problem and make business a bit more difficult for these companies). 3. Conditions ripen (word starts to spread, more people turn against the companies). 4. Take off (the conflict between the company and those against it becomes well known; the company tries to perpetrate those against it as radical, different to the mainstream and constantly denies they are succeeding). 5. Activist failure (people start to burn-out, think they are not getting anywhere and often give up. Some people are so desperate for change, they turn to violent methods which the companies use against them. Although this stage doesnt look promising, it is in fact, a sign of potential success. People are less shocked and interested by what the activists have to say because the news is a bit more wellknown now; people just need to know how to help. 6. Majority of public support the movement (this can only happen if stage five has been dealt with correctly!). 7. Success! 8. Moving on It seems as if the animal rights movement is currently in stage five and has been there for quite a long time! Desperation has caused violence which has left us stuck in the stage just before a public support majority! According to Moyer, to deal with this stage correctly, as a movement, we need to do the following; Practice non-violence Keep one another empowered Build stronger groups Use strategy to achieve our goals

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This is just something to bear in mind throughout your campaigning and a positive message to let us know we arent that far from achieving our target! Local Ways To Help Animals Animal Shelters There are many ways you can help animals within your area. Are there any animal shelters nearby that could use some old blankets, tins of food, dog walking and playing? What about animal charities? Are there any that could use some admin support; you may be able to even do some of this from home. Log onto http://www.veggies.org.uk/acd/index.htm to find out about animal charities within your area. Local Wildlife Then, theres your garden! A potential haven for many creatures! Bumblebees are extremely rare now and one of the reasons is that we have replaced our traditional plants with new exotic ones which arent suitable for them. Try to plant as many traditional plants as possible in your garden as more than just the bees will benefit! Buddleias and lavender are very good for attracting bees and butterflies. Any leftovers can always come in handy for hedgehogs, foxes and birds. Try to use a bird table for birds are more and more are being killed by cats. Whether or not it is in a cats nature to kill birds, the fact is they are causing huge problems for their population. Put a collar with a bell on your cat if you can and try to keep them in between 7pm and 7am when most of the animals they catch are looking for food. Potential Dangers For Animals In Your Garden; Nets; can catch snakes and hedgehogs. Nets for fruit should be kept taught to stop animals getting caught in them and when not in use, nets for tennis and badminton should be kept well above ground. Ponds; every year hundreds of hedgehogs drown in garden ponds; keep them covered at night if you can or use brick steps or a wire mesh so that hedgehogs can escape easily. Insecticides, slug pellets, weed killer can all affect wild animals. Orange peel keeps slugs at bay, beer or fine sand.

Litter; try to keep bottles, tins, pots and cans out of your garden; animals can get trapped in

these. Ensure sharp and dangerous items such as razors, knives and glass are kept in an empty jar so animals going through bins looking for tasty morsels, wont hurt themselves. Always make sure you clean up antifreeze if you spill it, it tastes sweet so animals often lick it but its toxic. Also, plastic bags can float out to the sea where turtles eating them mistaking them for jellyfish. They then fill their stomach, making the turtle feel full and they then starve to death.

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 Drains; animals can get trapped in these and starve to death; keep yours covered! Lawn

mowers and bonfires; these often take the lives of animals; be particularly careful around compost heaps, hedges and bushes.

Car Accidents Other ways you can help is with injured animals. 165,000 animals are injured and killed by cars every year in Britain alone. By driving carefully and avoiding driving at night, particularly down roads that arent well lit, you can avoid killing animals on the road. Log onto britishwildlifehelpline.com/centres.html to find out where your nearest animal rescue centre is or call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999. If you keep an animal first aid box in your car, you could even take them to your local animal hospital to save time. First Aid Box Thick gloves A small cloth A net A dog carrier/ shoe box and jam jar A list of emergency numbers to call And Remember; Keep animals in the dark; it makes them feel safer if they can't see you. When handling animals, keep them as secure as possible. Always make sure there are air holes in any container they are kept in. Don't look animals directly in the eye if you can; it is seen as threatening behaviour. If you are taking care of any orphan animals; try to moisten their food where appropriate.

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 Always thoroughly check if you think an animal has been orphaned. Unless it's very obviously in need of immediate attention, leave it and come back again in 24 hours to see if it's mother has come back for it. Try not to pet or touch the animals too much; if they get used to humans they will soon be killed after being released into the wild. Worldwide Peace For Animals I hope and pray one day all animals will be free from cruelty if enough people work together. Most people care about animals but dont realise how badly theyre treated and those who dont care about animals are usually unaware of what sentient, beautiful beings they are. If both these messages are widespread enough, along with how people can help, I believe animals will eventually be free from cruelty. This book has been written in the UK with British animals in mind because of my limited knowledge of animal treatment and the legal systems around the world. But I hope most of the methods can be used no matter where in the world you are fighting for animal freedom. A good start would be a few people from each country to assess what causes animal cruelty to continue in their country (mostly unawareness of the sentience of animals and how theyre treated). Then following this, the next step would be for them to do what they can to stop the factors helping animal cruelty to continue (for example, raise awareness of animal sentience and how theyre treated along with alternatives to unethical products through leaflets, books etc). These actions along with all the information about spreading the word etc in this book, would do a lot to help prevent animal cruelty in a lot of countries. Then, it would be good for people from each country to assess how their local wildlife needs help and act accordingly. Its a really simple plan but I believe if this simple little plan is carried out by a lot of people in each country around the world, we will have worldwide animal peace.

The Positive Page

Although its great to work hard for animal rights/ welfare, its also very frustrating, debilitating and stressful. Thats why we wanted to create this page; to show you how the movement is progressing thanks to everyones hard work! Sometimes it might seem like youre chipping at a mountain, but you are always making progress! In fact, just by going vegan or vegetarian, you are helping thousands of animals. Stay positive when working for animals and dont neglect your own needs, a burnt-out animal activist is no good for you or the animals! A recent survey found that 40% of the British public want an end to animal testing. 80% of the population were against hunting with dogs before it was banned. Over five thousand people turn vegetarian every week in Britain. 626,041 signatures have been collected for the Animals Matter To Me petition (a petition designed to show people in power how important animal welfare laws are to people). 1825 signed a petition against the factory farming of ducks. 9727 have signed a pledge to boycott Procter & Gamble products until they cease testing on animals. 7850 have signed a petition against Welsh assembly assisted puppy farms. 5814 have signed a petition against Oxford University Laboratory carrying out experiments on Felix the monkey. 1720 signatures have been collected on a petition against the testing of cosmetics on animals. In 1994, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals protested outside Calvin Kleins office; within a month, they stopped selling fur. Viva! Ran a campaign against companies who sold kangaroo meat in Britain. They protested outside the stores and received so much support, that all the supermarkets withdrew from the trade.

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 Born Free collected 1.9 million names on their Ivory Out petition. This caused the sale of elephant products to be banned and most of the world agreed to stop trading in ivory In 1997 a lady circus worker who beat a chimpanzee called Trudy, went to court and received 12 cruelty charges. Although the judge ruled that Trudy could be returned to the Chipperfields, 200,000 people wrote in protest to this and Trudy was taken to a monkey sanctuary. Vegetarianism and animal rights are now on the National Curriculum which is taught in schools. In Celebs Into Animal Rights I'm anti-fur because there's no need for animals to die for fashion. It isn't necessary. Besides, wearing fur makes you look like an old woman! - Natalie Imbruglia After being told that pigs share the same mental capacity as 3-year-old children: "My niece was 3 at the time, which is a magical age. I thought, Oh, my god, it's like eating my niece!" "It must be vegetarian. I don't want any meat put in front of me." Brad Pitt (Celebrity Living Weekly) "If any kid realised what was involved in factory farming, they would never touch meat again. I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun, and personality of the animals I worked with on Babe that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian." James Cromwell Vegan actress Natalie Portman says, I just really love animals and I act on my values. I am doing everything I can to reduce animal suffering with simple lifestyle choices like being vegan...and buying only from companies that NEVER test their products or ingredients on animals. Alicia Silverstone

Useful Information
For Resources Animal Aid www.animalaid.org.uk Animal Liberation Front - http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ IFAW www.ifaw.org Local campaigns http://www.veggies.org.uk/arc.php Local charities/ shelters etc - http://www.veggies.org.uk/acd/index.htm PETA www.peta-online.org Vegan Outreach www.veganoutreach.com Ethical Consuming Cheap bulk vegan food www.duckdirect.com/Food/asp. Vegan all www.veganstore.co.uk Vegan cosmetics freespace.virgin.net/honesty.cosmetics/ Vegan shoes www.ethicalwares.com

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Groups Animal Aid www.animalaid.org.uk BUAV www.buav.org Captive Animals Protection Society - http://www.captiveanimals.org/ IFAW www.ifaw.org PETA www.peta-online.org Vegan Outreach www.veganoutreach.com

Thank you so much for reading this booklet and taking an active interest in helping animals. I really hope you have found it useful; the fact that you have read this book means you are motivated, dedicated and ready to change the world for the better so I wish you the very best of luck and know you will be fantastic!

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