The Year is Almost Over. Here Are Five Urgent Petitions You Can Still Support
As 2022 draws to a close, here are five petitions you can sign to help make the world a better place for animals in the years to come.
Stop the world's first octopus factory farm
One of the most intelligent and emotionally complex species on earth is set to become the newest victim of the horrors of factory farming if the multi-million-dollar Spanish Corporation Nueva Pescanova is not stopped. Nueva Pescanova is planning to open a commercial octopus farm in the Canary Islands next year, where at least 60,000 captive octopuses will be kept and killed every year for human consumption.
Despite global outrage from environmentalists and animal advocacy groups, including Species Unite and our community, the company is continuing to press ahead with plans. This could be our last chance to stop this new form of mechanized animal cruelty before it is too late.
While the slaughter of horses for human consumption in America was banned in 2007, over the last five years, it is estimated that around 288,000 horses have been transported to slaughterhouses across state lines.
The anti-slaughter bill, Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, H.R. 3355, would permanently ban the transport of horses bound for slaughterhouses across state lines, essentially closing a legal loophole that still allows this to happen. Earlier this year, this legislation advanced through a U.S. House Subcommittee within the Energy and Commerce Committee, bringing the bill one step closer to passing in the U.S. House and Senate.
Please join Species Unite in urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass the SAFE act so that we can move one step closer to ending the vicious practice of sending American horses to slaughter.
Every year nearly 5 million donkeys are slaughtered for their skins and the numbers are only going up. These innocent animals are brutally beaten and often skinned alive so that their pelts can be used to make a type of gelatin called ejiao that is used in traditional Chinese medicine. This is a far-reaching global crisis that is decimating international donkey populations and devastating poor families in the global south who face the threat of having their donkeys kidnapped and killed.
Although China is the biggest importer of donkey skin gelatin, the United States also accounts for an estimated $12 million worth of annual imports. By importing donkey skin gelatin the United States is complicit in the theft and murder of these innocent animals across the global south. In an interconnected world where supply is based on demand, we can make a difference here in the United States to help put a stop to this horrific international trade once and for all.
Around 100 million animals are killed for their fur every year as part of the global fur trade, including coyotes, minks, raccoon dogs, and chinchillas. Animals are typically kept in cramped conditions where cannibalism and neurotic behavior is not uncommon. To harvest their fur, the animals are bludgeoned, skinned alive, electrocuted, or gassed. The trade is also detrimental to the environment, associated with water pollution, land degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. Due to the cruelty, major fashion brands, including Dolce and Gabbana, Armani, Kering, Moncler, Prada, Valentino, Versace, and so many others have either stopped using fur altogether or are beginning to phase it out with set end dates for fur in their lines.
Max Mara is a rare exception and continues to profit from animal suffering. Please join Species Unite in urging Max Mara to do the right thing and stop using animal fur once and for all or join us in boycotting them until they do.
Wolves were removed from the Endangered Species List in 2020 under the previous administration as the result of pressure from the ranching industry. As a result of this, aggressive, anti-carnivore legislation engineered to decimate wolf populations by any means necessary went into force in 2021. Under these new laws, hunting seasons across multiple states were expanded and restrictions on killing methods were practically eliminated. The regulations were so aggressive that even many pro-hunters voiced concerns.
In February of this year, a federal judge restored federal protections to wolves in 44 U.S. states. However, protections were not restored to wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain Region where over 80 percent of the slaughter occurs - nearly 1,000 wolves were hunted down in these states in the last year alone.
Please join Species Unite in insisting that Deb Haaland use her authority to stop this slaughter before irreversible damage is done to America’s wolf population.
We Have A Favor To Ask…
Species Unite amplifies well-researched solutions to some of the most abusive animal industries operating today.
At this crucial moment, with worldwide momentum for change building, it’s vital we share these animal-free solutions with the world - and we need your help.
We’re a nonprofit, and so to keep sharing these solutions, we’re relying on you - with your support, we can continue our essential work in growing a powerful community of animal advocates this year.
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Species Unite
A collection of stories of those who fight the good fight on behalf of animals.
The controversial industry has shipped millions of live farmed animals from the UK to abroad on crowded, grueling journeys, which can last for over 100 hours.