Sun Fan's wall

Apr 20, 2012 @ 08:56 pm Sun Fan In LA, Will Be Required To Sell Only Rescues If City Council Motion Passes (VIDEO)

The cute puppy and kitten faces peering out from Los Angeles malls and storefronts could soon all be rescues. The LA City Council Tuesday voted 11-1 in favor of banning stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits that are not rescues.

Dec 19, 2011 @ 01:22 am Sun Fan Elizabeth Forel Pure Imagination Radio Interview

Please forward
Pure Imagination - 12/09/10 - Pure Imagination - Progressive Radio Network
www.progressiveradionetwork.com
On this episode of Pure Imagination, we had Elizabeth Forel, the president of the coalition to ban horse-drawn carriages, in-studio to talk about the recent "accidents" in NYC.

Please click on this link to hear my December 9th interview on Pure Imagination radio.

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/pure-imagination/2011/12/9/pure-i...

Dec 8, 2011 @ 11:25 pm Sun Fan My Chinese Fortune Cookie

I just ate Chinese for dinner. Here is some food for thought from my fortune cookie: "Turbulence is a life force. It is opportunity. Let's love turbulence and use if for change."

Sep 2, 2011 @ 01:56 pm Sun Fan Closing Our Borders To Puppy Mills

Today the Obama Administration, admirably, issued two notices from two different federal agencies on new proposals to advance animal welfare. The first item, which you can read about on Wayne Pacelle’s blog, is a positive finding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a petition filed by The HSUS and other groups to begin a review of whether all chimpanzees should be listed as an endangered species, addressing the current lack of protection for captive chimps in entertainment, as pets, and in labs. And the second item, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is a long-awaited proposed rule designed to prevent the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills for resale in the United States.

When Congress passed the 2008 Farm Bill, HSLF and others successfully pressed for changes to the Animal Welfare Act to prevent sick and vulnerable young puppies from being shipped into our country for the pet trade. But a law on the books is only as good as its enforcement and implementation. While the congressional passage of the provision was more than three years ago, until now the USDA had not issued regulations designed to actually implement and enforce the law.

As the U.S. confronts its own puppy mill problem by passing new and improved state laws every year, for too long pet dealers looking to make a quick buck have been circumventing U.S. regulations by importing puppies from overseas and across our borders. These puppies come from questionable sources, often raised in filthy and overcrowded conditions. Many are taken from their mothers before they are even weaned and before their immune systems have had a chance to develop. They are then subjected to harsh, long-distance transport in cramped containers, often exposed to extreme temperatures of heat or cold and infectious diseases along the way, solely to satisfy consumers’ demands for the tiniest purebred or “designer” puppies. Not surprisingly, many of these puppies die in cargo holds or shortly after arrival.

The proposed rule requires that dogs imported for resale be in good health, have received all necessary vaccinations, and be at least six months of age, which addresses the most acute problems with unweaned pets in long-distance travel from other countries, and gives law enforcement a mechanism for determining the age of puppies being transported. The law will not prevent individuals from transporting their own pets, the importation of dogs for non-commercial purposes or veterinary treatment, or the transport of dogs for research.

Finally the law we helped pass in 2008 will have teeth, and enforcement can begin in earnest. This move strikes a blow to the overseas puppy mill industry and to the U.S. importers who profit from it. It will stem the tide of unweaned puppies, many sick or dying, flooding the gates of our airports, and will help to stop the spread of large-scale puppy mills in China, Eastern Europe, Mexico, and other nations that are taking advantage of American pet lovers.

The USDA is accepting public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days. Please write to let the USDA know you support the proposed rule, and encourage swift passage and enforcement to crack down on puppy mill imports.

Aug 29, 2011 @ 01:22 am Sun Fan CARRIAGE HORSES WORKING DESPITE NYC SHUT DOWN

Dear animal advocate: Several hours ago, portions of NYC were evacuated for the first time in history, and the largest public transportation system in the country was shut down due to Hurricane Irene. With conditions deteriorating, Mayor Bloomberg implored NYers to stay home for our own safety and so that emergency vehicles can easily navigate the streets. Downpours occurred throughout the day. In spite of all of the above and the law which clearly states that carriage operators cannot work during "ice, heavy rain or other slippery conditions," dozens of horse-drawn carriage operators were working as of 4:30 p.m. If history repeats itself, the horses will be forced to make the long, treacherous trip through the streets of midtown back to the "stables" when the storm intensifies.

As usual, the ASPCA, which collects an untold amount of money from donors in the name of helping the carriage horses, allowed the carriage drivers to leave the stables this morning and to work all day in the wet streets in spite of the law. The ASPCA, which was founded to protect the carriage horses, continues to stand by and watch as the carriage operators to break the law. They mock -- instead of support -- the advocates who are working tirelessly to take the horses out of harm's way. And they continue to refuse to use their substantial clout, power and resources to shut this industry down, in spite of their own stance that horse-drawn carriages should be banned from NYC.

The horse-drawn carriage industry is also enabled -- if not empowered -- by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has blocked all efforts to take these horses out of midtown, killing bills in committee before they see the light of day. In fact, Quinn has killed every meaningful animal protection bill introduced at City Hall since she became Speaker in 2006. Following are pictures of horses working in the rain at about 3:00 p.m. today. Please share this information with your friends who donate money to animal organizations and/or who vote in NYC. Thank you. Donny Moss [edit.note: the ASPCA suspended the carriage trade about 4pm yesterday, possibly in response to the many phone calls and e-mails they received.]

a photo editorial by Donny Moss

Related Photos:

Aug 29, 2011 @ 12:25 am Sun Fan DAY ONE OF HURRICANE IRENE - Horses Still Out!

I hope everyone is safe. On the Upper West Side of Manhattan, we survived it pretty well. The rain has stopped - maybe temporarily. The trees i see out my window are still standing. My windows did not get blown in. We are all safe.

Yesterday, NYC was getting seriously into emergency mode. Stores were busy as people bought groceries to last through the next month. The NYC transit system began to shut down at 12 noon. People in low lying areas had been asked to evacuate as early as Thursday and Friday. President Obama declared a state of emergency for New York State about 5 p.m. on Friday in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, a Category 2 storm, making landfall on the East Coast. This was the President of the US -- not the Mayor or Governor - but the President. Serious stuff.

On Friday, I e-mailed my contacts at the Administration and the ASPCA asking them to shut down the carriage horse trade beginning on Saturday. True to form, they ignored me. They always do. On Saturday, we learned that the horse carriages were out working - the drivers plying their trade. It rained intermittently and heavily on Saturday. The City was in crisis mode - but the entitled carriage horse trade were allowed to work.

Donny Moss is the director and producer of the award winning documentary about the NYC carriage trade Blinders: the Truth Behind the Tradition.. Donny decided to walk from his apartment almost three miles away to document this travesty.

http://www.blindersthemovie.com

Related Photos:

Aug 17, 2011 @ 12:35 pm Sun Fan A Fin-Tastic Day At The Capitol

The Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” wrapped up earlier this month, but yesterday was Shark Day at the California legislature. More than 100 animal advocates from across the state gathered at the capitol in Sacramento, many carrying stuffed toy sharks and wearing shark t-shirts, to advocate for A.B. 376. The legislation to ban the sale of shark fins, introduced by Assemblymembers Paul Fong, D-Cupertino, and Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, passed the Assembly in May by a vote of 65-8, and is now pending in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Aug 3, 2011 @ 01:41 pm Sun Fan Big Chicken = Big Problems

Over the last several years there has been an increasing number of reports from government agencies and independent scientists from around the world indicating that modern animal agriculture is not only hurting animals, it's killing the planet. Most recently, The Pew Charitable Trusts released a 36-page report titled Big Chicken: Pollution and Industrial Poultry Production in America, explaining how manure from chicken factory farms is creating dead zones in the ocean and choking the life out of America's coastlines - most notably in the Chesapeake Bay.

The report has a number of shocking statistics based on 50 years of federal and state government data, including:

In less than 60 years, the number of chickens raised for meat has risen 1,400 percent, from 580 million in the 1950s to nearly 9 billion today.

In that same period, the number of chicken producers has decreased by 98 percent, from 1.6 million across the United States to just over 27,000 concentrated in just 15 states.

The dramatic increase in the number of chickens raised and killed combined with the decrease in the number of chicken producers has resulted in the average facility raising more than 600,000 birds a year.

"This growth has harmed the environment, particularly water, because management programs for chicken waste have not kept pace with output," said Karen Steuer, who directs Pew's efforts to reform industrial animal agriculture.

In 2008, the Pew Charitable Trusts' report, Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America, found that industrial animal agriculture is unsustainable, poses a grave threat to human health and the environment, and needlessly harms animals. Pew's latest report is just one more nail in the coffin. Either industrial animal agriculture comes to an end, or we all do.

However, there is hope for a brighter future. The easiest and most effective way to protect your health, the environment and animals is to transition toward a healthy and sustainable plant-based diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn how.

Aug 3, 2011 @ 01:45 am Sun Fan Got Ethics? New MFA Anti-Milk Parody Ad Takes On Dairy Industry's Sexist PMS Marketing Campaign

Mercy For Animals is rolling out a provocative new anti-milk campaign in response to controversial and sexist PMS-themed ads by the milk industry, which were yanked last week after drawing criticism from people nationwide. In a bid to set the record straight about the milk industry's true relationship with the female reproductive system, MFA has created an edgy parody of the highly maligned and recently scrapped dairy industry PMS ad campaign. The clever ad exposes the dark side of milk production: egregious animal abuse.

The ad, endorsed by leading feminists, including Carol J. Adams, will run in the next issue of Ms. Magazine, the popular women's rights journal that helped lead the charge to retire the misleading and offensive dairy industry ads.

Mimicking the style of the milk industry campaign, the anti-dairy ad features an angry woman holding blood-splattered milk cartons, exclaiming, "PMS? No, I'm livid with the milk industry for abusing and killing cows. Most Cows in Dairy Production Are Painfully Mutilated, Intensively Confined, and Mercilessly Killed" and directing consumers to the newly launched MFA website, MilkIsCruel.com.

MFA wants consumers to know that milk comes from exploited, abused and grieving mothers. Like humans, cows only produce milk when they are pregnant or nursing. In the dairy industry, cows are forcibly impregnated in what the industry refers to as a "rape rack" and then kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation. So that all of their milk can be sold for profit, baby calves are ripped from their mothers' sides when they are only a few days old. "Surplus" calves, including almost all of the males, are shipped to slaughter or sold for veal production.

The constant cycle of pregnancy, birth and often artificially elevated milk production takes a huge toll on the cows' bodies and most are considered "spent" at six years of age, when they are shipped to slaughter for low-grade hamburger meat. Cows would normally live 20-25 years. Worn out by the cruelties endured in milk production, many cows, called "downers," are too sick or injured to walk to the kill floor. Workers often use forklifts and chains to push or drag these helpless animals to their deaths, tearing ligaments and breaking bones along the way.

Luckily, conscientious consumers can get more than enough calcium and other nutrients from healthy, plant-based foods without all of the saturated fat, animal cruelty and dishonest marketing from the dairy industry. Visit ChooseVeg.com to learn more.