FUR CAMPAIGN
 
Fall and winter fashions are on the way, and sadly that means that fur will be back on the shelves. The Ottawa Animal Defense League is working on a campaign to educate the public about the realities of the fur industry. We will be out showing footage and handing out leaflets detailing the horrors animals raised for fur endure inside fur farms. We ask that you never let someone wearing fur walk by you without educating them about how that fur was produced, and the horrific way in which the animal they are wearing was raised and killed.  
 
The most common methods of killing fur animals is anal and genital electrocution, gassing, breaking their necks, and beating them into the ground. Often animals on fur farms are skinned while still fully conscious. Most animals raised for fur live their entire lives in cages, barely able to move let alone partake innatural behaviours. They often go crazy from the confinement and boredom, and will resort to chewing their own limbs or spinning in circles.
 
Many people are unaware that the trim on their winter jacket is actually real fur.

Take a look at this photo:
 If you have trim like that you are actually wearing racoon dog fur. These are dogs native to China, Korea, Japan and Russia. Their fur is often used on jackets for trim but is unlabeled. We have spoken to hundreds of people who were compeltely unaware that they were wearing dog fur. So when you go shopping be vigilante. Feel the trim. Does it feel like real hair? When you blow on it does it move easily? If so, don't buy it. And tell the store clerk why.
 
 http://veganthis.org/fur.html   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7aPoDg5fDc
 
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FOIE GRAS CAMPAIGN: On temporary hiatus
 
Thank you to everyone who joined a demonstration, made a phone call or sent an email to restaurants that serve foie gras. 10 restaurants took this cruel dish off their menus after hearing from you and learning about the horrific cruelties ducks endure inside foie gras farms. The issue made the front page of the Ottawa Citizen as well as many other Editorials in the Citizen, Ottawa Magazine, and many online news sites and blogs. Thousands of people learned of how birds are confined in cages and force fed until the point of death to create foie gras. Ottawa Animal Defense League is taking a tempoary hiatus from the foie gras campaign while we focus our efforts on fur. However, we will still be contacting restaurants that serve this cruel dish, sending them facts, videos and studies. We will continue to speak for these birds and hope you will do the same.
 
Report: The Scientific Case Against Foie Gras:

http://www.spca.bc.ca/foiegras/FoieGrasScientificReport_2009.pdf
 
Restaurants in Ottawa that serve foie gras:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=429250124&blogId=449230550

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BOYCOTT OTTAWA SHRINE CIRCUS

Unfortunately, the Shrine Circus came to town again this year, from August 7-9, 2009.  Elephants Marie and Shelly, who are in their 30s and 40s and who have been performing in the circus for nearly their entire lives, have been enduring this tour with the Tarzan Zerbini Circus which produced this event for the Shriners.  While in Ottawa, they were kept in a cement enclosure with an electrified fence when not performing. 

Fortunately, we spent the entire weekend protesting the event, talking to people going in and coming from the various shows.  We were VERY successful in turning away numerous people, after they listened to our concerns about the animals who suffer for this so-called entertainment.  We even succeeded in turning away one couple who had already purchased tickets, even though they knew they could not get a refund!  After the shows, there were many people who told us that they considered our concerns, and realized what the animals had to endure, and said they would never attend another circus with animal acts.

What's next?  We are currently contacting all of the advertisers in the Shrine Circus program, asking them to reconsider their financial support in the future.  Several companies have already replied, indicating they would no longer support the Shrine Circus due to the fact that the animals are still in the act!  We will keep you posted if there are any actions you can take to help out. 

What can you do now? 

Please send a letter to the Shriners, telling them you will not support their circus if they insist on continuing to host circuses with animal acts.

Contact them (politely) at:

TUNIS SHRINERS No. 179
A.A.O.N.M.S.
1319 Shillington Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Z 8A3

Telephone 613-729-2296
Toll Free 1 -866-729-2296
Fax 613-729-3545
E-Mail admin@tunis179.org

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