2017 Huge Victories for the Animals!

Top Victories for the animals in 2017!!
Thanks to activists, consumers, PETA, ALDF, Fur-Free Alliance, HSU and other affiliates around the world.

1. Official dietary guidelines across the world are being changed to include less meat, from the Netherlands, Brazil and the UK. Belgium even moved meat to the junk-food category, and put processed meats in the “consume as little as possible” category, as processed meats are now classified as a carcinogen.

2. The release of ‘What The Health’ on Netflix in June opened many eyes, and hearts, as people realized meat is not even good for them, convincing thousands to go vegan. This movie really helped bring veganism to the mainstream, bringing awareness to celebs like Ne-Yo, Jason DeRulo, The Office star Craig Robinson, singer Jason Derulo, and Laverne Cox from Orange is the New Black, (and started a new vegan glitter nail polish line).

3. VEGAN LEATHER ON THE RISE: All of Tesla’s seat options are now vegan leather, and Kat Von D released a new line of stylish vegan leather shoes made from pineapple and mushroom. Joining the ranks of some Mercedes Benz, Rolls Royce, BMW, Toyota and Volkswagen offering vegan leather and alternatives. Lamborghini took it a step up with carbon fibre fabric, called “Carbonskin”.

4. COURT REINSTATES BAN ON FOIE GRAS IN CALIFORNIA
Following Years of PETA Protests and the amazing work of Animal Legal Defense Fund! September 15, 2017: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of California’s milestone law banning the sale of foie gras in a unanimous decision reaffirming the law’s constitutionality. The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed an amicus brief urging the court to support the law. Unfortunately, the ban won’t go into effect immediately due to continued appeals from the foie gras industry. The Animal Legal Defense Fund is committed to continuing to fight against legal attacks on this landmark law. ALDF and PETA’s lawyers are the tops for animals!

5. HUGE FUR VICTORIES!
Luxury Fashion Brand GUCCI, Net-A-Porter the leading online luxury retailer, Michael Kors, BCBG, Burlington Coat Factory, are all banning fur! Joining Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss, and Ralph Lauren to name a few! Thanks to you activists, and PETA’s pressure, including Over 200 companies banned the cruel bunny fur angora!
GUCCI’S CEO, Marco Bizzari said, “Being socially responsible is one of Gucci’s core values and we will continue to strive to do better for the environment and animals.” He also stated, “Fur is just not modern anymore.” We couldn’t agree more!

Croatia’s Fur Ban Takes Effect Following Stepped-Up Pressure From PETA Croatia’s complete ban on fur farming went into effect on January 1. When the ban was threatened with an exemption that would have allowed the breeding and slaughter of chinchillas for their fur, Sharon Osbourne teamed up with PETA to narrate a video detailing how chinchillas suffer and die on fur farms, which she then sent to the country’s minister of agriculture. Croatia sided with animals and kind people everywhere and upheld a total ban.

6. Greyhound Blood Banks Closed! Thanks to PETA Exposé, Dogs Moved Into Adoption Programs as The Pet Blood Bank Announces Closure About 150 greyhounds—most of whom had previously been used for racing—were imprisoned at a Texas blood farm known as The Pet Blood Bank, Inc., where they were trapped inside wire and dirt-floored kennels in an old shed and had nothing to do but spin in circles when they weren’t being bled. Some suffered from severe dental issues, infections, and sores—and none had an opportunity to be anything but exploited, living blood bags. Under pressure from PETA and the public, The Pet Blood Bank announced on October 26 that the dogs would be transferred into adoption programs and that the business would close. At last, the dogs can get the care that they deserve as well as the opportunity to play, sniff, and go for walks.

7.RINGLING BROTHERS CIRCUS FOLDS! Following a PETA Campaign Spanning Three Decades Citing a “dramatic drop” in ticket sales over the last decade, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus shut down in May after 146 years in operation. PETA had targeted it for over three decades, holding protests outside performances, lobbying for bans on bullhooks and animal acts, filing more than 130 formal complaints with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and publicizing photos and videos showing trainers beating, striking, hooking, whipping, and roughly handling animals.

NYC bans wild animals in circuses, Ringling Brothers circus closes, Scotland bans wild animal circuses. Sea World struggles to remain open due to awareness of animal suffering & deaths in small aquariums. Over 60 wild bears were released from zoos.

8. CALIFORNIA PUPPY MILL BAN! California becomes the first state in U.S. to ban the sale of puppy mill dogs in pet stores, also including bunnies and cats. It requires pet stores to sell shelter animals only.

9. Vegan cheeze is on the rise across the world, and on the menu permanently at Pizza Hut. Europe is embracing plant-based foods! The UK eats 50% less red meat than in the 70’s and Germany is now at 44% low-meat diet.

10. VEGAN DIETS MEGATREND! Most exciting for reduction of mass animal suffering in factory farms will be the huge growth of veganism and plant-based diets in 2018. Leading hospitality consulting firm Baum + Whitemand recently published its 2018 Food & Beverage Forecast, which expects vegan food to be a megatrend in the coming year. According to a study by Grubhub, a meal-delivery service which connects patrons to various local restaurants, meatless orders are up 19% in 2017. Even Tyson is starting to invest in meatless products like Beyond Meat, to ensure the company’s longevity in the future.

11. Israel Bans ‘Shackle and Hoist’ Slaughter Following an eyewitness investigation and campaign conducted jointly by PETA, Anonymous for Animal Rights, and Let the Animals Live, Israel announced that—effective immediately—no new slaughterhouses will be approved to export beef to the country unless they conduct slaughter with rotating restraint pens. For facilities already exporting beef to the country, it set a deadline of June 1, 2018, for the installation of rotating pens, after which time “shackle and hoist” meat will be completely banned. Authorities in Paraguay—a major producer of kosher beef and where much of the 2016 investigation was filmed—agreed to switch to rotating restraint pens by the end of 2018.

12. PETA Pushes the EPA to Reduce Animal Tests When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attempted to circumvent requirements to reduce and replace animal use, PETA scientists pushed back—testifying in hearings, submitting official comments, and contacting various agency officials—and the EPA canceled its plans. See here for more information.

13.Euromonitor International research company has found that come 2022, America will officially no longer be the world’s largest consumer of dairy products, (the top will be claimed by China). The shift is coupled with meteoric growth in the plant-based milk industry, set to reach $35 billion by 2024!

14. World First: PETA Exposé Results in Shearers’ Guilty Pleas for Abusing Sheep In December 2016, a shearer pleaded guilty to cruelty-to-animals charges for the first time in history, following a 2014 PETA exposé that documented that wool industry workers in Australia beat scared sheep in the face with electric clippers and punched and stomped on their heads and necks. Five more shearers pleaded guilty to dozens of similar charges this year, and all offenders were fined and banned from being in charge of sheep for various periods of time.

15. Following PETA Lawsuit, Judge Declares Utah ‘Ag-Gag’ Law Unconstitutional For the second time, a state “ag-gag” statute has been declared unconstitutional as a result of a lawsuit filed by PETA and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. The U.S. District Court for the District of Utah struck down the state’s ag-gag statute, finding that it violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The ban prohibited, in relevant part, gaining access to an agricultural operation by false pretenses and filming once inside.

16. Travel Groups Abandon Cruel Elephant Rides After meeting with PETA and being informed that elephants forced to give rides are beaten into submission with bullhooks and often kept tightly chained and separated from their friends and family, several companies—including smarTours, World Spree Travel, and Shore Excursions Group (the largest shore excursion company in the travel industry)—agreed to stop offering the cruel activities.

17. Following PETA India Appeal, Pesticides Registration Committee Takes Steps to Spare Animals’ Lives Following an appeal from and meetings with PETA India, the Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee made several changes to a guidance document on pesticide registrations, such as providing criteria for waiving animal tests, reducing animal use by combining certain tests, and accepting non-animal testing methods on a case-by-case basis. This important step forward will reduce by thousands the number of animals used in pesticide toxicological evaluations in India.

18. The largest Animal Rights march in history, happened in Tel Avivi, Israel with over 30,000 marchers in solidarity against demanding justice and compassion to all animals being harmed. Across the globe including New York over 2300 people attended , and across the world to London with over 7800 in attendance. Our movement is growing strong!

Here’s to a great NEW 2018 for the animals! Going strong thanks to you and amazing organizations like PETA, ALDF to name a few! Thank you for all that you do!

Writers: Sara Hoffman,Vegan Yogi, wellnesswithsara.com and Karenna Love, and special thanks to Contributors PETA and ALDF.

Credit:  David Munoz for YT Video Animal Rights March