Thursday, October 28, 2010

Open, joint letter from Friends of Animals and LIDA re proposed Victoria pet limit rules

Below is a joint letter from FoA and Lawyers in Defense of Animals, Inc. (LIDA) commenting on pet restrictions in Victoria, which was featured in the Times Colonist a few months ago (see this blog entry.) I've sent repeated letters requesting more information on the issue to Mayor Fortin and Councillor Thornton-Joe, with no response, hopefully this gets their attention.
To: Mayor Dean Fortin; Charlayne Thornton-Joe (Councillor)
Cc: Dave Shishkoff [mailto:dave@friendsofanimals.org]


Date: 28 Oct. 2010
Re: Proposed pet-limit laws, Victoria, BC.

Greetings to Mayor Dean Fortin and Councillor Charlayne Thornton-Joe, and the Members of the Victoria, BC Council:

We wish to inform you that Friends of Animals, Inc. (FoA) and Lawyers in Defense of Animals, Inc. (LIDA) share concerns over a proposed law that would be problematic and difficult to change once its unintended consequences are felt.

Each of our organizations has a strong record of advocating for animals raised as pets, and their abandoned offspring.

Since its inception in 1957, Friends of Animals, Inc. has facilitated more than 2.5 million sterilization procedures for cats and dogs. The mission of the group is to challenge and end cruelty to animals and their exploitation.

Having litigated animal-related cases in New Jersey for more than 20 years, LIDA has a thorough familiarity with pet-limit laws.

Both of our groups view pet-limit laws as creating distrust (and thus non-compliance) among law-abiding people who are driven underground in an effort to protect their animals.

We understand from media reports that the Council Members for Victoria, BC, Canada are proposing to legislate per-household cat and rabbit limits. Household limits have proved detrimental for cats and cat rescue or foster advocates – people who do our communities a service, and who should be encouraged.

In various locations in North America it’s become clear that pet limit laws do not effect the aims for which they are enacted. Existing health code laws and animal-cruelty laws are already aimed at the problems that limit laws attempt to address. Local ordinances can be enacted to cover situations such as breeding of animals. Limit laws, however, are typically enacted in reaction to some incident, and fail to ensure good general policy.

We’ve seen household limits declared unconstitutional in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. Challenges are currently being mounted against them throughout the United States. More significantly, they are they ineffective in solving the problems they are enacted to address.

Relinquishment of cats, rabbits, and other pet animals attributable to the economic climate has already overburdened shelters. A limit law will increase that burden while simultaneously depriving these shelters of the foster homes on which they rely to help ease the space constraints.

Ultimately, enacting pet limits would mean Victoria will be viewed as an authority to be avoided, thus diminishing the likelihood that help will be sought in those situations where it is genuinely necessary.

Please take the time to confer with us before deliberating further on household limits. We recommend you to Dave Shishkoff, Canadian Correspondent for Friends of Animals, who lives in Victoria and can keep the animal-advocacy community and the Council in a beneficial communication loop. We also plan to reach out to the press so that the people of Victoria – including rescue advocates – can take part in discussion of issues surrounding enlightened policies for animal care.

Very truly yours,

Marie Ansari, Rescue Liaison for Lawyers in Defense of Animals
Website: www.njlida.org
E-mail: info@njlida.org
Headquarters: 98 Washington Street, Morristown, NJ 07960 U.S.

Lee Hall, Vice President - Legal Affairs
Friends of Animals
Website: friendsofanimals.org
E-mail: leehall@friendsofanimals.org
Headquarters: 777 Post Road, Suite 205, Darien CT 06820 U.S.
Please send in your own letters as well to mayor@victoria.ca and cthornton-joe@victoria.ca asking them to make more info on this issue available, to discuss and consult with the public and animal rescue organizations, and to ensure that these limits don't hinder those who work to rescue animal refugees.

As always, please feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Victoria Vegan Buddy Program!

Friends of Animals is proud to offer a Vegan Buddy program for Victoria.


If you're a new vegan and are looking for advice and tips, be it on nutritional info, where to find vegan foods, cooking replacements (ie, how to replace eggs when baking), what new veggies to try out, questions about environmental or animal rights topics and more, look no further! We'll pair you up with an experienced vegan mentor who's keen to help you out and share their experiences.

Conversely, if you're an experienced vegan and interested in helping out a new vegan by email or phone, we're also looking for vegan mentors. You don't need to know everything about veganism of course, Friends of Animals is here to help you out in return as well, if faced with any questions you're unfamiliar with. All we need from you is the desire to help out.

To sign up, visit our Victoria Vegan Buddy page, fill out the appropriate form, and we'll get you started on the Vegan Buddy program. Thanks so much for being a part of this inspiring project!

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Save-A-Turkey Trot 2010 Report

The first annual Save-A-Turkey Trot was a success, and fun had by all!

Last Sunday was a bit of a cloudy and overcast day, but regardless OrganicAthlete Victoria and Friends of Animals welcomed 23 people and two dogs to join us for this fun run/jog/walk/whatever. Victoria is infamous for holding 1st-time sporting events with hardly any participants, so this was actually a pleasant surprise.

The goal of the event is to encourage a more peaceful Thanksgiving (and every meal!) by promoting veganism. It’s healthy, better for the environment, and certainly eliminates an unimaginable amount of suffering and killing in the world.

We welcomed a wide range of people, young and old, sporty and casual. According to the sign-up poll, fully 12 of the participants were vegans, three vegetarians, and the rest selected ‘curious to find out more’ or left it unmarked.

Most of the participants were keen on enjoying a walk along the scenic waterfront, but some opted to push themselves for the 5k run.

Top finisher was long-time OA Victoria member and vegan Kevin Park, with a time of 20:33, which is doubly-impressive given he took a wrong turn and ran a bit further! Adam Moss, a member of the UVic Triathlon club and vegetarian, was close behind finishing at 20:57. Top female and 3rd overall was long-time OA friend and supporter Lysanne Lavigne with a speedy 21:24, and a minute behind her was vegan and new FoA and UVic Tri member Jenn Marr.


The tail end of the walkers strolled in at about 55 minutes, where they were cheered and welcomed with delicious vegan sweets donated by the vegan restaurant Green Cuisine. A draw followed, and over $600 in prizes and goodies were given out. A big thank-you to our generous event and OA Team sponsors Purica (for loaning the tent as well), Vega (free samples were given to everyone as well), Eatmore Sprouts & Greens, Oak Bay Bikes, Tattoo Zoo and of course Green Cuisine.

A big thank-you also needs to go out to OA and FoA volunteers Scott, Mary, Kevin, Alissa and Jess for helping out and making this come together.

For more info on why to consider a vegan Thanksgiving (including recipes) check out the Friends of Animals ‘Victoria Vegan’ site: http://thevictoriavegan.com/foa/ and the FoA Vegan Starter Guide: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

Have a happy, vegan Thanksgiving!

 Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg