Last month at the Animal Rights Conference in Los Angeles, we caught up with Author Will Tuttle (The World Peace Diet), who spoke with us about his work and his feelings about Earthlings.

 

"What Earthlingsdoes, the great gift it gives our culture, is that it makes us aware of what's behind the curtain of our denial. It may be painful, we may be resistant, we may not want to see it, we don’t want to know, but once we do, then we have the power to transform our consciousness. We can begin to behave in new ways, go to a higher level where we’re not actually causing that kind of misery.”

Dr. Tuttle has also just written a fascinating piece on the cultural history of the movement for animal rights on the blog Crazy Sexy Life. Read part one here and part two here. 

"It’s important to understand that owning animals as property to be killed and eaten is the hidden and defining core of our culture, and that all of us were, and are, routinely indoctrinated into the mentality of domination, exclusion, reductionism, elitism, and disconnectedness required by the food practices of this culture."

Check out the video (and listen for how he’s shown Earthlings in Lawrence, Kansas):

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Recently we caught up with PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. We asked her to speak about Earthlings and share her advice on a vegan lifestyle from her new book The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble.

Here's what she had to say: 

 

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SB 250, The Pet Responsibility Act, and AB 241, The Responsible Breeder Act, are some of the most important bills in Sacramento today.

SB 250 requires that dogs be spayed or neutered unless their owner/guardian obtains an unaltered dog license when they license their animal, and also requires that roaming cats be spayed and neutered by their owner/guardian.

SB 250 will dramatically increase the number of pets who are spayed and neutered, thus reducing shelter overpopulation by decreasing the numbers of accidental pet pregnancies. In Santa Cruz County, where a similar law was passed over 10 years ago, shelter impounds dropped by over 64 percent. You can read about their success here. Santa Cruz is so successful that they are now taking in animals from other shelters to help ease overcrowding in those areas.

The rest of the state is not so lucky. California shelters bring in approximately one million dogs and cats every year, and euthanize over half because there are not enough homes. Every dog born in California today has nearly a one in four chance of ultimately becoming homeless and dying in a shelter. Two-thirds of the cats entering California shelters are euthanized. And the numbers are getting worse every year. Meanwhile, California is in a budget crisis, yet it spends three hundred million dollars per year housing and killing these unwanted pets.

SB 250 will be voted on in the Assembly Appropriations Committee later in August, followed by the full Assembly vote, and then the Governor's desk.

AB 241, The Responsible Breeder Act, places limitations on cruel puppy mills by setting the number of unaltered animals anyone may own to a maximum of 50. While 50 unaltered pets may sound like a lot, in reality, puppy mills in California today can house up to 500 animals. They live in overcrowded, filthy, and inhumane conditions with inadequate shelter, no exercise or socialization, and no veterinary care. Many puppy mill breeding dogs live in concrete pens or on wire mesh and never touch the ground their entire life. For a detailed look at a recent puppy mill investigation in Palmdale, California, please see Last Chance for Animals’ Special Investigations Unit.

AB 241 will be voted on in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 17th, followed by the full Senate vote, and then the Governor's desk.

Both of these bills have powerful opponents with deep pockets. Underground animal breeders who fear that new legislation will affect their unscrupulous businesses are joined by hunting groups, fur farmers and others who make their living off the backs of animals. These groups have the means to call, fax and visit legislators in person to complain against the bills.

If you live in California please visit www.YESonSB250.com and www.YESonAB241.com, fill out the easy support letters, and join the thousands of people working towards making our state a better place for pets. If you don’t live in California but know people who do, please send them this information and ask them to use the links to send letters to their legislators.

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Rory Freedman, author of the bestseller "Skinny Bitch" and the new "Skinny Bastard," spoke with us recently about why she buys Earthlings DVDs and gives them out.

"There's nobody who can watch Earthlings and not be profoundly changed. Once you see this movie, your life is going to be different."

 

 

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We will be there! Will you?

Admission to the exhibit hall is free, but to hear Shaun Monson speak on Producing/Airing Videos (producing and airing of TV documentaries and PSAs), you will need a day pass for Sunday July 19 His talk will be at 4:30 p.m.

Shaun will also make a special presentation Saturday July 18 at 2 p.m. including scenes from Earthlings and a preview of our new film Unity. 

For complete event details or to register, visit http://www.arconference.org

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Shaun Monson wrote a brilliant piece on the Animal Planet series Whale Wars that appeared in the Hufington Post in response to an editorial that called the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society "terrorists."

“After all, it is a curious terrorist organizationthat hasn't actually killed anybody,” Shaun wrote. He goes on to wonder if the Boston Tea Party would have been accused of "Eco-Terrorism."

You can see the full article here , and post a comment if you’re inclined.

Clicking on the link, posting a comment, and sharing the article with friends will show Huffington Post that its readers care about animal issues.

 

 

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