I am always grateful for people who pick up a cause. The Praire Dog Coalition in Boulder, Colorado is fighting for these animals and educating people about the role they play in nature.. In fact, even CNN founder Ted Turner has gotten into the mix and restored about a quarter million praire dogs on his vast ranchland in the West.
The black-tailed prairie dog once numbered in the billions and ranged across 11 US states and parts of Mexico and Canada. The species has been eliminated from up to 98 percent of its historic range in the last 150 years, as people converted native grasslands to agricultural operations. Plague continues to decimate colonies, and ignorant people routinely poison and shoot black-tailed prairie dogs.
The good news is the Prairie Dog Coalition is working to make sure these wonderful little creatures don't disappear. Learn more about prairie dogs, about the facts and myths, and how you can help these animals be part of future generations by clicking on the above link to the coalition's website.

80% of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used on animals. Yet when we go to the doctor we are told they are being cautious about prescribing antibiotics because of the increase of antibiotic-resistant diseases. According to the NY Times article "A chicken without guilt", nearly every test of supermarket chicken finds high percentages - sometimes as high as two out of three samples of staph, salmonella, campylobacter, listeria or the disease-causing antibiotic-resistant bacteria called MRSA.

Mark Bittman suggests several choices including a new product on the market from Savage River Farms a new company producing a chicken subsitute made from natural products, which Whole Foods will soon begin to distribute. 

What are our choices really?  Some of us choose not to eat meat, as my brother says, "I don't eat anything with eyes."
And companies, like Savage River Farms, are giving us better choices to make that lifestyle easier. For others who wouldn't consider a meatless diet, staying with local farmers who raise they stock without antibiotics and humanely is the best solution. And, yes it costs more to buy meat from local sources, so adopt meatless days in your week so what you eat is good for you, good for the environment, and done humanely. When people speak with their pocket book, the bigger corporations will listen and perhaps, and hopefully in my lifetime, factory farming may become extinct. 

By the time I was fourteen, I had been bit numerous times and scratched more than that. I loved animals and it never ocurred to me they might not love me back. The occasional nip to my hand or scratch to my arm never deterred me from running up to the next dog or cat. The fact is, most of us animals lovers hope the targets of our affection will just want to hug us back.

But now put yourself in their place. You are in a room, walking down the street, or sitting on a bench. A strange person comes over to you, gets in your personal space, and reaches out to touch you. How many of us would be okay with that? Most likely, the police would be dragging the culprit away with us running in the opposite direction.

Most animals don't wear a warning sign, like our little friend here, so when it comes to approaching animals you don't know, be cautious. Ask the owner if they are safe to pet. If their friendly, be slow, let them have a chance to get to know you, and don't put your face by any animal you are not 100% sure about. Being cautious and respectful of their personal space, will ensure that both of you will have a safe & enjoyable encounter. 

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THE BEST WAY TO MAKE COMPANIES CHANGE IS VOTING WITH YOUR POCKETBOOK - DON'T SUPPORT COMPANIES THAT HARM ANIMALS. - 

THIS IS WHAT EVERY HOLLYWOOD MOVIE SHOULD DO WHEN USING ANIMALS TO PROFIT ON! CONGRATULATIONS TO DISNEY - HOPE MORE TO FOLLOW AND HOPE THAT EVENTUALLY WE MAY SEE A PORTION OF ALL THE PROCEEDS GO TO HELP THE WONDERFUL ANIMALS THAT MAKE THESE MOVIES SUCCESSFUL

As a nation do we need to hunt a species, cut off its fin, and throw it back in the water to drown, be eaten by other fish, and eventually die for no more than a piece of its body? Of course not. But we do. And thank you to California's governor who signed a bill this month outlawing this soup due to the way it's harvested and the declining population of sharks. 
Sharks play an important part of our eco system, keeping under control the larger fish that prey on smaller fish. All of our earth is a balance and mother nature placed each of these creatures here for a specific reason. 

The way we are treating sharks today is similar to the settlers when they shot so many Buffalo that they almost caused that breed to go extinct. Here we are, hundreds of years later, and still doing the same thing.

Write to your senator, your representative, your governor. Tell them that Shark Fin Soup belongs on only one menu - the one that has gone extinct - 

Here's a list of restaurants who, until they take shark fin soup off their menu, you should take them off yours:http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/boycott.htm_

What wonderful news I received today - Russia banning the import and export of harp seal skins - I can't tell you how many times I sign a petition, write an article, send a donation--wondering if it will make a difference.
Notes like this, successes by organizaitons such as Best Friends, SPCA, Whale Wars, Gentle Giants, and hundreds of other organizations make me believe in the wonder of one small voice that grows into thousands. 
Make sure your voice is heard today!    



December 2011    Wonderful holiday gift for seals
 Dear Lynne,

I've just received incredible news, and I wanted to be sure you were one of the first to know since your support helped make it happen.

IFAW's Seal Team Director, Sheryl Fink, has just let me know that Russia has banned the import and export of harp seal skins. This is a huge victory as the Canadian Government estimates that Russia receives 90% of Canada's exports of seal skins.

I'm so thrilled to be able to share with you this wonderful holiday gift for harp seals. IFAW supporters have worked so hard to help us close down the markets for seal products around the world. And this news will inspire us to work even harder so that together we WILL finally see an end to Canada's commercial harp seal hunt.

Read Sheryl's blog post here for more information about this victory, about how IFAW supporters played a critical role in making it happen, and to see her inspiring "timeline of the shrinking seal markets."

I hope this news warms your heart this holiday season as it has mine.

Thanks again for your support, and warmest holiday wishes,


Fred O'Regan
IFAW President