ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND..BREAKING UPDATES ON CRITICAL LEGISLATION.. Please take the time to act and share. We as their supporters cannot let this happen to any of our endangered species, farm animals, horses, dogs or cats. Please sign and share we are their voice and support.. Mahalo

Many critical laws protecting animals, including those regulating factory farms and preventing the sale of dog and horse meat, are in danger. Representative Steve King (R-IA) is trying to pass HR 3599, the so-called "States' Rights Elimination Act," which would undo many of the legislative victories you've achieved for animal protection. Tell your legislators that you oppose HR 3599. HR 3599 takes away your state’s ability to enact animal welfare laws protecting animals and consumers from food produced in unsafe conditions. Rep. King tried to pass similar legislation a few years ago, and animal advocates like you fought back. Congress needs to hear from you again. Please take a few minutes to make a short, respectful phone call to your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121. When you call this number, the automated system will direct you to your legislators based on zip code. A sample message: "I am (name of legislator)'s constituent. I am calling to ask you to oppose HR 3599, sponsored by Representative King, and instead support legislation that protects animals.” To make sure your message is heard, click here to send a follow-up email message in support of states’ rights to protect animals and consumers. Thank you for helping us protecting our state and local animal welfare laws. For the animals,                                                                     Stephen Wells Executive Director

Updates from EarthJustice Victories for 2017 and Ongoing law suits for 2018.

Earthjustice is working to restore Wild Salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Their continued victories in the ongoing battle to save our Salmon has resulted in Federal Agencies to devise a plan to restore salmon to the Columbia-Snake rivers which held the largest amount of salmon in the world.

This was a VICTORY for Earthjustice protecting the Montana's Grizzly Bears and our Bull Trout. The mountains of Montana were on the brink of losing all the Grizzlies and Bull Trout in this particular area. They filed a large law suit which challenged the development Montanore Copper and Silver Mine, which would completely put the Grizzly and Bull Trout extinct in this area.

Bull Trout

Victory for Earthjustice in protecting Florida's Coral Reefs. They entered their lawsuit against a Federal Dredging and Port expansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This blatant act of dredging and expansion would kill our Coral Reefs which are under the Endangered Species Act.

VICTORY... Keeping our Honey Bee's safe from pesticides was huge success. Life on Earth depends on pollination from our Honey Bee's. Earthjustice challenged the decision by California regulators to use pesticides over a widespread area that are extremely poisonous to our Bee's.  Honey Bee's are an Endangered Species and must be protected at all cost!!!  Bravo!!!

These are just a few of the ongoing lawsuits and Victories of Center of Biological Diversity and their affiliate Earthjustice. Earthjustice is going all out to make changes and shift to clean energy in California.. 

They are now focusing on Australia's  Great Barrier Reef and ancestral lands of the indigenous people of Australia. They are directly working with Australian lawyers and advocates to stop developments in new coal mines and expanding their coal export..

We all need to advocate for all these changes, as we are a powerful voice and we need to support all the wonderful organizations who work tirelessly everyday protecting our environment, endangered species and air to breath.  Why? because without them, we ourselves would become the latest factor as an Endangered Species and our Earth needs to survive for our future generations.

                                      BRAVO... EARTHJUSTICE AND THE BEST IN 2018

Breaking News... Center of Biological Diversity, Endangered Earth.. Suit has been filed against the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to prevent the deaths of the some of the rarest whales. The North Atlantic Right Whale is the most Endangered Species of all whales. Their overwhelming deaths are do to gill nets, lobster traps and most of the commercial fisheries sea gear. The Center of Biological Diversity has no fear and along with other allies will fight until commercial fisheries stop using gill nets, and other gear which is killing the Right Whale. Our administration has a legal responsibility to act and demand a game plan along with the National Marine Fisheries to implement laws and regulations to prevent the extinction of this Great Whale.. We all must stand with these dynamic corporations who advocate against these killing measures of all marine life. We are the voice of all marine life, endangered species and all must stand together to stop these heinous crimes against our whales.. EXTINCT IS FOREVER AND EVERYDAY ANOTHER WILD SPECIES, MARINE LIFE, AND WILD BIRD are legally declared extinct. Mahalo

A Legal Lifeline for Some of the World's Rarest Whales There are only about 450 North Atlantic right whales left on Earth, and too many of them get caught in lobster trap lines and other commercial fishing gear. In fact scientists have determined that entanglement is the leading cause of death for these whales — and there's been an alarming die-off in the past year that's overwhelming recovery efforts. The Center for Biological Diversity and allies just sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to prevent the whales' deaths. "Right whales could disappear forever if they keep getting killed in fishing gear," said the Center's Kristen Monsell. "The Trump administration has a legal and moral responsibility to act right now to prevent these amazing animals from suffering more deadly, painful entanglements." We appreciate your support in this work. Read more in the Cape Cod Times.

Eastern Puma Officially Declared Extinct The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this week confirmed the eastern puma is extinct and removed it from the federal endangered species list. This distinct population of cougars once lived from Quebec to South Carolina and Manitoba to Illinois. The decision clears the way for states like New York to reintroduce cougars from the widespread and abundant western population. Eastern pumas, also known as mountain lions, were killed off throughout the 1700s and 1800s until 1938, when the last one fell to a hunter in Maine. Western pumas disperse widely and have shown up as far east as Connecticut. "We need large carnivores like cougars to keep the wild food web healthy, so we hope eastern and midwestern states will reintroduce them," said the Center's Michael Robinson. Get more from Reuters and The Revelator.

Raise Your Voice Against Offshore Drilling The government shutdown this week forced the cancellation of several hearings on Trump's new plans to dramatically expand offshore drilling around the country. Now that the government's reopened, the hearings will resume and a series of rallies is in the works starting Feb. 3. We're working overtime to get as many people as possible to these events to speak out against the attack on our oceans and wildlife. Take a moment to join Ignite Change and check out this list of hearings you can attend and actions you can take.

Idaho Win: Feds Halt Oil and Gas Lease Sale After the Center and allies filed protests against an oil and gas lease sale near eastern Idaho's Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the Trump administration has halted the sale. Fracking and drilling would threaten imperiled greater sage grouse and likely hurt other wildlife in the area, which is also celebrated for hosting the world's largest nesting population of sandhill cranes. "Halting this sale was the right decision," said Michael Saul, a senior attorney at the Center. "It's good to see the Bureau of Land Management acknowledging the risks and uncertainties of turning this land over to the oil industry." Read more in our press release.

Trump Waives Laws for New Mexico Border Wall The Trump administration has waived more than 30 environmental laws to speed construction of 20 miles of border wall in New Mexico. The laws were meant to protect clean air, clean water, public lands and endangered wildlife. "Trump is stopping at nothing to ram through this destructive wall," said Center attorney Brian Segee. Last year the Center sued to challenge the administration's use of the waiver to build replacement walls south of San Diego. We're now considering challenging the latest waivers. Read more in The Hill.

Center Op-ed in Ms.: Speaking Up for Women and the Earth "One year ago," begins Center attorney Jean Su's new op-ed in Ms. magazine, "I found myself standing at the front of a packed airplane cloaked in a somber fog. Donald Trump had been inaugurated just hours before, and the plane reverberated with murmured conversations about who had watched it, who hadn't, who couldn't bring themselves to." Jean's piece explores the link between speaking up for ourselves as women and speaking up for the planet — a powerful meditation on how the personal and political are one. Read more in "Marching for an Eco-feminist Revolution" about Jean's conviction that we need to act against all the forms of oppression and exploitation that fuel violence — whether it be violence against women or violence against nature.

The Revelator: 222 Birds Now 'Critically Endangered' In troubling news, The Revelator reports, 222 bird species worldwide are now considered critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. That includes species like the yellow-breasted bunting and the Rimatara reed warbler. Sadly 21 of the bird species are designated as "possibly extinct" since they haven't been seen for years. Another 461 bird species are now listed as endangered, and 786 are considered vulnerable. Luckily there's also some good news about several species, including the world's largest freshwater bird. Read more in The Revelator.

A Family of Meat Eaters Makes a Change "Shades of Green" is a column by the Center's Jess Herrera about how she and her family are pursuing a more planet-friendly lifestyle. They've made progress in reducing their food waste and use of plastics, but this week they face their toughest challenge yet: eating less meat. Our national appetite for meat poses a huge threat to wildlife. If we all ate a higher percentage of plant-based foods, we could make a difference. But how do enthusiastic meat-lovers change their ways? Find out in "The Meat of the Matter."

Wild & Weird: Trump's Misplaced Fear of Sharks Adult film star Stormy Daniels — who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump before he became president — said recently that he's "obsessed with" and "terrified of sharks." Her statement is backed up by previous tweets by Trump stating that "sharks are last on my list." But the Donald's fear of sharks is misplaced. In 2016 only four humans were killed by sharks worldwide. By contrast, humans kill more than 10,000 sharks every hour. Check out our video on Facebook or YouTube and read more in The Hill.

PETA... Their victories for 2017... it was an amazing year for everyone joining PETA on their continued battle to save and protect all animals that are endanger of sever abuse, neglect, and the horrid conditions many animals endure throughout the year. PETA and many organizations who join forces with them share no expense and never back down from a fight to save all wildlife, marine life, dogs, cats, and farm animals from the exposure of the most severe cruelty that can be imposed on them. Mahalo PETA for all that you do at any cost and your victories throughout the year speak for themselves... Mahalo nui loa..

In a thrilling example of the power that a PETA exposé can have, following our release of footage of horrendous conditions at a dog blood farm in Texas, 151 dogs were rescued and the facility closed!

From late August through October, PETA helped the animal victims of hurricanes Harvey and Maria. Our rescue team went to storm-ravaged Texas and Puerto Rico, where it saved animals stranded in floodwaters, reunited animals with their families, and, in order to free up space for incoming flood victims, brought dozens of homeless dogs and cats who had been at regional animal shelters before the storms to our Virginia headquarters—the Sam Simon Center—for adoption.

Last year, we hit new levels of success in our campaign to end the use of animals in laboratories. For example, we persuaded the U.S. Coast Guard to become the first U.S. military branch to stop killing animals in trauma training drills and start using state-of-the-art human-patient simulators. PETA successfully countered proposals by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that could have caused a major increase in deadly chemical tests on animals and persuaded Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson to stop using animals to demonstrate invasive medical device procedures for sales representatives. We also stopped starvation experiments on animals at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, and after we objected, federal funding for steroid- and cocaine-induced aggression experiments on animals at Northeastern University in Boston ended. As of this year, PETA and the PETA International Science Consortium Ltd. have contributed more than $5.3 million (including the value of in-kind donations) toward the development of non-animal testing methods, simulators to replace animals in science education and medical training, and instruction for scientists in their use.

As part of our campaign against the abuse of animals for fashion, we released our seventh video exposé of the wool industry on three continents, proving that there's no such thing as "humane" or "responsible" wool. We also countered Canada Goose's claims that its products are "[e]thically sourced" with our video exposé of one of its down suppliers. Footage that our eyewitnesses shot reveals that geese were trampled, suffocated, and crammed into tiny transport cages for a miserable trip to the slaughterhouse. Exposés like this have helped us persuade numerous hotels to ban down bedding and retailers (including Restoration Hardware and Crate & Barrel) to offer synthetic alternatives to all their down items.

The animal agriculture industry sustained a well-deserved blow when Utah's "ag-gag" law—designed by the meat and dairy industries to outlaw investigations into farms and slaughterhouses—met the same fate as its Idaho counterpart and was declared unconstitutional as a result of a lawsuit filed by PETA and other groups. Of course, the ramifications of PETA's exposés are hardly limited to U.S. borders. Following our 10-year campaign and three eyewitness investigations into South American slaughterhouses, Israel banned the importation of beef from any country that uses the cruel "shackle and hoist" method of kosher slaughter. This will spare hundreds of thousands of cows annually the ordeal of being violently pinned to the floor, thrashing in terror as workers cut their throats and suspend them with all their weight hanging from one shackled limb.

The past year was also packed with victories in our campaign to stop the use of animals in entertainment. After decades of being a PETA campaign target, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus finally closed down. And following our involvement, New York City outlawed circuses with wild animals, Ramos Bros. Circus went wild animal–free, numerous Garden Bros. Circus appearances were canceled, Carson & Barnes Circus canceled its 2017 summer tour, and no circuses in Canada toured with wild animals. With your support, PETA also rescued eight captive bears (bringing the total to 65 so far), got numerous exotic-animal appearances canceled, and filed complaints that resulted in stiff fines, permit denials or suspensions, or other penalties for dozens of exhibitors—some of which closed.

It's exciting to think of all the progress that will be fueled by resources from our wonderful monthly sustainers like you in the coming year. Thank you so much for being part of the PETA team. I look forward to congratulating you on the victories you'll be helping us win in 2018 through your generous support. With kind regards, Ingrid E. Newkirk President

Animal Legal Defense Fund.... On the agenda for January 2018, ALDF is asking for signatures to help keep Orcas out of captivity in protection, the State of Florida. They are now leading the coalition of animal protection and marine conservation groups. We all must take this time and continue to support organizations including ALDF in their efforts in proposing new legislation in the protection of all animals, including our wildlife, endangered species and our marine life. This particular legislation would continue to prohibit breeding Orcas in captivity, as well as transporting them to other states to remain in captivity. Orcas or Killer Whales are inherently unsuited to being held in captivity, due to their longevity, intelligence, acoustic needs, ranging habits, and size. Orcas social needs are complex and they are very family-oriented. There is No tank that offers Orcas enough space or ever could. Many of the tanks are usually only 100-140 feet long and 25-35 feet deep. Wild adult Orcas can reach 6000-12,000 lbs and up to 18-24 feet long. They can travel up to 100 miles in a day and dive up to 300 feet deep. What can a tank do for them or a Dolphin? Orcas as well as dolphins, suffer stress and anxiety when kept in captivity, particularly when there is no enrichment in their life. Do we really want them to be on medication for their mental and physical stress???? Implementing legislation would be a giant step in keeping our marine mammals out of captivity... Please take the time to read and TAKE ACTION !! We are the voice not only for the voiceless, but also for the bravery of these organizations, that fight tirelessly everyday to keep our animals, marine and wildlife safe, protected and out of harms way... Mahalo

Imagine spending your entire life living in a room the size of a bathtub. That’s the reality for orcas kept in captivity in marine amusement parks like SeaWorld. In the wild, orcas swim up to 140 miles in a single day and are highly social animals that live in groups. But in amusement parks across the world, orcas are kept in tiny tanks and forced to perform tricks day in and day out. We’re fighting to protect future orcas from enduring this cruelty with the Florida Orca Protection Act, which would end the cycle of captivity by outlawing orca breeding, including transporting genetic material from orcas in Florida out-of-state. It would also prohibit any additional orcas from being transported into the state for a life of captivity or transferred out of North America, except for transport to a seaside sanctuary or as required by federal law. But we need your help to make sure the Florida Orca Protection Act becomes law. In 2016, SeaWorld announced it would end the breeding of orcas. But a recent front-page article in the Tampa Bay Times suggests that SeaWorld might not be fully committed to protecting orcas. It’s crucial that we don’t rely on changing corporate policies to ensure future orcas aren’t exploited for entertainment, it needs to be the law. With the 2018 legislative session starting in just a few weeks, we need your help to make sure legislators know that this issue is important to Floridians. Please send your state legislator the Tampa Bay Times article with a brief message that you, as a constituent, want protection for orcas in Florida to be a priority in the 2018 legislative session. TAKE ACTION Will you join me in speaking out for orcas? For the animals, Stephen Wells Executive Director