Lions, abortions, and a victory, oh my!

A federal law bans enlisted women serving overseas and other women who rely on military hospitals for their health care from accessing abortion — even if they pay for the services with their own money...

The ban on privately funded abortion services in overseas military facilities endangers the health and safety of servicewomen and military dependents who rely on the military for their health care. Our servicewomen deserve better.

Click here to sign a petition urging the repeal of this ban.

Just a handful of carbofuran— a product that the Environmental Protection Agency says is too toxic for use in the U.S.— can kill an entire pride of lions. Sadly, this awful poison is still sold in stores (and widely used) in many African nations.

Help save something wild. Help save imperiled wild lions. Fill out the form below to sign our petition urging the heads of Botswana, Rwanda and Kenya to keep carbofuran off the shelves— and out of the hands of those who would use it to kill these big cats— and support new protections for Africa's remaining wild lions.

Click here to sign the petition.

Update on action:

Good news, New York! The NYC Senate and Assembly passed the budget bill preserving the statewide spay/neuter program for low-income New Yorkers' animals. This humane legislation that will funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars annually toward this service has been signed into law by Governor Paterson.

This was due in part to action taken at the ASPCA site and The Animal Rescue Site. Thanks for clicking!

Get busy people

More ways to stop Stupak here,  here,  here, and here. (Still wondering why we are in reactive mode - did nobody see this coming?)


Another one from Credo - they'll send a coat hanger if you sign the petition. Coat hangers FTW!

Tell Walmart to cut the crap with demerits for sick employees. Enough already. Gah!


Tell the U.N. to appoint a special representative to hold groups accountable for gender-based violence. That is, stop the rapes NOW.


Reduce, reuse, recycle. Check out why here.

Take a News Alert Survey at the ASPCA and enter to win a Flip Video camera (I have one - they are super cool). 

Ban dog and cat fur imports to Canada here. Yes, you read that right. Ewwww.


Asst. Majority leader Dick Durbin has a poll on the public option floating around. Fill it out here if so inclined.

Stuff to do

Tell India to stop blocking a global endosulfan (pesticide) ban here.

Petition the Ohio State School board to dump abstinence-only sex ed here.

Send your Governor a letter demanding safer schools here.

Before you vote, go here for the latest list of the Women's Campaign Forum's 2009 endorsed candidates.

Are you clicking each day?

Visit Change.org to take action on a host of progressive issues.

It's not too late: October is Adopt-a-Shelter pet month.

Save the whales here.

Donate TODAY to help save the wolves of Yellowstone (over 60 have been killed so far...)

Home for the Holidays

The ASPCA has a video warning about puppy mills and puppy scams. If you or someone you know is planning on giving a puppy as a gift this year, this video is a must see. That said, the best pet you can give or get comes from your local shelter. Click here to find one near you.

Here's the video:

Victory for Animals!

I blogged about two ballot initiatives concerning animal welfare: Prop 2 in California and Prop 3 in Massachusetts. Both passed! From the ASPCA:

Tuesday was an historic day in America in more ways than one. With resounding victories for California’s Prop 2 and Massachusetts’s Ballot Question 3, voters on both coasts sent a clear message that preventing animal cruelty is a national priority.

In California, the factory farm-related Standards for Confining Farm Animals Act (ballot Proposition 2) won in a landslide, with over 60 percent of respondents voting “yes” to mandate an increase of confinement space for veal calves, breeding pigs and egg-laying hens. On the Act’s effective date, January 1, 2015, these animals will have their rights to turn around, lie down, stand up and fully extend their limbs guaranteed by state law. Violators will face a fine up to $1,000 or six months in county jail.

The Massachusetts ban on dog racing has been a long time coming—in 2000, a similar ballot measure was narrowly defeated, and attempts to get the question included on the 2006 ballot were unsuccessful. With the ban’s passage this week (57 percent to 43 percent), commercial dog racing will be phased out in Massachusetts by 2010. There are two dog tracks in the state—each of which is believed to currently house about 1,000 greyhounds. Because the phase-out will occur over a period of 14 months, greyhound advocacy groups such as Grey2K USA are confident that they will be able to find homes for any racing dogs who become available for adoption.

How to keep the momentum going? You can join the ASPCA's Advocacy Brigade.

If you would like to be alerted when animal-friendly legislation is being considered in your state, please sign up to receive email alerts from the ASPCA—the alerts are targeted to your area, and taking action is easy, fun and free!

How Orange is Your State?

From the ASPCA:

Whether you’re Red or Blue, when you support the ASPCA you’re also Orange. And we need as many Orange supporters as we can get to put an end to cruelty and abuse.

That’s why we need your help! Check out our map to see how your state stacks up and ask 5 friends to join us today. Together we can end animal abuse.

I blogged about the "Cast your vote for cruelty" campaign between Mittens and Rowdy here. Now, you can click here to see a map and how many in your state have cast a vote to end animal abuse. It's not too late to cast your vote! Click here to help spread the word.

It’s only a few days till the election and the critical date when we deliver our list of signatures against abuse to the next American president. Please take action now!

Quickie: Keep pets safe on Halloween

The ASPCA lists 10 ways to keep your pets safe this Halloween:

1. No tricks, no treats: That bowlful of candy is for trick-or-treaters, not for Scruffy and Fluffy.
Chocolate in all forms—especially dark or baking chocolate—can be very dangerous for dogs and cats. Symptoms of significant chocolate ingestion may include vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, increased thirst, urination and heart rate—and even seizures.
Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol sweetener can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar, which leads to depression, lack of coordination and seizures. In cases of significantly low blood sugar, liver failure has been known to occur.
Ingesting tin foil and cellophane candy wrappers can pose a choking hazard or cause intestinal blockage.

2. Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are considered to be relatively nontoxic, yet they can produce gastrointestinal upset should pets ingest them. Intestinal blockage could even occur if large pieces are swallowed.

3. Keep wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your pet could experience damage to his mouth from shards of glass or plastic, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.

4. A carved pumpkin certainly is festive, but do exercise extreme caution if you choose to add a candle. Pets can easily knock a lit pumpkin over and cause a fire. Curious kittens especially run the risk of getting burned or singed by candle flames.

5. Dress-up can be a big mess-up for some pets. Please don't put your dog or cat in a costume UNLESS you know he or she loves it (yup, a few pets are real hams!). For pets who prefer their “birthday suits,” however, wearing a costume can cause undue stress.

6. If you do dress up your pet, make sure the costume isn't annoying or unsafe. It should not constrict the animal's movement or hearing, or impede his ability to breathe, bark or meow. Also try on costumes before the big night. If your pet seems distressed, allergic or shows abnormal behavior, consider letting him go au naturel or donning a festive bandana.

7. Take a closer look at your pet’s costume and make sure it does not have small, dangling or easily chewed-off pieces that he could choke on. Also, ill-fitting outfits can get twisted on external objects or your pet, leading to injury.

8. All but the most social dogs and cats should be kept in a separate room away from the front door during peak trick-or-treat visiting hours. Too many strangers can be scary and stressful for pets.

9. When opening the door for trick-or-treaters, take care that your cat or dog doesn't dart outside.

10. IDs, please! Always make sure your dog or cat has proper identification. If for any reason your pet escapes and become lost, a collar and tags and/or a microchip can increase the chances that he or she will be returned to you.

Quickie: Top 10 human medications that poison pets

From the ASPCA:

1. NSAIDs
2. Antidepressants
3. Acetaminophen
4. Methylphenidate
5. Fluorouracil
6. Isoniazid
7. Pseudoephedrine
8. Anti-diabetics
9. Vitamin D derivatives
10. Baclofen

Quickie: ASPCA

The 2009 ASPCA Calendar is now available. What a great way to "celebrate 365 days of saving lives."

You can get it here for a $25 or more donation.

Cast your vote to end cruelty

The ASPCA has a cute campaign on right now: Cast Your Vote to End Cruelty. The premise: watch the debates, learn about the candidates and then cast your vote for Mittens or Rowdy. This is from the email I received:

Watch the debates to learn the facts about 8 of the most critical animal welfare issues.

Vote for your favorite Pawlotician by signing the Pledge to Fight Cruelty. We want to reach the country and our goal is 1,000,000 signatures.

Help spread the word by telling 10 friends today!

Now go watch and cast your vote!

Quickie: Horses in Need

From the ASPCA:

Today's struggling economy isn't just affecting people at the gas pump; the horse industry is also plagued by the escalating cost of hay. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's market report, hay costs have risen from $160 per ton in 2006 to $235 per ton last week.

That, and drought conditions, prompted the ASPCA to create the Emergency Hay Fund:

Every dollar we receive will be used exclusively to provide Emergency Hay Relief grants to struggling horse sanctuaries and rescue organizations. Please, help us make a difference in the lives of horses by supporting this important Fund; every dollar will truly make a difference!