News
A New Pennsylvania Chapter of Friends of Animals Is Off to a Strong Start
This spring, Friends of Animals established a Pennsylvania chapter to focus on local animal-rights issues. Immediately, we busied ourselves with campaigns to ban horse-drawn carriages, to stop the Valley Forge National Park from killing and imposing birth control on deer, and to establish local vegan programs in the Philadelphia area.
Horse-Drawn Carriage Ban. Our chapter is teaming up with organizations in cities around the world and demanding the end of rides in horse carriages and the surrender of horses to sanctuaries. Carriage companies value their financial interest over the interest of the horses in living a healthy, free, and normal life. Friends of Animals volunteers protested horse-drawn carriages in Philadelphia on June 6 and July 18, and are working diligently to convince council members to sponsor a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. You can help us with this effort no matter where you live by 1) refraining from carriage rides in any city; 2) contacting Mayor Nutter or any council member in Philadelphia (contact your council member if you are a Philadelphia resident) to tell them you think it is disgraceful that Philadelphia continues to allow this form of animal exploitation for tourist amusement; 3) joining our protests; and 4) donating to the efforts of our chapter. For more information about getting involved, please contact philly@friendsofanimals.org.
Deer in Valley Forge Park. This past winter, the Valley Forge National Park announced plans to bring in sharpshooters at night to kill 80% of the deer in the park, along with plans to impose birth control on the remaining 20%. Friends of Animals, joined by the local group CARE (Compassion for Animals, Respect for the Environment), submitted extensive comments in February objecting to the Park’s plan. Good news came shortly after, when the Denver University Environmental Law Clinic agreed to take our case, and now a legal team comprising of Friends of Animals’ legal director, UPenn law student Randi Milgram, and the Denver University clinic are hard at work on a legal action against the federal park service to protect the deer. Pennsylvania Chapter volunteers protested on Saturdays throughout the month of August, when the final decision of the Park was announced. Our message is “Let the Deer Be.”
Vegan Programs. The Pennsylvania Chapter is taking direct action for the end of animal exploitation through two major programs. The first will be working with local restaurants to encourage them to offer more vegan menu offerings. In connection with this program, we are establishing a helpful restaurant guide and will work with vegan-friendly restaurants to display “Vegan Meals Served Here” stickers. We hope that through the combination of these efforts, vegan dining will be made more readily accessible to vegans and potential vegans in the area.
This January, we will be hosting a month-long “vegan pledge” for up to 30 potential vegans. This program will go beyond the standard pledge by offering weekly meetings, vegan cooking classes, vegan care packages and vegan mentors to our pledges. Vegan Campaigns, an organization based in London, held a similar program in 2008 with tremendous success. Help by 1) referring friends in the Philadelphia area to participate in the program; 2) volunteering as a mentor to a vegan pledger if you live in the area, 3) sponsoring a vegan with a contribution of $50 to the Pennsylvania chapter; 4) if you own a business or have contacts with a company that offers vegan products, donating vegan toiletries or food samples for us to include in our vegan care packages; and 5) planning a similar pledge in your community.
Donations to support the work of the Pennsylvania Chapter can be made out to “Friends of Animals” and mailed to Friends of Animals, PO Box 30491, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Indicate which program you wish to support in the memo line, or if you would like your contribution to go to the Chapter’s general funds. For more information or to get involved in any of our campaigns, please contact philly@friendsofanimals.org. We would love to hear from you.
Special thanks to our dedicated chapter volunteers: Maryanne Appel, Katy Armstrong, Deanna Calderaio, Ed Coffin, Gigi Elkins, Lindsay Fusfeld, Allison Memmo Geiger, Scott Geiger, Wilson Geiger, Lee Hall, Maggie Hyer, Brandon Gittelman, Tara Gittelman, Catherine Macomber, Matthew McLaughlin, Randi Milgram, Jason Pompilio, Leeann Pompilio, George Sampson, and Rachel Wechsler. Maryanne’s sidekick Steve is the most diligent tester of vegan food we know.
