Walking the Walk? Or Just Talking the Talk?
Posted 06/21/2006
From Best Friends Animal Society
Dear Members and Friends,
According to the Best Friends national poll, 96 percent of Americans believe strongly that animals should never be abused. Yet millions still die in our animal “shelters” every year. Hundreds of millions die in cruel experiments … and billions in the factory farms.
So what’s going on here? Are we all just talking the talk, rather than walking the walk?
More likely it’s a case of people saying, “Yes, kindness to animals matters. But if you want to really change things, you’re going to need to lead the way and make it reasonably easy for us to follow.”
One good example of this: More than half of all Americans told us they’d be more likely to buy food products from animals who were raised humanely, even if it costs more. The problem for most people is that the humane option is just not readily available.
So we need to put kindness to animals firmly on the national agenda. A hundred years ago, most people knew that child labor was wrong. But it just kept going – until the Women’s Humane Society of Pennsylvania raised the flag, took a stand on the issue, and lobbied for the laws that would abolish it in this country.
It’s the same way with every social issue. Everyone knows these things are wrong, and most of us are very willing to help make a difference when someone takes the lead and shows that we CAN make a difference.
The Best Friends national poll indicates that we’re approaching a classic “tipping point” in terms of kindness to animals.
So this weekend, we’re asking people everywhere to perform at least ONE ACT OF KINDNESS TO ANIMALS, and to report it on the Best Friends website.
Please encourage your friends and family to join in. And report your act of kindness on the Best Friends Network at http://network.bestfriends.org.
The odometer is already ticking. Let’s see how many thousands of AOK’s (acts of kindness) we can clock up.
Tomorrow: The Best Friends Kindness Index: where the country is at.
Michael Mountain
Best Friends Animal Society
UPDATE: 06/22/2006
A better world through kindness to animals.
Tomorrow, June 23rd, is Best Friends Day. And all weekend, we’re asking people everywhere to perform at least ONE ACT OF KINDNESS TO ANIMALS, and to report it on the Best Friends website.
Many folks are asking for examples of things anyone can do – like friends and family. So we’ve posted a “101 Acts of Kindness” list of suggestions on the Best Friends Network at http://network.bestfriends.org – in the Resources section. Here are a few of them:
* Bake some cat or dog treats and give them to your local rescue group
* Take an elderly neighbor’s dog for a walk, or help them groom their dog or cat
* Spend an hour or two at your local shelter or rescue group. Pet the cats, clean litter boxes, spend time with some homeless pets who are least likely to be adopted right away
* Donate yarn and thread to the “Snuggles Project” or knit a cage blanket to donate
* Take your dog to work on Friday. (It’s actually Take Your Dog to Work Day, too!)
* Make a donation to a local humane group – or to Best Friends
Imagine what a difference we can make if, this weekend, thousands of us unite to carry out an act of kindness to an animal.
The odometer is already running on the Best Friends Network website at http://network.bestfriends.org. Let’s see how many AOK’s we can clock up this weekend!
Tomorrow: Staying in touch
Michael Mountain
Best Friends Animal Society
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