Great workshop by Joshua Entis ('This Little Vegan') last night - he is here in Wellington for the weekend and there are events running every day. Thanks again for AV Wellington for organising his visit to Our city as it's been great for Speak Up for Animals NZ to be involved. Part of the reason Joshua is here is to inspire vegans (or non-vegans!) to get active for the animals. We can all do something! And we can reach out to others in a compassionate and understanding way and spread the message of animals rights. ^SPB #thislittlevegan #govegan #speakupforanimnalsnz #nzvegans ... See more

Josh’s 5 tips: 1. Ask! Ask questions! #thislittlevegan #socraticmethod ^T

Joshua Entis delivering a workshop in Wellington, New Zealand, about vegan outreach and activism #joshua Entis #veganoutreach #thislittlevegan ^M

LATEST UPDATE ON WILD KAIMANAWA HORSES NEEDING HOMES!!

URGENT!!! MORE HOMES NEEDED!!!

The Kaimanawa horses are wild horses of New Zealand. Sadly, agri farming seems more important than they are, and as humans encroach on their wild lands, these horses are murdered periodically, to keep the numbers down.

We think the Kaimanawa horses belong in their native wild home, not in homes, not to be broken and ridden like toys rather than the majestic beasts that they are. Still, adoption is a much better option than a needless, cruel death. If anyone is in a position to adopt a Kaimanawa horse, there is a need for more homes.

There are actually 26 (!!!) horses without homes at this point, not 13 as was previously thought.

SO...
Please ADOPT, SPONSOR, SHARE everywhere you can think of to help us secure great homes for these last few horses. They need YOU!

Please look up the Kaimanawa Heritage Horses page on Facebook and check what you can do to save precious lives. Thank you.

^M ... See more

Well done Sandra for speaking up for the animals!!
If you want to do as Sandra does, the Save movement now has chapters up and down the country. Here is a link to the Wellington page:

https://www.facebook.com/WellingtonAnimalSave/

^M

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12051167 ... See more

New Whanganui resident Sandra Kyle is an active animal rights activist.

#DotherightthingMPI Take Action! See below. ^T

UPDATE: The Ministry for Primary Industries has just given this facetious statement:

“In a statement the Ministry for Primary Industries said, along with the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee, they "encourage organisations using animals in research, testing and teaching to consider re-homing animals where possible, where it is appropriate to the animal".

MPI needs to do the right thing and back up their statement with action! Head over to their Facebook page and leave a message/post encouraging them to make the right decision.

Kiwis don't want to hear false claims, we want real action and real results!

This is exactly what our Out of the Labs petition is asking for. We want the government (including MPI and NAEAC), to enact a mandatory retirement policy to encourage the rehoming of ex-lab animals to willing and able rescue centers, where they are able to. ... See more

Come on Mike, sounds like a great offer from HUHANZ. Let science win! Let the research begin! #letthemlive #outofthelabs please share. ^T

YOU SAY WHAT NOW???!!!!
LETS GIVE THEM SOME CLARITY...

Last week during a TV One News interview, our Out of the Labs Campaign was the hot topic, and an Otago University Research Head, said this...

"Most of those (Rabbits and rodents) have been bred specifically for research purposes, and its not clear they are going to be well suited to living happy and healthy lives in peoples homes"

So last night we wrote to him with this offer....

"Hi Mike

I am the founder and Rehabilitation Coordinator for HUHA - Helping You Help Animals Trust. A few years ago we partnered with the NZAVS to launch the Out of The Labs Campaign. We have been asking the Primary Productions Select Committee to introduce a rehoming policy for ex lab animals.

Recently you appeared on TV One News and made this statement "Most of those (Rabbits and rodents) have been bred specifically for research purposes, and its not clear they are going to be well suited to living happy and healthy lives in peoples homes"

We would like to bring you that clarity.

We are asking that you release a small number of laboratory bred rabbits or rodents into our care. We will then set about seeing if the rehabilitation and socialization program we offer these animals, will allow them to integrate into homes as happy and healthy pets.

We believe it is possible, and would go further to say that these animals could even be identified as assets to our communities, assisting community members health and happiness.

We ask for 12 weeks with these animals to document and conclude our social experiment. If we fail we will publicly admit we were wrong. If we are successful we would like the opportunity to help more ex lab animals, when they become available.

I look forward to discussing this proposal in more detail with you

Warm Regards

Carolyn Press-McKenzie
Founder of HUHA-Helping You Help Animals Charitable Trust
027 4416474"
_____

Watch this spot!!! ... See more

NO VALID REASON GIVEN! What are the real reasons to refuse this request! What are they afraid of? Please share this news. The fight continues....well done NZAVS and HUHANZ for speaking up for the lab animals. ^T ... See more

IMPORTANT UPDATE! MPs have said NO to a mandatory retirement policy for ex-lab animals!

We are outraged by the lack of understanding and compassion that the select committee has shown. They could have made a very small amendment but have chosen to turn a blind eye to the needless death of thousands of animals across NZ.

We will be taking our campaign to the next level now and will be taking this important issue directly to the Minister!

MPs have said that they “do not consider that a mandatory retirement policy is necessary for animals used in RTT (research, testing and teaching)”. And that “at present, there is nothing in the Animal Welfare Act to preclude a research facility from offering animals to rescue centres once the research is complete”.

The issue isn’t that there is anything preventing facilities from rehoming ex-lab animals in the Act, it’s that there is nothing encouraging the rehoming of these animals which is clearly needed! In 2015 88,200 animals were killed during or after experimentation in NZ. It is evident that the government need to step in and at least encourage these facilities to try and adopt these animals out to loving homes, where they can.

They gave us no valid reason for turning down our petition in their report. All the concerns they have were already addressed in our campaign!

Read more about their poor decision and access their full report here http://nzavs.org.nz/news/2018/05/13/mps-let-down-thousands-of-lab-animals-in-nz!/ ... See more

Tune into the TVNZ Breakfast Show tomorrow at 7.20am to hear our Executive Director, Tara Jackson talk about our Out of the Labs petition and why we urgently need to create a mandatory retirement policy for ex-lab animals in NZ!

#LetThemLive #OutOfTheLabs ... See more

No doubt, this will be first of many.
^M

https://i.stuff.co.nz/bay-of-plenty/103696024/Rotorua-childcare-centre-adopts-vegan-menu-goes-waste-free?cid=app-android

Rotorua Early Learning Centre walks softly, scoops UNESCO award.