Earlier this week, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed two bills into
law that put his state on a growing list of states banning some of the cruelest
factory farming practices.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, the passage of these
bills makes Rhode Island the “ninth state to ban gestation crates for
breeding pigs, the seventh to ban veal crates for calves, and the third to ban
cattle tail docking.”
A recent undercover investigation at a livestock auction in California has revealed a system of unchecked cruelty, extreme violence, and severe neglect. The footage, obtained by a Mercy For Animals (MFA) undercover investigator at Ontario Livestock Sales outside of Los Angeles, shows baby goats being picked up by their necks and heads, dragged by their legs, and thrown ruthlessly about. Sheep and pigs are kicked, prodded, dragged, and stomped on by workers to force them to move. Live birds can be seen being stuffed into plastic bags, left to suffocate. Animals are overcrowded into narrow pathways and small spaces to the point where they’re forced to trample on top of each other one another.
I met the man of my dreams while volunteering for Compassion Over Killing. Together, we helped launch
and grow the Los Angeles Volunteer Chapter before we officially establed the COK office in LA in April 2011. From partners in activism we became partners in life when we married on August 5, 2011.
The occassion couldn’t have been more magical, and lucky for us, our special day has been commemorated in the July + August issue of our favorite magazine, VegNews! We are featured, along with seven other couples, for hosting vegan weddings—a celebration of not only love but compassion.
Teams of Compassion Over Killing staff and volunteers spent the past two weekends participating in Pride celebrations in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Baltimore—and handing out over 15,000 pieces of pro-veg literature and sharing more than 7,000 vegan food samples!
Yesterday, Compassion Over Killing, represented by Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), finalized a settlement and court order resolving a lawsuit alleging widespread animal abuse and neglect at Cal-Cruz Hatcheries, Inc., a Santa Cruz
hatchery that processed millions of birds each year destined for the chicken
and duck meat industries.
After successfully persuading companies including Morningstar Farms, Lightlife, BOCA Foods, and Quorn to reduce or eliminate their use of eggs and offer more vegan options, COK has been reaching out to Subway, urging the world’s largest restaurant chain to offer more substantial protein-packed vegan meals on its menus.
You’re Invited!
The weather is warming and that can only mean one thing—summer is almost here! Along with the change in season, we’ll be celebrating our second annual Summer Soiree fundraiser, benefiting Compassion Over Killing’s groundbreaking corporate campaigns and other life-saving work.
A few months ago, Jennifer Mennuti, the VP of Operations for a landscape architectural design firm, was tabling in her hometown of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, sharing free information on vegetarian eating. While handing out leaflets to hundreds of passersby, she offered one to COK’s Executive Director, Erica Meier, sparking a conversation about volunteer opportunities at COK!
Meeting Jen was great for us and even better for animals — in just a matter of months, she helped us add the state of Florida to the US VegWeek map by hosting FIVE events in one week, including two packed screenings of Vegucated and a vegan bake sale that raised over $750!
