A letter to Stephen Harper

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2


Dear Prime Minister Harper:

I am writing to express my condemnation of the commercial seal hunt.

It was apparent that the Liberal Government held no regard for the welfare, or the very survival of the harp and hooded seals species, but I am hoping that the Conservatives will have a different approach.

I was horrified to learn of the 2001 report produced by an international team of veterinarians, which concludes that up to 42% of seals are skinned alive. It is deplorable that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans received this report, and still has refused to address the problem. Furthermore, I am aware that more than 660 thoroughly documented violations of the Canadian Criminal Code and Marine Mammal Regulations, including the skinning of live seals, have been submitted to the DFO - and that they have refused to lay a single charge in response.

It is absolutely unacceptable that the federal government of Canada has so deliberately and recklessly encouraged the decimation of a wildlife population that is beloved by people all over the world.

Recent polling clearly shows that close to 80% of Americans and Europeans oppose the seal hunt, with a substantial number willing to boycott Canadian products and tourism as a result. Certainly, your recent actions will guarantee a severe international backlash.

I demand that you act according to the will of the majority of Canadian people, 85% of whom believe that seals under a year of age should be protected from all hunting. End this cruel and unsustainable hunt for harp and hooded seals permanently.

Sincerely,
Kate Wallace

Stop the Glue Traps!

"Horrified parents of students attending K-12 schools in Philadelphia recently contacted PETA upon learning that the School District of Philadelphia was reportedly using glue traps to kill mice in its buildings. We immediately alerted school officials to the extreme cruelty of these types of traps and asked that they remove the traps immediately and instead explore humane rodent-control methods. School officials responded saying that they have no intention of removing the traps. In the meantime, we are concerned that glue traps are currently being set out in various Philadelphia area schools!" When PETA emailed me with this terrible piece of information, I knew something had to be done. So what better way to encourage schools to get rid of their glue traps than writing a letter?

Recipients

Arlene C. Ackerman Ed.D.

Tomas Hanna

I was dismayed to learn that the School District of Philadelphia reportedly uses cruel glue traps to kill rodents in its buildings. Glue traps are one of the cruelest products on the market, causing immense and prolonged suffering to panicked, trapped animals who struggle desperately, tearing flesh, breaking bones, and becoming more entangled in the adhesive. Then they die--exhausted, terrified, and injured--from shock, dehydration, asphyxiation, or blood loss. Research indicates that death does not come quickly, taking more than 24 hours for some animals. And terrified, ensnared animals frequently lose control of their bodily functions, thereby contributing to the spread of disease in schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically warns against the use of these cruel devices, stating, 'We do not recommend using glue traps .... These traps can scare mice that are caught live and cause them to urinate. Since their urine may contain germs, this may increase your risk of being exposed to diseases.'

I respectfully urge you to join the many school districts--such as Princeton Regional Schools in New Jersey, Knox County Schools in Tennessee, and Virginia Beach Schools in Virginia--that have sworn off using these cruel devices. Please do the right thing and remove all glue traps from the district's buildings immediately.

Sincerely,

Kate Wallace

Response from letter to Breast Cancer Charities

This is a letter I received in response to my letter to breast cancer charities.

Dear Kate,

Thank you for reaching out to Susan G. Komen for the Cure and inquiring about
the use of animals in research. We respect your viewpoint on this issue and
hope that the following information addresses your questions.

While Susan G. Komen for the Cure does not conduct research, it does fund
innovative and responsive research projects in leading institutions
worldwide. Komen for the Cure has a long history of funding groundbreaking
research to fulfill its promise to save lives and end breast cancer forever.
Komen funds scientific research as well as community breast health education
and outreach programs across the country through our 122 Affiliates in the
U.S. Our research portfolio addresses areas such as prevention, survivorship,
cancer cell biology, and cancer etiology.

Komen has strict controls to maintain the integrity of the grant application
and review process. Komen's Grant Program adheres to a peer-review process
that is recognized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). All research
funded by Komen's Grant Program is developed and conducted under the
direction of the primary investigator who is applying for the grant.

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that any new
pharmaceutical compound be tested on at least two different animal models to
be considered for approval for use in humans. Therefore, some investigators
must conduct animal testing in order to comply with FDA regulations for drug
development. In order to be eligible for Komen research grant funding,
investigators must provide proof of pre-approval of study design and animal
care methods from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at
the institution where they will be conducting research. In accordance with
U.S. federal law, the IACUC may permit some investigators to use laboratory
animals, usually genetically bred mice, in their search to identify more
effective ways to prevent and treat breast cancer. Researchers are also
required to file an Investigator Assurance Statement to ensure all procedures
are in compliance with National Institute of Health and (NIH) and U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations.

We hope this answers your questions. We respect your viewpoint on this issue
and thank you for sharing your concerns.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Thompson, Vice President, Health Sciences

Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Letter to Breast Cancer Charities

Decades after the "War on Cancer" was launched, we still have no cure for breast cancer. And the billions of dollars spent on cruel and ineffective experiments on monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, cats, dogs, and other animals, who are injected with chemicals or cancer cells and forced to endure the growth of painful tumors until they die or are killed, have not identified the causes of breast cancer or a treatment. 

The use of animals for breast cancer research is unreliable because of animals' significant genetic, cellular, and physiological differences from humans. Breast cancer survivor and National Breast Cancer Coalition founder Fran Visco has stated that, "Animals don't reflect the reality of cancer in humans," and former National Cancer Institute Director Dr. Richard Klausner has stated, "The history of cancer research has been the history of curing cancer in the mouse. We have cured mice of cancer for decades, and it simply didn't work in humans." Yet animals continue to suffer and die as a result of these useless experiments, and the misleading results prolong the suffering of women who need a cure now. 

Humane, non-animal research is being conducted by compassionate organizations that focus on how breast cancer starts in women's bodies and on identifying ways to combat the genetic and environmental factors that increase the risk of developing breast cancer. Through the "Breasts, Not Animal Tests" campaign, PETA has teamed up with Keep A Breast to help raise awareness of this horrible disease and the cruelty involved in the animal experimentation funded by some cancer charities.

Recipients

John R. Seffrin, American Cancer Society

Addie Nelson Backlund, American-Italian Cancer Foundation

John C. Ruckdeschel, M.D., Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute

Myra J. Biblowit, Breast Cancer Research Foundation

Patricia Scott, Coalition Against Breast Cancer

Lisa Paulsen, EIF, National Women's Cancer Research Alliance

Donald L. Morton, John Wayne Cancer Institute

Priscilla Page, Lynn Sage Cancer Research Foundation

Janelle Hail, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.

Louis M. Weiner, M.D., Nina Hyde Center for Breast Cancer Research

Hala Moddelmog, Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Annis Tarver, The Cancer Center for Detection and Prevention, Inc.

Helen Marie Walker, Walker Cancer Research Institute

Dear whom it may concern,

I am writing to you because I am concerned about your funding of misleading and cruel breast cancer experiments on animals.

The lives of animals in laboratories are full of terror, loneliness, and misery. Animals used in cancer experiments are frequently injected with cancer cells and forced to endure the growth of painful tumors until they die or are killed.

Because of fundamental differences in biology and disease development between species, animal experiments have repeatedly failed to predict how cancer treatments will perform in humans. Luckily for women and animals, there are sophisticated non-animal methods in breast cancer research--like 3-dimensional in-vitro models--that are both extremely effective and humane.

I am calling on you to follow the lead of other organizations, including the Avon Foundation and the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, by focusing on cutting-edge, human-centered cancer research in your fight to find a cure for breast cancer.

Sincerely,

Kate Wallace

Letter in Defense of Bulls

A bull is scheduled to be tortured to death this year during an annual ritual held in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The First Fruits Festival, which occurs annually on the first Saturday in December, is a Zulu cultural event intended to celebrate the coming of age of Zulu warriors. The young warriors—teenage boys as young as 14 years old—are tasked with killing a bull with their bare hands to prove their courage. According to reports, approximately 40 young men push sand or mud down the bull's throat, gouge out his eyes, and twist his genitals before kicking and beating the animal to death and tearing his flesh apart with their hands. Traditional rules reportedly dictate that no tools, not even a knife, be used during this event.

Letter Sent to:

Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Lakela Kaunda

Anele Lokwe

Godfrey Mdhluli

Gareth Morgan

Welile A W Nhlapo

Buyelwa Patience Sonjica Sonjica

Jacob Zuma

Dear whom it may concern,

I am horrified by the inexplicably cruel way in which young men are allowed to torture and kill a bull during the First Fruits Festival in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Sand or mud is crammed down the bulls' throats, their eyes are gouged out, and their genitals are twisted before the animals are kicked and beaten to death and their flesh is ripped apart.

Bulls are sentient beings who, like humans, experience pain and fear. Please stop allowing these animals to be tortured in this sadistic and archaic ritual. Please ban the sacrifice of bulls during the First Fruits Festival or, at the very least, ensure that the bull is killed humanely.

Sincerely,

Kate Wallace

Christmas Shopping or Christmas Chopping?

Every Christmas I have bought my aunts gifts from Talbot's. But through my research about wool, I found that Talbot's continues to get its wool from Australia, where cruel mulesing mutilations continue.

Here is my letter to Talbot's:

Dear Trudy Sullivan,

I have always been a regular shopper at Talbots during Christmas time, but this season I will not be in any of the stores. I was extremely disappointed when I learned that Talbots continues to get its wool from Australia, where cruel mulesing mutilations continue. Clearly there is nothing fashionable or elegant about cutting the skin and flesh from lambs' backsides, whether it is done with gardening shears or with clips that pull large chunks of skin tightly together until it rots off weeks later. As a compassionate consumer, I urge Talbots to make the responsible decision to stop sourcing wool from Australian sheep who have been mulesed either with shears or clips immediately.

Sincerely,

Kate Wallace

An Email From the President of Peta

Reply

Ingrid Newkirk to me

show details 5:01 PM (20 hours ago)

Dear Kate, To most of us, the start of winter means that our warm clothes come out and the heater gets switched on. We can cope comfortably with the coming chill. But to neglected "backyard" dogs, the change of seasons means that they must endure many months of long, cold nights with nowhere to go to get out of the wind and sleet. It means aching joints and uncontrollable shaking—no matter how small a ball they try to curl into. You can change that. For many of these animals, a sturdily constructed doghouse can make all the difference in the world—it can sometimes even be the difference between life and death. That's why PETA's "Angel for Animals" program is so important. Won't you become an "angel" for a lonely dog this year? As an "Angel for Animals" sponsor, you can help provide a sturdy, weatherproof PETA doghouse that will give a needy dog the shelter that can help see him or her through winter and also help him or her endure bad weather for years to come. It's impossible to be anything other than miserable when you're wet and cold. That's what winter means for dogs who are kept chained outside like bicycles and forced to face the elements without proper shelter. PETA goes out and finds and helps hundreds of these dear individuals every winter. Most of these dogs find themselves with little more than a freezing patch of dirt and no way to escape the harsh conditions. It is startling to see the difference that a well-built doghouse can make in these animals' lives. We fill our doghouses with warm, fluffy straw bedding—the dogs go inside immediately to curl up and can't believe their luck. They smile! Their tails thump, life comes into them, and their world doesn't seem quite so hopeless anymore. We also give them tangle-free lightweight line to replace the heavy chains that weigh them down, and we provide them with a toy, a nutritious meal to winter-proof them that day, clean water (often we break the ice or have to provide a bucket or bowl), and a few minutes of the love and attention that mean the world to these social souls. Last year, thanks to generous "Angel for Animals" sponsors, PETA provided nearly 300 neglected dogs who live in low-income areas with sturdy doghouses. These are dogs people can legally keep in conditions we find appalling. With many more dogs in urgent need—and with temperatures dropping fast—we want to top that number this year, and I hope that we can count on your support. There are so many ways that you can help: Your "Angel for Animals" sponsorship gift of $265 can provide a sturdy, straw-filled doghouse to one neglected dog. Your "Angel for Animals" sponsorship gift of $530 can provide sturdy, straw-filled doghouses to two neglected dogs. Your "Angel for Animals" sponsorship gift of $1,325 can provide sturdy, straw-filled doghouses to five neglected outdoor dogs. It will be the best present they will ever have! Please know that any gift you can give, no matter its size, will be put to work immediately toward this vital program. Life is always hard for an unloved and ignored backyard dog—many people treat these animals as little more than a living burglar alarm on a chain. But this time of year can be particularly lonely, beyond miserable, and even deadly. Right now, these animals are facing another long, bitter winter with nowhere to go to get out of the stinging cold and the wet. By giving one of our doghouses to one or more of these dear individuals, you will immediately help reduce the suffering of a dog in need—and it will likely be the first "home" that he or she has ever had. Won't you please become a PETA "Angel for Animals" doghouse sponsor today? Thank you for helping a neglected dog this winter in such a significant way. Kind regards, Ingrid E. Newkirk President P.S. Your simple act of kindness today can bring one of these animals years of shelter from the elements. Please consider becoming an "Angel for Animals" sponsor or purchasing a sponsorship for a friend or family member who cares about animals right now.

Letter to NASA in Defense of Squirrel Monkeys

NASA plans to expose approximately two dozen squirrel monkeys to dangerous space radiation. This exposure in monkeys can cause them to suffer from fatal types of cancer, including brain tumors, and other illnesses. Does this sounds humane? I don't think so! So I took action, and wrote a letter to Charles F. Bolden Jr at NASA.

This is the letter:

Dear Charles F. Bolden Jr.,

I was shocked to learn that NASA intends to use squirrel monkeys for cruel experiments involving dangerous exposure to radiation. The use of monkeys in such experiments is both ethically indefensible and scientifically questionable.

Please immediately put an end to these experiments and instead use tax dollars toward further developing and implementing modern non-animal research methods to learn about the health effects of space travel.

Sincerely,

Kate Wallace