Ringling Brothers Circus Eliminates Elephant Acts

Make note, today is a momentous day. It's March 5, 2015 and it's the day Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced they will eliminate elephants from their shows.

This is huge. Elephants have been part of Ringling Bros. since P.T. Barnum brought Jumbo, "a massive 12-foot African elephant," to America in 1882. If my math is correct, that means man has been abusing elephants and forcing them into unnatural circumstances and lifestyles for 136 years, after it's all said and done.

Feld Entertainment, the parent company for The Greatest Show on Earth, told the AP it would phase out elephants by 2018, citing animal welfare concerns. I'm delighted about this but wish they would act a little faster. The good news is that the herd of 43 elephants will retire to a 200-acre animal sanctuary in Florida. It's still not the wilds of Africa but it's better than what they have endured.

Some of my favorite quotes

The Humane Society of the United States said: “This is a startling and tremendously exciting announcement. With consumers now so alert to animal welfare issues, no business involved in any overt form of animal exploitation can survive in the long run.”

ASPCA President and CEO Matt Bershadker said: “This is a tremendous victory for the elephants ... as well as for everyone who fought for this change. We continue to oppose using elephants or any wild or exotic animals in circuses, carnivals and other traveling animal shows." 

A while back I designed this shirt and I'm happy to say it's been an excellent seller.

Today, in  celebration of this announcement, I designed this shirt.

(Click on images for product details)

Remember this, we ARE making a difference for these animals! I'm happy for what we’ve done and excited for what’s to come.

Peace.

End Circus Cruelty T-Shirts and Hoodies

The circus recently came to the town where I live and my heart hurt the entire time they were here. Life is brutal for circus animals, they live in barren conditions, spend over 95% of their time in confinement and suffer unimaginable torture and deprivation.  Do yourself a favor and never Google images of the methods used to train these splendid wild animals. Once you see the photos, you can't unsee them and they will haunt you.  Education by way of leafleting, protesting, etc helps spread the word but I wanted to do more so I designed a small line of "End Circus Cruelty" products. Here is an example of a hoodie, and if your interested you can pick from a variety of colors.  As compassionate beings, let's do what we can to shine a light on circus animals' lives of misery. Wearing "End Circus Cruelty" apparel will, hopefully, open a dialogue so we can educate people on the atrocities. Go vegan! End Circus Cruelty by VeganStrong Order This Product Share this product!

Stop Animal Experimentation

Do yourself a favor and NEVER Google animal experimentation. And God forbid, if you accidentally hit the images tab, click off as quickly as possible. Or don't. If you've got a strong will and staunch conviction, let the images compel you to take action. 

I'll save you from the images on this blog; I'm doing that for you as well as for me. Instead, I'll leave you with some thought-provoking thoughts on animal experimentation.  

"Ask the experimenters why they experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are like us." Ask the experimenters why it is morally okay to experiment on animals, and the answer is: "Because the animals are not like us." Animal experimentation rests on a logical contradiction." ~Charles R. Magel

 "The cruel experimenter cannot be allowed to have it both ways. He cannot, in the same breath, defend the scientific validity of vivisection on the grounds of the physical similarities between man and the other animals, and then defend the morality of vivisection on the grounds that men and animals are physically different. The only logical alternatives for him are to admit he is either pre-Darwinian or immoral." ~Richard Ryder

The question is not, "Can they reason?" nor, "Can they talk?" but rather, "Can they suffer?" ~Jeremy Bentham

Peace.

"Compassionate" Vegan T-Shirt Designs

Hello Folks. I've spent a lot of time on animal advocacy lately and the work inspired a few new women's t-shirt designs with a compassionate flavor. Now if I've done this right, you can click each image to learn more or purchase a shirt. As always, you may easily change the color or style to suit your personal style. Check them out and let me know what you think. 

Compassionate Warrior

Peace begins on your plate

I am a proud animal advocate

True fashion is compassion