spacecoastanimalrights-blog

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One minute compilation of the speeches our leaders, Alycia & Matt Corpiel, gave at the Constitutional Revision Committee in favor of Proposal 67, a ban to greyhound racing in Florida by the end of 2019!  

Thank you, Rob Yoder, for another great video!

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CRC Meeting for Greyhounds - Melbourne

Alycia Corpiel, Melbourne, FL - Today, Florida animal rights activists gathered at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne to advocate for Proposal 67, which would phase out greyhound racing in the state by the end of 2019.  Our organization, Space Coast Animal Rights, was joined by activists representing Grey2K USA, HSUS, Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, Animal Hero Kids, Solutionary Species, Save Movement USA, and numerous rescues and shelters.

One by one, we stood up to give a voice to the exploited dogs victimized by greyhound racing.  Even with the snickers and childish use of flatulence sounds coming from greyhound racing supporters in the back of the room, we made sure to have our voices heard.  We discussed the cruelty of dog racing, the long history of breeders drugging their dogs (as recent as last year), the lack of public record to injury reporting, the timid demeanor of these dogs once they finally make it to rescue, etc. 

Matt Corpiel, our VP, took a slightly different turn when advocating for this proposal.  He pointed out that the greyhound racing industry has been known to bring crime to our community.  Matt recounted an incident last year where the police were called when a Melbourne Greyhound Park employee assaulted the women and children peacefully protesting greyhound racing and how we have had to take extra measures to keep our activists safe from this kind of violence. Matt also quoted an article by Animal Legal Defense Fund, titled Animal Cruelty’s Link to Other Forms of Community Violence: 

“A study undertaken by the MSPCA and Northeastern University found that 70 percent of people who committed violent crimes against animals also had records for other crimes. Compared with a control group of their neighbors, animal abusers were five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people, four times more likely to commit property crimes, and three times more likely to have a record for drug or disorderly‐conduct offenses.”

Matt ended his testimony by stressing that he does not feel safe with the violence dog racing brings to our community and that he fully supports Proposal 67.  

On the side of the opposition, track employees insisted that their dogs are well cared for and accused the animal activists of lying about the cruelty they have witnessed, being paid a “high-wage salary” to be at the meeting, and even claimed that most of our group had never even seen a greyhound.  

Let me just point out two things right here - 1. The vast majority of people who were there today to speak for the greyhounds earn absolutely nothing for what they do and work extremely long hours.  I personally work 60+ hour weeks on Space Coast Animal Rights, seven of which was at today’s meeting, and I didn’t make a dime.  In fact, our family lost money on a day we would earn time and a half so my husband, Matt, could leave work early to be there to speak for these dogs.  2. Who hasn’t seen a greyhound?  That has to be the most ridiculous comment of the whole day.

A big thing that the opposition to Proposal 67 stressed was that it would put people out of jobs.  However, Proposal 67 does call for a year’s time to phase out greyhound racing in order to give these people time to find new arrangements.  But our activists have to say, it is unfair and wrong to be making money off of the exploitation of animals.  The empathy we feel for the loss of jobs for these people who abuse animals is so incredibly minimal compared to our empathy for the abused racing dogs.  

We want to see an end to greyhound racing in Florida and that can happen with Proposal 67!   If you missed this meeting, there will be more in Florida in the following weeks.  Get onto the Florida CRC website for more information.  And in November, please vote YES on Proposal 67!   

Sources:

ANIMAL CRUELTY’S LINK TO OTHER FORMS   OF COMMUNITY VIOLENCE. (2011). Retrieved February 19, 2018, from http://aldf.org/downloads/ALDFLinkStats2011.pdf

Florida CRC. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2018, from https://www.flcrc.gov/

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Our Ties & Cottontails Gala was a success!  We raised 2673.36 and only spent $127.76 thanks to our sponsors and donors!  See our photos on FACEBOOK. :)

Special Thanks To Our: Platinum Sponsor: Mitchell Law, P.A. Food & Drink Sponsors: Paisley Vegan Kitchen Lucy's in the Kitchen Catering Pogona Baking Company So Sweets Bakery Adam Watson Shannon Blair Lynn Blair Entertainment Sponsors: Korin Sutton "3x Pro Bodybuilder" Yuri Demott Mitzkewich Logan Ray Tyler Photography & Videography: Cheyenne Stallings Rob Yoder Bunny Balloon Sponsor: Cookie, Cookie The Clown Setup & Breakdown Team: Shannon Blair Lynn Blair   Vegan Evan Matt Corpiel Barbara Bingnear Ashley Berke Zach Leeson Coutnie Love Amanda Cummings Raffle & Silent Auction Donors: 3GV Designs by Lynn, Shannon & VeganEvan A-Live & Healthy Café Amanda Joy, LMP, LMT Anaya Coffee Andretti Thrill Park Aquarian Dreams Ben & Jerry's Better Bodies Personal Training Calico Dragon Cruelty Free Bags Compassion Company David Stroker, Artist Escape Room Entertainment - West Melbourne Galaxy Skateway Green Room Cafe The Healthy Planet of Brevard The Henegar Here's the Scoop Homemade Ice Cream Imperial Salon & Spa Suntree Joan Richardson, Artist John Cielukowski, Artist The Jungle Organic Restaurant & Market Keenun Barley King Center for the Performing Arts Palm Bay Marina Polercise PRP Wine International Orlando Sheneka Joseph, Artist Sky Zone Space Coast SPA 902 Sunseed Food Co-op Vegan Prints WFIT WonderWorks Orlando

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2017 National Animal Rights Conference Review

This past month, we attended the 2017 National Animal Rights Conference in Washington DC.   It was life changing and such a great learning experience!  We went to back to back sessions and visited all 100+ vendor booths. We also networked with some pretty major names in the movement, as well as other very dedicated activists.  As a whole, the conference was extremely beneficial to the future of our organization.  

The conference started out with a beautiful ceremony during the Opening Plenary Session.  Actor/Activist, Harley Quinn Smith, came to the stage to light three candles.  These candles represented the trillions of animals who suffer and die each year, the activists who could not attend the conference, and the people working in the animal agriculture industry.  We found the latter most moving.  The candle was lit for who we were fighting against but with a simple wish that their eyes will open and join us in the future.  Honestly, that kind of hope got us a bit misty-eyed.

Following the ceremony, we heard speeches from several notable leaders in the industry.  Most memorable being Alex Hershaft’s (Farm Animal Rights Movement/National Animal Rights Conference) welcome speech, where we were promised many things.  For example, no one would be asking us “Where do you get your protein?” for the entire weekend! The crowd roared with laughter and, in our opinion, it was really the first unifying moment of the conference.  

On Friday, we attended the following workshops: Growing our Potential, Power of Confrontation, Dietary Racism, Getting to Know Our Adversaries, Surviving Our Activism, Removing Vegan Barriers, Power of Investigations, and Supporting and Retaining Vegans.

In Power of Confrontation, we were very excited to find out that Zach Groff, activist, and independent researcher, had heard of our campaign, #NotJust4Easter.  We also found Anita Krajnc’s (Toronto Pig Save’s) presentation very interesting.  Her efforts to bear witness and show empathy to the animals going in for slaughter was so inspiring.  Up until this moment, we had the mindset that we “could never” witness the cruelty that animals go through and that we “didn’t have to” because we are already vegan, but that’s just not true.  We may know what is happening but to bear witness is so much more important than just knowing.  It pulls these animals out of the dark and brings much more drive toward the cause.  It was a concept we never truly understood until hearing what Anita had to say.  

In Growing Our Potential, we were handed a very important document, called ‘The Power of Language’.  In which, Alex Hershaft (Farm Animal Rights Movement) points out the importance of using the correct terminology when referring to animals.  For example, we are “guardians”, not “owners, animals are “he”, “she”, or “them”, not “it”, and referring to “meat” as “animal meat” rather than just “meat”.  In Getting to Know Our Adversaries, we learned that the four companies that control the animal meat industry are Smithfield, JBS, Tyson & Cargill.  In Supporting and Retaining Vegans, Erin Kwiatkowski (Mercy For Animals) pointed out that we should promote veganism as a company would promote their product, which really gave us some perspective on how to target people at future events.  

The most valuable of Friday’s sessions was, perhaps, Surviving Our Activism.  In this course, we learned that 41% of animal rights activists experience burnout, 88% of which leave the movement.  Interestingly enough, the number one reason for activist burnout is other activists.  This is an extreme issue.  Some would say the reason behind this is this movement is the most difficult social movement in history.  We are so passionate and motivated for change that it can cloud our judgment.  Even the best of us can easily slip into a judgemental attitude, which creates barriers and frictions with other activists.  We were reminded that though we do not all agree on the best tactics to be successful in this movement, we do all have the same end goal.  We were told that we must recognize that we will not always agree but we still need to love our fellow activists for their drive and passion.  We must not talk down about other organizations and activists, but instead, support them on their journey toward animal liberation.  If you are struggling with activist burnout or tension, In Defense of Animals has a support line to help you keep from burning out.  The phone number is 1-800-705-0425 and the email address is activistsupport@idausa.org.   

Friday night ended with the Evening Plenary session, featuring Melanie Joy, Lauren Gazzola, and Ingrid Newkirk to name a few.  The session was moderated by Erica Meier (Compassion Over Killing) who told a few bad jokes, met with smiles and groans, to ease the tension partnered with the theme of the event.  Melanie Joy and Ingrid Newkirk both gave notable speeches but the most influential, in our opinion, was the speech given by Lauren Gazzola.  Lauren Gazzola was among six activists with Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) who were arrested in 2004 on “animal enterprise terrorism” charges for “allegedly conspiring under the Animal Enterprise Protection Act (AEPA)”*.  She was sentenced to 40 months in prison and then came out swinging.  Her speech was so well written and executed.  It delivered real perspective about how even the most dedicated activists are not seeing the movement in the right way.  She went on to talk about a vegan Super Bowl party she went to this year where a fellow activist made a snide comment about how ridiculous and comical it would be if animal activists rushed the field to promote the cause.  Lauren pointed out that if the demonstration was made for human rights, those people would not be laughed at, but considered heroes to the movement.  She continued to remind us that we should be grateful for our successes but to remember that it is not enough.  There is still so much work to be done.  

On Saturday, we attended the following workshops: Organizing for Change, Managing a National Organization, Running A Local Group, and Speaking Our Message.

The most notable sessions were Organizing for Change and Managing a National Organization.  In Organizing For Change, we learned strategic tactics for winning corporate policies, motivating activists and inspiring people to go vegan and join the movement.  In Managing a National Organization, we learned the importance of acting based on what will be the most effective, being flexible to let go of failed projects or make them better, keeping a “growth mentality” and not limiting yourself, practicing sustainable activism to nurture yourself and your members to prevent burnout, focussing on successes (big or small), creating motivation for your team, providing important training, and practicing self care.

We spent the rest of Saturday visiting booths to network with other organizations and activists.  We were excited to see some friends from home exhibiting, such as Vegan Prints, One Protest, Kindred Spirits Sanctuary, and Animal Hero Kids.  Aliona and Rob (Vegan Prints) and Logan (Kindred Spirits Sanctuary) were kind enough to let us put SCAR and #NotJust4Easter materials at their booths.  We also made use of the “Free Literature” tables and Message Board.  

We were most drawn to the Unparalleled Suffering Photography booth.  Perhaps we were drawn in by the mysterious vendor who was sure to hide his identity throughout the entire conference.  We are so glad we stopped by because his work is just so influential.  The man who runs the organization will go into places of cruelty, such as pick and kill farms, to take photos of cruelty happening in our backyards.  Though graphic and unsettling, his photos are beautifully shot and edited.  This comes as a surprise, as he has had no training in photography.  He told us that he chose to investigate through photography because it can freeze a key moment of suffering without the distraction of background noise and movement.  It truly was fascinating.  To see some of his work, visit www.upsphotography.com and follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/upsphotograpy.

On Sunday, we attended the following workshops: Organizing Our Grassroots, Raising Funds for Our Cause, Engaging Through Religion, Human Abuse By Animal Agriculture, Engaging Inclusively, and One Struggle Against All Oppression.

In Organizing Our Grassroots, we received an unexpected surprise.  Hayden Hamilton (Farm Animal Rights Movement) used a photo of US to represent tabling in her speech about grassroots activism.  The photo was taken this past April at Central Florida Earth Day.  Farm Animal Rights Movement asks for photos when activists hand out their Earth Day themed information and out of all of the pictures they receive, they picked one of us.  This was so exciting in the moment that Alycia, our President, screamed, “That’s us!”  Besides finding out that we are, in fact, famous, we learned tactics to grow our movement, turn activists into leaders, and reduce suffering through grassroots activism.

In Raising Funds for Our Cause, Carrie LaBlanc (CompassionWorks international) gave some excellent advice on creating a donor database, connecting with and learning from your donors, and tactics to win grants.  Carrie was also nice enough to give some personal tips to Alycia on how to boost newsletter opens.  Though, apparently, we are already doing better at it than the majority!  

In Human Abuse by Animal Agriculture, we learned of the abuse and inhumane conditions that workers and neighboring communities are exposed to, including injury, disease, and pollution.  These people generally live in low-income neighborhoods and work for extremely low wages.  This workshop also pointed out the health hazards of eating animal meat and animal byproducts and the environmental destruction that comes with animal agriculture.    

In Engaging Inclusively, we learned about how the movement, as it is now, is not very welcoming to diversity.  We all like to say that we are all for diversity, yet this movement is extremely white.  Brenda Sanders (Afro Vegan Society/Thrive Baltimore) talked about her experience with being hired purely to “show off the company” as being “inclusive”.  She went on to talk about how there are so many animal rights organizations, run by black activists, that are constantly looked past and forgotten.  Frankly, it was disheartening.  This movement NEEDS diversity.  Without it, we are nothing.  

In the same session, Aryenish Birdie (Encompass) told us her story about growing up as a first generation American.  Apparently, her parents told her that she was white to be sure that she could have all of the advantages that white people have in this country.  Her parents were so insistent that she believed this until she was in college.  It taught her how toxic it is to be “colorblind” and that race conversations, though uncomfortable, are crucial to growing as a society.  Aryenish is the founder of the organization, Encompass, which strives to create diversity in our movement, through management training on how to genuinely attract more people of color, and support advocates of color already in the movement.  For more information, visit www.encompassmovement.org.

The conference closed out Sunday night with its final plenary session, ‘We’re Winning!’.  Erica Meier (Compassion Over Killing) told some more silly bad jokes, but more importantly, went over all of our achievements for the past year.  She mentioned the famous end to Ringling and the addition of more Ben & Jerry’s vegan flavors, but also the impacts that we had never heard of.  Like, did you know that several farming and animal agriculture magazines are now promoting the new trend toward vegan eating?  How amazing is it that our enemies are starting to really notice our influence?  Nathan Runkle (Mercy For Animals) followed with an inspiring speech about our progress and our possibilities.  He also mentioned SCAR Supporter, VeganEvan, suggesting that Evan would be stealing his spot at the conference very soon.  It was an incredible honor for him.  At the end of the session, the three candles lit on the first night were blown out to represent an end to the conference.

Later that night, was the Celebration of Animal Rights.  This event was just so awesome.  For the first time ever, two vegan drag queens performed on the same stage.  Honey LaBronx was quite the diva and Mistress Ginger had the best windmill kick on the planet.  Our favorite part of the show was when Honey LaBronx had everyone who was vegan in the room stand up.  We kid you not, there were hundreds of people in the room and all but five stood up.  It was an amazing realization that we are definitely not in this alone.  Honey had people sit down when she said how long they had been vegan.  The last person standing was a woman who has been vegan for FIFTY-SEVEN YEARS!  So encouraging!  After the show, our VP, Matt, killed it in karaoke.  He sang Smooth by Santana ft. Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 and Love Shack by the B-52’s. His performance was so good that it attracted spontaneous backup dancers and a roar of applause.  Honey LaBronx told him that his rendition of Love Shack was the best she had ever seen, a real compliment from a true drag queen.  The next day, people were coming up to him in the lobby to say how great he did.  It was definitely a great way to end such an amazing weekend.  

We want to thank our sponsors, Farm Animal Rights Movement, Mustard’s Last Stand, Mitchell Law, and Healthy Planet of Brevard, our fundraiser hosts Ethos Vegan Kitchen, Blaze Pizza and Ben & Jerry’s, and all of our supporters for this priceless opportunity to learn and network to grow Space Coast Animal Rights.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Look out for new events and changes at www.spacecoastanimalrights.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/spacecoastanimalrights.                    

Sources

*https://ccrjustice.org/home/what-we-do/our-cases/us-v-shac-7

View our video slideshow featuring pictures from the conference in our previous post!

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Space Coast Animal Rights’ experience at the 2017 National Animal Rights Conference in Washington D.C. 

Music by Britt Nicole ‘Be The Change’

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Cruelty at West Melbourne Pet Store EXPOSED:

Photo By Hannah Martin (Facebook)

Anonymous, West Melbourne, FL- Pets Around The World has been selling puppies for many years at 3260 W. New Haven Ave., Suite B in West Melbourne.  They have come under fire recently for the treatment of the many dogs and puppies on their premises due to pictures that were posted on social media.  Depicted were puppies in overcrowded cages, dogs outside laying on hot pavement with no shade, and dogs standing in bloody excrement. 

The Sheriff’s Department paid the store a visit this week due to overwhelming reports of awful conditions.  When sheriffs arrived they found Pets Around The World had no running water.  30 puppies and dogs on scene… NO RUNNING WATER.  They were fined $300 and are said to be working with the county to improve conditions.

The author of this blog just so happens to have seen hundreds of these puppies personally during their first veterinary exam.  Nearly EVERY SINGLE puppy was sold when unhealthy.  Most had Upper Respiratory Tract Infections, and nearly every single one was positive for Giardia (a nasty protozoan parasite responsible for bloody diarrhea that is zoonotic aka contagious to humans).  I personally saw 3 puppies that were positive for Parvo Virus.

The Pet Store works with a local Veterinarian who signs all the health certificates for the puppies at the pet store and in return, the local vet gets all their business.  I personally saw a health certificate signed that stated a  puppy was a certain breed that it absolutely was not.  The buyers were completely misled about the breed of dog they were purchasing.  Pets Around The World only sees these puppies as dollar signs.  It is the height of irresponsibility to have so many puppies from all over the country crammed together.  It is unsanitary and spreads disease.

There is a protest scheduled this weekend, July 22nd and 23rd, that will be held on public property in front of Pets Around The World to speak for all those little ones that cannot speak for themselves.  Dogs are being bred while millions of healthy animals are put to death in shelters around the country.  Please come out and be their voice.  Signs will be provided.    

RSVP To The Protest Here:   https://www.facebook.com/events/132683423990659/

Read More Here: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/19/west-melbourne-pet-store-owner-fined-after-photos-dogs-spread-facebook/491314001/

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Scandal Hits Florida Greyhound Track

Alycia Corpiel, Melbourne, FL-

Last night, ABC First Coast News in Jacksonville reported on a scandal at a local greyhound track, where 12 dogs tested positive for cocaine just this year.  Unfortunately, this is not the first time drugs have been found on racing dogs.  In 2004, 119 dogs in Florida tested positive for cocaine.  What’s worse is these offenders barely get a slap on the wrist when caught.

Now you would think that the National Greyhound Association, the front organization for greyhound racing, would be heavily against drugging the greyhounds.  Especially, since their mission includes promoting “the improvement and development of the greyhound breed”.  However, 10 of said dogs are owned by Julia Ward, President of the National Greyhound Association.  Call me crazy but drugging dogs does not sound like any sort of “improvement” or “development” of greyhounds.  To make matters worse, Ward has not received any criminal charges.  

Being drugged is not the only thing that racing dogs have to endure.  According to Grey2K, greyhounds are confined as much as 20 hours a day in tiny cages with barely any room to move and then are forced to run in extreme weather conditions. Grey2K also states that thousands of dogs are injured every year at dog tracks nationwide; however, Florida tracks are not required to report greyhound injuries to the public.  

The major question is, how is this still legal?  Well, in most states, greyhound racing is illegal.  Florida is one of only five states that have legal, operating dog tracks.  Perhaps as a way to benefit the greyhound racing industry, a Florida law is in place that requires greyhound tracks that offer other forms of gambling to race their dogs a certain number of days a year to keep their license.  Animal activists have been trying to push legislation, “Decoupling”, that would allow these businesses to continue operating without having to race greyhounds.  This law would result in many greyhound tracks cutting dog racing all together, including Melbourne Greyhound Park.  

You're probably asking yourself what you can do to make a difference for these dogs.  Here’s how:

1. Sign this petition to Governor Rick Scott, asking him to hold dog slave drivers accountable for drugging and mistreating their animals.  

2. Sign up for Grey2K Email alerts to stay up to date on greyhound racing news and how you can make a difference.  

3. Contact your legislators and ask them to support “Decoupling”.  Find yours here and here.

4. Raise awareness by attending protests at local tracks or volunteering with your local Grey2K Chapter.  There are many animal rights groups in Florida that support an end to greyhound racing, including Space Coast Animal Rights, Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, Florida Voices for Animals and OneProtest. Get involved!

5. Adopt a retired greyhound.  These dogs deserve to have a loving home.  Rescue a greyhound today.  

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Earth Day

Kelly East, Melbourne FL--

Spring is definitely in the air and we are already halfway through April. Every year on April 22nd is the worldwide annual celebration of Earth Day. Earth Day is a day where we focus on what we can do to help create awareness and lessen our environmental footprint on the planet. People plant trees, cut back on water and the use of electricity. These are all great things that we should do daily but did you know one of the best ways to lessen the impact people have on the environment is to go vegan?

Greenhouse gas emissions are a major contributor to global warming and animal agriculture produces a ton of greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of land, water, and grains involved also are staggering. It never ceases to disturb me that while millions go hungry the animals we keep for food have plenty to eat and drink. It's time to cut out the middleman, so to speak, and just grow plants! Much less resources are involved. States are conserving water like crazy during times of drought yet so much water is used for animal agriculture. Logic dictates how little sense that makes!

So this Earth Day truly celebrate by leaving animals off your plate for good! The planet, the animals, and your body will thank you. Being vegan is a way for you to make a difference every single day. Check out the documentary, Cowspiracy, for an eye-opening experience and learn what you can do to help the planet through small changes in your daily routine!!

Stop by at our booth this Saturday the 22nd at one of these Earth Day events: 

April 22nd; 10am-3pm Earth Day Expo at Unity of Melbourne

April 22nd; 10am-6pm Central Florida Earth Day at Lake Eola (Orlando)

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#NotJust4Easter is Back!!

Alycia Corpiel, Melbourne FL-

#NotJust4Easter is back for its third and, already, most successful year!  If you have been following Space Coast Animal Rights from the beginning, then you probably know all about our campaign.  At least you think you do!  So much has improved this year and we really want to share how you can make a difference for bunnies, chicks and ducklings for 2017!  

Before we begin, if you have never heard of us, #NotJust4Easter was started in 2015 with the goal to heavily decrease the number of live animals bought as Easter gifts through various forms of effective outreach.  Created by Space Coast Animal Rights, in Melbourne, FL, #NotJust4Easter has grown from a local initiative into a worldwide campaign.  A huge contributor to this expansion was a large grant awarded to us by Lush Cosmetics!  These funds have given us the opportunity to reach even more people and drastically increase awareness.  

Okay.  Now you know who we are, so here is how you can help!  

Participate in our Social Media Campaign

Find some bunny ears.

Take a photo of yourself or a friend (wearing the ears) holding a sign or photo that promotes our cause. The sign can be a photo of a discarded rabbit, a fact about Easter gifting or information on responsibilities that come with these animals.

Post on social media as public with #NotJust4Easter (Bonus if you post it in our Facebook Page as well!)

Encourage your friends to participate!Plan or Attend an Event

Plan or Attend an Event

We are looking for people WORLDWIDE to plan #NotJust4Easter peaceful protests and leafleting events. We walk you through the entire process and even provide printable signs and leaflets on our website.  If you would like to plan an event, please email us at Admin@spacecoastanimalrights.com

See our current events and learn more on how to plan your own on our website at www.notjust4easter.com 

Buy an Official #NotJust4Easter T-Shirt

They are entirely eco-friendly and beautifully made!

They are $22 online and $15 in person. Online price includes shipping!

10% of your purchase to benefit Tampa Bay House Rabbit Rescue

Order now at www.notjust4easter.com. Available in sizes S, M, L & XL

***Only Shipping to USA***

Put Out Our Official #NotJust4Easter Yard Sign

They are $10 to buy.  This includes shipping.

If you are local, borrow for free!

Email us at Admin@spacecoastanimalrights.com to reserve yours!

Request Our Official Press Release

We want you to let everyone you know that rabbits, chicks and ducklings are #NotJust4Easter!  The easiest way to do this is to request our official press release and send it into your local papers, news stations, etc.  

Email us to secure our official press release at Admin@spacecoastanimalrights.com

As you can see, there are so many ways to make a difference and ANYONE can participate!  We are also always up for new ideas so if you can think of another way to create awareness for this cause, let us know!  

Get those bunny ears on because the fun starts on March 1st and runs until April 16th!  

Connect with us:

Website: www.notjust4easter.com

Email: Admin@spacecoastanimalrights.com

Main Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/notjust4easter

UK Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/notjust4easteruk

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Go Meat Free the March!

Kelly East, Melbourne Beach, FL-

Is it March already?? This year sure is marching by, pun fully intended. So for those of you that have not done so hot with those New Year’s Resolutions (myself shamelessly included), why not redeem yourself with “No Meat March” and give veganism a try? Here at Space Coast Animal Rights, we can easily offer you the tools to do so. Before we hop into that, I’d just like to touch on a sampling of the many reasons to give veganism a try.

What the health?? In addition to being a hero for helpless animals, you can be a hero to yourself! Did you know that eliminating animal products from your diet offers a significant protective effect from heart disease and many types of cancer? Check out the research yourself.

Switching to a plant-based diet can also lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of developing diabetes. Study after study has concluded that people who have ditched animal products live longer and healthier lives. Sounds like a win-win, am I right? Even vegetarians reap the benefits, so if you are a baby-step type of person, every step toward eliminating meat and animal products is beneficial. Taking into consideration that the number one killer in this country is heart disease, if everyone in America cut out animal products, we would be a much healthier nation and those pesky insurance bills would be sure to drop. 

Another factor that many people do not consider is environmental health Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than the combined exhaust from all transportation on the planet. Not to mention the resources (water, grains, land, etc.) involved to keep farmed animals alive until they are brutally slaughtered. 

Not only do we have to use those resources for the animals on farms, but also to grow grain to feed them. It boggles my mind that 21,000 people die every day of hunger. One person every 4 seconds. In what world is it ethical for cows and pigs to be well fed so we can eat them but children go hungry? Meat eating societies are the leading cause of world hunger. You can grow more food with less resources if we would just grow plants! Learn More. 

Now with that is out of the way, let’s consider our furred and feathered brethren. Everyone is born vegan. Eating meat is a learned behavior. It is shoved down our throats from an early age. Nearly every commercial on television tries to convince you to eat animal products, at a detrimental effect on human health, environmental sustainability, and many unnecessary deaths. Lots of us have pets and would agree that the dog and cat meat trade that thrive overseas are unethical. If we were to treat dogs and cats the way animals on factory farms are treated we would go to jail! Why the difference? I implore you to read up on the definition of “speciesism” and visit Youtube to watch, “Gary Yourofsky’s Best Speech Ever”. 

It is never too late to go vegan! So many lives can be spared. I am including a handy guide to help you become vegan in only 30 weeks. Take it one day at a time. If you falter one day, just do better the next one. Ask any vegan if they have any regrets about going vegan and you’ll be met with the same answer: “I wish I would have done it sooner!”

To learn more about the benefits of going vegan, please tune into the following documentaries.  Earthlings, Cowspiracy, and Forks Over Knives 

If you need help going vegan or have any questions, contact us at admin@spacecoastanimalrights.com

[spacecoastanimalrights-blog]

Adopt, Don’t Shop!

Kelly East, Melbourne Beach, FL-

Another year in the books and of course that means it’s nearly Christmas.  We are all decking our halls, hanging our stockings with care and, of course, shopping for friends and family.  I am sure there are many children (and kids at heart, like myself) who want nothing more from Santa than a cuddly, furry friend to call their own.  Before you rush out to that Pet Store to purchase a snuggly furball I’d like to like to introduce some startling statistics.  

7.6 million companion animals enter shelters nationwide every year.  Of those, 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats.  Each year approximately 2.7 million animals are euthanized in shelters yearly.  That’s around 1.3 million dogs and 1.4 million cats put to death in shelters every single year.  To put it another way, 1 animal, guilty of nothing except for homelessness, is killed every 13 seconds.  Sounds pretty messed up, right?  Thankfully, we can all do something about it.  Adopt, don’t shop!  

No need for concern if it’s a particular breed you are after, either.  A quick google search will bring up a rescue for almost any breed and there are almost always puppies available as well.  Here are just a few Florida rescues I have looked up for your viewing pleasure:

Siberian Husky Rescue of Florida:  www.siberescue.com

Florida Yorkie Rescue:  www.floridayorkierescue.com

Florida Little Dog Rescue:  www.floridalittledogrescue.com

Another thing to keep in mind, when you purchase a dog from a pet store or breeder they are a business and their main goal is profit.  Many pet stores source their puppies from the dreaded puppy mill.  Puppy mills are notorious for blatantly disregarding the dog’s health-both physical and emotional- to maximize profits.  It is estimated that there are at least 10,000 puppy mills in operation in the USA.  Fewer than 3,000 of those are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture.  

There are plenty of cities in our great state of Florida that understand the problem and, rightly, have enacted bans on the retail sale of pets.  Just to name a few:

-West Melbourne

-Jupiter

-Miami Beach

-Aventura

-Flagler Beach

The bottom line is that dogs and cats are being put to death every single day in shelters.  Perfectly healthy animals that want nothing more than a loving family to call their own.  1 every 13 seconds.  I think we, as a society, can do better.  Dog breeders and puppy mills exist because people are still shelling out thousands of dollars for dogs.  Is it ethical to buy or breed while perfectly healthy companions are murdered every year by the millions?  This girl thinks NOT!

Happy holidays and peace on Earth to everyone, our feathered and furry friends included.

PS.  Join Space Coast Animal Rights Action Team on Dec 16th as we stand against the sale of puppies and encourage people to ADOPT!  Find us on the sidewalk in front of the Melbourne Square Mall, on the corner of 192 and McClain from 4:30pm-6pm.  Signs provided!

[spacecoastanimalrights-blog]

Cruelty at the Space Coast State Fair

Brielle Crumpler, Melbourne FL--

“It just wasn’t right. You could see how many sharks were in that tiny tank and I didn’t feel right even looking at it”.

Courtney took her four-year-old daughter to the Space Coast State Fair on Monday and witnessed an event that put her stomach in knots.

As the two of them headed for the exit of the fair, a crowd gathered around a stage that caught their eye. 30 to 40 seats sat in front the small stage which held an even smaller fish tank. The tank was approximately 15 feet by 4 feet; immensely too small for what it was holding: 3 to 4 sharks. The largest one at around 5 feet.

The sharks were being used as entertainment, an event the fair puts on called, ‘Shark Encounter’. They are confined to these tiny tanks, and forced to be ogled at by the audience, who reportedly are encouraged to knock on their glass cage. These sharks do not have the ability to freely roam in open water, hunt for their food or simply live a life of a free and natural creature. It is heart-breaking knowing that these beautiful sharks are living out such a depressing life.

Using animals for entertainment while forcing them into ghastly conditions is no new concept for the State Fair. For the past few decades, they have come up with demeaning and cruel events to showcase these animals as ‘family friendly entertainment’.

Another animal event the fair puts on is known as a “Banana Derby”.  A horrifying event where Capuchin monkeys dressed in what I can only imagine as uncomfortable little clothing, are chained to the back of a dog and forced to struggle to sit upright as the dog races around the track. These monkeys are being used purely for entertainment. The event abuses and mocks these helpless animals, while participants stand from the stand lines, laughing and cheering, thinking of how ‘cute’ the show is.

The banana derby has been challenged in the past by different states, people signing petitions and speaking out to have the show stopped, and there is no reason why we, as the Space Coast, should not do the same.

As a caring and thoughtful community, we have an obligation to put a stop to this unethical treatment.  Anyone and everyone has the opportunity to help.

Here are the few easy steps you can take to fight against this animal cruelty:

1. Sign and Share our petition

https://www.change.org/p/brevard-county-commissioners-stop-holding-cruel-animal-acts-at-the-space-coast-state-fair

2. Attend our protest and invite your friends

https://www.facebook.com/events/189630124817814/

3. Review the Space Coast State Fair on Facebook and Let Them Know that their Choices for "Entertainment" are unacceptable. https://www.facebook.com/spacecoastfair

4. Write on the Space Coast Daily Facebook Page and Ask Them Not to Promote Events that Encourage Animal Cruelty. https://www.facebook.com/SpaceCoastDaily

5. Email the Brevard County Commissioners and Ask Them Not to Approve Events that Contribute to Animal Cruelty. Find Their Email Addresses here:

http://www.brevardcounty.us/countycommission/countycommissionershome

6. Email Space Coast Stadium (info@spacecoaststadium.com) and Ask Them Not to Allow Events that Use Animals for "Entertainment".

Photos by KCRG.com and MLive.com