I want to take a moment to give you all a brief overview about animal rights, and get your thoughts and opinions.  I know there is a lot of information here, and I'm sorry I couldn't find a way to condense it, but please read it all, or as much as you can, or at least please skim through it. 

Also, some of this may be difficult to read and learn about, but by saying "I don't want to know about this...it's too horrible", this attitude just perpetuates the problem.  Ignorance may be bliss for you, but not for the animals.  Educate yourself, no matter how difficult it may be, so that you can make decisions in your life that won't cause you to unintentionally promote cruelty towards animals, and so that you may educate others.

I personally believe that all animals have certain rights: the right to exist peacefully, as nature intended, and free from harm or exploitation at the hands of humans.  I also believe that all animals have the right to live comfortably, free of pain, and free of emotional distress caused by humans.

There are four areas where I feel humans cause the most harm to animals: the meat industry, the fur and leather industry, animal testing by cosmetic companies and the medical industry, and entertainment industries, such as the circus and the rodeo, that use animals as "entertainment".  I will explain each one.

THE MEAT INDUSTRY:

I do not eat meat.  The one area where my opinion differs from other animal rights activists is that I DO believe that nature intended for humans to eat animals.  However, the reason that I do not eat meat is because I do not support factory farming.  "Factory farming" is where the vast majority of meat you eat - in grocery stores and in restaurants - comes from.  Animal are basically kept in a warehouse.  Chickens and pigs are either jam-packed into sheds, or they are kept in tiny cramped crates and cages so small they can't even turn around or lie down comfortably.  They are often sick, forced to stand in their own urine and feces, have no proper ventilation, and are often beaten when the frightened animals don't "cooperate" when being moved from one place to another.  (To learn more, visit www.MeetYourMeat.org)

LEATHER AND FUR:

I also do not wear fur or leather.  Animals on fur farms spend their lives in tiny cages only to be killed by anal or genital electrocution, which causes them to have a heart attack.  Some are skinned alive.  Animals in the wild may languish for days in traps before they die of thirst or starvation, or are killed by the trapper.  (For more information, please visit www.FurIsDead.com)  I don't wear leather because of the cruel treatment that cows are subjected to while being "raised", as well as being transported to slaughterhouses, as well as the slaughterhouse process itself.  (Visit www.CowsAreCool.com)

ANIMAL TESTING:

Animals, such as monkeys, mice, guinea pigs, rabbits, DOGS, and CATS, are mutilated and killed by the millions (yes, millions!) every year, in excruciatingly painful experiments done by the companies that create cosmetics and household products, as well as the medical industry.  Testing on animals for cosmetics and household products is no longer necessary because more reliable and humane alternatives do exist.  Plus, lists already exist of chemicals that are and are not dangerous to humans, which are accessible to companies.  Furthermore, there are no laws that require companies to test their products on animals.  Find out which companies do and do not test on animals, so that you can purchase the ones that don't, and boycott the ones that do.  (Go to www.CaringConsumer.com/resources_companies.asp)  As for testing on animals for medical purposes, because humans and animals are so physiologically different, this has caused many animal drug tests to be unreliable and dangerous.  Many drugs have harmed and even killed humans, because animal tests deemed them to be "safe".  In addition, new research methods, such as computer models, cell cultures, and human studies are more accurate, less expensive, and much more humane than testing on animals. (To learn more, go to www.aavs.org)

USING ANIMALS FOR "ENTERTAINMENT":

Circuses such as Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus, and establishments such as the rodeo, are cruel to animals.  Animals in the circus don't want to ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire.  Animals in the rodeo don't want to be chased and tackled, or be forced to buck while some guy on their back flails around and kicks them repeatedly with sharp spurs.  Sadly, these animals have no choice.  Trainers use abusive tools, like whips and electric prods, and force them to perform.  When they are not performing, they are forced to stand in cramped stalls and cages with no room to walk, for hours and hours, until boredom and lack of exercise drives them to the point of behaving neurotically. (Learn more: visit www.Circuses.com  and  www.BuckTheRodeo.com)

Believe it or not, but this is just the tip of the iceburg, when it come to cruelty towards animals.  There are too many other issues than I can talk about here in this blog, so please go online and type in "animal rights" into your search engine, and learn as much as you can.  Things like writing letters to companies and politicians, joining boycotts, and educating  your friends and families about cruelty towards animals are the first steps that you can take towards helping to end this horrific problem.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks,

Lacey