Operation: Put a Little Love in Your Heart Continues

WAR Returns to the Hack Line on Sunday


The picture above is just one of the things we witness every weekend as we stand up for New York City's carriage horses. The drivers are either ignorant of horse anatomy or they simply don't care. Witness this driver cruelly pulling on the harsh bit, clearly hurting this horse. We see this every time we are there. For this reason, we have decided to continue Operation: Put a Little Love in Your Heart beyond the Valentine's Day holiday.

Oreo' s Law Reintroduced -- Text and Commentary

Here's the text of the revised bill ( be sure to check all the boxes at the top to see all the information provided).

 

The introduction of the bill has reignited debate on the issue.

Sunnyskies Bird & Animal Sanctuary raises questions about the opposition to Oreo's Law in this blog post at eyesontheeastend.com: 

 

Commentary: Oreo's Law Must Pass by Linda Brink

 

Media Coverage for Fur Designers at Fashion Week

Agence France Presse:  Designer wraps NY Fashion Week in fur

Examiner.com: Johnny Weir stands by his love of fur at the Dennis Basso Fall 2011 fashion show
(this is the same fool who wanted to wear fur on his costume at the Winter Games last year -- see  "'Be Good Johnny Weir' star removes fox fur from Vancouver Winter Olympics outfit"

Daily Mail: Michael Douglas looks better than ever as he joins Catherine Zeta-Jones at Michael Kors' New York Fashion Week show

Daily Mail: Gemma Arterton shows the style set how it's done at New York Fashion Week

After reading these articles, I felt the need to watch this classic as a disinfectant:

Olivia Munn: Carriage Ride on Valentine's Day? No thanks!

Lea Michele isn't the horses' only friend on the small screen.


Perfect Couples star and Daily Show correspondent Olivia Munn, who in November brilliantly satirized the puppy mill trade in a hilarious Daily Show segment,  told PETA she wouldn't be caught dead spending Valentine's Day in a horse drawn carriage:
  
Olivia Munn's Perfect Valentine's Day


Here's more from Ecorazzi:  

Olivia Munn Doesn’t Want A Horse-Drawn Carriage

Lea Michele Speaks Up for Carriage Horses

TV stars Lea Michelle recognizes that carriage horse rides are about as romantic as a traffic accident.

PETA vs. Westminster Dog Show, Breeders

Two articles by PETA at OpposingViews.com:

PETA Slams Westminster Dog Show, Breeders
  
Jane Lynch Asks USA to Run PETA Ad During Westminster  

PETA Protests Westminster Dog Show in NYC 

From PETA's blog:

A string of posts about Westminster dog show protests over the last few years

NBC 4 Coverage of Valentine's Weekend Fur Protest

Short, but positive coverage. The only wrinkle was that this protest organized by local grassroots activists was incorrectly attributed to PETA.

Queens Tribune: New Tether Law Will Protect Dogs

Source: http://www.queenstribune.com/news/News_021011_NewTetherLaw.html

By Jessica Ablamsky

A dog’s life should not be spent chained up all day, according to the City Council.

Pay attention, dog owners.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg recently signed into law two bills that will fundamentally improve the lives of animals in New York City, and change the way outdoor dogs are treated.

Legislation introduced by Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. (D-Astoria) makes it illegal to restrain dogs outdoors for longer than three hours in a continuous 12-hour period of time. Repeat violations within one year carry fines of up to $500 and three months in prison.

When the law takes effect on May 1, dogs restrained outdoors for less than three hours will need adequate food, water and shelter.

TV Coverage of Valentine's Day Bergdorf Goodman Fur Protest

TV coverage of fur protests isn't nearly as common as it used to be, so it's encouraging when the media decides to pay attention. Congratulations to Caring Activists Against Fur for a successful event!

Videos after the cut:

Alley Cat Allies Supports Oreo's Law, Gotham Gazette Runs Story

The dog who inspired the controversial Oreo's Law.

Alley Cat Allies has released a statement of support for Oreo's Law, a bill that has divided animal organizations:

Animal groups have been sharply divided on the bill, as discussed in a new article article in Gotham Gazette.

NY POST: Designers get pelted by rising fur prices

By JAMES COVERT

Last Updated: 4:16 AM, February 17, 2011

Posted: 12:43 AM, February 17, 2011

Comments: 0

More Print

Fast-rising fur prices are threatening to take the skin off upscale fashion designers.
While soaring cotton prices sap profits across the clothing industry, luxury labels say a dramatic run-up in the price of mink and other fine furs has likewise forced them to scramble to maintain their margins as demand for furry fashions surges worldwide.
"People are ordering their fur earlier in the season than ever because they're afraid of what they'll have to pay if they wait until the following week," said Khajak Keledjian, CEO of Intermix, the trendy New York-based fashion boutique.

Designers could see their profits squeezed as they’re forced to pay as much as 50 percent more to trim their fashions and accessories with fine furs.

Shaking off a sluggish economy and years of protests from anti-fur activists, top designers at New York runway shows this week -- including Oscar de la Renta, Donna Karan and Michael Kors -- have been stitching increasing amounts of mink, sable, beaver, chinchilla and muskrat into their frocks.
An even bigger driver of fur prices, according to industry insiders, is surging demand from China's fast-growing middle- and upper-class shoppers, who now account for more than 70 percent of global fur consumption.

Welcome to Defend Animals NYC, the One-Stop Source for Animal Activism info in the Big Apple

NYC is blessed with many, many animal advocacy groups.  Unfortunately, this makes it very hard to keep track of everything going on.  Defend Animals NYC is intended to solve this problem.  On this site, you'll find a calendar of animal activism events in NYC, a directory of animal advocacy groups, and a newswire blog with issue updates, action alerts, protest reports (including photos and videos), news coverage of animal activism, and more.  For the animal rights supporter, this website provides an alternative to subscribing to dozens of email lists, Meetups, and Facebook groups just to find out where this weekend's fur protest or vegan leafleting will be taking place or to find a group working on a particular issue.  For organizers, to make it easier to avoid organizing conflicting events. Organizers can check the calendar before planning an events and use the directory to find potential collaborators.  For the media, the newswire and calendar will make it easier to keep track of what's happening in the animal movement locally, and the directory will make it easier to contact groups when they find a potentially newsworthy story on the calendar or newswire.

Defend Animals NYC is part of a greater effort to increase collaboration between the disparate elements of the local animal advocacy movement in order to build a stronger and more united movement.  We'll be launching a number of other unity building projects throughout 2011 and you'll hear about them first on this blog.

Who is Defend Animals NYC?

Defend Animals NYC is you!  This site is intended as an open, collaborative effort.  We encourage all animal groups in NYC to post news to the blog, list events on the calendar, and to keep their directory listing updated. Email us at info@defendanimalsnyc.org to request editing rights.  Volunteers are also needed to help with keeping features on this site up to date and with creating new features.  Let us know if you'd like to help. Web skills are helpful, but Blogger is designed to be used by people with no technical knowledge, so anyone can help.  Finally, let us know if you have ideas on how to expand and improve this site!