@suzanagartner
This year has been an amazing year for animal rights! Let’s look back for a moment at 2018 and celebrate this year of progress for animal rights – here are some victories!
Fur is dead and is not in fashion. Some of the big Fashion houses: Gucci, Burberry, Versace, and Jean Paul Gaultier ditched fur this year. For instance, London fashion week was fur-free, San Francisco voted to ban fur sales, and in the UK, MPs across the political spectrum expressed support for banning fur imports into Britain.
Animals sold for fur often come from mass-breeding mills, confined to small cages and are kept in horrible conditions. In general, breeding contributes to shelter killing and overpopulation. Adopting animals from shelters (instead of buying them from breeders) is the best choice. Animal shelter kill rates across the US are high. We can increase live release rates by adopting from shelters, and rescues, and telling our friends and help to save a precious life!
A new California law went into effect this year banning pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits from mass-breeding operations. Similarly, in the UK the passage of “Lucy’s Law” was introduced that will ban the sale of puppies and kittens by pet shops, online dealers, and other third-party sellers.
California became the first state in the US to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals by passing the California Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, which makes it illegal for cosmetics manufacturers to import or sell any cosmetics there if the final product or any of its components were tested on animals after 1 January 2020. This precedent-setting law will inspire other jurisdictions to introduce similar legislation.
New Jersey and Hawaii instituted bans preventing the use of wild animals from performing in circuses. These two states are the first in the US to outlaw the exploitation of wild animals for entertainment. The state of New Jersey joins the list of countries like Bolivia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, El Salvador, the Netherlands and India which have banned the use of wild animals in circuses. Wild animals are not willing performers and this is animal exploitation. Also, Portugal joins the list and bans the use of animals performing in circuses! Other countries will follow and cruelty to animals will soon be a thing in the past and not part of our future.
Here’s an overview of some of the highlights of progress for the animal justice movement this past year! Of course, there were more animal victories and this is a glance into a few of them. Let’s continue to celebrate more animal victories into the New Year! As we continue to stand up for the voiceless members of our society we are giving them a voice and speaking up for their justice. We are on our way to passing more progressive laws in 2019 for animals and moving toward a more just society that recognizes animals as sentient beings with emotions and feelings that deserve to be treated kindly!