Target: Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator
Goal: Support increased protection for animals used for agriculture purposes.
A group sneaks onto a farm property with the intention of filming alleged acts of negligence and animal cruelty. One of the involved parties also takes a baby goat believed to be sick and destined for death. When Wayne Hsiung resumed his life and cared for the goat, whom he named Rain, he never imagined he could be staring down a multi-year prison sentence. Yet this exact fate awaited him after someone at the farm found his driver’s license that he had left behind. Although the animal rights activist ultimately received a suspended sentence and probation, he believes the legal system is bowing to pressure from agriculture special interests at the expense of at-risk animals.
He is not wrong. Over the past few years, increasing numbers of laws in America and around the world have targeted the ability of people to film and record acts of animal cruelty. In some cases, these individuals face increasingly stringent criminal charges. The right to rescue is also in debate. While a majority of states have laws on the books enabling individuals to take extraordinary means in rescuing dogs from overheated cars, no such legal avenues exist for other animals, especially animals considered livestock. These living beings should not receive less protection simply because of a powerful and influential industry.
Sign the petition below to urge an amendment to laws that harshly punish animal welfare advocates while shielding potential abusers.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Senator Blumenthal,
As a national leader with a strong record on animal welfare, you should be concerned about the demonization and seeming targeting of animal rights advocates by the legal system. Recently, these individuals have been subject to prosecution for exposing potential animal cruelty through audio or video and for attempting to rescue animals believed to be in harm’s way. Laws should extend options for combating animal cruelty, not limit them.
Likely not coincidentally, many of these cases involve the agricultural industry. Animals deemed as livestock seem to have little regard or protection in the eyes of the government. They are omitted from most safeguards under the Animal Welfare Act yet are routinely the focus of some of the most long-standing and horrific acts of negligence and abuse. Special interests should not make these living beings lesser in the eyes of the law.
Please advocate for enhanced protection for these animals, up to and including inclusion in the nation’s standard-bearer animal welfare law, extension of right to rescue laws to livestock, and increased legal avenues for ordinary citizens to expose wrongdoing. Demonstrate your commitment to all living beings by backing these important reforms.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Arthouse Studio
Dear Senator Blumenthal,
What’s wrong with humans?
Please, demonstrate your commitment to all living beings by backing these important reforms.
Thank you!
How idiotic and pathetic. Should be prosecuting abusers not the rescuers. Have these people complete brainless morons? They are proving they are!!!! Unbelievable
Why do we think we can have animals and abuse them. Just because they can’t talk they do suffer pain. Their lives must be changed and the people who commit must be prosecuted. There is no reason to be inhumane. Please take notice and do your due-diligence. My heart breaks for these animals.
Dispute between nations shouldn’t affect people and animals. People, though, could escape to safer places, not animals!!
How about prosecuting the abusers and rewarding compassionate rescuers. And we wonder what is wrong with our country.
Comparto totalmente contigo Paula!!!!
Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator
Laws for people should be there to protect.! The same exact thing should be ENFORCED FOR ANIMALS. A LAW THAT HARSLY PUNISHES ANIMAL WELFARE ADVOCATES AND SHIELDS ABUSERS GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING …INTEGRITY, COMPASSION, HUMANITY, DECENCY ETC ETC ETC
How can a person sleep or live knowing the atrocities they do or condone.
I am asking you to please do the right thing. Please support increased protection for animals used for agriculture purposes and ALL other animals!!
WHAT HAPPENED TO Wayne Hsiung IS BEYOND TWISTED. All the people that are responsible for these types of gross injustices should be PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW, LOSE THEIR JOB, FINED HEAVILY AND BANNED FROM EVER BE NEAR ANOTHER ANIMAL FOR LIFE@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disgustingly this happens alot to Cat Feral Caregivers too.
Strays of East Bay Regional Park are being killed instead of tnr. As a former caretaker of a feral cat colony tnr works. All 7 cats died of old age in 5 years. Two that had cancer were euathanized.
Vegan is the only humane, how people can demand “better treatment” of animals but not be concerned with their requiredm violent death, is cognitive dissonance. All animals exploited for food are exempt from federal regulation, all animals exploited for food die suffering and unwillingly.
If you’re not vegan, you don’t care about animals.
Animals are a precious gift! NOT TO BE ABUSED!!!~!~!!~!!
Pure stupidity!!!!! These despicable abusers need to be charged and jailed. These true hero’s who rescue these lovely animals from them need our praise and support.
OUTRAGEOUS that Animal Rights Activists are punished for exposing the truth about the systemic suffering imposed on animals when CHILD ABUSERS, ABUSIVE SPOUSES, SERIAL RAPISTS are let off with sentences NOT REMOTELY matching the severity of their crimes!!!! THE PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW THE FACTS WHEN GREEDY MUTANTS TORTURE ANIMALS FOR PROFIT!!!! STOP PROSECUTING WHISTLE BLOWERS WHO ARE HEROES IN THEIR COURAGEOUS ATTEMPTS TO PREVENT ANIMAL SUFFERING!!!!!!
“Never ever fail to do the right thing, especially when the well being of a person or an animal is at stake! The punishments imposed by society are small compared with the wounds we inflict upon our souls when we turn away.”
Martin Luther King
ARE YOU LISTENING, YOU SHAMEFUL PROSECUTORS WHO CHARGE THOSE HEROS WHO EXPOSE THE NEEDLESS SUFFERING CAUSED BY THE GREED OF CORPORATE PIMPS????
Yes, please help put common sense back into the world. These innocent animals were never meant to suffer at the hands of the human race as they do.
PROSECUTING THOSE COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO EXPOSE ANIMAL ABUSE IS A STAIN ON THE ENTIRE LEGAL PROFESSION
I thought i heard everything insane then i read this.
It would be a crime in itself to prosecute anyone for trying to record or film acts of animal abuse and neglect. This would suggest that we the people are living under dictatorship rules and not the law of righteousness and Justice. I would have done just what Wayne Hsiung did because he believed a baby goat was sick and destined for death. The unrighteous would have turned a blind eye to the sick goat but the righteous does not.
I totally agree with Maria Bertrand ,,,
“ Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator
Laws for people should be there to protect.! The same exact thing should be ENFORCED FOR ANIMALS. A LAW THAT HARSLY PUNISHES ANIMAL WELFARE ADVOCATES AND SHIELDS ABUSERS GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING …INTEGRITY, COMPASSION, HUMANITY, DECENCY ETC ETC ETC
How can a person sleep or live knowing the atrocities they do or condone.
I am asking you to please do the right thing. Please support increased protection for animals used for agriculture purposes and ALL other animals!!
WHAT HAPPENED TO Wayne Hsiung IS BEYOND TWISTED. All the people that are responsible for these types of gross injustices should be PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW, LOSE THEIR JOB, FINED HEAVILY AND BANNED FROM EVER BE NEAR ANOTHER ANIMAL FOR LIFE@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “
These activists are ALL abused animals have. More ppl need to be the voice of abused animals!! These ppl should never be punished for helping!
Whoever concocted this nonsense to punish people for helping abused animals is most likely the people doing the abusing. They want to keep it hush hush so no one knows how bad it is.
THERE IS SO MUCH EVIL OUT THERE AND PEOPLE THAT DEDICATE THEIR LIVES TO MAKE SURE EVIL CONTINUES IS REALLY SAD.