04/02 Loose Lips - further banning discussion

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Vyktors Mum

Vyktors Mum

Member Since 2011
I was asked to post my banning on loose lips and who am I to argue about extra publicity for the plight of the animals :-D

If you missed this in my condo yesterday the headline probably made you think my banning was FDMboard related but no my banning is billboard related:

http://www.news.com.au/national/gra...billboard-banned/story-e6frfky9-1226315725838

The 'woman' in the photo is me (just having a bad morning :lol: ), the photo was taken about 5 years ago now but it is forever popular. It has been used all around the world on billboards, posters, stickers etc and been translated into at least French and German - I haven't kept track of all of it's travels. I didn't even know it was on billboards in Tasmania again until someone pointed out the banning story to me.

Ann (and Tess) asked yesterday about replacing my picture with an actual photo of the tortured animals - the answer to why that isn't done is that it is not permitted (even the mock up has been banned now) on the grounds of causing people too much distress.

I find that particularly appalling, if it is too distressing to show people then clearly it shouldn't be happening. We had some pictures of actual pigs in sow stalls ready to do a campaign about that but nearly every state in the country banned them before they could even be put up :sad: For those that don't know sow stalls are the horrible crates that mother pigs (the breeding machines) are kept in. They are unable to do more than take one step forwards and the same step backwards and if they lie down their feet are poking into the pig in the next cage. The farmers claim that they keep these pigs like this for the good of the piglets as they don't want the mother pig to roll on them and crush them - what a load of codswallop! The real reason is that it's cheaper for the farmers. If you want to know more follow the link but be warned before you click on any video links - those images are distressing:

http://www.savebabe.com/

We did do more photos in the anti animal testing series and if I can find them electronically I will add them later today...
 
Thanks for posting the link. I didn't see your condo yesterday. I was babysitting. The billboard is great and I'm thrilled to see it. I wish that it were allowed all over. I'm a vegetarian , almost vegan because of the cruelty & won't buy products that are animal tested. I drive store managers nuts when I have time asking them why they don't carry the brands I need and telling them why I can't buy anything there today, as well as write corporate letters. I used to be a lot more active but unfortunately my activities are limited to online and light work now. We need more awareness.

Melanie & Racci
 
Thank you for sharing this info, and for doing what you do, Serryn. I've been vegetarian for well over 20 years now, and vegan for the last 10. I always try to approach the subject in a way that will "engage" people, rather than shock them (and make them run the other way without hearing a word I say), but more often than not, the response I get is "Don't tell me, I don't want to know." Sometimes the truth is distressing, but ignoring it doesn't make it go away. A few years ago, someone at my store asked me if we sold beads made of bone. When I said "no", he asked why. When I told him why, he replied with, "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Nice. A lot of times, even my own family doesn't believe what I have to say :roll: . It surprises people to find out that being vegan pretty much touches almost every corner of my life (except the minor fact that I have 6 furrly little carnivores under my care....)

Personally, I think it's really, really important for people to know where their food and clothing come from, and that they know that humans are, indeed, capable of these things. The only way to end the cruelty is to stop supporting it...simple supply and demand economics. There ARE better ways - for everyone...humans and animals alike. It's about balance, and sharing the earth as we were intended to...in peace and harmony. I also find that a lot of people think one person can't make a difference so there's no point in bothering....that couldn't be further from the truth. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed in this world because my approach is so far from mainstream, but I know I am making a small dent in bringing an end the cruelty...I can't imagine living any other way.

Thank you again, Serryn.
 
The mistreatment of farm animals on factory "farms" is outrageous. And farm animals are not even covered by the "protections" afforded lab animals. Slowly progress is being made, but agribusiness fights it every step of the way. Here in the US one of the best advocates for farm animals is F.A.C.T. (Farm Animals Concerns Trust). They testify in government hearings and are well respected and have been particularly effective in getting legislators to pass bills that improve life for animals on factory farms. Another group I support and admire is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). They picket and sneak people into jobs at places that mistreat animals in order to get proof of mistreatment. At present one of their main campaigns is exposing factory farms. (This is good, because PETA is much more visible to the general public than F.A.C.T.)
I totally agree with all that has been said in this thread and thank you Serryn for starting it. Although I am not vegan, I try to be ethical in my choice of food. My family is pretty understanding, but I'll never forget the Christmas that I served a stuffed pumpkin instead of a turkey. This was years ago, but I still hear about it!! (I no longer do Christmas dinner!)

Ella

p.s. My everyday "active" way to protest animal cruelty is to hide the glue mouse traps in the supermarkets and hardware stores. I put them behind the cereal boxes.
 
I couldn't find an electronic version of the second poster in the series but I did find some pix of us all made up and ready to go, I had to shrink them to fit them here. The final poster had us all in neck locks just like they keep the rabbits they are testing on in.





My favourite was the last poster in the series which they also made a TV ad from, it featured one of my gorgeous ratties. Will try and find something from that.

Ella :lol: :lol: :lol: on the glue traps I also get a bit 'naughty' at the supermarket. I also hide the more objectionable items and I have various cruelty stickers to stick on nasty products like caged hen eggs and pig products from sow stall piggeries.

And I refuse to believe that one person can't make a difference. One person not eating one animal makes a difference to that animal!
 

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You guys all look so....happy?? The make up is amazing. I guess I'm so digitally "tainted"...I assumed your other picture was PhotoShopped!

The "things" that happen never cease to amaze me. Just when I think I've heard the worst, something else comes along. Recently here in the states, it was exposed that pigs were being kept in pig-shaped cages - literally - so they couldn't move and would fatten up nicely. I was beyond stunned.

Oddly, as a vegan, I've always had mixed thoughts on PETA. They obviously do phenominal work as far as going in there and exposing the really nasty, nitty gritty that a lot of people can't and won't do. But, I do wish they'd be a bit less controversial in some of their actions; the controversy turns people off so they won't listen at all, because it makes them thing we're all raving lunatics who care more about animals than humans.

I've had some very interesting conversations with my best friend from college; he and I lost touch for a long time, but reconnected a few years ago thanks to FaceBook. When he first found out I had become vegan, he immediately got his back up; I could tell he was prepared for me to throw red paint his way or something like that. But, because we actually TALKED about things, rather than me "yelling" my beliefs to him, he started listening. He's not vegan or even vegetarian, and he may never be either, but I can see the gears of his mind turning, and he now makes some more conscious choices. Baby steps are better than no steps.

Likewise, not only do I believe that one person can make a difference, but I can believe one gesture can make a difference. My business partner, who is almost vegetarian but probably will never fully make the plunge, decided a few years ago to stop buy leather shoes and belts. Every little bit helps, even something as seemingly trivial as buying non-leather shoes.This was the result of my relationship with her...she started thinking. So yes...one person CAN make a difference, and one gesture can make a difference. If you tell two people, and they tell two people, and so on, and so on...we CAN change the world for the better.

ETA: My three favorite organizations are Farm Sanctuary, The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and - of course - Best Friends Animal Society.
 
Amy,

Thank you for mentioning some of my favorites, Farm Sanctuary and The Physicians for Responsible Medicine. There are a lot more of them out there doing excellent work too. One person can definitely make a difference and I agree with you that honest non-confronting conversation can make a big difference in education & gaining support. I think it takes all methods put together to make a real change though and takes enough individuals refusing to put up with it and putting their money where their conscience is instead of taking the easy way out. Most people just don't want to rock the boat even though they know it's wrong. They don't want to put the effort fforth to change their eating habits or shopping habits or lifestyle but if you can convince them to do it 1 day a week, then 2 you are making a difference. If you can get them not to buy some products and buy others, you're making a difference.. Everything helps until the day people wake up.

Melanie & Racci
 
Don't underestimate the effectiveness of PETA's "extreme" actions. Martin Luther King wouldn't have been as effective without Malcolm X being so "extreme".
Liz
 
Oh, I totally agree, Liz. PETA's extreme actions are amazing...they do work that most of us could never ever be brave enough to do. What I'm a bit iffy on is they're way of conveying the message. Just an example, right around Valentine's, PETA was running an ad that implied a vegan diet would turn men into sexual dynamos. The girl in the ad looked like she had been raped and beaten, so "satisfied" that she was dazed and stumbling through the streets in a jacket and her undies while out buying more veggies for her man (who was home repairing the damaged walls from the previous night's events). It was a very wry humor sort of thing, and I could see how it would offend many people to the point where they would not want to hear anything else from this organization, which is counter-productive to the cause.

In my intial vegan conversations with my friend, Tom, I could tell he was on the defensive before I even started talking, because he had this PETA-induced pre-conceived notion about vegans. Because I "spoke softly" (so to speak) to him about my belief system, he started hearing what I had to say, rather than pushing back. I don't know if that makes any sense...

I also question their extremely high euthanasia rate, but that's a whole 'nuther ball of wax...
 
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