Monday, May 08, 2006

Somehow I missed National Pet Week, which ended yesterday, but the American Humane Association's Be Kind to Animals Week began yesterday, including, appropriately enough for the one organization authorized to monitor the use of animals in entertainment, a partnership with Universal Studios Hollywood to raise animal awareness through their Animal Actors show, which, despite exploiting animals for the sake of entertainment, does make a point of informing audiences at every performance that most of the animals they've seen were rescues or are endangered in the wild and born in captivity, encouraging guests to do what they can to help the animals, "because life is truly better with animals."

The week will also see the announcement of the 13th annual Be Kind to Animals Kid Contest winners, as described in this press release.

American Humane's mission is to protect children and animals from abuse and neglect. As many of us know, the link between the two is fairly strong.

For Be Kind to Animals Week, American Humane offers the following suggestions to join in the BKAW celebration:

• Speak out for animals. Get active in local animal welfare policies and legislation. Also register on the American Humane Association’s website at www.americanhumane.org/takeaction to receive timely Action Alerts about issues affecting animals. You’ll be able to make a difference for animals with just the click of your mouse.


• Report animal abuse. While acts of violence against animals are tragic in their own right, they are also a red flag for other violent behavior, including domestic abuse and violent crime.


• Appreciate wildlife. Leave room in your yard for habitats. Make a bird or bat house.


• Share kindness. Teach the people in your life especially children about the importance of being kind to animals.


• Make a donation to your local animal shelter. A donation can be any number of contributions, from your time or money, to needed items like pet food or laundry detergent.


• Adopt a pet from a shelter or breed placement group. Approximately 8 million to 12 million animals enter our nation’s shelters every year, and more than half of these pets will have to be euthanized because of a lack of homes. Local shelters are the best place to find companion animals no matter what type you’re looking for. Keep in mind that one out of every four dogs in shelters is a purebred.


• Help solve the tragedy of euthanasia of adoptable animals by not contributing to the problem. If you have pets, make sure they are spayed or neutered. Pets should be microchipped and always wear a collar with an ID tag, so they can be returned home quickly if they are ever lost.

Tags: Universal Studios Hollywood | American Humane Association | Be Kind to Animals Week