Impawtant victories - animal welfare activism - Brief Article

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 2000 by Abigail Chipley

from chickens stuck in tiny cages to elephants forced to jump through flaming hoops to wild predators being killed by ranchers, animals continue to suffer greatly and needlessly. But the news isn't all bad. In fact, animal rights groups around the world have been successful in a number of recent campaigns. "We've gone way beyond demonstrations in front of fur stores," says Lawrence Carter-Long, of the Animal Protection Institute in Sacramento. "Now animal rights organizations are starting to have a real influence on policy, not to mention public opinion."

Of course, there's still a long way to go toward making the world a safer place for animals, but progress is being made on several fronts. Following are some of the most impressive animal rights victories in the past two years.

* Oregon passed the strongest law in the country banning "canned hunts" of exotic mammals like cougars and other wild cats in enclosed areas.

* A North Carolina grand jury handed down the first ever animal abuse indictment against hog producers.

* New York State passed a bill elevating intentional and extreme animal cruelty to a felony offense.

* Top law schools, including Harvard, Georgetown and Rutgers, began teaching classes on animal protection law.

* President Clinton signed a bill outlawing the Internet sale of so-called "crush" videos, which depict small animals being crushed to death.

* Mary Kay Cosmetics pledged not to test its products on animals or buy ingredients from companies that still conduct animal testing, becoming one of the largest companies to make this promise.

* The nation's largest manufacturer of leghold traps (which are used to kill small animals) stopped making them due to dwindling profits.

* PepsiCo withdrew its sponsorship of all Mexican bullfights.

* Sears & Roebuck ended its sponsorship of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus following years of highly publicized animal accidents and deaths.

* Slovakia outlawed all cosmetic testing on animals.

* Israel banned animal dissection in all public schools.