Demand Whole Foods Market stops selling rabbit meat!

Dear Mr. Mackey, Mr. Robb, and Dr. Elstrott:

This letter is to request Whole Foods Market to immediately stop the selling of rabbit meat in all Whole Food Market stores worldwide.

Our family was recently made aware of this objectionable product being sold at select Whole Food Market stores throughout the country.  Our children ages 8, 15, and 16 and ourselves were horrified to discover Whole Foods Market sells rabbit meat.   

We want to bring the following facts to your immediate attention:                                     

•          Rabbits are exempt from the Human Methods of Slaughter Act (1958), which requires that animals killed at federally inspected slaughterhouses must be rendered unconscious before they are killed.  Because this rule does not apply to rabbits, they can be killed in any manner, no matter how abusive. 

•          Only a small fraction of U.S. rabbit producers are federally inspected.

•          Few protections exist for the up to 2 million rabbits that are raised for slaughter each year as USDA certification for rabbits is currently on a voluntary basis.

•          The Whole Foods Market Pilot Animal Welfare Standards For Rabbits document (available on the Whole Foods Market website) does not address methods of slaughter, humane or otherwise. 


•          Rabbits raised to be sold for meat are not required to have outdoor access according to The Whole Foods Market Pilot Animal Welfare Standards For Rabbits document.


•          According to Encyclopedia Britannica Advocacy For Animals, the rabbit is an animal upon which so many exploitative and abusive practices converge such as:

o   Factory farmed and eaten

o   Factory farmed and killed for fur

o   Abused in laboratories

o   Exploited by mill-breeders for pet stores

o   Third most commonly euthanized companion animal.

•          The Human Society states that rabbits are intelligent, social animals that closely bond with other rabbits as well as their human caregivers, and have personalities which are as distinct and diverse as those of any cat or dog.

•          Rabbits are symbols of harmlessness and innocence, are universally beloved, are icons in cartoons and children’s books, and are gentle, appealing creatures

•          These much-abused animals deserve our protection from being exploited including keeping them from being sold as meat from ethical, lifestyle grocery stores like Whole Foods Market

•          As Nikki Newman, the Social Media Community Moderator at Whole Foods Market, points out in a recent expert series with Brands With Fans:  Whole Foods Market uses social customer service to deliver value and build its brand:  “By letting the customers help in the decision-making, you are showing them that their opinion is valuable.”.

By now you may be wondering who this family of five from Michigan is?  We are:

•          Weekly Whole Food Market shoppers who spend $200+/week at your store, but are now boycotting Whole Foods Market until the practice of selling rabbit meat at all Whole Foods Market stores has ceased.

•          Connected on social media via Twitter, Snapchat, Vine, Instagram, Linked In and Facebook with 1500+ direct connections/followers extending outward to 500,000+ indirect connections

•          Members of numerous influential business, university, high school, primary school, and religious organizations.

•          Using all of our social media and organization resources to tell our followers, friends, families, organization members, and extended circles about the despicable practice of selling rabbit meat and encouraging them to boycott Whole Foods Market with us.


•          Consumers who expect a higher level of compassion from your company and expect your company to value the opinions of your customers.

Sincerely,

The Cherkasov-Wuechner Family