A DAY TO EXPOSE THE TRUE REALITY OF SUFFERING ANIMALS GLOBALLY ON OPRAH WINFREY

July 1, 2008

Ms. Oprah Winfrey

c/o The Oprah Winfrey Show

P.O. Box 909715

Chicago, Illinois

60690-9715

Dear Ms. Winfrey

Re:  Worldwide Epidemic of Torture and Abuse of Animals Domestic and Wild

OBJECTIVE:

For the World to be able to watch an undisguised Oprah Winfrey Show about the horrific reality of animal abuse WORLDWIDE.

As a result, have people, that genuinely love animals, jump into action and sign the MAKE ANIMALS MATTER  petition to be presented to the United Nations.

Animals Matter To Me  represents the biggest ever global animal welfare initiative linking the entire animal welfare movement under one strategic goal   GLOBAL recognition that animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling great pain and suffering.
 

Help people to embrace the fact that animal welfare is not a subject to be avoided, but embraced whole heartedly.  And help them to be brave and caring enough to take powerful action within their own countries, in support of animal welfare causes.

It is with tremendous hope in my heart that I am writing you this letter.  Hope that you may be the driving force to compel people around the world to bring about drastic changes for the betterment of all animals.  You were the only person of great influence that sprung to my mind, because you truly define human dignity.  I believe that no one has ever left your presence feeling diminished, or de-valued.  And I trust that the people representing various animal welfare organizations I am hoping you would invite, could, and would feel free to be brutally honest, when sharing the animal sorrows they have witnessed and uncovered around the World.

My wish is not to belittle the great suffering of people all over the World. However, I do see many programs and news stories that are dedicated to such plights.  And that is wonderful.  My believe is that animals deserve equal attention.  They bring, selflessly, great joy to so many people.

It is also not my wish to degrade the countries that allow/participate in great inhumanity towards animals.  There are many wonderful aspects and people in the very same countries, where these atrocities take place.

My own country of Canada is one of them.

But in order to put an end to the inhumanity, the places need to be identified.  There is no other way to fight it. 

The horrific plight of animals around the World is a subject rarely brought to our attention on television.  SUCH A POWERFUL TOOL! And when it is, it is usually on a Nature program, or through the efforts of WSPA.  I have noted, that the approach of these programs is one of extreme delicacy for our feelings and I believe that the real seriousness of the issue is therefore lost.  And the impact upon people is significantly diluted. 

I often wonder, if dedicated organizations such as WSPA, IFAW, The Humane Society International and PETA are censored to a large degree, so that the real message of the insanity does not get out in the open.

The result is years of fairly gentle education that compels, relative to the worlds population, a very small percentage of people to take action.  And so the heart wrenching suffering continues.

I watched one of the last American Idol competitions.  It is very glamorous and filled with fun and I do enjoy it.  But in the end, when I saw the number of people that called in to vote for the final 2 contestants (97.5 million votes), I was profoundly saddened.

How easy it was for the producers to get the attention of so many people in such a short time.  For something, that in reality, is a shallow pursuit of fame and fortune.

In stark comparison, WSPAs humble struggle of collecting 10,000,000 signatures on the MAKE ANIMALS MATTER petition is a sad and puzzling reality.  The petition is a desperate plea for help!  Help that could help millions of suffering creatures and give caring people, and organizations, real power to enact and enforce humanity towards those that cannot speak for themselves.   

Your participation Ms. Winfrey, would no doubt, empower people and give them the strength to open their hearts, so that they no longer feel afraid to look, learn and hear.
 
Give them the opportunity to weep and feel sickened by what they see and hear.  It may compel them to take action!

We must not fear retaliation from these countries.  These countries must learn that we no longer will tolerate any practice that causes great suffering to animals.

There are many other ways and products with which to make a living and trade and sell.  These countries will survive.  I have noted just how many products are made in these countries that do not involve animals.  So they cannot, in good conscience, complain that their economy is handycapped in any way, if they are stopped from brutalizing precious animals.

We are the masters of our destination.  We have the power to change this world into one where humanity towards all creatures is normal and expected.  And inhumanity is condemned.

Interestingly, in ancient Greece and Rome, men such as Phythagorus, Pliny and Lucretius, among many others, debated the issue of animal cruelty.

Phythagorus was convinced that we cannot separate the way we treat animals from the way we treat each other.  He said:  As long as man continues to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will never know health, or peace.  For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other.  Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.

St. Francis of Assisi did not just feed the birds and talk to them.  He taught: Not to hurt the animals is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.  We have a higher mission: to be of service to them whenever they require it.  He also said: If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man.

Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote that: Cruelty to animals is as if man did not love God.  There is something dreadful, and Satanic, in tormenting those who have never harmed us, and who cannot defend themselves, who are utterly in our power.

Allowing these things to continue in the World is completely obstructive to the growth of a kinder humanity.  Animal abuse, I believe, is a moral and social problem of first magnitude.

Animals are far from dumb creatures.  They feel emotions and have intelligence.  They think and make choices based on experience.  Entire books have been written documenting cases of animal emotion and intelligence.

In fact, the intelligence displayed by many animals approaches so closely to human intelligence, that it is a mystery.  The animals see and hear and love and fear and suffer.  They manifest sympathy and tenderness toward their companions in suffering.  Many animals show a genuine affection for those who have charge of them, far superior to the affection shown by some of the human race.  They form attachments for man which are not broken without great suffering to them.

I believe that anyone who will abuse and torture animals, because he has them in his power is both a coward and a tyrant.

I am sure that many of these abusers do not realize that their cruelty will ever be known, because in their warped minds, the poor dumb animals cannot reveal it.

BUT WE CAN!  AND WE MUST!

Our World needs to grow in kindness in order to survive.

I would like to see a show that concentrates on some of the most severe cases of animal brutality, because of the limited time.  Acts of brutality that should be Condemned as shocking to a normal human conscience.  One that deserves detestation and abhorrence.

I would like to see the following groups invited to share some of what they know.

1)    WSPA (World Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to  Animals

I would like them to feel free to expose the volatile and sickening brutality of the MEAT AND FUR TRADE IN CHINA, THAILAND, THE PHILIPPINES AND KOREA.  They have created a hell on earth for precious animals of all kinds, including companion animals such as dogs and cats.  The slaughter of these animals is violent and pitiless.  In Harbin, China, HSI investigators documented a German Shepherd still blinking and conscious as he was being skinned.  And that is not an unusual incident.  This horrific scenario repeats itself thousands of times every month. This slaughter is so unconscionable that the fur industry has tried to obscure the truth with misleading labels. 

These blameless little angels have been observed lying in a pile of dead and dying companions, without their skin, bleeding and mutilated, and yet still able to look around.  Their innocent hearts beating on for another 5 to 10 minutes, as they gasp for every breath, until death finally releases them from their torment.

The animals are caged in cramped conditions, their suffering is compiled even more by having food and water witheld.

Prior to skinning, they are dragged from their cages, where they have been confined for hours, sometimes days with others of their kind.  They are tossed into these cages so tight, that they can barely move.  Their limbs are sore, they are absolutely terrified, their spirits broken.  And yet, there is hope in their eyes that someone will help. But none of their abusers care.

When they get to their destination, the cages are dropped off the trucks, as though the contents were lifeless things. Many animals break their bones upon impact.  They stack the cages and leave.  Eventually, the skinners come and grab their victims, one by one, and drag them towards a place of hell on earth.

Even amidth their struggle to free themeselves and their fearful and horried cries as a result of pain and torture, they remain dignified.

Looking into the eyes of my own dogs, I see the innocence and gentleness that is so universal with animals in general.  And yet, it does not phase the blood thirsty butchers.

Some invesigators that live in China and have filmed this atrocity in oder to expose it, have witnessed dogs, with broken limbs, their legs brutally tied behind their back, wagging their tails in hopes that the soft spoken human might give them a helping hand.  But in these countries, it is to no avail.  Many puppies have been born at the time of arrival at the slaughterhouse and they are just tossed away.  Other puppies, a little older, are slaughters along with their parents.

The skinners hit them with a heavy metal rod, or wooden club to break their necks, or back, leaving them incapacitated and unable to defend themselves.  Animals of a more delicate size, are often picked up by a hind leg and swung against the cage, or the ground to achieve the same result. 

WE JUST SIMPLY CANNOT REMAIN SILENT, MS. WINFREY!

I have heard about and seen much brutality towards our companions on this planet, but I think this one is truly one of the worst I have ever learned about.

It gets even worse from here.  When incapacitated, the animal is usually strung up by a back leg, or held down by a skinner wearing heavy boots for protection.  Standing, or kneeling on its neck, to stop it from wriggling away, they continue their torment by making an incision into the fur with a knife.  The skinner forces his, or her fingers under the fur and taking care to ensure that the whole pelt comes away in one piece, RIPS THE PELT FROM A LIVE, WARM BODY.  EVEN THE FUR FROM ITS HEAD IS TORN AWAY.

THE SKINNED ANIMAL IS THEN CAST ASIDE ONTO A PILE OF DEAD AND DYING COMPANIONS, TO DIE IN SHOCK AND ESCRUTIATING AGONY.

Animals on fur farms, such as beautiful foxes, rabbits, minks and other animals face the same torture.  The thinking of these people is that the more the animals suffer, the better the meat tastes. 

CHINA IS PROMOTING WATER BOILED LIVE CAT.  Skinning alive, clubbing, hanging/chocking, skull crushing, drowning by  pouring water down the throats of struggling and terrified animals hanging on a noose, burning off fur while alive, are just some of the atrocious methods used by these people to make the meat taste better.  Apparently the adrenalin rushing through the tortured animals body makes the meat more desireable.

Minds like that are sick beyond repair.  And we need the United Nations to empower animal welfare agencies to go into these places, and with potent force and determination end this nightmare for all times!

To my shock, I also learned that my own country of my birth, SWITZERLAND, is allowing breeders of the iconic St. Bernard dogs, to breed them for the specific purpose of shipping them to China for their fur and meat.  These beautiful and kind dogs are tortured the same way as described above.  

Products from these animals find their way into many countries of this world.  False labels mislead the public.  Even chewy treats for our own dogs and cats, made in China, or Thailand, contain meat from slaughtered dogs and cats.  Faux fur is often interwoven with hair from beautiful companion animals as well.  Toys for our children with little fur hats, or coats, for example, contain more often than not, parts from these tortured animals.  The products are regularly detoured through other countries so that they can be labelled as originating in places other than China, or Thailand, misleading the public yet again.

2)     IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare

I would like them to educate viewers about the hard core brutality of the Canadian Seal Hunt. The Canadian seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on earth.  More than one million baby seals have been brutally butchered for their fur during the past four years.  The little, big eyed babies have no concept of what is about to happen to them.  They don't try to get away, they are gentle towards humans.  But the hunters walk right up to them, firmly gripping their clubs, without a second thought to the suffering they are about to inflict.  The babies look up, curious, before they are blungeons.  Their pleading cries should be haunting every normal human conscience.

And the plight of Moon Bears.  Thousands of Moon Bears across China are imprisoned in cages no bigger than their own bodies and endure the agony of the inhumane confinement, where they cannot even stand up and the daily bile extraction through the so-called humane, 'free-dripping' method of bile extraction. This method sees a permanent infected hole, or fistula, carved through the bear's abdomen into the gall bladder, through which the farmer forces an unhygienic tube to drain the bile. (Some progress is being made in freeing these bears and China should be commended for releasing bears to sanctuaries).  But we still need to ensure that the rest are delivered into freedom as well, and that no new bears are brought into this world to suffer the same fate.

3)       Sea Shepherd Conservation Society

 Educate the World about the atrocious slaughter of dolphins and whales in Japan.  Fishermen capture these intelligent and loving mammals by working in small boats, using sounding rods below the water's surface to interfere with the dolphins' sonar and navigational abilities. Once completely disoriented, whole pods of dolphins, and small whales, are driven into a shallow bay which is then enclosed by a net that stretches across the mouth of the bay.  A few of the captive dolphins are seriously injured with a spear thrust, or a knife slash.  Why?  Because dolphins will not abandon those wounded family members. The next day, they are mercilessly stabbed and hacked, until they bleed to death.

4)     ASPCA (Australia SPCA

Educate the World about the gruelling, vicious and brutal slaughter of Kangaroos and their baby joeys.  Millions are butchered each year.  Several species of Kangaroo have already been driven to extinction and now the big grey and red kangaroo are moving ever closer to the same sad fate.  Baby joeys are treated as a useless by-product and torn from their mothers pouches, stepped on, smashed against hard objects and left to die without pity.  It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of joeys old enough to get away, but still dependent upon their mothers milk starve to death each year.  The ASPCA may need encouragement to speak out to the World about this, because they receive little to no support from their government and may fear the consequences of voicing the real truth about the unsustainable hunt of these magnificent creatures.  Little do people realize what is really happening to these truly unique animals, when they look at a Quantas Airliner.  The picture of the Kangaroo on the tail of the plane is very eye catching.

5)     PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

I would like them to talk about the inhumanity of factory farming and slaughter methods around the World that would make your blood run cold.

I would also like them to talk about the atrocities of long distance hauling of live animals.

Perhaps they could mention their success with KFC.  Although their methods of getting attention are, at times, rather unusual, their voices are loud and they do make a difference.

I know that there are so many other animals suffering for different reasons.   No doubt, the American Humane Society and many other animal welfare organizations would love to say something too. 

But my main objective here is to show people some of the worst, and hopefully compel them to sign the MAKE ANIMALS MATTER  petition.  Which in turn would also give tangible power to these other animal welfare agencies.

My greatest hope is that with enough pressure, the United Nations will adopt the notion, without delay, that animals are sentient beings, capable of feeling great pain and suffering.  And will therefore give tangible power to all other animal welfare agencies to help stop animal abuse, torture and suffering, anywhere in the World.

Thank you, Ms. Winfrey for taking to heart what I am trying to accomplish.

Perhaps many people's dream of experiencing a much kinder world for animals will soon be realized.

You have so much power to influence, Ms. Winfrey.  It is a blessing from God.

I have not personally contacted the animal welfare groups mentioned above.  However, I am convinced, without a doubt, that they would be thrilled to receive your invitation and jump at the chance to get this kind of much needed exposure on one of your shows.

A memorable show that would emanate great dignity in honor of animals, combined with fearlessness when speaking out in BEHALF OF ANIMALS.

One last wish in my heart is that, if you do decide to create a show For Animals, it would not be open for debaters who may want to argue about whether animals feel, or have the same rights to dignity and kindness as we have. 

Many Kind Regards,

Diana B. Dayton

Campbell River, B.C.

Canada

V9W 3H4