from: [email protected]
In Defense of Animals (IDA) would like to ask for your
help with our national campaign against Petland, the nation's largest
pet store chain, and a major retailer of puppies, kittens, and other
small animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs and birds.
As many of you know, pet stores acquire their puppies
from "puppy mills," literal factories where breeding dogs live their
entire lives cramped in filthy cages. While millions of forgotten dogs,
and other animals, are killed in our nation's shelters, the unfortunate
dogs in puppy mills are forced to produce
litter after litter until they die. Even though our nation's shelters
are overflowing with unwanted animals -- an amazing twenty-five percent
of whom are purebred dogs -- puppy mills continue to generate millions
of dollars for the unscrupulous pet industry.
WHAT IS IDA DOING?
In an effort to break this tide of misery and death, IDA is targeting
Petland, the nation's largest pet store chain. IDA has documented
shipments of puppies to Petland stores -- they operate an amazing 123
stores in the U.S. and 57 more foreign outlets -- from large Midwestern
puppy mill breeders and dealers. Do-Bo-Tri Kennels, a supplier to
Petland, recently surrendered over 140 puppies to authorities in
Nashville, TN after the puppies had been left unattended overnight
inside a vehicle with no air-conditioning. Charges against the driver
were eventually dropped after the dealer agreed to relinquish custody of
the puppies. Additionally, Do-Bo-Tri Kennels has been repeatedly been
charged with violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
IDA's Petland boycott is a comprehensive assault on the
commercial pet production and distribution industry. Although Petland is
specifically targeted by our campaign, we are supporting demonstrations
at any pet store that sells animals. Our educational materials highlight
the plight of breeding animals in the mills as well as the millions of
dogs and cats who are killed in pounds and shelters annually.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP THESE ANIMALS:
For those of you with a Petland store in your locale, we are asking you
and your group, or even you and one other person, to do some educating
outside Petland to inform the public about the cruelty behind the
windows at Petland.
HOW YOU CAN EDUCATE:
Leafleting/Tabling outside Petland -- weekly, alternate weeks or monthly
-- IDA will provide you with Petland-specific leaflets free of charge.
Protests -- suggested one per month or as frequently as
is possible. We have Petland posters and general puppy mill/pet shop
posters. We encourage you to alert the media for these protests and we
can assist you with your own press release or we can send it out from
our national office. Photos that you take as well as any news clippings
will be put on our website.
Gather petition signatures -- Our petition can be used
at each local Petland (they are each franchises and can make their own
regulations) to ask them to stop selling all animals. (Already the
Petland store in Cheyenne, WY sells no animals, only supplies.) The
petition will be on our website or can be emailed or snail-mailed to
you.
Monitor the store -- If you observe poor conditions in
the store, keep notes, possibly take photos, and send them our way. Also
collect names and numbers of people who have experiences dealing with
Petland with regard to sick animals whom they have purchased etc.
Later this year, IDA will be organizing a Nationwide Day
of Action Against Petland. It will be all the more effective if as many
Petland stores as possible have been targeted with leafleting and
protests beforehand, so we really need your help.
Please visit our Petland page of our website for
complete info on the Petland campaign and our puppy mill page of our
website
http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/petland/overview.html
for info on puppy mills.
http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/puppy/puppymills.html
We also encourage you to thank the Cheyenne, WY store
that doesn't sell any animals: Contact: Matt Puentes, Petland, Cheyenne
Plaza Shopping Center, 3769 E. Lincoln Way, Cheyenne, WY 82001. (307)
638-6027.
WHAT TO DO NOW IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED:
1. To receive literature, posters, etc. email
[email protected] and she will send
it to you.
2. Questions/comments and to let us know of your involvement, on any
level, email [email protected]
(Joyce Friedman) or [email protected]
(Marshall Smith) and we will get right back to you.
THANK YOU for making a difference for all animals!
Joyce Friedman
In Defense of Animals
www.idausa.org
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