After reading our post about a U.K.-based fashion designer who makes purses and iPad cases out of deer skin, Elizabeth Ohlendorf from Sacramento, California, created a Change.org petition demanding that Rosemary Hobrough “Stop killing animals to create purses and other fashion items out of deer/fawn skin/fur.” The petition also calls for a boycott of her online store, RAH & Co. Thank you for taking action, Elizabeth.

Skin is not a fabric, even if taken from animals who were hunted on the grounds of overpopulation. We have an overpopulation of humans too, but no one is using that as a justification to kill us and turn our bodies into purses. Please sign and share the petition.

A carriage horse named Freddie, who worked in and around Boston, collapsed and died in the street on Sunday in front of “visibly shaken up onlookers.” His owner, Sally Sutherland of the Bridal Carriage Co., buried Freddie before The Dept. of Agricultural Resources conducted an  investigation. A spokesperson for the state agency said Freddie “could be exhumed” if necessary. Freddie, who died at 30, had been pulling carriages in the Boston area since he was 16. Ms. Sutherland said that his previous owner, an Amish farmer “drove him hard. Real hard.”

Photo: Boston Globe

Sally Sutherland told the Boston Globe, “I wanted my horse buried with the rest of his friends and that is where he is at. . . . I don’t really want to talk about this.” Why couldn’t Ms. Sutherland wait to bury her horse until after the investigation? Would it reveal the use of bute (phenylbutazone), a painkiller used in horses, or expose another condition that led to the sudden death of Freddie? Carriage operators claim to love their horses, but people who love their horses would never subject these prey animals to the inhumane, unsafe and inhospitable conditions of an urban work environment. If you still question the rationale for banning urban horse-drawn carriages, please watch the documentary film BLINDERS and educate others about why this anachronistic industry must go. Also, please send a letter to the Boston Globe to express your opposition to urban carriage horses and to ask for an investigation into the cause of death: letter@globe.com.

A fashion designer in the U.K. is making handbags and iPad cases out of deer skin. In response to the justification that the deer are killed anyway to prevent them from starving due to overpopulation, PETA said, ‘Selling bags made of animals who were gunned down while enjoying a natural life… results only in greedy, arrogant deer skin sellers keeping deer alive each year just long enough to kill them so as to sell more deer skin products.’

photo: Daily Mail

In modern day times, why do we regard someone else’s skin as fabric? The skins of cows, mink, fox, rabbits, alligators, snakes, deer and many other animals don’t belong to us. With all of the alternatives available in 2014, shopping at cruelty free companies like Vaute Couture, Brave GentleMan, John Bartlett and MooShoes would be no skin off your back. Please learn more about the inherent cruelty in the fur business.

According to The Independent, the UK chapter of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC), an activist group that employs direct action to expose and shut down animal testing company Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), has ended its campaign due to an “onslaught of government repression.” Over the years, dozens of SHAC activists, including the group’s leaders, have been sent to jail. SHAC targeted HLS because undercover videos taken inside the labs, in which millions of animals have died, showed extreme abuse and animal torture. What made SHAC activists unique was not only the sheer boldness of their tactics but also their strategy of targeting institutions that do business with the HLS – their banks, suppliers and contractors. If SHAC could cut off the oxygen, then the company would suffocate.

Social justice movements always grow in strength, and animal rights is no exception. SHAC says it will “reassess our methods, obstacles and opponent’s weaknesses” and will “seek to influence the government into changing the law to prevent animal cruelty.” In 2006, six members of the U.S. chapter of SHAC were imprisoned under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Learn more about animal testing and why – extreme cruelty aside – it’s an antiquated approach.

As New Yorkers returned from Long Island beaches to Penn Station on Sunday night, we encountered a sick rat who was hobbling very slowly through a crowded corridor. City dwellers are accustomed to seeing rats on the train tracks or on the streets late at night, but we almost never see one inside of a lit building. As a result, many people stopped to watch and take photos. I wanted to spring into action to help this suffering animal, but I didn’t know what to do. A ticket agent directed me to a police officer who said the animal consumed rat poison. He said he couldn’t do anything until the rat died. When I suggested that he put her out of misery or move her out of the busy hallway, he asked, “How would you like me to do that?” I could see that the rat was on her own.

Rat hobbling and dying in NYC train station

I attempted to direct the rat to the wall where she might be less stressed and where people would be less likely to taunt her, but I didn’t have any luck. As I stood there helplessly, I noticed that many people passing by were saying, “Yuck. It’s a rat” without a stitch of sympathy. And that’s when I realized that this rat didn’t have to die in vain. To the people who said, “Yuck,” I responded, “She’s dying from rat poison. She must be in so much pain. I wish I could help her.” I don’t think anyone expected to hear that, and I could almost see the lights go on in some peoples’ heads as their disgust turned into compassion. After a few minutes, a (gorgeous) man in his twenties or thirties, who said he was an orthopedic surgeon, scooped up the squealing rat in a plastic bag and said he was taking her home to die in peace. If I hadn’t been so stunned by his confidence and compassion, I might have pretended to be dying so that he would pick me up and take me home too. This man’s actions spoke louder than my words, but I’m glad to have possibly opened a few hearts and minds by asking people to consider the suffering of the rat. Our interactions with animals – wild or domesticated – always present us with an opportunity to advocate for them and to be their voice.