Plug for WSPA "Really Wild Gifts" Campaign

Nisha Sarathy, a Marketing Assistant at the World Society for the Protection of Animals said she likes my blog, especially "Veganism vs. Violence," and she feels very badly that animals are treated as commodities. The organization she works for seeks to address many issues, including but also ranging beyond: cruelty in factory farming (seeking to end intensive farming through legislation and other means), disaster management, and animal companion issues (e.g., spaying and neutering). They word it as "companion animal." I follow Joan Dunayer's brilliant phrase, "animal companion," which does not make it out that the function of the animal is to be some human or humans' companion. Speciesism always focuses on the use-values of animals, doesn't it? She wanted me to promote WSPA's really wild gifts initiative for holiday gifting in particular.

A lot of people are suspicious of big animal welfare organizations, but Charity Navigator actually rates WSPA highly, including in terms of not overcompensating workers high up in the hierarchy compared to other such organizations. See this evaluation that I found, which seems quite competent, HERE.

I do not usually write about specific campaigns or organizations, but this was a special request, and boosting them I think shows what I have been arguing consistently: animal rights people need to get behind legislative animal welfare initiatives. The animals themselves need relief. It is a difficult, uphill struggle that needs animal rights support too. Animal rightists like Nisha take animals' interests seriously, and can be relied on to push for them, unlike the speciesists, who cannot be trusted to work on their own. How can you take animals' interests seriously and be involved in their murder, essentially, for a passing sensation of the taste of the corpse? People should choose their own niche for activism, but MACROincrementalist changes will only come from people who are pushing the envelope--and speaking generally, that's the animal rights community, folks. Speciesists might rest content with microincrementalist changes which are often worse than nothing at all because they make it seem like things are much better for animals and so promote false complacency. Let us work together to push back violence on all fronts as much as possible!

Animal advocates of the world UNITE!!!

[Special Note: There are two other blog entries for today, December 3rd.]