Take the New Year's Pledge to Go Cruelty-free!

Well, another year has passed and a new one has just begun. However, it’s never too late to make a pledge to go cruelty-free!

We are asking you to add your voice to the growing list of North American consumers who have pledged to purchase products that are cruelty-free. The Pledge was initiated by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics’ (CCIC) - a collection of animal protection groups that have come together to establish a clear and concise definition for “cruelty-free” and “not tested on animals”- .

Animal Alliance is proud to be an international partner of the CCIC, and as such, we are encouraging our supporters, friends and compassionate consumers to take the Pledge by clicking on the banner below.

The CCIC’s Leaping Bunny Program is the only internationally recognized certification program that ensures that manufacturers of cosmetic, household and personal care products are TRULY free of animal tests. Tests like the Draize and other skin irritancy tests are becoming obsolete as companies have bend to consumer pressure and found ways to test the safety of their products without the use of animals.

The CCIC website is a great resource for compassionate shoppers who want to purchase cruelty-free products. Over 200 companies, including over 12 Canadian manufacturers, have been certified by the CCIC and the list is constantly updated as more companies become certified. For a list of Canadian companies that are on the CCIC’s list, please visit our website.

Please ask your friends, family and co-workers to sign the pledge.

TOGETHER WE CAN... make a difference for the thousands of animals who are needlessly suffering in laboratories.

Look for Leaping Bunny Logo when shopping.

Thank you!

Calm Before the Storm

Things are getting back to normal, whatever "normal" is around here. The office was "closed" for a couple weeks at the end of December, but we were still here for Cajun and Spice and to receive the mail. Now we're back to our regular schedule, and it's quiet, relatively speaking. I have a bad feeling this is the calm before the storm.

We're preparing for our upcoming annual audits -- our regular audits, not political party campaign audits -- and I'm certain that we'll soon be inundated with calls about cats, once all this snow melts.

In December, my colleague Jacqui attended a feral cat meeting at which she learned about the North American stray / feral cat situation. Our neighbours to the south have a very different way of handling the issue: they run highly organized, large scale "Trap, Fix, Return" days during which large numbers of cats are sterilized simultaneously. It's impressive, and one would think this would make a greater impact on the stray cat population, but their hard work has about the same results as the Toronto method of independant groups / people catching and steralizing one cat at a time.

We still advocate for the implementation of the techniques employed by the city of Calgary, which has the best run animal services program in North America, if not the world. To date no municipality has heeded our advice, and, to date, no municipality has cared for their city animals as well as Calgary. There are solutions to help these animals -- it's just a matter of finding city councils willing to listen and to act in the best interests of the animals.

If anyone has the time to talk to their city councillors about this issue, PLEASE speak up, on behalf of the animals. For more information on Calgary Animal Services, please click on the following link.

http://content.calgary.ca/CCA/City+Hall/Business+Units/Animal+and+Bylaw+Services/Animal+Services/index.htm