Dear friend of ARFF:
The end of the year is a time to look back and also a time to plan ahead. ARFF has a lot to be proud of during 2011, but we will depend on your help to continue our important work in the new year. Can we count on your support?
This year ARFF closed the book on several hardfought campaigns (for the first time in over a decade, in 2011 Miss Florida USA contestants did not model fur coats in pageant events!), and we continued to be a voice for animals during public demonstrations outside the circus, at pet shops and other businesses where animals are abused or exploited.
This year ARFF was instrumental in the enactment of animal-friendly ordinances by local governments that will help animals for years to come. We also celebrated legislative victories in Tallahassee (Florida has finally joined the majority of U.S. states that have criminalized the sexual abuse of animals!).
We continued our educational and outreach efforts, with a focus on exposing the cruelties of factory farming, and encouraging vegan diets. In 2011, ARFF's Humane Educator spoke to thousands of students at schools and day camps across South
Florida. ARFF volunteers set up information tables, and distributed pamphlets and vegan food samples, outside music concerts, art festivals, or wherever a
large crowd was guaranteed.
Read about more highlights from 2011 below.
Although we are proud of our accomplishments, we prefer to look forward to all that needs to be done to help animals in Florida. Please consider a year-end gift today.
For the animals,
Nanci Alexander
President
To make a credit card donation, please click here to use our secure online form, or call us at (954) 727-2733.
Checks can be mailed to:
ARFF
1431 N. Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
Contributions are tax-deductible.
For contributions of $50 or more, you are eligible to receive a free t-shirt.
2011 Year in Review
In February, the City of Lake Worth passed a landmark ordinance banning the sale of dogs and cats from puppy mills in pet shops. ARFF representatives spoke at city commission meetings in support of the ban.
• Don Anthony, spokesman for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, said Lake Worth's pet-sale ordinance will be the first of its kind in Florida and one of a handful of similar ordinances nationwide.
- Palm Beach Post, February 2, 2011
ARFF saw the results we waited three years for in March, when the Seminole County Commission passed an ordinance restricting the cruel chaining of dogs. ARFF continues to work in support of ordinances banning or restricting the chaining of dogs in several other cities and counties in Florida.
• The driving force behind the ordinance was the Animal Rights
Foundation of Florida. After three years of putting together an adequate ordinance, meeting with lawyers and gaining community involvement, the group put the law before county commissioners, who voted unanimously in its favor.
- Seminole Chronicle, March 30, 2011
In May the City of St. Augustine finalized an ordinance that includes protections for carriage horses that ARFF had demanded for many years, including a requirement that horses be provided water after every tour, and a rule that horses must be pulled off the streets if the temperature reaches 95 degrees. Although ARFF would like to see carriage horses off the streets altogether, the new ordinance will make a real difference for horses.
• The St. Augustine City Commission might approve the biggest change in the history of the city's horse and carriage industry at its meeting today.
- St. Augustine Record, April 11, 2011
In May, IBC Airways joined a growing list of airlines that refuse to transport primates for the research industry. In 2011, the Florida-based airlines Monarch Air Group and
Amerijet International, along with American Airlines and Caribbean Airlines made similar commitments.
• Don Anthony, spokesman for the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, said, "It's great news that another airline has decided not to supply these cruel research facilities, where monkeys languish in cages, where they suffer and eventually die."
- Sun Sentinel, May 13, 2011
After years of trying, a bill that makes sexual contact with animals a crime was passed during the 2011 Florida Legislature and signed into law by Governor Scott. The bill was a priority for ARFF.
• A ban on bestiality sponsored for the third year by Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. Rich said she never thought getting the measure passed would be so difficult. It passed this year thanks to more support in the House, she said, though she was disappointed some members were squeamish when taking up the issue or called it unnecessary. "I'm sorry, this is not frivolous," Rich said. "It's a heinous crime."
- Miami Herald, May 27, 2011
After several years of campaigning against the cruelty and ugliness of the fur industry, ARFF received confirmation in June that fur would not be included in the 2011 Miss Florida USA pageants.
• "Miss Florida USA Nixes Fur"
- headline, Broward Palm Beach New Times, July 1, 2011
ARFF's Humane Educator has been very busy in 2011, speaking at schools and summer camps from Miami to West Palm Beach about vegetarianism, companion animals, captive wildlife and a variety of other topics.
• "Ms. Nash wants you to know that she has 4 confirmed students that are now vegetarian! WOW!! You really got a great reception! Thank you so much for speaking with our students and engaging them in critical thinking."
- email from a guidance counselor at a South Florida high school
In September, The National Elephant Center, a partnership of dozens of U.S. zoos, announced that it would build its elephant holding and breeding facility in the City of Fellsmere, after plans in St. Lucie County fell through when the county commission refused to allow cruel bullhooks on site. ARFF continues to press The National Elephant Center to hang up the bullhook and use only safe and humane elephant handling methods that rely on positive reinforcement.
• "Animal-rights group wants public hearing on proposed elephant center in Fellsmere"
- headline, The Press Journal, September 9, 2011
In October, ARFF launched a website (StolenfromParadise.com) arguing for a ban on the export from St. Kitts & Nevis of monkeys destined for the research industry. An Associated Press article mentioning the website appeared in major news outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsday, MSNBC and Forbes.com.
• The exportation idea is also opposed by the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, which instead calls for a spaying program to control the monkey population. The group says it is about to launch a website targeting the export of primates from St. Kitts for research purposes. "The killing or export of monkeys is sometimes promoted as a solution to human-monkey conflicts. This is not only cruel, but it fails to address the issue" in the long term, the group said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press.
- Associated Press, October 4, 2011