The year 2008 started out sadly for 21 cattle which were found dead. Due to the lack of feed and water, it appeared that the animals may have died of starvation and/or dehydration in Paauilo, Hawaii. These horrific images, taken 2 weeks into the new year, and first hand accounts of the person who found the gravesite retell the immense suffering these cattles must have gone through before finally succumbing to slow and painful deaths.

WHEREAS, as animals raised for food should be accorded humane and sanitary treatment and should not be haphazardly caged, overcrowded or deprived of responsible handling--conditions that too often prevail in today's factory farms and stockyards; and

WHEREAS, farming should be sustainable, protecting our environment and conserving our resources, rather than threatening the viability of our public lands and waterways, and depleting our water, soil and energy resources; and

WHERAS, our food supply should be safe and wholesome and should contribute to a healthy and vibrant quality of life; and

WHEREAS, since 1983, WORLD FARM ANIMALS DAY has been calling public attention to these pressing issues on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the world's foremost advocate of humane, sustainable farming,

NOW THEREFOR, I, MUFI HANNEMANN, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, do hereby proclaim October 2, 2007 to be

WORLD FARM ANIMALS DAY

ARH volunteers tabled at the annual Pet Expo sponsored by the Hawai'i Veterinary Medical Association in May. Over 10,000 attendants viewed our displays about animal abuse in the livestock, fur and vivisection industry.

Maui Fresh Eggs, a 100,000-hen egg factory, closed a month ago. Before it closed, I made a plea to other animal advocates to adopt as many chickens as possible to save them from being needlessly killed on the final day of operation. Hens were sold in groups of four with their legs tight bound with twine, causing paralysis to some hens. Leftover hens, not sold to the public, were killed. Factory farm workers killed them by snapping their necks or burying them.

Protest at the Waikiki Red Lobster against Canadian government's support of the annual butchery of seals. Red Lobster restaurants are the largest importers of Canadian sea animals as food.

Keevin K. Minami, Land Vertebrates Specialist with the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture asked ARH to help place a Bengal cat (a hybrid cross between a Asian Leopard cat and a domestic cat, which makes it illegal to import to the state). The cat's humans abandoned him. The American Sanctuary Association contacted the Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota and the cat is now safe in his new home. A happy ending!

Even the most sanguine of American carnivores would cavil at the idea of barbequing Trigger or Silver or Scout...and yet the traffic in horse flesh flourishes in the USA...and in Hawai’i. There are only three abattoirs licensed to slaughter horses in the US - all on the mainland; in addition, live horses are sent to Europe and Asia for slaughter. The suffering endured by horses sent by truck and ship is horrible–the containers are meant for cattle and not horses and many arrive with broken legs –their fate to be butchered and sold as meat in Italy, Belgium and Japan. The “pet food” industry no longer uses horse flesh due to consumers chooing not to buy it.

Dolphin Quest was holding a teachers' workshop at the Kahala Mandarin Hotel on O'ahu, where several prisoner Dolphins are exploited. This indoctrination, thinly disguised as "education" is a ploy to garner support for the captivity industry amonst teachers.

We decided to invite ourselves, since we had not received our invitation!  We unfurled a banner that said: "Teaching Captivity is teaching Cruelty" and  distro'd flyers to all the teachers (there were only about a dozen). DQ was not happy to see us and eventually we left the hotel, handing out anti-captivity flyers to hotel guests along the way. Special mahalo to Chrystal Ahn who underwrote the design and cost of the banner.

Twenty people gathered outside the Consulate General of Japan on October 8, 2005  to protest the annual brutal capture and slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins and small whales in Taiji, Japan. Wayne Johnson wore our "body tv" which displayed graphic footage of the 2004 kill. We gave away all our handouts and were supported by many passing cars who honked in  support of our protest.