Started by: Jennifer, Jacksonville, Florida

The Georgia Aquarium has applied for a permit to import 18 beluga whales into the U.S. where they will be in captivity at various aquariums and zoological parks throughout the country.
These whales taken from the Sea of Okhotsk in eastern Russia, have been removed from their pod and their natural habitat. Beluga whales are highly social animals who live in large pods and form strong bonds especially between mothers and calves.
The Georgia Aquarium claims this is a "conservation" effort, however, these whales will likely never be released back into the ocean. Many may die at an early age due to the stress of captivity, and Georgia Aquarium's infant beluga whale died just days after being born in May.

Please help stop plans to send more beluga whales far from their ocean home to barren, concrete tanks in aquariums and zoological parks. These belugas should be released back into their ocean home, please give them back their freedom!

Click here to sign Jennifer's petition, "NOAA: Stop Georgia Aquarium from importing wild beluga whales for captivity".

You can also check out other popular petitions on Change.org by clicking here.

Brian A Clark: Drop Charges against Connersville Police Officer and his wife

Started by: John, Greenwood, Indiana

Jeff and Jennifer Counceller thought were doing the right thing when they saved the life of an injured baby deer they found near their home in Indiana. But because they didn't have a permit, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is prosecuting them and they could face up to 60 days in prison. The DNR should drop these charges now.

When they found the fawn on a neighbor’s porch in 2010, she was badly injured with puncture wounds that were infected and had maggots in them. Jennifer, a registered nurse and wound caretaker for the couple’s dogs and horses took the deer home and named it Dani and began nursing the deer back to health.

When they called the DNR they were told to return the deer to the wild and let nature take it’s course. That would have been a death sentence for the deer. Instead, they tried to find Dani a home at animal rescue operations, petting zoos and deer farms, but no one would take her. The Counceller's decided to keep caring for the deer until it was strong enough to make it on it’s own in the wild.

This past summer the DNR started an investigation into the situation and a DNR official recommended they get a permit to rehabilitate Dani. The DNR then denied the permit application and then said the deer would have to killed.

Just before DNR officials arrived at the Counceller's house to kill Dani she escaped through a gate that was left open. Now, the DNR has assigned a special prosecutor to the case and they're charging both Jeff and Jennifer with illegal possession of a white-tailed deer.

Jeff is a police officer and Jennifer is a nurse - these are good people who were just trying to the right thing by saving an injured animal. They don't deserve to go to jail and the DNR should drop all charges against them.

We're asking that you sign the petition and also join the fight on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/connersvillecharges

Click here to sign John's petition, "Brian A Clark: Drop Charges against Connersville Police Officer and his wife".

You can also check out other popular petitions on Change.org by clicking here.

Comments delivered to USDA in support of regulating Internet puppy mills

(Aug. 15, 2012) – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Best Friends Animal Society, The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, and a member of the social change platform Change.org together have gathered approximately 350,000 letters and signatures from concerned citizens, the last of which were hand-delivered today to the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Agriculture in support of the agency’s efforts to regulate unlicensed puppy mills.

The USDA has proposed a rule that will require large-scale commercial breeders that sell pets over the Internet or by mail or phone, sight-unseen, to be licensed and inspected under the federal Animal Welfare Act. The public comment period closes today. Now the USDA will read and consider all comments before deciding final action on the proposed rule.

The following statements were issued:

“The enormous public response to the USDA’s proposed rule illustrates just how strongly Americans support greater oversight of unlicensed puppy mills,” said Nancy Perry, senior vice president of ASPCA Government Relations. “The ASPCA has witnessed the abhorrent cruelty that often exists behind the pictures of happy puppies posted on a breeder’s website, and this rule would crack down on the worst of Internet breeders. We encourage the USDA to adopt a final rule that is enforceable, effective and covers as many commercial breeders as possible.”

“Unethical breeders have been using the Internet as a way to avoid regulation," said Gregory Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society. "That the USDA is taking the initiative to close this loophole, plus the nearly 350,000 letters and signatures collected by national animal advocacy and animal protection groups to support the proposed rule change, reflect a profound societal change -- the growing will of the American public to protect puppies and other animals from unscrupulous breeders."

“I have three rescued dogs from puppy mills and am an active member of the rescue community,” said Washington, D.C. resident Anne Gregory, who gathered more than 143,000 signatures on her petition on Change.org. “I'm so optimistic that this USDA loophole will be closed and dogs will be protected thanks to the caring individuals who signed my petition.”

“We asked the public to speak up for dogs in unlicensed puppy mills -- and hundreds of thousands responded. This level of support shows the intensity of concern about the humane treatment of animals,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. “We thank the Obama administration and USDA for proposing this change and encourage them to make it final in short order." The HSUS gathered more than 111,000 letters in support of the rule.

“If enacted, this proposed rule will essentially achieve the same reform as pending congressional legislation which has more than 235 bipartisan cosponsors in the House and Senate,” said Michael Markarian, president of HSLF. “This overwhelming bipartisan support demonstrates that Americans of all political stripes want dogs protected from abuse and it’s time to crack down on unlicensed puppy mill dealers.”

“Veterinary professionals know firsthand the suffering of puppies born in unlicensed puppy mills and the anguish of families who bring home a sick or dying puppy,” said Dr. Susan Krebsbach of HSVMA. “This change is long overdue, and on behalf of our 4,500 veterinary professional members nationwide, we encourage the agency to finalize it quickly.”

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 11 million Americans, or one of every 28. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty — on the Web at humanesociety.org.

The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association was formed as a home for veterinary professionals who want to join together to speak out for animals, engage in direct care programs for animals in need, and educate the public and others in the profession about animal welfare issues. The HSVMA is an affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States -- on the Web at hsvma.org.

The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. On the web at hslf.org.

Founded in 1866, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) is the first animal welfare organization in North America and serves as the nation’s leading voice for animals. More than two million supporters strong, the ASPCA’s mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, the ASPCA is a national leader in the areas of anti-cruelty, community outreach and animal health services. For more information, please visit www.ASPCA.org, and be sure to follow the ASPCA on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Change.org is the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change — growing by one million new members a month, and empowering millions of people to start, join, and win campaigns for social change in their community, city and country.

Best Friends Animal Society, named Animal Welfare Non-Profit National Brand of the Year based on the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend® study, is a national animal welfare organization building no-kill programs and partnerships that will bring about a day when there are No More HomelessPets®. The society's leading initiatives in animal care and community programs are coordinated from its Kanab, Utah headquarters, the country's largest no-kill sanctuary. This work is made possible by the personal and financial support of a grassroots network of supporters and community partners across the nation.

For two months "John" (not his real name) worked undercover inside a pig factory farm that supplies Walmart and other big box companies with pork products.

By the time John left the factory farm, he had video footage of pregnant pigs living in cramped metal cages called gestation crates. He says the animals "constantly ram their heads against their tiny stalls or spend day after day, hour after hour, biting the bars of their cages out of frustration." And he knows it's not just this farm -- gestation crates produce the same conditions wherever they're used.

John says he has to stay anonymous to protect himself from backlash by the industry he just exposed. So he's teamed up with a group called Mercy for Animals to start a petition pressuring Walmart to stop using gestation crates.

John just released his video yesterday, and other stores that use gestation crates, like Kmart and Costco, pledged to stop using this cruel method of raising pigs before it even got out to the public. They joined McDonald's, Burger King, Oscar Meyer, and Kroger who have all agreed to phase gestation crates out of their supply chains.

But Walmart still refuses to drop the crates. Mercy For Animals thinks that massive public outcry against gestation crates will convince Walmart to adopt a stance against gestation crates.

While John says his experience will haunt him for the rest of his life, he's committed to exposing the horrific conditions on farms where they intensively confine animals.

Click here to sign the petition demanding that Walmart -- the top food retailer in the US -- stop supporting gestation crates.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Pulin and the Change.org team