As festive season jets in, a section of scientists and inter-faith leaders in Bournemouth UK this week, called upon World Aid Charities to stop animal gifting ahead of the festive season.
In a campaign dubbed “stop animal gifting,” the fraternity aims at urging world aid charities to undertake carbon disclosure of their charity projects but most of all stop animal gifting and implement plant-based food system projects as a crucial step in addressing the escalating climate crisis.
Dr. Jane Goodall, one of the scientists behind the campaign said that it was about time that charities came up with developmental plans to create a gift package that will most likely appeal to the donors who would wish to help the less privileged communities.
Dr. Goodall says while a number of these charitable organizations have always launched gifting animal campaigns to help those suffering poverty and hunger, the result has, unfortunately, had unintended consequences.
“Animal gifting programs hurt gift recipients by burdening them with more mouths to feed especially in areas where food and water are often scarce. These worsen the climate crisis, decrease food stability, undermine sustainable development, contribute to animal suffering and cause health impacts by promoting unhealthy western diets,” said Dr. Goodall.
She adds that it would be so much better if these organizations supported plant-based projects and sustainable irrigation methods, regenerative agriculture to improve the soil.
Stop animal gifting campaign includes among others open letters from scientists and interfaith leaders, action alerts, email letters targeting development charities like Oxfam, World Vision, and Christian Aid among others.
The campaign has also attracted thousands of In Defense of Animal supporters an international animal protection organization that has been in existence for over 38 years and concerned citizens across the globe.
Anita Krajnc, Executive Director Animal Save Movement, a global network of activists that dismantle animal exploitation industries also urged that charities switch to plant-based aid as this will help provide more food, stability by growing crops to eat directly instead of feeding them to animals.
Mr. Krajnc added that the true cost of sending a live animal farmed animal in low-income countries was among others leading to environmental degradation, soil acidification, water contamination, and even childhood trauma from watching beloved animals get brutally slaughtered. ,
He, therefore, suggested that development charities implement strategies including among others creating community seed hubs, rolling out water irrigation systems, reforesting lands and regenerating soils, and providing training in permaculture and Veganic farming techniques to alleviate low-income countries from poverty and hunger.
In 2020 alone, Heifer International one of the development charities sent over 720000 animals.
Lisa Levinson member of defense of Animals and co-founder Interfaith Vegan Coalition also noted that the Coalition represents thousands of people with diverse faith who agree that animal agriculture is polluting the planet and support a transition to a plant-based economy.
Levinson notes that according to different scripts and societies, animals are not gifted and that in Jewish understanding God gave them life and soul while in the Torah they were referred to as the owners of life.
Jeffrey Spitz Cohan, Executive Director of Jewish Veg also noted that animals can only be blessed by their companionship and therefore cannot be given or received as gifts because people don’t own them.
The coalition, therefore, urged those religious leaders to denounce animal gifting in favor of gifts that invest in plant-based systems to support the wellbeing of people and the entire ecosystem where they reside.
