2006 Events Report
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of Upton Sinclair’s masterpiece, “The Jungle,” which detailed the filthy conditions and cruel treatment of animals and workers in Chicago slaughterhouses. The book electrified the nation, led to enactment of the first Pure Food And Drug Act, and has been generally credited with spawning the U.S. consumer and labor union movements. This year’s featured event was the "die-in," a visually powerful and symbolic form of protest. Dressed in black, activists worldwide staged "die-ins" to mourn the death of farmed animals by lying silent and motionless for a dramatic display.
Other events, such as leafleting, information tables, exhibits, video screenings, marches, street theater, vigils, cage-ins, and memorials took place worldwide. Nearly 50 communities hosted vegetarian fairs to educate the public through lectures, info booths, food demonstrations, and more. Marches for farmed animals were held in almost every U.S. state and several other countries. College outreach was highly successful, with events in 32 universities. Fifty humane societies distributed special WFAD handouts offering Free Veg Starter Kits to visitors. PETA activists jumped on board, holding dramatic protests at KFC restaurants in over 50 U.S. cities.
In the Midwest, Compassionate Action for Animals traveled for two weeks throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa to leaflet at different colleges, distributing approximately 15,000 handouts. In Minneapolis, they hosted a lecture and vegan meal at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Marc Bekoff giving a free presentation to discuss animal emotions and how our society perceives them, as well as make a case for greater attention to animals. Southwestern states were well represented, with a number of notable events in Texas, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. In Houston, Kristen Ohanyan with Society of PEACE organized the 1st Annual “Texas Veggin’-Out Days” where Texans are encouraged to support local veg restaurants by dining-out. She also hosted Go Vegan Texas! radio for a special WFAD show, interviewing FARM President, Alex Hershaft. The Vegetarian Society of El Paso hosted a Veggie-FARE with cooking demos, entertainment, speakers, veg-friendly vendors with samples, drawings, and door prizes. University of Texas students gathered for a rally in Austin, where they stated facts about farm animal cruelty through a PA system and played videos. The 7th Annual New Mexico’s Week for Animals was celebrated in Santa Fe with hundreds of individuals participating in educational programs, demos, and lectures.
On the West Coast, 40 events took place in California alone. Highlights include the Compassionate Living Festival in Los Angeles and the World Vegetarian Weekend Celebration. Activist Jackson Brown coordinated a "die-in" with street theater in downtown San Francisco and the Bay Area Vegetarians, Peninsula Humane Society and Animal Place held a veg festival in San Mateo with nationally renown speakers, food samples, and letter writing. In Venice, activists conducted an open-style event with displays and performances while gathering signatures to urge CA cities to sponsor legislation against factory farming.
A huge success internationally, WFAD 2006 events took place in 26 countries, in addition to the U.S. Canada hosted over a dozen events, including a massive vegetarian fair in Toronto. More than 50 Indian groups held school contests, lectures, marches, and bicycle rallies in a dozen communities throughout India.
Animal Friends Croatia planned an interesting performance in Zagreb, as activists displayed themselves ‘packed’ as meat. Animal Advocacy groups throughout Nigeria focused on feeding programs, while groups in Uganda marched for the animals. Belgium activists campaigned in Limburg with large displays of photos from animals in intensive farming, transports, and slaughterhouses. Other participating countries include Australia, Austria, Chile, China, Germany, Ghana, Kenya, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uruguay.
Thanks
to compassionate individuals everywhere,
World Farm Animals Day and related events
are becoming increasingly popular both nationally
and globally. While the official WFAD date
is October 2nd, activists continue
to take a stand for farmed animals and remain
active throughout the month of October. Colorful
handouts are still available for distribution
in your community – request
some now! What’s
Next? Gentle
Thanksgiving! Now
that you’ve informed your friends and
community about the suffering of farmed animals,
encourage them to choose a healthy, plant-based
diet by hosting a Gentle Thanksgiving. |
Thousands
of caring individuals in more than 400
communities throughout all 50 U.S. states and 26
other countries took
a stand against cruelty this October in honor
of 
In
our nation’s capital, FARM coordinated 
On
the East Coast, the Vegetarian Student
Association of Salisbury
University in MD staged
a 2-day cage-in on campus, demonstrating
the lives of egg-laying hens in factory farms.
Philadelphia activists,
headed by Dezeray Rubinchik, created a 35-foot
exhibit asking folks to “Make
the Connection” between
companion animals and animals raised for food;
they then held a candlelight vigil and memorial
service to conclude WFAD week. 
Throughout
New England, activists worked to get the word
out. Dot Hayes, author of acclaimed novel “Animal
Instinct,” distributed
colorful WFAD handouts in Stamford,
CT. In
Boston, the Massachusetts
Animal Rights Coalition coordinated a Farmed Animal Awareness Walk
and Tabling event, while the Boston
Vegetarian Society held its annual Vegetarian
Food Festival. 
In Albuquerque, UNM
School of Law hosted a WFAD observance
with information tables and discussions
about the plight of animals commodified
by mankind. In downtown Salt Lake
City, UT, Jil
Evans put together
a "die-in," despite cold and rainy conditions,
drawing media attention from local ABC,
NBC, and FOX affiliates. 
In
Portland, OR, The
Lewis & Clark Student
Animal Legal Defense Fund and National
Center for Animal Law hosted the Animal
Law Conference to educate students about animal law and how
to be an effective advocate for animals, and
provide an opportunity to meet leaders in the
field. The Northwest Animal Rights
Network traveled around Seattle,
WA, with their walking
tour of art exhibits and video footage. At
the University of Washington, animal advocates
provided students with free veg and animal
rights related posters to adorn their new dorm
rooms and passed out plenty of Veg Restaurant
Guides and Starter Kits. 
UK activists
in Bristol, South
Gloustershire arranged
a vigil outside battery hen factory farm
while Rights
for Animals hosted
the annual London
Vegan Festival. Throughout Ireland,
the Animal Rights Action Network
coordinated protests with
in Limerick, Tipperary, Cork,
and Dublin. 
In
addition to the many public outreach events,
media outreach was crucial
to raising awareness.
A dozen governors and mayors have
issued special proclamations declaring
October 2nd World Farm Animals Day. Hundreds
of bus display cards and billboards have
been placed in a dozen major markets, including Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Milwaukee,
Philadelphia, Orlando, Chicago, Dallas, Houston,
San Antonio, Boston, Long Island.
More than 100 letters to editors of major
newspapers have carried the WFAD message.