WMARA's Monthly Meeting/Optional Vegan Potluck & Updates/News!

Hello Fellow Animal Advocates! You are all invited to our next meeting/optional vegan potluck at Laurel Park's community room - Normal Hall, next Monday, September 29th, 5:30-7:30! The potluck will be 5:30-6:00, then we will start the meeting. Please come a few minutes early, if possible, and bring your own dishes and utensils, if joining the potluck. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi doesn't work well there, but feel free to call in at (413) 374-1921. DIRECTIONS: Use the entrance to Laurel Park on N. King St. (Rt.5), Northampton ("The Circle" entrance). Take a left onto Northampton St. Visitor's parking will be on the left there. Normal Hall is near the main entrance. Our last few meetings were very productive, and we got some great new members, ideas and some plans in place! But we still need to lay down more groundwork our UMass campaign, public outreach, and social events. Agenda & last meeting's minutes - https://docs.google.com/.../1kRBKSiacEM_EHGHRnK-R.../edit... Let me know if you would like to add anything to the agenda or call in. All are welcome! Join us to connect with fellow animal advocates, plan events for the fall/winter, and brainstorm for the future of the group. Let us know if you have any events or projects you’d like to organize or assist with. And even if you don't have time to work on a campaign, we want your input. We must put our brains and skills together and create positive changes for our fellow creatures. Campaign updates and news: * UMass campaign: Now that the monkey lab has been shut down we are advocating for UMass Amherst to end ALL animals in experimentation. UMass has many other animal research facilities, leading to hundreds of animals suffering and dying. As a progressive research institution, we believe UMass can and should update their research to be more animal-friendly and human relevant, especially because there are increasingly viable alternatives to animal testing. You can find more info about the campaign on our Linktree. We are currently working on a peaceful Homecoming Weekend (October 4-5) educational demonstration and a vigil on October 29th for the over 60 monkeys that have been killed by Dr. Lacreuse on campus and will be tabling at some the Amherst Farmers Market with literature about our UMass campaign on October 11th and 25th. Please contact me if you would like to assist with these events or the campaign. Please join and share our UMass vigil event page (co-organizing it with CAN) - https://www.facebook.com/share/18qzdp1nSn/ We will continue working on outreach, demonstrations/protests, social media, and letter-writing this fall. Please let us know if you have any questions or are interested in working on this campaign with us! * Rodeo/bullriding ban in Worcester & Boston - we are working with a few other organizations on an ordinance banning bullriding/rodeos in Worcester and Boston. Boston just hosted their first rodeo and will host another in January. Worcester has been hosting them annually for many years. Please contact me if you're a resident of either Worcester or Boston and would like to get involved in this campaign! Please share with residents of those cities too. Thank you! * Legislation - Some important bills, including the "Rodenticide Bill" and "Puppy Mill Bill", are up for hearing on October 21st and 27th! The Environment and Natural Resources Joint Committee hearing has been scheduled for key animal protection bills -https://malegislature.gov/Committees/Detail/J21.... On October 21, the following bills will be heard: S. 650: An Act banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet shops - https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/puppymillbills/S. 651/H. 967: An Act banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in new pet shopsS. 618: An Act banning the retail sale of dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs in pet shopsS. 640/H. 989: An Act promoting humane cosmetics and other household products by limiting the use of animal testingS. 551/H. 990: An Act prohibiting the sale of newly farmed fur productsS. 616/H. 3935: An Act relative to ivory and rhinoceros horn trafficking Learn more about these bill here - https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/state-legislation/ Please review this toolkit to learn more about the hearing and the bills being heard. We will continue to update this document as we get more information about the hearing -https://docs.google.com/.../1_rZKi5XyL215sv0Yk7eT.../edit... October 27th is the hearing for S. 644/H. 965: An Act restricting the use of rodenticides in the environment. Restricting the Use of Rodenticides in the Environment would restrict the use of Anticoagulant Rodenticides (ARs) in Massachusetts to protect wildlife, pets, people, and the environment. The hearing for this legislation will be October 27 at 1pm in front of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources - https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/5303.... Check out this toolkit on what to expect and how to prepare - https://docs.google.com/.../1HTNfUDoP1bZS1uYXk.../edit... Learn more about this bill at https://www.mspca.org/animal_protection/rodenticidebill/ If you are interested in launching a new campaign, please let us know at (or before) the meeting. We always welcome new ideas, suggestions, and help, so feel free to reach out to us about other ways to get involved. Thank you for giving animals a voice!