we're all animals
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| IARD 11 in Enfield attracted media attention with a stunning vigil. |
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| IARD 10 in Madrid. Meanwhile, in London, over 400 people attended a dignified candlelit procession. |
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| IARD 9 saw more than 100 events around the world, with 50 in the UK alone. |
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| IARD 8 in Bromley, Kent. Many of the vigiles were reported in the local media. |
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| IARD 7 in Uncaged's home town of Sheffield. |
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| IARD 6 with a live exports vigil on the Wirral. |
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| IARD 5 in Washington DC, USA. |
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| IARD 4 in the Netherlands. |
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| IARD 3 outside the Imutran offices in Cambridge. |
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| IARD 2 outside Harlan UK in Loughborough. |
International Animal Rights Day
The annual International Animal Rights Day (IARD) - 10th December - aims to remember the animal victims of human tyranny and call for the recognition of our Universal Declaration of Animal Rights (UDAR). The goal of this historic campaign is to build on the recognition of human rights, and persuade humanity that kindness and respect is due to all sentient creatures. Click here to find out how what you can do to support International Animal Rights Day.
IARD 2008 - the 11th organised by Uncaged - was an astounding success with around a hundred different events taking place right across the globe. Animal rights advocates have been raising consciousness among millions of people, putting forward the case for animal rights in a positive and compelling fashion through events such as candlelit vigils, protest marches, campaign stalls or letter-writing campaigns. Click here for a report on the inspiring IARD 2008...
Click here to see a video of Uncaged's Candlelit Procession in London to mark the 10th IARD in 2007 
Campaign Support
On (or around) December 10th every year since 1998, candlelit vigils have taken place at locations across Britain, Europe, the Americas and the rest of the world, where the rights of animals are ignored - where animals suffer pain and death. The vigils paid tribute to the UDHR's (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) immense significance towards the protection of human lives, and endeavoured to take the principles contained in the Declaration one step further to include all sentient beings.
The Universal Declaration of Animal Rights - that animals have a right to life free from deliberately inflicted pain, suffering, exploitation and death - has been signed by large and small organisations representing hundreds of thousands of people in: the UK, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Ireland, Israel, Mexico, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.
Additionally, the following major UK animal protection organisations have signed up to the Declaration: The Vegetarian Society, Animal Aid, Animal Concern, the National Anti-Vivisection Society, VIVA!, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Europe) and Advocates for Animals.
Animal advocates up and down the country have joined the campaign; and the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights has also been signed by these British-based celebrities: Joanna Lumley, Hayley Mills, Benjamin Zephaniah, Michael Mansfield QC, Miriam Margoyles, Uri Geller, Carol Royle, Amanda Royle, David Shepherd OBE.
We now have English and foreign language leaflets for International Animal Rights Day available to download. In addition, International Campaigns France have translated all information about the Declaration and Day of Action into French.
Progress
These actions have undoubtedly led to a greater public and political debate about the concept of basic animal rights. Political and legal procedures have been undertaken to establish rights for great apes in New Zealand. Similar concerns have led to the cessation of the exploitation of great apes for vivisection in the UK, and increasing public and political concern for the plight of all non-human primates.
Conversely, because of the demands of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, the genetic manipulation of animals threatens to expand - and thus reverse a historic decline in vivisection.
What to do in Support of International Animal Rights Day
If you have not yet signed the Declaration please do so.
CANDLELIT VIGILS
Previous IARDs have been a great success with even more groups joining in by organising candlelit vigils. We want to build on this success, by having even more vigils at either:
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sites of animal abuse (e.g. a factory farm or vivisection facility)
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city/town centres, where a prominent vigil or candlelit procession can raise awareness of animal rights among other citizens
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national parliaments, to call for protective rights for animals to be enshrined in law
Therefore, we call on all animal defenders to hold further candlelit vigils on, or around, December 10th, in order to commemorate International Animal Rights Day.
With darkness descending early in December (in the northern hemisphere), a vigil can have a good impact at any time from 4.30pm without necessitating a very late night. This also allows one to catch people coming home from work, etc. One of the beauties of IARD is that animal advocates can hold a candlelit vigil wherever they choose, inspired by the knowledge that they are joining together with campaigners around the world in a global call for respect for animals.
CAMPAIGN STALLS
These are a great way to engage directly with the public and explain the philosophy behind IARD, and the concept that underpins all campaigns against animal abuse. In this way we can present 'animal rights' as the positive, conscientious, rational and non-violent ideal that it truly is. We have posters, leaflets and petitions specifically for use on IARD stalls. Contact us for more information on conducting IARD campaign stalls and to order materials.
LETTER WRITING
Writing letters to local and national newspapers (including the free ones) is a great way to gain attention for IARD. Letters pages are the most commonly read section of a newspaper. An 'animal rights' letter in a local paper will be read by tens of thousands of people, and may well provoke an interesting debate in those pages. Try news and magazine websites too. There are also hundreds of forums, discussion boards and chat-rooms on the internet. Some require registration before posting messages, but this is usually very easy and free. Your messages will likely cause a great deal of thought and discussion. We have an IARD letter template available - contact us for a copy.
INTERNATIONAL ACTION
We have already received great support for this campaign from many groups in many countries, but to maximise the strength of our cause we need to continue to build this 'international coalition' of organisations demanding the recognition of animal rights. We therefore invite national and local organisations across the world to sign the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights and hold candlelit vigils and other animal rights events.
REGISTER YOUR EVENT
Please contact us to register your event, find out about any local events you can participate in, and - IF YOU ARE IN THE UK - order campaign materials. Your 1st 100 leaflets and 2 A2 posters are free, with each additional 100 leaflets costing £3 and £1 for each extra poster.
Materials in many languages can also be downloaded from here. We can also provide you with English language animal rights petitions, sample letters to the editor and press releases.
Standing up for defenceless animals relies on your funding. You can donate to the historic animal rights cause by VISA or Mastercard here or on the phone, or by sending us a cheque/postal order payable to ‘Uncaged Campaigns’ (click here for our contact details).
SOURCE: uncaged
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