Rabbits Renamed "Poultry" by the USDA: Your Help is Urgently Needed

Like birds, rabbits will be slaughtered fully conscious

A full-page ad in the July 28^th edition of The New York Times (sponsored by The Humane Farming Association, Animal Rights International, and the Animal Welfare Institute) notes that the US Department of Agriculture has classified rabbits as "poultry" to avoid including them under the 1958 Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, from which "poultry" are excluded.

For more information, see the ad as a PDF (60k) at

http://www.hfa.org/about/rabbits.pdf

What Can I Do?

Please contact the USDA today and voice your dismay at this new classification of rabbits. While expressing your concern about rabbits, please urge the USDA that ALL farmed animals including chickens, turkeys, and ducks should be included under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. Write to:

Mike Johanns, Secretary of Agriculture

US Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Ave SW

Room 200-A

Washington, DC 20250

Phone: 202-720-3631

Fax: 202-720-2166

Email: agsec@usda.gov

Salutation: Begin your letter: Dear Secretary Johanns. Keep your letter to 3 paragraphs on one side of one page. Letters sent via regular mail may have more impact than an email – but all letters are better than no letter. Thank you.