Conference calls for U.S. government protection of animal rights

July 3, 2000
Web posted at: 7:30 p.m. EDT (2330 GMT)

In this story: Ban on elephant rides sought Actress Silverstone to be honored RELATED STORIES, SITES

MCLEAN, Virginia (CNN) -- Angered by slaughterhouse practices and lab experiments, animal rights advocates gathered Monday for the third day of a national conference aimed at raising public awareness about what they say is the exploitation of animals.

"We're trying to strategize and organize so we can speak more clearly on behalf of the animals," said Laurelee Blanchard, communications director for the Farm Animal Reform Movement, or FARM.

Animal Rights 2000 is the first national conference of animal rights groups since 1997, according to the event Web site.

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Animal world

Meeting at a hotel in the Washington suburb of McLean, the advocates said they believe animals have rights worthy of government protection. They are pushing for various bills in state legislatures and Congress, including one that would ban the use of live animals at circuses and another that would set new federal standards for the treatment of animals at slaughterhouses. They also want to place limits on the use of animals for scientific experiments.

"Animals can think, and they can suffer," Blanchard said. "They may not be human, but they're still capable of feeling the same pain." Blanchard said animals in many slaughterhouses live in their own excrement in crowded spaces and suffer before they are killed.

Some farm animals injure themselves en route to slaughterhouses and are left untreated until they are killed. Advocates say the pain such animals are forced to endure is unethical and should be stopped.

One proposed federal law would make it illegal to transport injured animals to market or to the slaughterhouse.

The conference brings together members of FARM, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Humane Society of the U.S., In Defense of Animals, Farm Sanctuary, and other groups. The participants plan to converge on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the final day of the conference, to lobby for proposed animal protection legislation.

On its Web site, Defense of Animals is promoting a bill in the House of Representatives called the Captive Elephant Accident Prevention Act, which aims to ban use of elephants in U.S. circuses and traveling shows. The bill, introduced by Rep. Sam Farr, D-California, would also make elephant rides illegal.

"It will limit the market for the capture and trade of wild baby elephants and would also set a standard and lead the way to banning the use of all animals for performing and rides, a life of misery for these animals," the Web site says.

Actress Alicia Silverstone was scheduled to receive the conference's Celebrity Animal Advocate of the Year award Monday evening.

The conference agenda also includes workshops on subjects such as persuasion techniques and how to interact with police. One workshop, called "Getting Attention," dealt with "overt and covert rescues" and "destruction of property," according to the conference Web site.

Many of the conference participants, Blanchard said, advocate a vegan diet, which strictly forbids eating food products derived from animals, including eggs and dairy products.

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Animal Rights 2000 National Conference
Farm Animal Reform Movement
Humane Society of the United States
In Defense of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

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