1. What was your first experience with animals that had an impact on you?
My mother has always reminds me of when I was 12 months old being so concerned when our cat, Muse, lost her balance and fell off the couch. Fast forward many years and the accumulation of years of living with cats, turtles, fish, and other animals taught me that animals are capable of felling a range of emotions and fellings -- including happiness, sadness, and pain. 2. When, how, and why did you first get involved with the animal welfare/rights movement? I grew up with a love and respect for animals. I knew nothing about factory farming, however. I watched the film Earthlings, was in absolute horror, went vegan, and knew I wanted to get involved. I did some Googling about veganism and came across what I still think is the most concise, accurate blueprint for creating the most amount of impact per hour and dollar spent -- the essay called "A Meaningful Life" written by Matt Ball, executive director for Vegan Outreach (www.veganoutreach.org/meaningfullife.html). I was inspired to begin leafleting so I began doing so while living in Phoenix, Arizona with the great Jeff Boghosian. I found it to be really effective and I enjoyed doing it. I kept it up, took up volunteer opportunities, and upon graduating college was hired by Vegan Outreach and now tour around North America working to raise awareness about the animals' plight. 3. What are your favorite types of animal advocacy activities? Why? (i.e. lobbying, letter-writing, petitions, volunteering, protests, etc.) I find leafleting to be one of the most effective activities one can engage in -- plus it's easy to do and doesn't require much organization or recruiting of volunteers or anything. So it's accessible to all and super effective. Just grab a box of pamphlets, go somewhere with foot traffic (i.e. a college), and begin distributing them! 4. What animal issues are you most passionate about? I am most passionate about farmed animal issues because farmed animals comprise the vast majority of animals killed in the United States every year. My heart goes out to all animals that are exploited and killed but I feel I can make the biggest impact my concentrating my efforts where I can get the biggest "bang for my buck." 5. What advice do you have for someone looking to become a more active animal advocate? My advice to someone wanting to get more active for animals is to just do it. Just like with change, the hardest part is just getting out there. Once you do, you'll find it's super easy and rewarding. Contact me ([email protected]) or someone else from Vegan Outreach and we'll send you pamphlets -- all you have to do is dedicate an hour here or there for the animals. My call to action for you is to dedicate one hour per month to the animals. Order some pamphlets, take them out with you, and start distributing them. If you are unable to do this, then dedicating an hour of your paycheck and donating it to an effective animal advocacy organization is another way of helping. 6. What book, quote, photo, video, story, etc. have you found most inspiring/has inspired you? "A Meaningful Life" is the most inspiring essay I've read. "The Animal Activist's Handbook" by Matt Ball & Bruce Friedrich as well as "Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Creating Social Change" by Nick Cooney are the two most useful books, with "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie being a close third. I encourage omnivores to watch either "What Came Before" (produced by Farm Sanctuary) or "Farm to Fridge" (produced by Mercy For Animals).
2 Comments
Tom Lyon resides in Oceana County in West Michigan with his lovely wife, Joan, and Betsy the Beagle. He is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has spent his career serving professors and students in higher education products and services. His love of animals began as a child exploring the woods, ponds, and streams of Michigan with his beloved dog, Towline. Tom has served as president of an companion animal welfare organization in West Michigan and volunteers time with many wonderful organizations such as the HSUS, Farm Sanctuary, and Mercy for Animals. Most recently, Tom served as a volunteer coordinator for the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected campaign. 1. What was your first experience with animals that had an impact on you?
I have loved animals for as long as I can remember, so that’s hard to say. But two events in my life come to mind. The first was when my parents said that we could adopt a puppy born outdoors in unpleasant conditions. He was so lethargic because his little belly was filled with worms. We named him Towline and he lived almost 18 years! He added so much to our family and helped me develop compassion for the animals. A second experience was when I was in high school and on my way home from my job at a restaurant very late at night and saw an injured dog lying in a puddle in the rain. It had been hit by a car. The way it looked at me, pleading for help, really touched my heart. I took her home and kept her warm and dry until the next day when I took her to the shelter. She was treated and adopted. That experience, all the way back in 1977, still motivates me. 2. When, how, and why did you first get involved with the animal welfare/rights movement? I first got really serious about taking action for animals in 2000. We had just moved up here to Oceana County (north of Muskegon) and found that the animal shelter was a horrible place. They used CO2 gas to kill the animals (I can’t even call it euthanasia, because it’s not a “good death”), the dogs had no bedding or any way to get off of the cold concrete, there was no volunteer program, and it was just a dismal place. I had a lot of experience in business creating proposals and making presentations, so I was sure the county would welcome a plan to make improvements. I wrote a nice report for the commissioners, and then presented it all to them in a very professional manner at the monthly, public meeting. When I finished with what I thought was a very compelling presentation and asked for their support, the president of the county commissioners looked hard at me, leaned forward into the microphone, and said “What is it with you animal rights activists?! Why do you even care how we kill the animals?” He then proceeded to tell me that no volunteer was going to dictate policy to the county and sent me away. I was utterly floored because I thought my presentation had gone very well. So I asked the county administrator what the commissioners really wanted me to do. What they expected from me. He said that they wanted me to go away and not come back. That’s when I got REALLY fired up and realized that we had to get organized, and we did. We founded a 501 (c) 3 organization, got a good board of directors, started doing outreach in the community, and most of all let the commissioners know that we wanted to help the county, but we definitely weren’t going away. After another 1 ½ years of some pretty difficult meetings, it started to get a lot better, and I am happy to say that we now have a great relationship with the county, and our shelter is one that I can highly recommend. The key to our success was persistence, a professional approach no matter how frustrated we got at times, and getting organized (like HSGV has done). 3. What are your favorite types of animal advocacy activities? Why? (i.e. lobbying, letter-writing, petitions, volunteering, protests, etc.) I do all of those things. There are three areas that I’d say are favorite ones. All are probably equally important to me. First, I volunteer at our local shelter walking the dogs nearly every Saturday. That means a lot to me because they enjoy it so much and it helps keep them socialized for adoption. Second would be anything the inspires others to take action themselves, such as encouraging people to eat less meat, helping people see that protesting the circus is actually a pleasant and uplifting experience, etc. Anything that gets others to become active is so meaningful to me. The third area is working to change laws. We are a nation that (mostly) respects the rule of law and nothing is more powerful than changing laws to help create a more compassionate society. The Keep Michigan Wolves Protected effort is a good example. We are using the law to help animals. 4. What animal issues are you most passionate about? Number one for me is farm animal protection. There are 9 billion animals on farms in the US at any given time, and nearly every one of them live in horrible, “factory farm” conditions. All other areas (companion animals, wildlife, animals suffering for entertainment, fur, vivisection, etc.) are important as well, but the sheer number of animals on factory farms just eclipses every other area. Farm animal protection is also the area where we have the most education to do because we are almost all raised eating these animals and don’t think much of it. It’s not uncommon to join activists who care very much about an issue such as companion animal rescue, but then stop at a restaurant for a meal and have them casually order something like bacon. They just don’t realize that the pig who was killed for the bacon was every bit as intelligent and sentient as the dogs they care so much about, and the pig undoubtedly had a miserable life before going to slaughter. These friends are very kind and compassionate people, just unaware of the plight of animals living on factory farms. 5. What current animal-related issue or campaign has caught your attention, and why? I’m currently working very hard with the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected campaign as an area coordinator. There is no (scientific) need to hunt Michigan’s wolves, and people don’t eat them or do much with their fur, so any hunt would be a trophy hunt. I feel that there needs to be a better reason than that to hunt an animal, so I joined the effort. Although this effort is focused on a relatively small number of animals (687 wolves in Michigan at last count), the Keep Michigan Wolves Protected effort has the ability to help all animals by continuing to foster the conversation about how we view animals in our society. We’re changing the ethic. It’s important for all animals, and for all of us as citizens as well. 6. How do you address animal issues within your career? My career in college publishing is not directly related to my activism. However, we all have the opportunity every day to encourage others to be kind. That’s what this is about, after all. And I try to save as much money from my job as I can to donate to organizations that help animals. 7. What advice do you have for someone looking to become a more active animal advocate? Find someone (like me) who is already involved and ask that person to help you get started. It’s super-easy to find someone who volunteers to help animals. Take that first step by joining an event, and if you are like me, you’ll find that it enriches your life in ways you never imagined and cannot describe. 8. What book, quote, photo, video, story, etc. have you found most inspiring/has inspired you? There are many, but the one that has had the most profound effect on me is Margaret Mead’s famous quote – “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” The power in that quote cannot be overstated. Never, ever think that your voice and actions are insignificant. Dr. Jennifer A. Pope has been a marketing professor at Grand Valley State University since 2003. She moved to West Michigan from Texas, where she had completed her PhD in Marketing and International Business. She has been the faculty advisor for the Humane Society Grand Valley since its inception three years ago. She has been involved in C-SNIP for most of the past nine year since moving to Grand Rapids, and formally joined the board just over three years ago. She was elected president of the board in January 2012. Dr. Pope shares her home with three cats (all fixed of course). 1. What was your first experience with animals that had an impact on you? I do not think there is just one experience for me that had THE impact on me, just a series of events that led to being involved with C-SNIP at the level I am. My parents had cats (all fixed) before they had children. We were raised with the cats and taught respect for animals from a very young age. It was natural for me to be at least somewhat aware of animals around me growing up. The summer after I graduated from high school I worked in a vet’s clinic as a receptionist. It was an experience for me to see all the animals and the owners’ care and concern for their pets. It put animal issues a bit more on my radar. While I was living in Taiwan it really starting to hit home how hard lives could be for animals. Animals in Taiwan are either pampered pets or strays. There were many dogs and cats living on the streets and when I asked what could be done, I was basically told nothing—there was no real system in place for animal rescue. Most people did not even see the strays. A couple of years after I got home from Taiwan, I moved to South Texas, where unfortunately the attitude towards animals was not that different from Taiwan. There was a cat colony at the university where I was studying, and I would help feed them and donate to the one and only no kill shelter in the area. The one incidence that struck me the most was when a friend of mine had started to feed a stray because her son was fascinated with it. When I asked what kind of care she was going to get the cat she was very non- committal—she felt feeding it was enough. I finally talked her into getting the cat spayed by pointing out that if she did not, she would have a dozen cats in short order. I also talked her into getting the cat vaccinated by saying that the woman’s son could get ill from an unvaccinated cat (rare possibility I know, but you gotta do what you gotta do). 2. When, how, and why did you first get involved with the animal welfare/rights movement? Prior to moving to West Michigan, most of my animal welfare work has been one shot type of deals, helping out where I could. That all changed when I moved here. I first got involved with C-SNIP shortly after I moved to West Michigan because a good friend of mine was on the board and asked me to help develop a survey for them. I had not been directly involved prior to that with animal causes but had been a financial supporter of the HSUS and other animal causes for a number of years. Until I got tenure here at GVSU, I mostly just volunteered for events and with marketing assistance. I had my intro to marketing class do a project for them, and some other small things. However, the moment I turned in my packet for tenure, I was on the board. (My friend knows how the system works). Since then I have been very active with C-SNIP and am currently the president of the board. 3. What are your favorite types of animal advocacy activities? Why? (i.e. lobbying, letter-writing, petitions, volunteering, protests, etc.) I think because I am an educator by trade, I like education the best. I like to inform people about what the issues are so that they understand the true picture and can make choices based on fact not myth. I find that there is a lot of misconception about many animal issues. For example, a lot of people do not realize how many animals shelters are forced to euthanize every year, so they do not see the big deal of letting their pets have litters as long as they find good home for all of them. Also, I cannot tell you the number of people who told me that it was healthier for me to let my cat have a litter before getting her spayed. When I get the chance, I try and dispel these old wives tales. 4. What animal issues are you most passionate about? If you have not guessed already, I am most passionate about spay and neuter. My dream would be to see animal shelters no longer have to euthanize. Or even better, go out of business. 5. What current animal-related issue or campaign has caught your attention, and why? There is a campaign in Michigan right now to include pets in protection orders in situations of domestic violence. I would love to see this law pass. Often women do not leave their abusers because the abuser threatens the animal. If the pet could be protected as well, I think it would make it easier for women to start over. 6. How do you address animal issues within your career? I am the advisor for HSGV. In addition, community service, and contributing my expertise to the community, is considered part of my job. So I guess that means that being on the board of C-SNIP would be considered part of my career. 7. What advice do you have for someone looking to become a more active animal advocate? I think the best thing that one can do is educate yourself about the issue(s) that you are interested in and not just jump in uninformed. That way you can make the best impact possible. Once you know what you are talking about people are more like to listen and respond to you and your message. 8. What book, quote, photo, video, story, etc. have you found most inspiring/has inspired you? “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” –Immanuel Kant |
Archives
September 2013
Categories
All
Blog Mission
To feature prominent as well as lesser-known animal advocates in order to a provide a resource for those interested in learning about current advocacy activities and how one can get more involved in the animal protection movement. |