Debra
Lopez has always had a special love for horses.
"When
Barbaro (the 2006 winner of the Kentucky Derby) was injured in the
Preakness, it was an emotional time for me," she says. "Like
a lot of other people, I was hoping for his recovery. But when he
died, it inspired me to take action."
For Lopez, that
action was founding Animal Fairy Charities, a locally based nonprofit
organization with an international mission to foster prevention of
cruelty to all animals.
Earlier this
year, actress and Racine native Kristin Bauer — one of the stars
of the HBO series "True Blood" — helped draw national
attention to Animal Fairy Charities. "We were thrilled when she
named us as one of the beneficiaries of funds when she hosted the
Grand Slam Charity Jam," Lopez says.
While they
campaign for the safety and welfare of all companion animals, the
first mission of Animal Fairy Charities is saving America’s horses,
with a bill currently in Congress. The American Horse Slaughter
Prevention Act would end the slaughter of American horses, and stop
the horses from being exported to Canada and Mexico for slaughter and
shipment overseas — where the meat is used as human food.
"Many
people don’t even know that this goes on," says Lopez.
To support the
efforts of Lopez and co-founder Lori Charney, the organization sells
commemorative ornaments of the "animal fairy," designed by
artist John Reichert.
"They are
the perfect gift for animal lovers and people buy them to memorialize
a favorite pet or loved one," Lopez says.
To further the
cause of ending horse slaughter, Lopez is the associate producer of
the documentary film "Saving America’s Horses," which won
Best in Show at a Los Angeles film festival recently. "Our goal
is to continue to show it and to get it distributed to theaters
nationwide," Lopez says. She is also a driving force behind
Animal Advocate TV, which airs Saturday mornings on WMLW.
"It’s so
important to educate people, especially children, about how to treat
animals," she says. "You can never begin too early to
teach compassion."
|
Don't
be cruel
7 hard facts about animal
cruelty
1. In many
circuses, wild and exotic animals are trained through the use of
intimidation and physical abuse. Former circus employees have
reported seeing animals beaten, whipped, poked with sharp
objects and even burned to force them to learn their routines.
2.
Elephants who perform in circuses are often kept in chains for
as long as 23 hours a day from the time they are babies.
3. More
than 25 million vertebrate animals are used in testing in the
United States each year. When invertebrate animals are thrown
into the mix, the estimated number rises to as high as 100
million.
4. It is
estimated that on average it takes 1,000 dogs to maintain a
midsized racetrack operation. New greyhounds are continually
entering the system to replace greyhounds that grade-off due to
injury, age or poor performance. There are currently more than
30 tracks operating in the United States.
5. Tens of
thousands of wild and domesticated horses from the U.S. are
slaughtered every year to be used for horse meat in Europe and
Asia. Since the last horse slaughter plants in the U.S. were
closed in 2007, thousands of horses have been shipped to Canada
and Mexico for slaughter.
6. Many
studies have found a link between cruelty to animals and other
forms of interpersonal violence.
7.
Eighteen red foxes are killed to make one fox-fur coat; 55 minks
to make a mink coat.
—www.DoSomething.org |
|
How to
Help
Raise
funds for Animal Fairy Charities by purchasing the Animal Fairy
ornament that represents the guardian of all animals. Go to
www.animalfairycharities.org
for more information. |
