The Declaration of Compassion for the Planet and its Inhabitants

AT CATSKILL ANIMAL SANCTUARY, JUNE 28, 2008

The Declaration of Compassion for the planet and its inhabitants 

When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for living beings to reconnect the bands which have separated them from one another and to assume the equal station to which the Laws of Nature entitle them, a humble respect of all beings requires that they should state what impels them to action. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all creatures are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  That whenever any form of human activity becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new practices that shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.  When a long train of abuses consistently and systemically harms them and all who share their planet, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such activities, and to provide new protections for their future security. In these United States, the history of Agribusiness is a history of repeated injuries and abuses, all intended to maximize profit to the detriment of animals, human beings and the planet that sustains us.  To prove this, let the Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Factory farming has blocked Laws for the accommodation and humane protection of any species of animal it sees as economically useful, resulting in unnecessary terror and prolonged suffering.

It has resisted even such minimal improvements in animal husbandry as are common throughout the developed world.

Its inhumane standards and practices would be illegal if imposed on companion animals.

Agribusiness has consistently lobbied our Government against laws of immediate and pressing importance to protect our planet and our health.

It has unleashed health problems upon a trusting public by sacrificing safety and public interest in favor of economic gain.

It has contaminated our land, water and air with greenhouse gases, pesticides, waste and other substances that poison our environment.

It has wasted precious resources for the production of meat that could have fed many times more people than are fed by animal flesh.

It has conspired as a collective industry to knowingly deceive us with inaccurate claims, denying the truthful facts.

It has spewed waste into our air, water, and land, with devastating consequences to our planet.

It has prioritized profit above the health and general well-being of all creatures.

An industry whose character is thus marked by every act which may define an oppressor is unfit to be the economic beneficiary of a free people.  We, therefore, the representatives of Catskill Animal Sanctuary and other like-minded organizations, do, in the name, and by authority of the good people of the planet Earth, solemnly publish and declare, that we ought to be Free and Independent of meat-based diets and the ensuing damaging effects wrought upon humans, animals and our shared planet. And for the support of this Declaration, we mutually pledge to all fellow creatures our resolve, our fortitude, and our sacred commitment.