To get your lawmakers to vote in favor of animals, you must tell them what you think. Below are some important issues on which you can take action. For more tips on contacting your lawmakers, check out our Speak Up for Animals guide. 

Prevent the Killing of Animals on Wildlife Refuges
Every year, millions of animals are killed in our National Wildlife Refuges. This includes cats, dogs, wild horses, burros, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, Canada geese, and others. They are killed using traps, poisons, snares, and other cruel methods.

Just recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would do more harm to the animals on wildlife refuges. The Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response (REPAIR) Act was promoted as a way to stop the spread of non-native plants. In truth, this bill would provide millions of dollars to fund the killing of more animals on refuges.

You can help! Call or write to your U.S. senators. (Click here and enter your ZIP code to find their names and contact information.)

Here's an idea of what you can say in your phone call or letter:

"Hello, my name is [your name] and I live in [your city]. I would like to urge [your Senator's name] to oppose H.R. 767, the REPAIR Act. The federal government should not provide money to programs that allow the unneeded killing of cats, dogs, horses, and other animals. Thank you."

Don't forget to ask your friends and family to call or write too! If you do contact your senators, we want to know about it. Email us at kids@humanesociety.org to let us know how you took action.

Protect Seals!
Canada's yearly seal hunt starts at the end of March. Hundreds of thousands of baby seals will be killed for their fur. It's against the law to kill newborns, but seals as young as 12 days can still be hunted.

You can speak up for seals! Write to Stephen Harper, Canada's Prime Minister, and to Michael Wilson, Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. Ask them to put a stop to the seal hunt. Here are some points you can make in your letters:

● The baby seal hunt is cruel. Canada's laws against cruelty to seals are frequently broken. Hunters who kill more seals than allowed or break other hunting laws are often not punished.

● Canada's government allows hundreds of thousands of baby seals to be killed each year. But it hasn't proven that the seal population can survive such a large hunt.

● One reason given for killing seals is that seals eat too many cod, not leaving enough for fishermen to catch. Scientists have found, though, that overfishing by people, not by seals, is the real reason cod are disappearing.

● A majority of Canadians, Americans, and Europeans are against the seal hunt. In fact, on July 30, 2007, the United States House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution urging the Canadian government to end the  seal hunt.

Send your letters to these addresses:

Prime Minister's Office                                    
Right Honorable Stephen Harper                  
80  Wellington St.                                          
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OA2        

The Honourable Michael Wilson
Office of the Ambassador
Canadian Embassy
501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20001

Want to do more to help seals? Here are some more ways you can help:

● U.S. Senator Carl Levin of Michigan introduced a Senate resolution calling on Canada to end the seal hunt. Write to your senators and ask them to co-sponsor Senator Levin’s resolution. You can find out who your senators are and how to contact them at humanesociety.org/leglookup.

● Raise funds for our campaign to support the effort to stop the seal hunt. For tips on fundraising for animals, click here. You can send the money you raise to:

The HSUS/HSI ProtectSeals Campaign
2100 L St NW
Washington, DC 20037
Attn: ProtectSeals (MBRSCB)

If you write letters, contact your senators, or hold a fundraiser, we want to know about it! Email us at kids@humanesociety.org to tell us how you took action for seals.

Speak Up for Cows!
The Humane Society of the United States recently did an undercover investigation at a California slaughterhouse. The investigation showed cows who were too sick or injured to walk being abused. Investigators also found out that the meat from these sick, abused animals gets fed to kids at school through the National School Lunch Program!

If you send an e-mail or letter, we want to know about it! Email us at kids@humanesociety.org to tell us what you did.

Two state laws and a number of court decisions closed the doors on the last horse slaughter plants in the U.S. Now it's urgent that we pass the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (H.R. 503/S.311). Because horses can no longer be slaughtered in the U.S., the flow of American horses to Mexico and Canada has increased. This results in brutally long trips that end in inhumane slaughter. The need for federal legislation banning horse slaughter has never been more urgent than it is today.

Here's what you can do:
1. Find out who represents your state by visiting
www.hsus.org/leglookup (Type in your ZIP code or address to find their names and addresses).

2. Check to see if your U.S. Representative is already a cosponsor of H.R. 503 and if your two U.S. Senators are co-sponsors of S. 311. If they are, please send them a note of thanks. If not, please ask them to co-sponsor the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act. You can write to them or call them through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. After making phone calls, e-mail your legislators. Urge them to pass and support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act!
 

Defend Dogs!
With the arrest and suspension of Michael Vick, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, for federal dogfighting crimes, dogfighting is front and center in the news. Yet the sad truth is that this isn't an isolated case. This horrible activity occurs in secret, in many places around the country.

The Dangers of Dogfighting
In a dim cellar, two dogs are forced into a pit. Outside the pit's plywood walls, a crowd places bets. What comes next is what the dogs have been trained for all their short, miserable lives. The fight, which is just starting, will be brutal. It will last a long time. No one will call for help.

An hour passes before one dog loses. He sinks into a corner, head and body covered with wounds. He will not survive. The other, also painfully injured, won't recover either. His owner takes the prize, a pocketful of cash, and leaves the two-year-old dog to die.

A Contest Without Winners
Dogfighting is a violent activity in which people pit two dogs against each other. The contest isn't over until one dog is too hurt to go on. Besides the animal suffering it causes, dogfighting has negative consequences for people. Gambling, guns, and drugs are often involved.

Though it's against the law in all 50 states, thousands of people still take part in dogfighting, either by participating or by attending fights. And catching them is no easy job. Fights are often held in garages, basements, and other secret places. Occasionally they happen on city streets. But by the time police get word, the criminals have fled the scene.

Scarred for Life
Many fighting dogs are purposely bred to attack. To make them "mean" owners treat them cruelly, training them with sticks, chains, and treadmills. Some inject them with steroid drugs to build muscles.

Dogs who are lucky are rescued and brought to animal shelters. For the first time, someone handles them with love and kindness. Sadly, since the dogs have been abused and trained to fight, they can never be adopted.

How can you help?
If you see or suspect dogfighting, tell police and animal care and control. Witness tips are their best way of cracking cases. Never try to break up a fight yourself.

     Know the signs of possible dogfighting:
     ● animals with many scars or wounds
     ● people who often replace dogs with new ones
     ● dogs kept in cages or chained in yards
     ● training equipment like treadmills and chains

Write to your lawmakers. Most states have only misdemeanor-level penalties for attending dogfights. Fortunately, tougher federal legislation has now been introduced that would prohibit both dogfighting and being a spectator at a dogfight.
1. Find out who represents your state by visiting
www.hsus.org/leglookup (Type in your ZIP code or address to find their names and addresses).
2. Check the current co-sponsors in the House (H.R. 3219 and H.R. 3327) and Senate (S. 1880) to see if your U.S. Representative and two U.S. Senators have signed on to support tougher dogfighting laws. If they have not, please ask them to do so. You can write to them or call them through the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. After you make phone calls, please send a follow-up email.

photo credit: © iStockphoto/James Pauls

Protect Polar Bears!

In 1972, the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) became law. It makes it illegal to bring parts of marine mammals—including dolphins, whales, seals, and polar bears—into the United States.

This meant that hunters couldn't have the polar bears they killed stuffed and brought home as trophies. But in 1994, the law was changed to allow hunters to bring home their polar bear trophies. Since then, more than 800 polar bears have been shot, stuffed, mounted, and brought into the U.S.

Polar bears deserve the same protection as other marine mammals! A new law, the Polar Bear Protection Act, would again make it illegal for hunters to bring in polar bear parts. You can help! Write your lawmakers. (Go to
humanesociety.org/leglookup and type in your ZIP code or address to email your lawmakers). Ask them to support and co-sponsor the Polar Bear Protection Act!

Save Whales, Not Whaling
Large numbers of whales roamed the oceans long before humans existed. Some of these smart, social animals stayed with their families for their entire lives. When people discovered that whales’ oil, blubber, and meat could be useful, they killed hundreds of thousands of these creatures. Many populations became endangered. Today, there is no need or demand for these products, yet Japan, Norway, and Iceland kill thousands every year. Bombs, called harpoons, are shot at the whales and then explode in their flesh. Whales are also dying from pollution, being struck by ships, and becoming entangled in fishing nets. If we want to see whales protected, the United States must promote conservation at the May 2007 meeting of the countries that manage whales, the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The U.S. must also punish the countries that kill whales by refusing to trade with them.

You can help whales! Contact Laura Bush by emailing her at comments@whitehouse.gov. Ask her to speak up for whales and the ban on whaling.