To all animal rescue shelters and organizations. I write to you with a message of common sense. A request for reason and common sense to come through.

Raising funds for what you do is no easy task. There is little doubt that everyone involved is doing all they can. You deserve thanks for the hard ongoing work. We all dream of a world where no-kill shelters are the standard and the only.

Unseasonably warm winter weather here gave people some glimpses of an early spring.  People are looking forward to spring and the lead-up to summer. Your organizations may already have spring and summer fundraising plans in place. I wish you the best of luck with all of it. However, if part of those plans include Barbecue food fundraisers, please STOP!

BBQ fundraisers have proven successful for many of your organizations and shelters. Most of you reading this will probably wonder why I am asking you to give this up even if it consistently draws money.

It’s simple.

You may not realize it. It’s actually difficult to fault you for it. That is because we are conditioned to believe that eating animals is necessary for most of us to survive. Part of that conditioning is putting different values on animals we have as companions over those slaughtered for food. It is complete hypocrisy to raise funds in the name of preventing animal cruelty by serving cooked animal flesh to donors. One action is washing out the other. Promoting animal rescue by promoting animal consumption is ethically wrong.

Each of your organizations have a chance to show some leadership on a national level. Even a global level. More people are moving to plant-based diets. The demands for plant-based products which offer alternatives to meat, fish and dairy are on the rise. People are waking up to the reality of the health benefits of moving away from meat, fish and dairy. People are making the connection on the reality that animals are sentient beings. There is no such thing as “humane slaughter”.

So I am asking all of you to forget the barbecues. Come to think of it, you should also forget bake sales unless you sell items baked from plant-based sources! You might be surprised to find some great recipes, along with ready and willing home-bakers and vegan food establishments that might be able to help out with any  fundraising. Especially if it can showcase their products and promote plant-based eating.

I’m not asking you to re-invent the wheel. I’m asking you to take control of that wheel and steer it on to the right path. All this is to help the very creatures we are all trying to save.

Thank you for all you are doing. I sincerely hope you can commit to this logical step.

@WriterDann