Boycott Against Rabbit Meat Sold at Whole Foods
August 16, 2014
Who: Bunny World Foundation (BWF) and Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS)
What: BWF & CAPS will participate in the “National Day of Action and Awareness to Protest the Sale of Rabbit Meat at Whole Foods Market.” BWF and CAPS will join over 100 animal rights activists, 70 businesses, humane societies, animal rescue groups, as well as 10,000 people who have petitioned Whole Foods Market to immediately stop the sale of butchered rabbits. On August 17th, community protests will be held outside over 40+ Whole Foods Market locations nationwide.
According to the 2012 American Pet Products Association (APPA), 2.5 million households now live with pet rabbits.
“Whoever at Whole Foods decided it was a lucrative idea to sell butchered bunny meat is a Neanderthal. While Whole Foods is busy selling dead pets, we are working to draft legislation to further protect rabbits in Los Angeles. After years of successfully combatting illegal animal traffickers who abused unweaned bunnies in LA, we now find that Whole Foods will be selling them dead? Not on our watch! If Whole Foods has its way, millions of rabbits will be tortured and killed. Whole Foods must remember that Los Angeles is a humane city and that consumers are revolted by the sale of pets as meat. We want to inspect Whole Foods’ dead rabbit suppliers. If Whole Foods’ customers could see what happens in one of its rabbit slaughterhouses, they would run. Have you ever heard a rabbit scream?“
-Lejla Hadzimuratovic, Founder and President of Bunny World Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit rescue organization and rabbit advocacy group.
“Whole Foods calls rabbits “Fryers” and that tells you everything you need to know. Rabbits are not “fryers,” they are beloved companion animals. Whole Foods is going to face a sustained boycott and protest campaign if they think they can get away with the sale of butchered companion animals in our city. We are the folks who successfully stopped LA pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits from cruel commercial breeding factories. How can we allow Whole Foods to sell them dead? We want the names and USDA license numbers of every single dead rabbit supplier so we can examine their facilities and inspection reports. We plan to enact legislation to make the sale of butchered companion animals illegal in our city. The sale of dead rabbits is simply barbaric and Whole Foods is not in step with LA’s progressive stance regarding animal protection.”
-Carole Raphaelle Davis, West Coast Director, Companion Animal Protection Society
A phone survey conducted of 39 Northern California Whole Foods Market Stores revealed that only one of 39 store managers interviewed were aware that they were selling meat from domestic rabbit breeds. Most believed the meat came from either wild rabbits or from New Zealand. Most employees said they were very unhappy about the decision- especially those employees who have shared their lives with pet rabbits along with cats and dogs.
Whole Foods Market has repeatedly declined to explain the contradiction in their decision to kill rabbits while promoting products not tested on the very same type of rabbits. Whole Foods Executives have responded to consumer complaints with a form letter claiming “sensitivity to the issue,” while touting the “highest standards” for large scale rabbit meat production and slaughter with “the goal of creating standards for other companies to follow.”
Lisa Rockwell, who started the petition which surpassed 10,000 signatures, says “I was horrified to see rabbit meat at my local Whole Foods. It was offensive and condescending for Whole Foods Markets to send me a form letter about their standards. Standards are not the issue. They are selling the meat of pet breed rabbits, just like mine.”
For further information, please see http://www.saveabunny.org/stop-whole-foods-rabbit-meat and http://rabbit.org/tell-whole-foods-to-stop-killing-bunnies/.
Where: Whole Foods Market – West Hollywood, 7871 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046
When: Sunday, August 17, 2014 at 11:00 am (PST).
Media Contacts:
Lejla Hadzimuratovic, President and Founder, Bunny World Foundation, cell: 310-498-8600
Carole Raphaelle Davis, West Coast Director, Companion Animal Protection Society, cell: 310-990-5758
Companion Animal Protection Society
759 CJC Hwy., #332
Cohasset, MA 02025
p: 339-309-0272
About CAPS:
Founded by President Deborah Howard in 1992, the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals from cruelty in pet shops and puppy mills. CAPS actively addresses the abuse and suffering of pet shop and puppy mill dogs through investigations, education, media relations, legislative involvement, puppy mill dog rescues, consumer assistance, and pet industry employee relations.
Please visit www.caps-web.org
