Bill Would Turn Back Clock on Protections for Bunnies and Chicks Who Are Often Discarded After Being Bought on a Whim, Says Group
For
Immediate Release:
March
8, 2012
Contact:
Kristin
Richards 202-483-7382
Tallahassee, Fla. -- Days after the Florida legislature passed a bill repealing Florida's 45-year ban on dyeing animals, PETA has fired off an appeal to Florida Gov. Rick Scott on behalf of PETA's more than 100,000 Floridian supporters, to ask him not to sign this "regressive" bill into law. As PETA points out in its letter, dyeing animals—especially bunnies, chicks, and ducklings at Easter—causes an additional strain on Florida's already overburdened animal shelters, because most people who buy the brightly colored animals on a whim are unprepared for the lifetime of complex care that these small animals require. Many animals who aren't abandoned at animal shelters die of neglect, and many more are released outdoors and left to fend for themselves—a problem Florida already faces with other abandoned species.
PETA is sending an action alert to its Florida supporters asking them to contact Gov. Scott and urge him to make the right decision.
"Blue and pink bunnies and chicks may appeal to children, who will pester their parents to purchase them, but dyeing these small animals can be a death sentence for the animals as every humane agency in the country well knows," says PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovich. "PETA is calling on Gov. Scott to prevent a multiplicity of problems for animals and people by refusing to roll back Florida's animal protection laws."
The sale of dyed chicks, rabbits, and other animals is illegal in more than 20 states. Many of the bright-colored dyes are poisonous to animals, who are in danger of ingesting toxins when they preen themselves. PETA also cautions that allowing people to dye animals sends a message that animals are toys or accessories instead of living, breathing beings who need care.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.