Group Wants Residents and Visitors to Join the Battle Against Animal Homelessness
For Immediate Release:
June 13, 2012
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Princeton, N.J. -- Today, PETA sent an offer to Daniel Saunders, administrator and deputy state historic preservation officer of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Historic Preservation Office, that could help save Princeton Battlefield and also take a bite out of the homeless-dog and -cat crisis. If Saunders allows PETA to place an ad reading, "Battle Animal Homelessness: Have Your Cats and Dogs Spayed or Neutered," at the site, then PETA will make a donation to help preserve the battlefield. PETA's request follows reports that Princeton Battlefield has been added to the list of the country's most endangered historic places because nearby development threatens the landscape. In its letter, PETA points out that the ad would help save more cats and dogs from ending up on the streets or in overburdened animal shelters, which must euthanize 3 to 4 million unwanted animals every year.
"Americans have always risen to the occasion when confronted with a crisis, and PETA would like to see that same spirit applied to the battle against animal homelessness," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "It's important to remember that the millions of cats and dogs struggling to survive on the streets or languishing in animal shelters came from a father and mother whose guardians didn't have them spayed or neutered."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's
Historic Preservation Office follows.
June 13, 2012
Daniel Saunders
Administrator and Deputy State
Historic Preservation Officer
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
Historic Preservation Office
Dear Mr. Saunders:
I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands in New Jersey. We are hoping to work with you to tackle two important issues: protecting the historic Princeton Battlefield and reducing the dog and cat overpopulation crisis. In exchange for a donation to the Historic Preservation Office, would you consider allowing PETA to place a "Battle Animal Homelessness: Have Your Cats and Dogs Spayed or Neutered" ad on the park's colonnade?
Spaying and neutering is crucial to helping decrease the deluge of unwanted dogs and cats born each year who are left to struggle for survival on the streets or are dropped off at severely crowded animal shelters at taxpayer expense. Millions of these animals must be killed because there are not enough good homes to go around. Communities spend large sums of taxpayer dollars each year coping with problems that spaying and neutering can solve, such as rounding up stray or abandoned animals, feeding them, and housing them.
Our ad would help Princeton residents and historical preservationists enjoy the Princeton Battlefield for generations to come while serving as a poignant reminder of the lifesaving benefits of spaying and neutering dogs and cats. Please contact me at to discuss this exciting possibility. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Chris Holbein
Associate Director