Farm Sanctuary needs your help!

** Double Your Gift
& a Member will Match your Donations until July 1st **

As most people know, one of my favorite animal sanctuaries is "Farm Sanctuary".
I have much love, respect, support and admiration for them - for their endless dedication in helping our precious and beautiful farm animals friends by rescuing them and providing them with a care-free, happy, loving and safe home!

I received the following info from Farm Sanctuary, and wanted to add it to my blog in hopes of bringing more attention to the help that they need!

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"Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter is in need of urgent repairs and infrastructure upgrades to ensure the safety of the animals who call it home. For several years, we have done everything possible to get by with minor repairs and maintenance—even as the number of rescued animals has continued to climb.

But we cannot go another season without significant repairs. To keep the animals safe we must address these maintenance issues and protect these sweet beings in need of our care. We have received estimates that it will cost upwards of $200,000 to complete these urgent projects. So, on behalf of the sanctuary residents, we ask for your help.

Thankfully, a dedicated, longtime Farm Sanctuary supporter has generously agreed to MATCH all contributions made by July 1 up to $25,000. That means you have a unique opportunity to make your gift go twice as far for the animals who call the sanctuary home! For every $1 you donate online, Farm Sanctuary receives $2.

For more info please visit our blog or click here:
http: / / action. farmsanctuary. org/ site/ MessageViewer? em_id=10761.0

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While my money is really tight right now due to the poor economy, I will be donating what I can to this cause. And for those of you who may be in a similar financial situation, yet still want to help, if you can't donate a lot of money (as cliche' as it sounds) I truly believe that every little bit counts! And with your donations being doubled by a Farm Sanctuary member, that will be even more helpful to the repairs and maintenance needed there, and in turn, to the animals that reside there too!!

For more info about Farm Sanctuary, go to:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/

I hope you can help me help Farm Sanctuary in any way you are able to!

And ...
look for my upcoming posts here regarding updates about my Etsy shop, precious little lambs, view some new fun fotos, and much more...

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

Hello everyone! It's been quite awhile since I last wrote here in my blog. Mostly due to personal reasons and being so busy in many aspects of my life.

But now that things are starting to feel a little less overwhelming, I wanted to post my thoughts about animal rights relating to Thanksgiving....

 

 With Thanksgiving approaching, I find myself thinking about what I am thankful and grateful for. And I'm looking forward to a home cooked meal and being with my family and friends.

However, I can't help but also think of the millions of turkeys that will be tortured, abused and eventually slaughtered at the hands of cold hearted "humans". I think of it every year. And sadly, the slaughter of turkeys does not just happen at Thanksgiving, it happens everyday, all around the world. Suffice to say I am thankful that I am a vegan and do not support the horrific and inhumane treatment that turkeys go through to ultimately become part of the traditional feast for Thanksgiving.

I recently came across this undercover video which documents the harsh realities of what goes on to turkeys behind the closed doors of factory farms (the video is posted below) Farms are often depicted as places where animals roam free in the sunshine and live happy carefree lives. Well, this couldn't be further from the truth! The video below shows "The Truth". The truth of what these factory farms do not want you to know about and do not want you to see!

This video is from PETA, an animal rights organization which some people do not support. However, if you watch any other footage similar to this one, from any other animal rights organizations, sadly - you won't see anything different. The same type of abuse and slaughter happens at factory farms, regardless of what organization is documenting it.

I want to warn you that this footage is very hard to watch. It is highly disturbing and truly heartbreaking. But "The Truth" needs to be seen and heard. Without it, you'd never see the struggles these birds have no choice but to put up with - no matter how hard they struggle - the brutal and horrific treatment they have to endure everyday - and you'd never hear their screams of pain, confusion and fright these animals go through as they are slaughtered without watching the video.

While I am adamant regarding my beliefs and support of animal rights, I am not a vegan who tries to convert other people into vegetarians or vegans. I don't force my personal beliefs and life style choices onto other people, but I am very open to talking about it if other people want to talk about it and/or have questions about it. And I'm also very open about it here since this is my personal blog that I use to express my feelings, thoughts and more, about a variety of things in my life...which is in part of why I'm writing about this here.

I do realize and respect that everyone has their own life, have their own feelings about animal rights, and have their own personal choices regarding what they eat. I also realize that even some people who love animals, eat meat or dairy due to medical or religious reasons.

But, I hope that whatever your stance is about animal rights, that you will watch this video, take it into consideration and give thought about what you see in this footage. Because I think it's safe to assume that whether you're vegan or not, most of us would agree that NO animals should be treated like this - ever!

I want to wish everyone a blessed and very Happy upcoming Thanksgiving!

And to my friends who are fellow vegans or vegetarians, keep up the fight for the love of our precious animal friends!

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

World Farm Animals Day & other random updates

 

October 2nd is
WORLD FARM ANIMALS DAY
 

A time dedicated to exposing, mourning, and memorializing the needless suffering and slaughter of the more than 55 billion cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other sentient land animals in the world's factory farms and slaughterhouses. It is a time for all to speak out against the atrocities and brutalization of animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy.
The annual occasion is observed with activities in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries. The date marks the birthday of ethical vegetarian Mahatma Gandhi.

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So with "World Farm Animals Day" coming up soon, me and many of the other talented, creative and compassionate members of the "Vegan Etsy" team will be supporting this day through our own Etsy shops!

Since I'm a huge animal lover, vegan and long-time supporter of animal rights, especially with a soft spot for farm animals (I love goats and llamas the most :) I really wanted to help out. So I will be having a special promotion at my Etsy shop.

"Cash" - a cute little lamb at Farm Sanctuary
Between October 1st and October 7th, I will be donating 20% from sales from all of my items (save for the commissioned items that I did exclusively for "Harmony House Cat Shelter") to Farm Sanctuary, my favorite farm animal organization. You can learn more about them at:
www.farmsancturay.org

I've been so busy working on new items for my shop lately, especially with Halloween coming up, but I'm going to try to squeeze in some other items that will feature the animals that are saved by, and are now living in happiness and freedom, at Farm Sanctuary. And from the items I make featuring the Farm Sanctuary animals, I will be donating 40% of those proceeds to Farm Sanctuary as well.

"Missy Elliott" - a very happy and hip (hop;) looking goat at Farm Sanctuary

So I will continue to be very busy with work, but it is well worth it to help the animals in need through the process!I hope you will stop by my shop, "Jane Diamond Designs", to help the farm animals of the world in need, and also to shop for cool cat handmade items that I created for you and your feline friends at:
www.janediamond.etsy.com

And to learn more about and/or join the "Vegan Etsy" team, founded by my sweet friend Molly, please go to:
http://www.veganetsy.etsy.com

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Also, I've been putting the finishing touches on my first "Cool Cat Customer of the Month" feature, and it will be posted within the first week of October. So for that month, the feature will be about my good friend Katie (aka "mishkat" at Etsy) and her cute kitties, so definitely keep an eye out for that! It's going to be a very fun and frisky feline feature :)

Well, gotta go back to work now to finish my items for my Etsy shop (I *finally* found my battery charger for my camera - YAY! - I had been looking for it for over 2 weeks now and was starting to think I had just lost it) so I'll be very busy not only finishing my new items, but also taking lots of pics to uploaded to my shop sooooon! So be sure to check out my shop at:
www.janediamond.etsy.com
in the next couple days to see all my new and cool items, thanks!

Til later...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

Video of the Week - Testure

My video for the week is a concert clip and music video for the song "Testure" by Skinny Puppy.

It's a very poignant and amazing anti-vivisection song - the lyrics are intense, raw and moving. And I personally find this song inspiring to me since I'm very against vivisection and all other forms of animal abuse.

This song had a strong impact on my life, prior to becoming a vegetarian (and now a vegan) when I saw this song performed live in 1989, it opened by eyes to the harsh realities of the abuse animals endure by the hands of "humans". During the performance of the song, Skinny Puppy used backing footage of various clips of animal abuse. I was shocked - it was very hard to watch, yet I couldn't turn away from it - cause I felt by watching the abuse that happens behind closed doors - in turn, a door opened in my heart for these animals, and it changed something deep down inside of me.

After that show, I became a strict vegetarian, immersed myself in education about animal rights, joined a local animal rights group and became very pro-active for the cause. And I never looked back, it changed my life to this very day, and I continue doing whatever I can to help end the inhumane and horrifying abuse our animals friends go through everyday!

Below the videos of "Testure", I included the lyrics to the song - very powerful, raw and moving, and I highly suggest to read them. I also added a photo that have the lyrics on it, and a picture of cEvin key and Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy!

"Testure" music video by Skinny Puppy




"Testure" concert footage - great quality!

*** Testure Lyrics ***

in nervous convulsion
crouches infant ape, trembling in mothers shit

cage eyes tear less, filled with contempt
clinic mask experiment with life and death

smell lingering noxious, mixed scent anxiety

omnipotent doctor grinds the cage door revealing

loves primal instinct taken away

the tiny face terrified

rant and rave, smash your head against the cage

vacuum clicks on high

conscious of the pain, pass off as humane

white coat seems so clean

most dirt bleached out of greed

force the point of habit, eyes burn in a rabbit

push the pain test button

spines cut!

trip mucous inflection, more die. pills each day

what goes around, comes back stronger

tap into the brain, break the skull again

smash price research rat, lab rent paid in flesh

more ill drug store sales sharpen the knife

emphasis on money, new disease everyday

end is seen and coming, research turns it's back to gain

crush the spine, genocide kitten drags its dead limb

continuing all suffering, it will come back and win

shock paralyse, turn trauma burns

out the will to live the lying

message 5 year genocide

1945 suicide vivisect VI

Skinny Puppy makes me smile :)
even while drenched in mud and fake blood

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

Very Vegan! :)

I have been strict vegetarian for 18 years, and also a borderline vegan - I never bought or wore anything made from animals (like fur, leather, wool, etc.) and also don't buy from companies that test on animals or have animal by-products in their ingredients. It's still hard for me to imagine that in today's society, animal testing still goes on, especially in this day and age with so many other alternatives to test products, rather than on defenseless animals!

~

But recently, after being a vegetarian for 18 years, I decided to become a vegan! And I feel great ever since. My body feels more pure in a spiritual and physical sense from being 100% vegan now! And through my decision to go totally vegan, I felt that this was my next step in helping to prevent the horrifying conditions that our animal friends live in, as well as the painful, senseless and inhumane slaughter of these beautiful and innocent animals, such as in the photos below...

A baby calf, chained at the neck in a stall in a factory farm- unable to move, walk, and barely lay down

Chickens on their way to being slaughtered in a factory farm

I know these photos are very graphic and disturbing, but sadly, this is the truth and reality of what happens behind closed doors to animals in factory farms all over the world!

As the saying goes, I believe that animals are *not* ours to eat, wear, or test on. These beautiful animals should be able to live their lives with happiness, dignity, and freedom! And who are we to deprive them of those rights?

~

I know not everyone may agree with my standpoint on this issue - people have their own beliefs and need to make their own choices in life. But in my personal experience of becoming a vegan, I feel it sends out the message that I strongly believe in - that the cruelty, torture, and ultimately death that these animals have to endure, should not be tolerated or accepted. And I will not support in any way, shape or form, the abuse these animals go through! But I believe there is hope in that, as well as through other people who are passionate about the welfare of animals, like in the photos below...

A rescued sweet baby chick, now living a peaceful and happy life at the Farm Sanctuary

Another rescued animal from Farm Sanctuary. This is Georgia, a lovely lamb, also now living a life of joy and freedom at the Farm Sanctuary

As an Etsy shop owner, in addition to being a member of the wonderful street team "Etsy for Animals" (EFA), I have also recently joined another street team, "Vegan Etsy"! I am a proud member of both of these groups now!

In the blog, "Vegan Flower", they wrote a small post about my Etsy shop, which I was happy to come across. You can read about it here: http://veganflower.blogspot.com/2008/05/jane-diamond-designs.html

I'm very excited about my new vegan diet and lifestyle, as well as getting to know other vegans and animal lovers through the "Vegan Etsy" team! A very special thanks to Molly (a fellow Etsy For Animals member too) for having me be a part of your wonderful vegan team! I'm so glad to be part of your group! :) To learn more about the "Vegan Etsy", please visit their blog at: www.veganetsy.blogspot.com

Power By Ringsurf

~

And you can visit Molly's Etsy shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5537231

where she makes and sells vegan mini muffins for dogs! She has a very unique shop, with healthy and delicious treats for your pups!

~

Also, to learn more about the amazing and wonderful work that Farm Sanctuary does, like rescuing the beautiful baby chick and lamb in the photos above, as well as all the other work they do for animals like them, to please go to their site at: www.farmsanctuary.org

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In other Etsy related news, I will be adding a new ACEO cat collage that I recently designed. I already have a couple ACEO prints in my shop, but will be adding more asap. I'm still going through recovery from my back injury, so I haven't been as active at Etsy and my other favorite sites and blogs, but am slowly getting a bit better everyday, and am hoping to have my new handmade ACEO's available in my shop soon!

Here is a photo of my most recent cat collage ACEO...

"Catch Your Dreams" - handmade cat collage ACEO by Jane Diamond

I sent one of these ACEO's to my friend Katie (known as mishkat at Etsy) for her birthday and I was really happy to know that she liked them so much!

I hope all you cat lovers out there will check back at my shop to see when the "Catch Your Dreams" ACEO is listed, as well as my other crafty kitty goodies that I have in store now, and also coming soon, thanks!

www.janediamond.etsy.com

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane