|
Comments from national and international groups
CAPS serves as an inspiration to groups around the world in terms of what can be achieved through persistence and sheer determination. Acres (Singapore) congratulates CAPS on reaching this milestone and for all they have achieved for captive animals. We look forward to our continued partnership in our efforts to end the suffering of captive animals.
Louis Ng, President
Acres (Animal Concerns Research and Education Society), Singapore
www.acres.org.sg
We have had the pleasure of working closely with CAPS for a number of years. CAPS is a unique organisation providing an important voice for captive animals in the UK and beyond. Happy birthday and congratulations to CAPS on all the great work that it has done over the last half a century. We are looking forward to continuing our productive working relationship in the future.
Ross Minett, Director
Advocates for Animals, Scotland
www.advocatesforanimals.org.uk
Congratulations to CAPS and to everyone that is, and has been a part, of this excellent animal protection organisation.
It has been a rewarding experience for us at ANIMAL to have the opportunity of working with CAPS over the years to highlight the suffering of captive animals kept and used for entertainment purposes and we are looking forward to develop this collaboration even more in the future, so that one day this collaboration and work for the animals is not needed anymore.
We are particularly grateful to CAPS for having helped us first launch the debate on animal circuses in Portugal in 2002, as we started it all based on CAPS’ findings in Portuguese animal circuses and we took the campaigning work on from there.
CAPS is a precious campaigning arm of the UK and European animal protection movement and we wish it all the success in the world for all its fair purposes.
Miguel Moutinho, President
ANIMAL, Portugal
www.animal.org.pt
CAPS is 50 years old but it uses all the modern tools of communication to provide a voice for animals held captive in circuses, zoos, aquaria and in other ‘leisure’ settings. A CAPS campaign is, typically, distinguished by bold undercover work, meticulous scientific research and a clear message that is directed straight at the public, the media and legislators. I know that CAPS is also determined to take its message to the young in order to break the vicious cycle of callousness and greed that results in so much animal suffering. I wish there was no need for CAPS but there is. And all of us at Animal Aid say: all power to you as you continue with your vital work.
Andrew Tyler, Director
Animal Aid, UK
www.animalaid.org.uk
Animal Concern congratulates the Captive Animals' Protection Society on a
successful first half-century of campaigning. Fifty years ago animal act
circuses were an accepted part of British life. Now, due in no small part to
the work of CAPS, animal act circuses will soon be a thing of the past in
the UK. Sadly, animals continue to suffer in zoos in this country and there
is also much work to be done to tackle the horrific circuses which still
tour Europe and the rest of the world. Animal Concern looks forward to
continued campaigning alongside CAPS to put an end to all animal suffering
and exploitation.
John F. Robins, Campaigns Consultant
Animal Concern, Scotland
www.animalconcern.com
Animal Friends Croatia is very pleased to be working alongside CAPS on animal rights issues for the last few years. Photographs and video footage that CAPS had provided us with have been very helpful in our fight to end cruelty to animals in circuses in Croatia, which resulted in 29 cities introducing bans on all circuses with performing animals, and a recent nation-wide ban on circuses with wild animals acts.
All these years CAPS has been a reliable partner and great help in providing us with useful information and needed resources. We at AFC hope that CAPS continue their brave fight, and to have them as trusted allies in achieving our future goals, as well.
50 years is a remarkable number, compared to you we feel like little children.
Congratulations from the whole AFC team and all the best in the next 50 years (!!!)
Ozren & Bernard V. Franolic
Animal Friends Croatia
www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr
Congratulations to CAPS on its 50th Anniversary! Over the years, the Society has blazed a trail for organisations worldwide to condemn animal exploitation by circuses, zoos, the pet trade and the entertainment industries. Thanks to the important investigative work of CAPS, animal circuses have now become synonymous with brutal animal treatment and zoos are increasingly met with public disdain. Long may CAPS continue to effectively campaign for greater protection of captive wild animals everywhere.
Elaine Toland, Director
Animal Protection Agency
www.apa.org.uk
Congratulations CAPS on your half-century. Fifty years is a long time for an organisation, and much has changed in that time. Some of the worst abuses have been stopped, and public opinion is now moving towards a more enlightened and compassionate view of how we treat animals.
CAPS has been helping to drive that change, and I have been particularly impressed by the energy and leadership you have shown in leading the Apes in Entertainment Working Group of the Ape Alliance. Together we have convinced several companies to pull expensive ad campaigns and stop using trained wild animals. But we still have a long way to go, and I look forward to working with CAPS in the years to come.
Ian Redmond OBE
Chief Consultant, GRASP - UNEP/UNESCO Great Ape Survival Project
Chair, Ape Alliance
www.4apes.com
We congratulate the Captive Animals’ Protection Society on its dedication and continuous efforts during the past 50 years.
It has had many successes, particularly in persuading numerous local authorities to ban animal circuses in their areas. However, the goal of legislation banning circuses in Britain has still not been realised. It came close to being achieved when a bill to regulate zoos was discussed in the early 1980s. In spite of cogent arguments and mobilisation of public support by CAPS the government refused to include circus animals. So CAPS have continued to work tirelessly.
We strongly support CAPS in their endeavours because we also believe that it is cruel to keep animals captive. It is now accepted that captivity frustrates the biological needs of animals and causes unacceptable stress by making them perform unnatural acts, and also transporting them from place to place.
Good luck and keep up the good work.
Sheena Bliss, Director, and Dr Bill Jordan, Consultant
Bill Jordan Wildlife Defense Fund USA
www.wildlifedefenseusa.org
We would like to congratulate CAPS on its 50th anniversary!
CAPS’ work for the animals in the entertainment industry makes a world of difference for the animals.
On behalf of Bite Back Belgium and all the animals you're fighting for every day, we would like to say: thank you very much.
Marianne Huiberts
Bite Back Belgium
www.biteback.be
Congratulations to CAPS on its 50th birthday anniversary.
It seems perverse writing congratulations because the biggest compliment I can pay them is, like Cetacea Defence, they function in the aspiration of becoming non-existent. For we don't want roomier beast wagons, nor longer shackles or chains, nor bigger dolphinarium tanks. What we campaign for - similar to the great abolitionists of the human slave trade - is a demand for the complete abolition of slave trade establishments exploiting non-human animals. Only when that day comes can the human species start to think of calling itself civilised.
Happy birthday CAPS, I hope it is your last!
Alan Cooper, Founder
Cetacea Defence, UK
www.cetaceadefence.org
A toast to the Captive Animals' Protection Society on the occasion of our mutual 50th anniversary!
CAPS' outstanding campaign concepts give us hope that humanity will come to acknowledge the right of other animals to live on their own terms.
Lee Hall, Legal Director
Friends of Animals, USA (founded in New York in 1957)
www.friendsofanimals.org
Congratulations to CAPS for having endured for 50 years. Half of a century is certainly long enough to claim recognition.
My first encounter with CAPS was in 2002, when I was shocked by the sudden arrival of an un-seaworthy vessel carrying a circus from the USA. It was alongside a wharf close to where I live in Bermuda, and I witnessed at very close hand, the miserable conditions these poor animals (including elephants) were forced to endure while waiting to ‘entertain’ us. Without the very able support and guidance of CAPS we would certainly not have had the same quiet strength to oppose the indifferent, dismissive attitude of our local Department of Environmental Protection towards our concerns.
With the backing of a respected organisation like CAPS we were able to generate international support and begin the slow process of educating the media and, by extension, the public.
To our horror, the same cartel decided to offer a repeat animal circus performance during the very hottest part of the year last July [2006]. The company launched a pre-emptive media campaign against any and all dissent by denying their animal show was a circus, and instead insisting it was an ‘educational’ animal ‘extravaganza’, which, by the way, featured a Big Cat Encounter and bears riding cycles.
Anyone voicing opposition to the event (pre-approved at the highest level of government) was labelled an ‘animal rights activist or extremist’ with highly negative spin. The conditions of animal housing in containers placed on the hot dock in St. Georges were deplorable. But the good news is, we know the event was a financial flop; nor were the tourists overly impressed.
Throughout all of this CAPS never relented. They stayed in touch with everyone, gathering as much factual information as they could. Their words of encouragement and wit at times when we needed it were always well timed and reliable. They never gave up with intransigent media, and persisted firing off letters to those whose interest should have focused on preventing such an appalling display of animal exploitation.
The Captive Animals' Protection Society is worldwide force for good, in a world which so desperately needs to reassess attitudes to animals sharing our planet.
Dr. A. M. Ware-Cieters
Hannover Veterinary Service & LPAE (League for Protection of Animals and the Environment)
Our foundation, Ligue française des droits de l'animal (LFDA), the French League for Animal Rights, is engaged in the same fights as CAPS, namely against circuses displaying animal acts, dolphinariums, aquariums and zoos.
LFDA values the work of CAPS as expressed in its newsletters and educational brochures, which are always clear, to the point and impeccably argued.
In 2000, CAPS allowed us to use photos for our report ‘The condition of circus animals’, which was widely circulated, in French and English, in European countries. Likewise, in 2003 CAPS contributed to the illustration of our ‘Free the bears’ dossier. This continuous support from CAPS is again gratefully acknowledged.
At the onset of 2007, when the French government will be submitting a new set of regulations limiting the numbers of species allowed to be exhibited in circuses, we are looking forward to working closer with CAPS so that one day animals will be totally absent from such practices best suited to past ages.
Happy birthday to CAPS!
Stéphane Né, Junior Communication Manager
Ligue française des droits de l'animal
www.fondation-droits-animal.org
CAPS never fear to take on issues where animals suffer in the name of entertainment, and have brought many injustices to the attention of the general public over the years, which has stopped the misery of many voiceless animals. The Marine Connection are delighted to work alongside CAPS on dolphin and whale related issues and wish them well as they enter into their next half-century of helping to stop animal abuse.
Margaux Dodds, Director & Co-founder
Marine Connection, UK
www.marineconnection.org
It is thanks to the support and encouragement of CAPS that our campaign to end the trade in primates as pets in the UK initially got off the ground. At the beginning the Monkey Sanctuary Trust had little experience of the political process and lacked the knowledge of the extent of the primate pet trade in the UK. CAPS was able to share their experience of the captive trade and guide us through the political process.
The Trust would like to thank CAPS for its support and we hope that it will continue to grow and protect animals for at least another 50 years.
Gill Maltby, Campaigns Officer
The Monkey Sanctuary Trust
www.ethicalworks.co.uk/monkeysanctuary
From the start, PETA India has found CAPS to be amazing to deal with - they have always given us whatever information we have requested, no matter how unrealistic a deadline we have given them. Right from when we first asked for information on sealions back in February 2005 to use in our report opposing the visit of a Russian Circus to India with these animals. CAPS had no hesitation in immediately providing us with all the info we needed to complete that report.
When we needed campaign ideas on getting elephants out of captivity, CAPS were again very prompt in pointing us in the right direction and also gave us a letter of support which we used. Their campaign ideas were much appreciated.
In 2006, we urgently needed evidence on the suffering endured by bears and monkeys in captivity as there were (and still are) meetings being held to review laws relating to these animals. CAPS went out of its way to help us and sent us reams of information which we submitted immediately. It also had no hesitation in offering to arrange a meeting with the Indian embassy in London if need be.
A very very big thank you to CAPS for always being there to help us help animals in India.
PETA India and I wish you all the best and look forward to reciprocating help to CAPS sometime!
Anuradha Sawhney, Chief Functionary
PETA India
www.petaindia.com
PETA wishes CAPS continued success with its vital and innovative work to help animals suffering in circuses, zoos, aquariums, and other captive situations.
Debbie Leahy, Director of Captive Animals & Entertainment Issues
PETA, USA
www.peta.org
SAFE has had the pleasure of working with CAPS for a number of years and we congratulate the organisation on its 50th anniversary. Working for the rights of animals is not without its frustrations but I believe that it is safe to say that CAPS has made a significant difference to the lives of thousands of animals both in the UK and abroad. The strong decline in the numbers of wild animals exploited in circuses would not have occurred without the constant campaigning by CAPS.
CAPS’ ability to educate the public and especially the younger generation has contributed to a shift in attitude and it is gratifying to see that the use of wild animals for entertainment purposes is no longer acceptable to a large sector of the population.
I wish CAPS all the best with its important work in the future and look forward to our continued collaboration for the benefit of all animals.
Hans Kriek, Campaign Director
SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation), New Zealand
www.safe.org.nz
Congratulations to CAPS on its 50th anniversary from Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia) who have worked closely with CAPS on a number of issues, including the trade in wild-caught animals to aquaria. We certainly hope that CAPS will continue to progress and spread its wings worldwide to ensure a better world for all animals.
Keep up the excellent work and wishing success in all future projects.
Mr S M Mohd Idris, President
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (Friends of the Earth Malaysia)
www.foe-malaysia.org.my
We from the continent always look up to the British animal rights movement in awe. It is, indeed, amazing that an organisation such as CAPS has been solely campaigning for captive animals - and for 50 years already! In most other countries, captive animals have become a campaigning issue only in the last few years.
CAPS, with its long-standing expertise, was instrumental as a knowledgeable source of information and through their contacts for our campaigns regarding captive wild animals, especially in circuses. I cannot stress enough how important it is that groups such as CAPS act internationally and help us abroad without thinking twice whenever we ask. The latest such issue was the threat by the EU commission to topple our Austrian ban on wild animals in circuses.
Thanks to the efforts of CAPS and their help in lobbying work in the European Parliament we managed to defend our ban. On 12th December 2006, the commission officially announced that it won't proceed with this issue. A tremendous success!
We from the VGT in Austria want to thank CAPS for their support and look forward to many more years of cooperation and wish you all the best for your campaigns in the next 50 years!
Dr Martin Balluch, President
Verein Gegen Tierfabriken (Association Against Animal Factories), Austria
www.vgt.at
Over the past few years Xwe African Wild Life has worked closely with CAPS. Our interactions with CAPS have always been incredibly productive and helpful. Thank You!!
Going into the future, Xwe wishes CAPS success with every campaign and investigation it undertakes. We are hopeful that with the excellent work CAPS does animal circuses will be outlawed and it will therefore not be necessary for CAPS to exist at all!
Michele Pickover, Director
Xwe African Wild Life, South Africa
Comments from local groups:
London activists take part in every Zoo Awareness Day organised by CAPS, and
also protest regularly against touring animal circuses. We have always had
excellent help, advice and support from CAPS. Free leaflets and posters are
always available, as well as reliable information about which circuses are
appearing, when and where and tips on dealing with the press.
Congratulations on 50 years of excellent campaigning, and we look forward to
working with CAPS in the years to come, until our efforts on behalf of abused captive animals are no longer needed.
London Animal Rights
www.londonanimalrights.org.uk
Preston Action For Animals (PAFA) have supported CAPS campaigns for many years. CAPS campaigns have been a consistent and ongoing voice for captive animals who are denied the right to be free.
CAPS continues to work tirelessly to get the message out to schools, parents and the general public of the plight of captive animals. They have made people start to query the morality of keeping animals in captivity, especially performing travelling circuses. Their work inspires others to get out and campaign on behalf of captive animals in Britain and throughout the world.
With the ongoing work of CAPS an end to the suffering of animals in circuses is in sight. Thank you CAPS, let's hope you don't have to campaign for another 50 years to ensure the fundamental right of animals to be free.
Preston Action For Animals
Quaker Concern for Animals congratulates the Captive Animals' Protection Society on their 50th anniversary. We commend your pioneering work to defend animals incarcerated in zoos and circuses and those suffering in the exotic "pet" trade. Our ongoing investigation into Greenacres Farm Zoo near Queensferry, Flintshire, owes much to your advice and active involvement.
We wish you continued success in highlighting these abuses and, with you, look forward to the day when all the cages are empty.
Quaker Concern for Animals
www.quaker-animals.org.uk
The Scottish Animal Rights Alliance wishes CAPS a successful 50th year. We held our first demo at Edinburgh Zoo for Zoo Awareness Day 2006 to support CAPS’ dedicated campaigns to help animals held captive in zoos, aquaria and circuses. Two centuries have passed since human slavery was outlawed – SARA will continue to work with CAPS for an end to animal slavery – we hope you aren’t needed in another 50 years!
Scottish Animal Rights Alliance
www.animalrightsalliance.org.uk
CAPS helped immeasurably from 1974 onwards in supporting my organisation Southampton United Charities Against Animal Circuses to get a ban on animal circuses on city council land.
We were up against a council biased towards the notorious Chipperfield’s Circus but we won in 1984! A circus representative was overheard to say, after the council’s decision to ban, “we thought Southampton would be the last to fall …”
So, thank you CAPS, we couldn’t have done it without you!
Southampton United Animal Charities
How You Can Help:
Back to 50 Years of Campaigning for Animals |
