World Laboratory Animal Liberation Week (WLALW) 2005
was even larger and more successful than last year’s event with
activists participating in more than 32 cities within 18 states across
the U.S. News conferences, protests, rallies, tabling, and other events
revealed the truth about animal experimentation to the public on a huge
scale.
WLALW 2005 events took place in Birmingham (AL), Tempe
& Tucson (AZ), Los Angeles & San Francisco (CA), Denver (CO), Washington
DC, Maitland, Palm Beach County, Orlando, & Tampa (FL), Atlanta (GA),
Baltimore (MD), Boston & Southborough (MA), Grand Rapids & Kalamazoo
(MI), Buffalo & New York City (NY), Raleigh/Durham (NC), Athens &
Columbus (OH), Beaverton & Portland (OR), Allentown (PA), Austin,
Dallas, Houston & Fort Worth (TX), Seattle & Vancouver (WA), and Madison
(WI).
During WLALW 2005, we released our newest
investigative report: The Animal Experimentation Scandal. This
cutting-edge report reveals that millions of animals suffer in U.S. labs
annually at a cost to taxpayers of over $12 billion. The highlights of
this report are presented in The Animal Experimentation Scandal --
Federal Funding of Animal Experiments later in this newsletter.
SAEN’s Executive Director, Michael Budkie, traveled to
Maryland, Washington DC, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama during
WLALW to work with local activists in the fight against animal
experimentation.
Media coverage of WLALW was extensive and significant.
Examples from many cities including: Iowa City (IA), Madison (WI),
Austin (TX), and Boston (MA) are in the media coverage section of our
website. Events in Birmingham (AL) received substantial coverage from
(4) television stations over a two-day period – including a live remote
broadcast! Michael was also a guest on the Go Vegan Radio show (which
broadcasts out of Los Angeles) to discuss animal experimentation.
We would like to sincerely thank all of the activists
and organizations whose hard work made this event such a success. We
look forward to working with everyone again in 2006!
Travels with Wally
No matter where we go, we are constantly confronted
with the national crisis in companion animal issues. While traveling for
WLALW, Michael was personally confronted with just such an “issue”.
On a deserted section of I-85 in Virginia, Michael
came upon an apparently abandoned dog crossing and re-crossing the
highway. It was almost dark, and the dog was a black Labrador without
any identification. No animal shelters were nearby in this rural section
of Virginia. In fact, the highway didn’t even have another exit for ten
miles. Clearly, if the Labrador were left to roam on the highway, he
would have become a fatality.
No choice existed. Michael now had a passenger for the
next four days. As it turned out, Wally (as he was later named in honor
of WLALW) was a wonderful traveler (even trying to help with map
reading). Everyone whom Michael stayed with welcomed Wally into their
homes. A special thanks goes out to Beth Levine for Wally’s collar,
leash, and food. Wally is now a valued member of the SAEN family.
