The Hare Preservation Trust

My wonderful online friend annette of Dragon House of Yuen does wonderful work to help rabbits and hares all over the world. She is a volunteer at The Hare Preservation Trust   and I have recently made some hare brooches to be sold on their site with 20% of the proceeds going to HPT. There are splendid items for sale in their shop all helping to raise much needed funds for HPT. The HPT has a website with information on hares and you can subscribe for their newsletter. They raise awareness of hares through the media and education. They lobby parliament to increase the legal protectin of hares and to ensure current legislation is enforced. They work with other wildlife groups. this is just an example of the good works they do. Why not check out their website for further information, and take a look at their Blog , it's fun and informative and there are some adorable photos. Hares need help to protect them in their natural habitat, we can make a difference.

These are the two booches that I made for The Hare Preservation Trust and can be bought in their shop.

If the hens only knew...................................

10,000 battery hens are soon to be rescued and re-homed.
The fabulous Little Hen Rescue in Norwich UK have negotiated handing them
over from a battery farm that is soon closing down.
Battery hens live in appalling conditions, cramped cages, unable to move properly, sometimes unable to stand, with wire flooring, never seeing daylight or smelling fresh air. Many pluck their feathers out from boredom, frustration, pain, or through fighting.
It is not surprising that when these beautiful creatures
are rescued they can be in a terrible state,
having twisted joints, or lameness,
or having had their beaks cut down, or suffering from malnutrition.

So along with the rescue comes a host of health and medical problems. One problem that can easily be helped by anyone prepared to give a little time and effort is to make 'hen jackets' - yes, that's right 'hen jackets'. These simple tabard style 'jackets' will help keep the bald hens warm, and help them climatise while settling in to their new found freedom. it can be a bit of a shock to their system after being cooped up for so long. I have made an assortment of hen jackets to donate to Little Hen Rescue.
I'll be sending them off to the rescue this weekend (there are 17 jackets in all).
This looks like a scene from 'Washing Day at the Hen House'

These are a few jackets close up. It appealed to my sense of humour to make one with a hen on it :) yeah, corny I know!










Also the 'high visibility' ones made me smile.

I used a variety of fabrics, basically anything that was going spare. The hens need fleece for warmth, but I also used brushed cotton, and jersey. I made a template from the one provided on Little Hen Rescue site. Attaching Velcro for fastening. it occurred to me after I'd finished them (yeah, yeah, hindsight is a wonderful thing!) that maybe the edges of the fabric did not need overlocking, as the jackets will be discard once the hens have gotten used to their new homes and their feathers have, hopefully, grown back. So there may have been an even quicker way to make them, not sure................................. added note' I have been informed that they ask the jackets to be returned, so that they may be reused, so maybe my overlocking was needed after all'
I'm glad to have helped in my small way. If anyone wishes to help Little Hen Rescue, by making hen jackets, or donations, or indeed, giving a home to rescued hens, you can contact them, or check out their web page.

Spay Day USA 2009 - Tuesday, February 24

Spay Day USA 2009 - Tuesday, February 24 humanesociety.org/spayday

More than 4 MILLION homeless pets are put down in the U.S. every year.

Tomorrow's count is up to you. Please spay or neuter your pets.humanesociety.org/spayday for further information. Too many lives are needlessly wasted.

Millions of cats and dogs are needlessly euthanized each year. They may be street animals, or the offspring of cherished family pets, even purebreds. Maybe someone's cat or dog got out just that one time or maybe the litter was intentional, but efforts to find enough good homes failed. Spay/neuter is the only permanent, 100 percent effective method of birth control for dogs and cats and a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born only to die prematurely and without a family who loves them. Learn more about why you should spay or neuter your pet.

Etsy.com teams, EFA and EtsyVeg, have joined together in support of Spay Day.

Members from both teams are offering a 'SPAY DAY 1 DAYSPECIAL' on Tuesday, February 24, in our Etsy shops.

Check out the shops below for further details, and click on:

1. Nancy - NanjoDogz.etsy.com - 20% to Illinois Doberman Rescue

2. Jen - DragonRags.etsy.com + jlynnpro.etsy.com - Free Shipping

3. Heather - aktie9.etsy.com - 50% of all sales on Spay day to the EFAcharity ofthe month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

4. El - elephantdance.etsy.com - 100% donations of profits to paws-saipan.org

5. Michele - mvegan5.etsy.com - 25% of shop sales to the EFA Charityof the Month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

6. Marjorie - WHSKR.etsy.com - giving 50% of my sales

7. Meghann - littlestudiojewels.etsy.com - 25% of the total sales tothe Lanark Animal Welfare Society

8. Holly - silverrosedesigns.etsy.com - free shipping, and 50% of shopsales to German Shepherd Rescueof New England.

9. Eva - alilsumptinsumptin.etsy.com - 25% of proceeds divided equallyto HSUS & SCGR Rescue plus Free Shipping

10. Linda - AllAboutCats.etsy.com - Free Shipping

11. Lynn - LolaLynn.etsy.com - 10% to the EFA charity of the month(Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation), 10% to Sophia the dog for herheart surgery and Free Shipping

12. Emily - punkybunny300.etsy.com

13. Heather A. - creaturecomfort.etsy.com - Free Shipping and 10% tothe EFA Charity of the Month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

14. Kim - veganessa.etsy.com + midnightrabbits.etsy.com - Freeshipping on that day and 50%of anything sold will be donated to: friendsoftheanimals.co.uk/neuter.htm

15. Kylie - silentlotus.etsy.com - 20% off all purchases, withproceeds being split betweenthe HSUS and a local Pittsburgh animal organization

16. Cynthia - kittyanydots.etsy.com

17. Bonnie - wovendreams.etsy.com - 10% off on dog leashes, plus many items 100%donation to Dance with the Bunnies Rabbit Rescue

18. Julie - jbirkemeierphoto.etsy.com - Free Shipping

19. Lynn - aguavino.etsy.com - donate 20% off ALL sales that day toPigs Peace Sanctuary

20. Ashley - NYCrochet.etsy.com - Free Shipping

21. Christina - KnittyKrissy.etsy.com

22. Cari - LoveLuca.etsy.com - 50% to an animal charity

23. Ginger - BarkingDogBlankets.etsy.com - 100% of the proceeds onthe small blanket sale to spay day

24. Wei - WeiOpenSecret.etsy.com - Free Shipping

25. Gina - claynfiber.etsy.com - Free Shipping for orders of $40 ormore and donate 100% of the proceeds to HSUS.

26. Akire - Lacewood.etsy.com

27. Rebecca - beckynot.etsy.com - Free Shipping

28. Ann - AnnRan.etsy.com - donate 25% of any of my reproductionprints ( http://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fshop.php%253Fuser_id%253D5532445%2526section_id%253D5316177) or earrings (http://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fshop.php%253Fuser_id%253D5532445%2526section_id%253D5306725 ) sold on Spay Day to one of my favorite local critter charities. Some of mylistings already specify a charity - for those listings I'll donate tothat charity. For the listings that don't specify a charity, I'll pickone.

29. Maria - pocketfulofsunshine.etsy.com - 100% of all sales from my"DT" Collection and 25% of all sales from the rest of my shop will bedonated to the Florida Boxer Rescue

30. Karen - TheFaerieCupboard.etsy.com - 50% of total sales on Spayday will go to Patriot Siberian Husky Rescue

31. Nita - ApacheMoon.etsy.com - Donate 50% of proceeds on two items(http://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fview_listing.php%253Flisting_id%253D9681161 andhttp://webmail.ntlworld.com/do/redirect?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.etsy.com%252Fview_listing.php%253Flisting_id%253D15483972)

32. Shari - CiaoHound.etsy.com + PetsJubilee.etsy.com - 20% Discount

33. Stephanie - LuLusPhotography.etsy.com

34. Renee - BelleSirota.etsy.com - 20% of sales will go to the EFAcharity of themonth (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)

35. Gena - Dogonwear.etsy.com - 100% to spay day
36. Annette - http://dragonhouseofyuen.etsy.com 20% from each baby hare will be donated to a rabbit rescue and have free shipping.

37 Pey - http://peylu.etsy.com

Australian Bushfire Appeal.

A good way to help raise funds for the tragic victims of the Australian Bush fires, is to buy something from the fabulous shop that has been set up with wonderful donations from Etsy Artists to help out.

http://OzBushfireAppeal.etsy.com

This is the introduction from their shop:

This shop has been set up in response to the Australian Bushfire Tragedy. Australian and other Etsians from around the globe have donated items for sale. All items have free International Shipping. NEW ITEMS listed almost around the clock right now, thanks to the generosity of Etsians from around the globe. Please visit us often. Sales from all items will be donated to the Australian Red Cross every week.

A quick look through their shop, and I can say that there is something for everyone, a fabulous selection of items, and a very good way to help the Appeal. Check it out!

SASHA Farm Silent Auction

SASHA is a farmed animal sanctuary in Manchester, Michigan. We have more than 200 rescued animals living on 65 beautiful acres, each one of them receiving all of the love and care our volunteers have to give. Our residents have come from a variety of rotten circumstances,but now each one has a safe place to call home for the rest of their lives. In order to raise the money needed to house, feed, and provide medical care for our animals, SASHA holds fundraisers like the SilentAuction. Donated items are put up for bid and our guests come armed with their wallets to support the farm! If you'd like to donate an item for the auction, we'd be grateful for the help! The value of your donation is tax deductible, and if you'd like to send along some business cards I'll display them with your item. Your etsy store address or website will also be listed on the bid sheet, so our attendees know where to find you. The deadline for donations (vegan items only, please!) is April 4. For more info about the farm, check out the website at www.sashafarm.org and the blog at www.sashafarm.org/blog/. My email is JasperKat2@yahoo, please contact me with any questions! And check out the album named "SASHA Farm Sanctuary if you'd like to see pics of some of our animals, they're pretty darn cute.

Christmas Room to Help Animals

The wonderful organisation 'It'sMeowOrNever' have set up a virtual Christmas Room to raise funds for their animal shelter. It's a fabulous idea to raise funds and very festive. This is my understanding of how it works:
Shops have donated 'virtual gifts', which have been listed in the Christmas Room, with a donation amount under it. Anyone can buy a donation, and the virtual gift will appear in the Christmas Room, to help decorate it. It's such a fun, novelty idea. The room has already started to be decorated, check it out at: http://www.itsmeowornever.org/xmas/xmas_room.asp