Welcome to this July issue of the European Member Societies e-newsletter
"The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?"
It was 1789 when the philosopher Jeremy Bentham first wrote these often quoted words in the defense of animals. His words are as relevant today as they were 221 years ago.
Every day we find ourselves faced with animal cruelty and suffering on a scale Jeremy Bentham could scarcely have imagined. But while he was one of the first people to consider the lives of animals, the global animal welfare movement has grown and today we are able to work together across borders and cultures to try and improve animal welfare across the world.
In this newsletter we look at some issues and stories that affect animals everywhere: how real animal fur is used in products you might not expect, an update on the battle to end bullfighting
in Catalonia, and more stories from you about some of the animals you have helped in recent months.
I hope you enjoy this edition of the European Member Societies e-newsletter and please continue to send in your comments.
Harry
The truth about rabbit fur
Every year  an estimated 1 billion rabbits are killed around the world for their fur!
Intensively reared, thousands of rabbits in factory farms will spend 8 to 9 months in solitary cages until they are slaughtered.
Much of this fur will end up as coats, boots, hats, gloves and trim or lining for jackets and other fashion clothing items.
But there is a hidden side to rabbit fur that many people are unaware of. You may have items made of fur and not even know.
Many cat owners and cat shelters around the world have toy mice for their cats that could be made from rabbit fur. These toys are produced in China and are often not even labelled as real fur.
WSPA encourages all our member societies to raise awareness of this issue and to buy ethical alternative cat toys.
The Fur Free Alliance provides information on how to tell if something is made with real fur but if you are in any doubt, please don’t buy!
Bullfighting’s final vote
 This is history in the making! There is now a very real chance to end the blood sport of bullfighting in one of Spain’s largest regions: Catalonia.
After a huge anti-cruelty campaign, 180,000 Catalonian citizens signed a petition against bullfighting.
The regional parliament in Barcelona will vote on 28 July to ban bullfighting for good and WSPA will be there to witness this historic moment.
You can follow the voting as it happens by logging on to WSPA’s BullfightBan live twitter feed.
ICAW C - International Companion Animal Welfare Conference
The 2010 ICAWC conference will take place from 9th to 11th November in Prague, Czech Republic
. WSPA will be running a workshop at this year’s conference. If you would like to attend you can register on the ICAWC website.
Your Stories
In the February newsletter I asked you to send me stories of animals that have been directly helped by the work you do. Here is another story I received but please continue to send more in.
Helsinki Humane Society (HESY) is Finland’s oldest animal protection association. Founded in 1874, HESY rescues and rehomes hundreds of abandoned animals every year.
 Lotta the rabbit had been dumped, unwanted in a rubbish container. She was, like so many others, just one more disposable pet! Helsinki Humane Society (HESY) rescued her and when a new home was offered for her, they hoped everything would go smoothly.
Lotta was to share her new home with another rabbit called Eetu. Eetu’s owner had been lo
 oking for a suitable companion for him but when Lotta arrived Eetu began to defend his territory. He was not happy about the arrival of this new rabbit and the two of them scuffled and fought. As well as her difficulty bonding with Eetu, Lotta was also quite nervous and afraid of her new surroundings.
Fortunately her experienced owner persevered and in time Lotta was able to settle into her new home and she and Eetu became inseparable best friends.
When rehoming a new pet into a home where another animal already lives, it is very important that appropriate methods are used to introduce the animals to each other. It can often be a time consuming process for animals to bond and live together happily. It is important for organisations to highlight this issue (as HESY have done here) and ensure that new owners are prepared and can get support and advice from shelters if needed.
Other links:
Don’t forget to visit WSPA’s resource website, Animal Welfare Online, for a library of information and advice on animal welfare matters.
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