For the month of November (and hopefully beyond!) I will be taking part in Animal Aid’s ‘The Great Vegan Challenge’.

Apart from animal slaughter, there are intractable ethical problems associated with dairy products and eggs. One of the key objections to the dairy industry is that, in order to maximize milk yields, dairy cows are typically kept pregnant nine months out of every year. And as a result, the dairy industry is awash with unwanted calves. And since male dairy calves are obviously unable to produce milk, and aren’t the correct breed to be raised as beef, they are generally raised for veal or slaughtered at birth. The male counterparts of egg-laying hens don’t fare any better; most of these animals are either smothered or ground up alive immediately after hatching. In the United States alone, about 200 million male chicks are discarded in this manner each year.

From an environmental point of view, a vegan diet likewise makes enormous sense. There’s no doubt that raising crops directly for food requires fewer resources, and generates less waste, than feeding crops to animals. What’s more, scientists are unanimous that the methane production associated with livestock is one of the key factors in global warming—quite possibly exceeding the impact of all greenhouse gases generated by cars, airplanes, trains, and ships.

I will be raising money for a wonderful cause - New Hope Animal Rescue. New Hope is dedicated to helping animals on death row & animals with medical needs. They aim to help as many animals as they can, given their circumstances and in particular, animals that have been turned away elsewhere. Animals that are considered not to be suitable to be rehomed, or animals that have not been able to find a home, whether because of medical conditions or behavioural issues remain under the care of New Hope or are placed in other non-destruct organisations.

Animals with special requirements are not destroyed as these are the very animals New Hope strives to help. They live with Niall (New Hope's founder) & other members of New Hope permanently, many are found sanctuary homes for a lifetime of happiness & understanding of the particular animal’s needs.

Their vet bills are very large, as they endeavour to help any animal that needs help whatever the costs might amount to, and have seen vet bills during the course of a year running into thousands of pounds.

If you can spare even a couple of pounds , I (and the animals) would be extremely grateful.

Thank you!

Gemma xxx