HOW YOU CAN HELP
There are plenty of ways individual people can help ensure that animals be better protected from cruelty, suffering and disrespect.
1. Help us help the animals by making a donation to Eyes on Animals. Eyes on Animals is dependent upon caring people to help ensure our work can continue. All donations are greatly appreciated and used to cover our camera and computer equipment, our vehicle, veterinarian bills, flights costs, gasoline, office supplies, and other things that help us remain professional and effective in the field.
2. Volunteer some time and your skills to Eyes on Animals. We are new and small, and thus would greatly appreciate any help with the following:
-correction and translation Dutch/English and English/Dutch as well as English/German and German/English.
-organizing fundraising events for us to help guarantee that we can finance future inspections
3. Write letters to the retailers (grocery stores, petstores etc...) informing them that you disapprove of certain products that they have on their shelves.
You can equally write them letters about products that you approve of, encouraging them to continue stocking their shelves with these products!
Congratulate Dutch retailers that have taken action to decrease animal suffering. See the section "Industry Improvements" on our homepage to learn more. For example various Dutch supermarkets and German and Dutch slaughterhouses have decided to phase out the castration of male pigs, and several poultry slaughterhouses in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands have abandoned the electric stunning of poultry (which caused extreme amount of pain and was inefficient) for the more ethical alternative of gas stunning.
4. Write to your government and local authorities about your feelings concerning animal welfare. Should you disapprove of long distance transport of animals for slaughter, tell them this! Should you wish that your country bans the import of fur products, tell them this too. Do you want your hometown to refuse circuses with live animals from coming, write your mayor. Every voice counts and these letters have more of an effect than one thinks!
5. Educate yourself on a topic and spread the message- by talking to friends, teachers and colleagues about it.
6. Become a wise consumer and don't buy products that are not trustworthy or humane. We at Eyes on Animals encourage people to think twice about the animal products they eat. Try becoming vegan, or vegetarian, or at least eat less meat and dairy and be sure that the meat and dairy products you wish to consume come from fair farmers that adhere to rules that better respect the behavioural and emotional needs of animals. Read the labels carefully. Should you really enjoy the taste of meat and dairy, then spend the extra dime or euro to ensure that the animal at least had a better quality of life than offered to animals used in cheaper production systems. If you are not sure a label is trustworthy, write the company and ask for proof that their systems are better; suggest that you visit their farms, or that they at least send you photos of their farms. For those based in Amsterdam, the Noordemarkt every Saturday has local farmers selling their products, many include photos of their farms and encourage people to visit! Animals raised under various labelling schemes are usually handled much better than under standard production practices. Check for Milieukeur in Holland, Label Rouge in France, Bio in Germany etc....
Check where your products come from, and what materials are used. Many jackets are now lined with fur trimmings, and they are usually real fur! Even if the price is low, do not assume that it is fake. Fur, especially from China, is incredibly cheap.
Buy cosmetic and cleaning products from companies that state clearly that they do not perform animal testing and that their products are not harsh to the environment.
7. Should you have a good idea, but need help (for example, finding the correct person to address your letter to, or getting more information about a label on a product) then contact us at Eyes on Animals (go to "contact" in the homepage). We do not have all the answers, but can do our best to help you or at least try to send you in the right direction.