some animals won on Tuesday too!

I guess we're all still getting over our election fever. Amazing! The results of my blog's poll were interesting too.....51 votes total, here was the breakdown: 26 for McCain, 23 for Obama, and 2 undecided. Thanks for voting!

Obama wasn't the only winner on Tuesday. Some states had amendments on their ballots that would greatly benefit animals, and I'm so pleased to announce that they passed! First, in California, voters approved Proposition 2, which will ban some of the worst cruelty to animals raised for food in that state: keeping egg-laying chickens in battery cages so small that they can't spread their wings, keeping veal calves in crates for their entire miserable short lives, and keeping pregnant pigs in crates so small that they can't take a step forward or backward or turn around. Unfortunately, animals in California won't be given these basic rights until 2015 (why must the animals wait???), and hopefully the rest of the nation will follow suit in the interim.

Since many consumers often don't get to see firsthand (or choose to ignore) the living conditions that their food source endures, PETA took the conditions directly to the consumer. Many Californians supported Prop 2 after seeing PETA's lifelike displays of pig gestation crates in front of grocery stores:

Shoppers were asked to reconsider their purchase of sausage, ham, bacon, pork chops, and ribs. And to vote for Prop 2. And they did.

Another significant victory for animals came on the east coast. Voters in Massachusetts passed Question 3, which will ban greyhound racing across the state by 2010. Fabulous! Dogs who are used for racing typically spend 20 hours per day confined to cages that are too small for many of these large dogs to stand completely upright. The animals are also highly susceptible to injuries, including fractures, dislocations, lacerations, and amputations. And because injured dogs are no longer of use to the industry (i.e., they no longer turn a buck), they are often just killed.

A landmark day for animals!