by Stacy Calvert

Created on: December 19, 2009

Many animal rights organizations, like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society, offer easy ways to alert your local politicians to animal cruelty and other animal rights violations.  

Registering to receive these groups' newsletters gives you the opportunity to receive notice via e-mail of animal abuse cases.  These may include instances of mistreatment by individuals whose cases are about to go to trial, for example, or institutionalized abuse at medical labs, massive factory farms, circuses, or slaughterhouses.

Included in these e-mails are links enabling you to send messages to legislators and legal officials, urging them to act on the behalf of defenseless animals.  These groups have simplified the letter writing campaign process immensely, leaving you to simply send the e-mail, preferably after having customized it.  

PETA and other organizations often offer tips in these alerts.  You are encouraged to make the letter your own, changing the subject line, for example, so that the recipient doesn't see the same one repeatedly.  The notion of receiving a mass e-mail, worded the same way each time, may diminish its effectiveness.  

That's why it is a good idea to word the subject line in a way that reflects how the case impacted you individually.  If, for example, the original subject line was "Please Help Create Legislation to Improve Factory Farm Conditions," maybe you could alter it to read "Please End the Appalling Crowding of Animals on Factory Farms."  

The same goes for the wording of the letter itself.  It might be a good idea to shorten it to include only the most vital information, since the first few e-mails probably came from animal rights groups, and included all the facts.  Most importantly, be polite and respectful, and never embellish the truth in your letter or come across as irrational.  Fortunately, you won’t even have to worry about how to properly address the recipient, since his or her name is already in the letter in the correct format.

After sending your e-mail, you can usually forward a request to your friends to send the letter as well.  Just be sure you only send these requests to animal lovers, and include notes letting your friends know you won’t be offended if they don’t want to receive similar e-mails in the future. 

Finally, following up with a polite phone call enhances the effectiveness of your e-mail or letter.  Phone numbers and other contact information are often supplied by animal rights groups to encourage you to make that final step.

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