June 10-11, 2025 – Support Us During NH Gives!
We’re excited to once again be part of NH Gives! Join us on June 10–11 for this day of giving and support causes that strengthen our community.
Between June 10-11, visit nhgives.org and donate to NH Animal Rights League or explore and support any of the other amazing nonprofits working to make New Hampshire stronger. Giving ends at 5:00 PM on June 11.
Founded on the core belief that animals deserve to live free from human harm, NHARL is committed to fostering a compassionate world. We strive to achieve this through public education, aiding animals in crisis, and inspiring others to advocate for animal well-being.
In the past year, we’ve advanced our mission by:
- Providing free “No Hunting” signs to protect wildlife
- Mobilizing public support for key legislative efforts
- Promoting a vegan lifestyle
- Organizing demonstrations against animal cruelty
- Writing opinion pieces and letters to the editor
- Funding peaceful coexistence initiatives with wildlife, including beavers
- Looking into animal welfare issues brought to our attention
Your generosity helps to continue this work, helping more animals escape exploitation, cruelty, neglect, and abuse.
With gratitude,
Joan O’Brien, President
and the NHARL Board of Directors
Revealing the Dark Side of Dairy at the Farm and Forest Expo
NH Animal Rights League is pleased to share the news of our successful outreach efforts at the Farm, Forest, and Gardening Expo held at the Deerfield Fairgrounds.
During this 2-day event (May 3- 4), we revealed the dark side of dairy in a welcoming, non-theatening way (or, at least, that was the intent) and made sure everyone who stopped left knowing that despite the idyllic scenes on milk cartons, dairy cows suffer on even the best of farms.
Visitors to our booth were invited to take a quiz in exchange for a plant-based milk or milk chocolate treat!
Quiz for Adults
Answers are at the end of this post.
Quiz for Kids
Answers are at the end of this post.
Reactions and Results
Very few adults or kids got 100% on the quizzes. As we helped people correct their tests, we indirectly revealed the suffering and exploitation that takes place on dairy farms.
The folks who did do well on the quizzes were the dairy farmers and their families. And since the Farm and Forest Expo is a trade show for people who grow crops, trees, and, of course, animals, we met a lot of dairy farmers.
Surprisingly, many dairy farmers happily took the quiz. Some are so steeped in the industry, that they matter-of-factly answered the questions correctly without even recognizing that we were making the point that dairy is cruel.
Others were defensive and wanted to argue. They told us that they take good care of their animals, not like factory farms. We had long conversations with some of these folks, acknowledging that they care but also maintaining that dairy and animal agriculture are fundamentally cruel.
The NH Dept. of Agriculture was at the event, and based on our observations and interactions, there was clearly a contingent who were unhappy with our presence.
On the bright side, we met a handful of vegans and vegetarians, and just about everyone who sampled the Not Milk chocolate milk, Silk vanilla milk, Ripple original milk, plant-based Reeses, or Lindt oat milk chocolate bar, declared it to be delicious. (Of course, some stubbornly refused to even try what we were offering.)
Free Pins!
Kids enjoyed selecting from an assortment of free pins. It was a hoot watching kids from meat-eating families joyfully pinning on “Friends Not Food” buttons.
Lighthearted Posters
We purchased four fun and colorful posters online to make the case for ditching dairy in a lighthearted way.
Quiz Answers!
Answers to the Kids’ quiz:
Answers to the Adult quiz:
Unhappy Sights
Naturally, we saw beasts of burden and other exploited animals at the event.
There was also a distressing exhibit put on by New Hampshire State Parks inviting visitors to match the skulls of dead animals with their pelts and trying to pass itself off as “conservation.” Some of us expressed our dismay and were told that the animals had died of natural causes.
Someone in the parking lot had this poster on their windshield.
Wonder who? 🙂
Let Go and Let Nature Be
The world is losing nature at a remarkable pace, and New Hampshire is no exception. The crisis spares no creature — mammals, fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and even the tiniest invertebrates are disappearing.
The culprits? Rampant development, widespread pesticide use, and climate change. Safeguarding habitats is no longer enough — we must enable nature to expand.
The good news is that simply by letting land be, allowing nature to reclaim its space, we can help imperiled species rebound.
83% of land in the U.S. is privately owned. If we planted native on 50% of private land we would restore biodiversity… and we can do it starting NOW.
9 ways to promote wildlife
- Don’t mow
- Leave leaves
- Keep your trees!
- Plant for pollinators
- Landscape for wildlife
- Use non-lethal methods to deter unwelcome wildlife
- Lights off at night
- Retire your bug zapper
- Build homes for animals
Pledge A Plot
How much of your land are you prepared to dedicate to the wild?Resources
- Doug Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park
- Nancy Lawson, The Humane Gardener
NHARL Turtle Brigade
Turtles look tough, but they are in trouble! New Hampshire has 7 species of turtles, and 4 are considered in greatest need of conservation.
Major threats to turtles include loss of habitat due to development and roadways. Other threats include plastic trash, dogs, non-native turtles released into the wild, and the illegal wildlife trade — that’s right, people actually steal turtles from their natural habitats here in New Hampshire and sell them, often to China.
Every turtle is a miracle! Eggs and young turtles are food for many other animals. A turtle that beats the odds and makes it to adulthood can take up to 20 years to reproduce.
Ways to help turtles
- Watch for turtles crossing the road and assist them if necessary
- Support conservation efforts
- Don’t disturb nesting turtles
- Watch dogs around wetlands
- Learn your turtles and report sightings to
RAARP@wildlife.nh.gov - Contact NHARL to help us help turtles!
The Ride of the Turtle Brigade
On June 8, 2024, the Turtle Brigade embarked on its very first mission. Our assignment? To remind the public that it’s turtle crossing season and to LOOK OUT!
Tessa, the giant paper mache turtle, led the way as the brigade traveled from Milford, north to Goffstown, and then east to Bedford.
At predetermined locations along this route, the brigade created a spectacle and erected signs at known turtle crossing sites. The signs are intended to remain for the season and will be removed in the fall.
Fortunately, we had lovely weather, so Tessa was able to stay atop the vehicle upon which she was born to ride.
Working as a team, we were able to erect signs quite efficiently, though we did encounter a few obstacles.
The lessons we learned from the mission will help make next year’s turtle brigade even better! If you’d like to help, sign up for the Turtle Brigade (above). Monthly planning meetings will begin the first week in September. We need your creative ideas and expertise.
Our native turtles face many challenges, of which car collisions are only one. However, “every turtle is a miracle”, and every turtle matters. So, even if we helped one turtle make it across the road this season unharmed, it was worth the effort.
Oh, and we forgot to mention, it was also quite fun!
Delicious Time at Build-A-Cookie
We had a great time visiting with old and new friends at Build-A-Cookie, located in the Fox Run Mall in Newington, Saturday, March 16.
The NHARL-inspired “Lucky Dog” cookie was featured along with many other cruelty-free, allergen-friendly, and gluten-free treats.
Huge thanks to cookie queen Alex and her Build-A-Cookie team for their delicious baked goods and support.
Yes, the cookies and brownies are as big as they look!
If you missed the meetup, be sure to visit Build-A-Cookie another time — they are open Thu, Fri, and Sat from 10:00 – 5:00 — and tell Alex NHARL sent you!
Joining the fun were lucky dogs “Sunny” (left) and “Kowalski” (right) who enjoyed the dog-friendliness of the mall (but not really each other).
Kangaroos Are Not Shoes! (Repeat Performance)
Chanting “Kangaroos Are Not Shoes — Don’t Be a Dick’s,” the New Hampshire Animal Rights League once again stormed Dick’s Sporting Goods, this time in Concord, calling on the store to stop selling shoes made from kangaroo skins.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is the country’s largest distributor of kangaroo-based soccer cleats made by Germany-based Adidas, Japanese-based Mizuno, and other companies.
Australia’s commercial kangaroo industry kills almost two million wild kangaroos each year. Commercial shooters are permitted to kill mother kangaroos even when the joeys are still in their pouch.
Joeys are left to die, bludgeoned to death, or decapitated (see “Guidelines for euthanasia of dependent young and wounded or injured kangaroos” in Australia’s National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies).
The kangaroo massacre represents the world’s largest slaughter of land-based wildlife on the planet.
The protest was in support of the Kangaroos Are Not Shoes campaign by the Center for a Humane Economy. Since the launch of the campaign, Puma, Nike, and New Balance have all announced commitments to halt the sale of kangaroo-based shoes.
A Bit of Media Coverage
Newspaper coverage of our protest caught the attention of InDepth NH reporter Roger Wood, who then interviewed NHARL president Joan O’Brien for his podcast.
