Puppy Stores

Posted on by NHARL in Campaigns

Despite many legislative attempts to ban the retail sale of dogs in New Hampshire, the practice remains legal.

We hold monthly protests of The Puppy Palace in Manchester and will provide signs to anyone wishing to protest at another puppy store.

Speaking up for pigs at the Market Days Festival

Posted on by NHARL in In the News

We are thrilled to share the news of our successful outreach efforts at the Market Days Festival in downtown Concord, NH, June 20- 22, 2024. 

During this three-day event, we invited visitors to get to know pigs as the smart, sentient beings they are and drew attention to how much they suffer when raised for food.

To welcome our visitors, we offered cans of vegan cold brew coffee from RISE Brewing Co. as well as a selection of plant-based milks.

Seeing is Believing

Visitors to our booth were invited to watch the following 1-minute video about pigs, titled, Do You Think That I’m Thinking?

Pig Quiz

We drew people to our booth by asking if they wanted to take a quiz about pigs, which most were happy to do. The quiz opened the door for a conversation about the inherent cruelty of raising pigs for food.

Results: While we didn’t get all the completed quizzes back (some people kept them), below are the results for roughly 200 quizzes handed in: 

Posters

We had a selection of thought-provoking posters, some of which we hung outside the tent, making use of what was essentially free “billboard” space!

Pig Toys

We gave out squeaky pig toys, popular with young and old.

Goodie Bags

We handed out more “goodie bags” containing vegan literature (sampling below).

Swigs for Pigs!

During the festival, we advertised our upcoming screening of The Last Pig in the hopes of attracting the “veg curious” to come see this powerful film.

This is an invitation-only event designed to reach not-yet vegans. The film is also available online.

Thank you!

Thank you to all our supporters and everyone who stopped by to learn about how wonderful pigs are and why we should not eat them.

Sat., Jun 14, 2025 – Portsmouth Market Square Day!

Posted on by NHARL in Events (Passed)

We’re excited to announce that NHARL will be supporting Voices of Wildlife in NH at the very popular Portsmouth Market Square Day this year! 

Our topic is safe and humane rodent management, emphasizing the importance of avoiding rodenticides.

This is a full day event (9 am to 4 pm) with an estimated 50,000 people walking through! Volunteers are warmly welcomed! Click signup button or email info@nhanimalrights.org. 

Sign up

Destruction of Nesting Birds

Posted on by NHARL in Campaigns, In the News

Sign Our Letter

Sign Letter to Hold Market Basket Accountable for Destroying Nesting Birds

On May 13-14, 2024, as part of a parking lot repaving and upgrade project, Market Basket in Milford, NH dredged a half acre of wetland at the entrance to their property. 

Market Basket wetland before dredging (Aug 2023)

Created in 1995, the pond was designed to capture rainwater. Over the decades, cattails filled the area and the pond became a wetland nesting site for red-winged blackbirds and grackles.

In May, blackbirds are actively building nests, sitting on eggs, and feeding hatchlings.

Such was the case at Market Basket, where blackbirds were seen flying in and out of the reeds, to and from their nests.  

Although the Market Basket store manager and the contractor, Continental Paving, were made aware of the presence of the birds, they proceeded with the dredging anyhow.

After being brushed aside when she expressed concern for the birds to the Market Basket store manager, one determined woman stood with a sign to inform shoppers.

Others joined her, some vowing never to shop at Market Basket again.

Concerned citizen informs shoppers

A knowledgeable Milford resident got involved and immediately sent an urgent alert to the state and federal agencies with jurisdiction over migratory birds asking them to step in and protect the birds. 

End of Day 1 (May 13)

By the end of the first day of dredging, more than half the pond was gone and countless blackbird eggs, nestlings, and fledgings had been destroyed.

Adult birds with food and nesting material in their beaks flew about frantically looking for their young.

A red-winged blackbird (circled) searches where his nest used to be.

Day 2 (May 14)

On the second day of the dredging project, we returned, with hope that the agencies charged with protecting birds would intervene. 

Instead, we watched helplessly as the massive digger destroyed the rest of the habitat.

As the excavator advanced relentlessly, we watched as adult birds, having waited as long as they could, finally flew out of the reeds, leaving their young behind. 

We also filmed it.

One protester spotted a lone fledgling and entered the pond to rescue him. Making her way toward the bird, she begged the machine operator to stop, pointing to the baby bird, but he kept going.

Protester enters pond to rescue a fledging.

She was able to scoop up the bird and contacted rehabilitator Maria Colby of Wings of the Dawn for guidance.

Too young to fend for himself, the bird was brought to the rehabilitator for care until he is old enough to be released. 

The lone rescued baby bird

The Fight Is Not Over

The woman who started this campaign by standing alone with a sign outside Market Basket wrote a song about what happened and put it on YouTube:   

While the fight is over for the birds who lost their lives and homes, it is not over for us!

We are working to hold Market Basket accountable and ensure that such reckless disregard for wildlife and wildlife habitat does not happen again.

Promoting Plant-Based Diets for Dogs at Mutt Strutt

Posted on by NHARL in In the News

On May 19, 2024, NHARL had a booth at the Manchester Animal Shelter’s Mutt Strutt, where we promoted plant-based diets for dogs.

Note: The French bulldog in the slideshow was purchased at The Puppy Palace in Manchester, then surrendered to the Manchester Animal Shelter when the purchaser realized he was sick. A shelter volunteer adopted him.

Can Your Dog Be Vegan?

Until recently, little data was available about the health of dogs on vegan diets. But there are now eight such studies in leading scientific journals, and all but one found that the healthiest and least hazardous diet for dogs is a nutritionally sound vegan diet.

We sent visitors to our booth home with sample servings of V-dog Kind Kibble and Wild Earth Performance Formula Dog Food — both brands are fully vegan — so they could try the food without having to buy a whole bag.

And we gave out a variety of “meaty” plant-based dog treats from Bright Earth, which were a big hit with the dogs who stopped by our table.

Thank you to our volunteers and everyone who stopped by to learn about vegan diets for dogs!

Promoting Our Wildlife Programs

Posted on by NHARL in In the News

Today NHARL had an exhibit at the Saving Special Places conference in Alton, NH to promote our various wildlife protection programs, coordinated by our volunteer Wildlife Programs Promoter, Caelin Graber. 

The conference attracted professionals working in conservation, land trusts, and natural resources management, so it was a perfect networking opportunity for NHARL.

One of our talented (and humble) members created this beautiful banner, printed on eco-friendly canvas

The colorful artwork drew visitors to our table and was the perfect starting point for talking about our wildlife programs and the philosophy of just leaving nature alone.

We gave out packets of native wildflower seeds.  

We also handed out postcards (shown below) with more information about our programs and copies of our Landowner’s Guide to Protecting Your Property.

New requests for free No Hunting signs are already coming in!

NHARL will be taking this “Choose Coexistence” exhibit on the road throughout the spring and summer to farmers’ markets and other events.

How you can help fight climate change

Posted on by NHARL in Articles & Letters

Letter to the Editor
The Concord Monitor
March 4, 2024

Regarding the Feb. 22 My Turn in the Concord Monitor that is making the most read list, “Our first Virginia winter? How climate change has impacted NH” by Eric Orff, I would like to respond.

Mr. Orff’s My Turn is an important reminder to everyone that climate change is real and happening faster than anyone thought it would. His voice is hugely important because it is being listened to by others who may still be on the fence about climate change. Our carbon footprint is weighing heavily on the only home we have. Some footprints are heavier than others. People who eat meat and dairy have footprints that are 73% higher than people who eat no meat or dairy.

Many of us can’t afford electric vehicles or solar panels but one inexpensive thing we can all do is to eat less meat and dairy, maybe even none.

I recently took an online quiz to see what my carbon footprint is. It came back with these remarks: “Avoiding animal products makes a big difference in your carbon footprint. Cows and sheep are ruminants that let out large amounts of methane gas, and the fact that you prioritize plant-based foods makes an even bigger difference. A completely plant-based diet has about 15% less carbon footprint than even a vegetarian diet that includes eggs and dairy products.”

Thank you, Mr. Orff, for your My Turn. Let’s all start helping by eating more plant based foods, which not only helps the planet, but our own health too.

BJ WAHL
Sullivan

Pet Store Puppies

Posted on by NHARL in Companion Animals

Bought a Sick Pet Store Puppy? What You Can Do

Many people unknowingly buy a sick puppy from a New Hampshire pet store. If this happens to you, there are things you can do to help prevent it from happening to other people — and puppies. Follow these suggestions, and contact us if you need help.
It is well documented that the majority of pet store puppies come from “puppy mills.” A puppy mill is a commercial breeding operation that disregards the well-being of dogs for profit. Animals are housed in crowded and often unsanitary conditions. To maximize profits, female dogs will be bred at every opportunity with little or no respite between litters. When they are worn out or no longer able to reproduce, breeding females are often killed.
Photo Credit: Michelle Heath Photography

Despite the growing trend to adopt a homeless dog rather than support an industry that profits from bringing more animals into the world, there are five pet stores in New Hampshire that still sell puppies.

These pet stores purchase dogs from commercial breeders located in faraway places such as Arkansas and Missouri. The puppies are handed over to truck drivers to be transported halfway across the country to New Hampshire, displayed like a product, and sold to anyone with a credit card.