Our next powerful webinar — “Culture and Cruelty: Combating Traditions, Customs, and Faith that Justify the Mistreatment of Animals” — is coming up Thursday, June 12, at 8 p.m. ET. Register today!

Dear friend,

All around the world — and right here in the United States — animals are being tormented and killed in the name of “tradition.” From cockfighting rings and dogfighting pits to animal sacrifice, there are plenty of defenders of cruelty who claim they’ve got a “cultural” exemption.

You hear it in Spain with bullfighting. With cockfighting in Cajun country in Louisiana. On Hopi lands with their eagle sacrifices or with the whaling by the Makah tribe in western Washington state.

While there must be tolerance for varying beliefs and an understanding of practices tied to those traditions, there should be no tolerance for the conduct of cruelty. Just as we would not tolerate human sacrifice, infanticide, or female genital mutilation, we should also question symbolic or cultural practices that involve the torment, torture, or killing of animals.

While these customs may have origins rooted in the past, they continue to perpetuate unnecessary suffering in the name of culture or belief.

As we campaign to stop naked cruelty, we want to share with you our deconstruction of the arguments of apologists for cruelty. If you want to help end this kind of suffering, join us for our hard-hitting webinar, “Culture and Cruelty: Combating Traditions, Customs, and Faith that Justify the Mistreatment of Animals.” We’ll confront one of the thorniest issues in animal protection and the fine line between culture and cruelty.

You’ll hear from leading voices in animal advocacy as they explore the persistence of animal cruelty cloaked in custom — and what we can do to stop it.

This free webinar will cover:

• How cultural practices perpetuate organized animal fighting in the United States and abroad
• The legal and social challenges to banning tradition-based cruelty
• Stories of change where cultural norms were replaced by compassion
• What role you can play in reshaping tradition to serve kindness over killing

You won’t want to miss this. Register today to reserve your spot.

Even if you can't attend live, register anyway and we'll send you the full recording afterward.

EVENT DETAILS
🗓 Date: Thursday, June 12, 2025
🕗 Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT
💻 Online (link provided upon registration)

This webinar is brought to you by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy as part of our free Claudia Miller Ignites Series on Animal Welfare.

Together, we can confront cruelty — no matter how old the excuse.

Please register today, and consider forwarding this invitation to someone who believes animals deserve protection — not pain masked as tradition.

For the animals,