Our Mission Is to Be a Voice for Voiceless Animals That Endure Cruelty Worldwide
Animal Welfare
Rejecting speciesism, we seek to end violence toward animals through activism and education, and by improving animal welfare laws as well as creating and advocating for the implementation of new animal welfare laws.
Support our work in animal welfare and help us make a difference.
Mister Deboo
Mister Deboo was a dog we rescued from a slaughter house in China where they were going to torture him, kill him, and sell him as “meat”. We helped an animal rescue organization, NO DOG LEFT BEHIND, raise money to empty this slaughter house. We decided to adopt one of the dogs. He was an ambassador for the effort to stop Animal Cruelty. When people met him, we told his story. He lived at Urban Art Retreat with two other rescued dogs until his death on November 29, 2025. We miss him terribly.
Glennie and Wayne
Wayne, a brown hound, was rescued from a Puppy Mill. Glennie, a small black mixed doggie, was left tied to a tree in a vacant lot. Both were rescued at 3 months old, & are still with us. They make our days brighter! To volunteer some time with our Animal Welfare Program, please contact us at contact@urbanartretreat.com. Get on our email list after attending a one hour orientation session. You could attend a rally for animal rights, or sign a petition to support legislation supporting animal rights, or go to city hall with others to ask for support for animals. You might like to brush the dogs, play with them, teach them tricks, provide exercise for them.
There is an insurmountable amount of unfair media coverage on animal issues and veganism. If you’re looking for something even more expansive,
Unchained TV, the world’s only free, nonprofit, vegan streaming network, has you covered.
Browse – UNCHAINEDTV <https://watch.unchainedtv.com/browse>
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Interests:
– Passing Braveheart’s Law in Illinois
– Fighting to end the dog meat trade in Asia
– H.R.6720 – Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2018
– Community outreach
– Improving standards for dog and cat food
– Fighting speciesism/discrimination against animals
– Animal rights support group
– Working along with other animal rights groups
– Establishing Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights Worldwide
Fighting Speciesism
A social justice issue is known as an ism. Prejudice is based on a perceived difference. It is a fixed set of beliefs that a person holds even when reality proves to be different from those beliefs. Since prejudice does not allow for change, it hinders a person’s growth.
There are many isms such as racism, ageism, heterosexism/homophobia, ableism, sexism, classism. Isms are destructive. Species-ism is regarding non-human animals as inferior and less important.
It is important for people to care for other living beings. Fighting species-ism is about feeling empathy for all living beings, for their quality of life, caring for their happiness and wellbeing.
Animal Rights Support Group
People who care for animals are animal lovers. Some pay attention to the lives of animals making sure injustice is not done to them. People may learn how to advocate for the rights and well-being of animals. Sometimes they might do this collectively and sometimes they might find themselves in a situation where they alone need to advocate on an animal’s behalf.
An animal rights support group is to support each other in the hard work of advocating for the rights of animals. It is not always an easy thing to work for animals’ rights. Many people do not agree and are in denial about protecting animals. People still eat animals, let alone hurt animals.
Because the world does not recognize animal rights, for the most part, it can be a difficult thing to work on behalf of animal rights. An animal rights advocate may even have friends who do not understand them.
Animals are still hurt and killed in labs by people in “research” using their bodies, animals are used to experiment on in the name of health and beauty products, animals are used as food, animals are used in zoos, their fur/hair/skins used as clothing/shoes/furniture by people, in hunting, as entertainment such as rodeos and bull fighting, and in many other ways by people. Animal advocates need support to continue.
The Harvard Law Review, the most important legal publication in the nation, published an article [ https://substack.com/redirect/f055690c-090e-4de5-97d8-89dbe25cd6d5?j=eyJ1IjoiMTI3M3kzIn0.NOVKyAtUwK5a6gwFDm2ZoN4KCEUUrnOE-rDEOUrOY5o ] by Justin Marceau (one of the leaders in the fight against ag-gag laws), Steffen Seitz (a promising new scholar and lawyer who just graduated from Yale Law), and Wayne Husing on the right to rescue animals from abuse.
H.R.6720 – Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act of 2018
This bill was drafted to prohibit the trade and consumption of cat and dog meat in the United States. However, it excludes a member of an Indian tribe for slaughtering and consuming dog and cat meat for religious purposes.
This bill is intended to encourage other nations to ban the trade and consumption of cat and dog meat. Since then, Congress has introduced additional legislation calling on all nations to ban the trade and consumption of dog and cat meat.
Cat and Dog Food Standards
In a capitalist society, many companies only think about their financial growth. They want to make sure they make the most profit at less cost.
The western world has become an animal-based food diet. Many products that are sold to people are sold without any information about how they affect the lives of these animals, people’s health, and the planet.
People that still follow an animal-based food diet think it is good for their health. Paying attention to what kind of food is being sold to customers for their cats and dogs, we realize it is also an animal food-based diet. People that still follow this diet can think it is also good for their cats and dogs to be vegetarian/vegan. Dogs and cats that follow a vegetarian/vegan diet have normal weight.
Community Outreach
We have a responsibility to educate the people we connect to in our every day lives about animal welfare issues. People are hoping to learn something new from others every day. People might have a priority in their lives as to what they consider to be more important to care for. It is important for people to realize that no matter how unique the matters they care about are, they are all connected.
When you care about the well-being of animals you are making a statement about the importance of other areas of our lives. Caring for the well-being of a living being is holistic, meaning it involves all aspects of their lives. It involves caring for their needs, their happiness, being treated with justice, respect, peace, kindness. It involves the whole planet since we all live on it. When people realize all things are connected, then they are more open and receptive to all issues involving the lives of all living beings and our planet. Like Reverend Martin Luther King Jr said, “injustice somewhere is injustice everywhere.” We need to care for all living beings and our planet. It is our calling and our wellbeing.
Asian Dog Meat Trade
What has been a concerning matter is the dog meat trade in Asian countries. Dogs and cats in many Asian countries are being tortured and killed for their flesh. People have been abducting dogs and cats from their natural environment to exploit them. Some of these dogs were stolen from their human families. Images reveal what is being done to these animals. Most people recognize that crimes are being committed to these animals and want to do something about it.
This problem has received the attention of people worldwide. In response, animal rescue groups have been formed to help. More awareness is needed but change is happening. Two cities in China have banned dog meat sales and consumption. Zhuhai and Shenzhen lead the way and No Dogs Left Behind will stand with them and continue to fight until all of China implements laws as such.
This photo of a black Great Dane is a pooch we adopted after partnering with No Dogs Left Behind to raise money to bring dogs to the United States from Yulin, China. Dogs were in slaughterhouses being prepared to be tortured, killed, and eaten. We hope when people hear each dog’s story, they will help bring awareness to the issue of animals being eaten.
Passing Braveheart’s Law
Did you know that most animal cruelty cases in the United States end without trial or conviction? Even with strong animal cruelty laws, states often struggle to enforce the laws due to limited resources. Because they are inundated with cases involving crimes against people, courts frequently dismiss animal cruelty cases or permit defendants to participate in diversionary programs that leave no record of the offense and result in a slap on the wrist and meaningless probation. While thinking about the victims of egregious acts of animal cruelty not receiving justice is heartbreaking and tragic to those of us who love animals, it should also be alarming to all members of society.
There is research that indicates that there is a strong link between harm to nonhuman animals and harm to human animals. One such study is by professor of criminology Amy Fitzgerald who discovered a direct link between slaughter houses and violent crime. “Local crime rates go up, especially violent crimes, wherever and whenever slaughterhouses open.” Slaughter houses are a direct threat to the lives of nonhuman animals and to the lives of human animals.
We cannot claim to value or experience true liberation as we oppress billions of others, a principle expressed in Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” A direct threat to a life anywhere is a direct threat to a life everywhere and therefore a direct threat to all life.
There is a clearly established link between animal cruelty and future violent behavior. In fact, depending on how you analyze the data, anywhere from 43% and 80% of school shooters have a history of animal cruelty. Serial killers such as Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer admitted to torturing and killing animals before they started murdering people.
Braveheart’s Law is based on Desmond’s Law, which passed in Connecticut in October 2016. Thus far, over sixty animal cruelty cases in Connecticut have had lawyers representing them in court. Our hope is to see this law passed in every state. Maine has already passed Franky’s Law. New York, New Jersey, and Michigan have introduced versions of the law. California, Oregon, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Washington, and Nevada have all asked for help introducing versions of Desmond’s Law. Please join us and help give dogs and cats a voice by contacting your representative today!
Braveheart’s Law, SB 0153, is in the senate. Let’s show that we want volunteer lawyers for cats and dogs who are victims of egregious acts of cruelty in Illinois!
Sample
Dear Senator,
Please support SB 0153 to give abused cats and dogs a voice in court. Thank you!
Please share this post!
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This bill in Illinois is named in honor of Braveheart, one of eleven dogs found living in feces and urine in the home of a man who had a previous animal cruelty conviction. When rescued, she had multiple bite wounds on her face, forelegs, and neck. Her right ear was cut in half. All of the adult dogs in the home had visible scarring on their faces and forepaws. Braveheart and the other dogs languished at Chicago Animal Care and Control as the property of her owner for months. Forfeiture should have happened sooner, so Braveheart could have been considered for foster or adoption. Instead, she was held hostage by the system. Tragically, the owner got a plea deal and had his charges reduced from seven counts of felony cruel treatment to one count of animal cruelty with only eighteen months of probation, a minor inconvenience.
This repeat offender should have had a more serious sentence, a sentence that would have protected animals and sent a strong message to the offender that animal abuse is not tolerated.
Animal cruelty needs to be taken seriously. Braveheart’s Law is a bill being introduced in Illinois that will give a voice to abused dogs and cats, and it will act as a resource to state courts by allowing judges to appoint volunteer lawyers or supervised law students to work free of charge on behalf of the animal victim. Although judges will decide whether an advocate is appointed, defense attorneys and prosecutors may also request them. The appointed advocate will monitor the case and assist the court in gathering information from animal control officers, humane agents, veterinarians, and police officers. They will also be able to advocate for forfeiture of the abused animals, so the animal can be placed in foster or adopted.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalRebellionChicago
Establishing Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights
Establishing Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights is a worldwide action event that takes place in the Fall. It is about asking local legislators to establish Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights. In honor of Rose, a chicken that was rescued from an animal farm. Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights includes:
- The right to be free- not owned- or to have a guardian acting in their best interest.
- The right to not be exploited, abused, or killed by humans.
- The right to have their interest represented in court and protected by law.
- The right to a protected home, habitat, or ecosystem.
- The right to be rescued from situations of distress and exploitation.
Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights says to support legislation like SB 0153 Braveheart’s Law in Illinois. Urban Art Retreat asks local legislators to establish Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights.
Rose’s Law Week of Action event is coming up in Chicago September 27-October 4, 2020 and is a collaboration between Animal Rebellion Chicago, DXE Chicago, Slaughter Free Chicago, and more.
You can read more about Rose’s Law here: https://www.roseslaw.org/
You can read more about Braveheart’s Law here: https://www.braveheartslaw.com
Art by Cesar Quiroz, a volunteer at CUARC
The phrase “For Illinois” represents an appeal to establish Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights in the State of Illinois.
Rose is portrayed with her right wing back and her left wing forward meaning she is moving forward. Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights recognizes the rights of animals and says to support legislation that is for the good of animals and their interests such as SB 0153 Braveheart’s Law in Illinois.
This artwork is made with watercolor paper, watercolor, acrylics, color pencils, crayons and other paints. It is inspired by the logo of Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights. It represents Rose, a chicken that was rescued from an animal farm in California. The rose in the painting is because of this chicken’s name. The yellow color represents Rose as a hen being rescued. The black color is one of the colors found in Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights logo. The white, red and blue colors represent the colors found in the flag of the City of Chicago and in the flag of the State of Illinois. The number 2020 represents Rose’s Law Animal Bill of Rights Week of Action Event that will take place in September 2020
Rose recently passed away.
Madhuri Pydisetty delivered a livestream talk on the ethical, health, and environmental concerns related to dairy consumption on April 25, 2021 for the Vegan World Convergence Conference. You can watch that here,
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/climate-action-plan/home/get-involved.html
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