Wre ANwho we areD WHAT WE DO
We are a small group of animal liberation activists living in Panama: our group of activists is a mixture of immigrants from many countries, as well as local Panamanians. We have one dream and one purpose in common!
Total animal liberation within one generation!
Our moral baseline is animal liberation activism and not veganism.
While we all agree that going vegan is great and that by not including animals in our diet or refusing to use animals in other ways we are taking a position which is positive for the movement, we also believe that being vegan is THE LEAST WE CAN DO and that we can take things further through Non Violent Direct Action in the form of slaughterhouse vigils, disruptions, demos, street theatre, Earthlings Outreach and many many more forms of activism. Of course we respect vegans that are not activists however we hope we can make you feel comfortable enough to join us in activism and take the extra step the animals need so urgently.
By engaging in disruptions we show society a problem that's already there but that needs to be brought out in the open: the systematic exploitation of animals in all its nasty and cruel unnecessary variations.
By doing investigations and by publishing our findings we bring to the open the hidden cruelty and the inhumane ways animals are being bred for food and other products. Big Ag and commerce are well honed in hiding these truths from us and know exactly to embellish the hideous ways of animal agriculture so consumers feel their conscience is put at ease ( by for instance claiming eggs come from hens that are free range-while no such thing exists) Or by claiming that animals are kept and slaughtered "humanely". There is NO "humane" way to breed and slaughter an animal just for consumption!
By doing (open) rescues we not only save an animal from imminent slaughter and from a life of misery and abuse before their slaughter takes place: by documenting these open rescues we can tell the story of the individual animals and create a connection between the public and this individual. All animals are different with different personalities. Animals feel pain and sorrow, abandonment and fear-as well as love-just as human animals do. Motherhood is experienced exactly the same no matter what someone's species is.
By organizing vigils we bear witness to the last moments in the life of animals as they enter the slaughterhouse. Activists stand with the animals and give them as much love as they possibly can in these short minutes. We document these impactful moments and show the raw emotions on the faces of each animal as they go to their horrible faith. Activists feel profound loss and bond tremendously with the animals during vigils. Sharing these images through social media opens many hearts and minds.
We show what really goes on inside animal industries by showing videos with high graphic content such as the 2006 documentary Earthlings. Our outreach activists step up and engage in conversation with the public and help them make the connection: animals are not here for us: there are here for them. we typically hold this kind of activism in well populated and traveled areas such as public parks, universities and fairs.
Some more specifics about our different groups of activism:
Liberación Animal Panamá Inc. is a registered 50 (a) (3) Non Profit Corporation registered in Delaware, USA. We are currently working on establishing a legal body for Liberación Animal Panama in Panama as well.
Liberación Animal Panama Inc is the "umbrella" for the different groups of activism and animal advocacy that we have started specifically in the province of Chiriqui, Panama.
Because our province is the bread basket of Panama, most larger factory farms and animal agriculture are found in this area which is the size of the island of Jamaica.
In this province alone there are more than 12 slaughterhouses, several large chicken "factories/slaughterhouses" as well as several new CAFO projects in the making.
We work toward our ultimate goals of animal liberation using different tools and different forms of activism. In order to give our activists and friends a to-go-to location online where all current activities of animal advocacy can be found under one roof, we are building this small platform called Liberacion Animal Panama to be a meeting place, support and reference for anybody who is working with animal liberation in mind.
Read our Manifesto here. We have big plans for the coming year and we need your help to realize these plans.
1. David Animal Save is a branch of the Animal Save Movement.
Animal Save Movement started in Canada by Anita Krajc and her dog Mr. Bean. When they saw the suffering of the animals mainly pigs in this case, Anita and Mr. Bean started to hold vigils for the animals entering the slaughterhouse.
Animal Save Movement has grown exponentially in the past years and now has 1200 groups divided into 3 different branches. Animal Save, Climate Save and Health Save.
David Animal Save holds weekly Vigils at the slaughterhouse in Pedregal, David, where thousands of innocent animals get murdered each week. We aim at starting or helping others start new Save Chapters in other locations of Chiriqui Province such as Dolega, Bugaba and Potrerillos which also have slaughterhouses. Our goal is to have Save Groups in place at every slaughterhouse in the province within the next calendar year so that there are Vigils every single week of the year, at all the slaughterhouses in Chiriqui Province.
For more information about The Save Movement International please click on this link
2. David Health Save Movement
The Health Save Movement is another branch of Animal Save Org.
Our mission is to prevent disease, improve global health and enhance food justice by pushing towards a Change in the food system.
A healthy vegan diet is one of our most powerful tools for the individual and systemic
change we urgently need. As such, it has to be known by everyone as not only adequate but beneficial for health, to be officially recommended and to be available everywhere.
We can achieve this by:
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Raising awareness with the public about the health benefits of a whole-foods vegan diet and the risks of unhealthy animal sourced foods.
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Working with the public and private sectors to increase the quality, quantity and diversity of the available healthy vegan foods within the community.
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Taking action at the individual level to end food insecurity through healthy plant-based foods.
For more information about Health Save Movement in general please read more here
For information on how to join our David Health Save branch, please click here
For information on starting your own chapter, please email us
3. We organize NonViolent Direct Action.
We hold disruptions in places where the exploitation and use of animals is normalized, such as in restaurants, fast food chains, rodeo's, "pet" shops, live animal markets, universities where they are still performing research on live animals or raising them to train future butchers.
We speak out for the animals, opening up the public's minds and hearts to the terrible fate of animals, caused by us, humans.
For more information about joining Non-Violent Direct Action with Liberación Animal Panama please click here.
4. We organize Vegan Outreach with our group @EarthlingsPanama.
This Vegan Outreach organizations consists of a group of dedicated activists wearing white masks and holding computers and laptops that show the movie Earthlings to the audience. A smaller movement, started in England when two sisters started riding the subway wearing white masks while holding their screens on their laps and showing the horrible images about animal farming from the documentary Earthlings. ( watch it here)
In Panama, this activism is being held in very public places such as David Central Park and in the Universities. Other activists in the group work the public by giving education and information about what is happening in Animal Agriculture. We invite people to go vegan for a month and we give them the instruments to do so through Facebook mentoring, brochures, and personal contact with mentors of our group. For more information about Earthlings Experience, please click here.
5. We investigate situations of abuse, falsehood in marketing such as offering "free range chickens and eggs" which is a myth, and we show that"humane slaughter" and "organic eggs" are marketing techniques used to coax the public into buying cruel products with a clear conscience.
We organize undercover investigations and make videos inside slaughterhouses and factory farms and dairy farms and expose the truth to the people through conventional as well as through social media.
6. We perform open rescues when possible and document these cases in social media. We place rescued animals with private persons until a sanctuary can be financed where the rescued animals can live a safe life. Since Panama is a dangerous country when it comes to disrupting what is its main livelihood - animal agriculture- , we also continue our undocumented "not open" rescues. In these cases we will tell the stories of each individual and will document as completely as possible where the abuse takes place without divulging the exact location as this could lead to serious repercussions for the organizers and activists.
7. We organize small trap neuter and release projects for feral cats in rural areas. Where possible we rehome.
8. We sponsor several rescued animals for spaying/neutering every month and foster at least one or two animals a month in our private home.
9. We organize one monthly sponsored mobile spay /neuter clinic in rural Indigenous areas of Panama, where the population is poor and where fertile dogs and cats abound. Many of these animals die in horrendous circumstances after having lived horrible lives, giving birth several times a year - causing an overpopulation of stray sick dogs and cats.
10. We organize online activism and petitions - for instance to get jail time for criminals that hurt and/or murder animals; we are trying to achieve a complete fur-ban in Panama, as well as a ban on cock fighting and rodeos, and eradicate the trade in exotic animals.
These petitions are being offered to the National Legislative Body in Panama City, where influence and pressure are greatest.
11. We investigate and make house calls where needed. Many cases of animal abuse are reported to a small group of rescuers each and every day and as far as we have transport and manpower we try to improve the living situation of all animals we are called to check on.
This usually means we document the abuse and follow up by filing legal complaints with the local authorities after which we follow up on the execution of the rulings and make sure the animals in question get rehomed and rehabilitated as far as is in our power.
12. We volunteer at the bi weekly local adoption fair of rescued and spayed animals, by assisting in the selection process of the adopting families, translating, and by doing home checks. We work closely together with several rescue and foster organizations, such as for instance Casa de los Animales, Ángeles con Colita, and Saldea.
13. We help ALL animals wherever that's possible! We are 100% anti-speciesist and see all animals as persons in their own way. We don't love cats and dogs yet condone the murder and exploitation of other species of animals.
14. We are in the beginning of the planning stages for an animal sanctuary on a tropical island in Panama. Animal shelters are very few and far between and in Panama NO official "farm animal" rescue exists. YET!
We need your help to make it possible to continue our work and to obtain our goals!
Liberación Animal Panamá is incorporated as a Non Profit Corporation in the state of Delaware, U.S.A and we are currently in the process of registering our foundation with the Panamanian Registry as well. Here is a link to our inscription in the Delaware Registry.
Help us make the necessary change for ALL animals, whether they are domesticated animals or "farm" animals, lab animals, wild animals or sea animals and donate monthly to the projects or activism that you identify most with!
We have a recurring monthly donation subscription which gives you the option to choose to which of our LAPD activities/activism you want to dedicate your donation. This totally depends on which activity or activism you feel you can identify most with.
And of course you also have the option to donate for individual causes as well, or to help us help one or more rescued animals, or to make a one time donation.
Everything is welcome, and very needed!
Until now the founder of Liberacion Animal Panamá, Saskia, has been paying for literally every expense out of pocket but this is becoming impossible with the growing number of activities she organizes and with the growing number of animals being rescued and rehabilitated and re-homed in save ( of course vegan) environments.
We are relying on you our fellow animal lovers to keep doing what we are doing: helping animals!
Thanks so much for being there for animals!
Saskia Marjolijn
Founder Liberación Animal Panamá
David, Chiriqui, Panamá
March 2019