# Lush/APA campaign – thank you RFUK members



## Chris Newman (Apr 23, 2007)

Dear All,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have contributed or respond to the multitude of threads on this subjected, the passion displayed in defence of you hobby is truly magnificent, and indeed humbling – thank you all.

However, the fight is not over, sure the Lush battle has been fort, and won, but in truth the Lush campaign itself was entirely irrelevant, it was only ever about money, cheep publicity for Lush and funds for an Extreme Animal Rights organisation the APA. The impact the campaign its self has had on reptile keeping is nil, zero, if anything it has probably attracted more interest in the hobby. The issue now is what are all the funds raised in this campaign going to be used for? This is what should really concern us as keepers/conservationists – animal lovers.

The Animal Protection Agency is a limited company, as such what it does with money it acquires is largely up to it, broadly speaking a business can spend money as it see fit. The APA accounts do not show a huge amount of money coming in, which is surprising considering that amount of street collections they do, but of course such monies will be in cash. The recently formed Animal Protection Agency Foundation is, however, a charity, and therefore what it does with money it acquires is a different matter. I assume that Lush being such an ‘ethical’ company will be paying funds to the charity not the business!!! 

To date the APA Foundation has been largely dormant, 2009 it income under the threshold making formal returns. With the monies it is likely to receive from Lush it will not be able to do this. So what is the money going to be used for? Perhaps Tom Langton let the cat out of the bag in our debate on the radio when he referred to child abuse!!

From what I understand the Lush campaign specifically targeted children under 12 with various tools, quizzes, offering sweets that kind of thing, I am awaiting copies of all the instore promotional material etc and will let you know more when I receive it. I further understand that the APA intend to use funds to produce so called educational material for school children!!!!!!!! Perhaps this is where we should concentrate our efforts next!

The Lush campaign has united reptile keepers like I have never seen before, the passion, enthusiasm, determination has been exemplary, just shows what can be achieved. Let this be a beginning of something much more powerful, a united voice to protect our interests. 

Well done chaps….. 

Chris


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## Geomyda (Aug 11, 2008)

Chris, was Tom Langton not at one time, the head of Froglife? 
From memory, he has always held very negative views on Reptile and Amphibian pet keeping.


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## Pete Q (Dec 4, 2007)

Chris Newman said:


> Dear All,
> 
> I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you who have contributed or respond to the multitude of threads on this subjected, the passion displayed in defence of you hobby is truly magnificent, and indeed humbling – thank you all.
> 
> ...


I agree, it has been one if not the greatest comings together I have seen within the reptile community, I've seen lots of doom and gloom over the years but this is enough to fill anyone with hope.

The APA will look at this and realise they have a fight on their hands now like never before.

For all those who got involed, had their say, or even those that wanted to but didn't, stand by, keep fighting, your friends and hobby will need you again. : victory:


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## Geomyda (Aug 11, 2008)

We all of course owe a great deal of thanks to Chris Newman, whom, has been tireless as an advocate for our hobby and shown that through cogent, well reasoned argument, we can provide a credible repost to this impertinent young lady and her insidious organisation APA.
I was delighted to hear that the Lush operations appear to be taking down their ill informed campaign, and this morning, like so many responsible Reptile & Amphibian hobbyists I went about my Saturday routine of cleaning, feeding and generally servicing my collection feeling rather pleased that the Herp keeping community had manged to come together on this subject!
As I did this routine, now establish for almost Fifty years, I reflected on some of my long term cative Tortoises and Turtles who as individuals have been with me for nearly Forty years and I thought how their lives in captivity had stretched longer than the life of this very naive young women whom seems to have such jaundiced and malicious view of Reptile keeping. These animals, whom have bred happily in captivity, with some of them producing several generations of offspring attest to the improvements in reptile husbandry over the last few decades, and show to me beyond doubt that the hobby has a benefit to the understanding of Herpetology.
Chris, thankyou indeed for your good work in defending our just cause!!!: victory:


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## Pete Q (Dec 4, 2007)

Don't think it's over, it's still on their webpage.


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## Alfonzo (Mar 7, 2008)

Chris Newman said:


> [
> *However, the fight is not over, sure the Lush battle has been fort, and won, but in truth the Lush campaign itself was entirely irrelevant, it was only ever about money, cheep publicity for Lush and funds for an Extreme Animal Rights organisation the APA.* The impact the campaign its self has had on reptile keeping is nil, zero, if anything it has probably attracted more interest in the hobby. The issue now is what are all the funds raised in this campaign going to be used for? This is what should really concern us as keepers/conservationists – animal lovers.


What happened? Have they released a statement? I've looked away for a day or two and suddenly this has happened?! I'm a little hungover so trawling through the other thread to find out what happened it making my eyes hurt! can someone fill me in?


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

Thank you Chirs, as our spokes person we couldnt ask for better.

I agree i think if targeting children goes ahead this could be very damanging, however harder to do than they think.

I currently work in a primary school, when the term commences in september i will talk to collegues to see how the APA could break into schools and if we can cut them off before then all the better.

Keep the fight up guys, we're doing great


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## Khaos (Jul 9, 2007)

I went to check up on the Kingston store, they've removed all traces of the campaign and, the store says, are not currently 'promoting it'. Interesting...


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## Geomyda (Aug 11, 2008)

skimsa said:


> Thank you Chirs, as our spokes person we couldnt ask for better.
> 
> I agree i think if targeting children goes ahead this could be very damanging, however harder to do than they think.
> 
> ...


An idea, might be to send schools via email a pdf of the RFUK flyer, and suggest that school children might consider joining the British Herpetological Society - Junior section. Estabilshed in 1947, this fine organisation caters for all aspects of Herpetology. They are exhibiting at the FBH show on Sunday and would I am sure welcome the opportunity to increase membership, and continue to promote good education about herptoculture and the science of Herpetology.:2thumb:


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## fiesta599 (Jun 11, 2009)

Khaos said:


> I went to check up on the Kingston store, they've removed all traces of the campaign and, the store says, are not currently 'promoting it'. Interesting...


 I went past the sheffield town center store earlier and there was no sign of this campaign either.this put a smile on my face after a bad day at work.
may i also say thankyou to everyone who was involved with the flyer and how proud i am with everyone pulling together on this subject.


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## Sephiroth (May 1, 2007)

Geomyda said:


> An idea, might be to send schools via email a pdf of the RFUK flyer, and suggest that school children might consider joining the British Herpetological Society - Junior section. Estabilshed in 1947, this fine organisation caters for all aspects of Herpetology. They are exhibiting at the FBH show on Sunday and would I am sure welcome the opportunity to increase membership, and continue to promote good education about herptoculture and the science of Herpetology.:2thumb:


Pretty sure one of the people Shelly was speaking to outside the York store today took an extra copy to show their school... : victory:


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## shell2909 (Jun 30, 2008)

Sephiroth said:


> Pretty sure one of the people Shelly was speaking to outside the York store today took an extra copy to show their school... : victory:


Yep that's what happened :2thumb::2thumb:


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## Geomyda (Aug 11, 2008)

shell2909 said:


> Yep that's what happened :2thumb::2thumb:


Excellent, well done!!


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

It would be ineteresting to see what the local authorities would make of an organisation like the APA targeting schools?

I think it would be difficult to get passed, as they are in sorts politically motivated.

The fact is, Chris is right. This money will go somewhere and we need to fight back as best we can.

I would like to raise the point again, that it would be useful, if as a forum, we could arrange maybe an online badge that could be displayed, which could be bought from the forum with proceeds going to the FBH???


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

paulds said:


> It would be ineteresting to see what the local authorities would make of an organisation like the APA targeting schools?
> 
> I think it would be difficult to get passed, as they are in sorts politically motivated.
> 
> ...


Exactly, any organisation going into a school has to get passed the headteacher first. If we could cut them off at the education authority for each council it could help. Ultimatly though it is with the headteacher.

Could we create a a pack that ties in with the curricullem, that is written from an educational point of view and send it to every school???

Big job but if we all contribute a little


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## Khaos (Jul 9, 2007)

I'm game. I'm always happy to add my writing/PR/journalism skillz to the cause...


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## Caz (May 24, 2007)

Perhaps we should each contact our local Council Education Departments making them aware of the forthcoming APA campaign, its mistruths and underlying message. Politely of course and underlining how strongly we disagree with unbalanced school visits from the APA, providing misleading information for their own ends?


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## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

Caz said:


> Perhaps we should each contact our local Council Education Departments making them aware of the forthcoming APA campaign, its mistruths and underlying message. Politely of course and underlining how strongly we disagree with unbalanced school visits from the APA, providing misleading information for their own ends?


Education minister might be a good Idea as well, along with local government.


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## Caz (May 24, 2007)

wohic said:


> Education minister might be a good Idea as well, along with local government.


:2thumb:
Along the right lines I feel.
Perhaps we could get a well written letter together along with putting our own individual heartfelt objections to them?


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

skimsa said:


> Exactly, any organisation going into a school has to get passed the headteacher first. If we could cut them off at the education authority for each council it could help. Ultimatly though it is with the headteacher.
> 
> Could we create a a pack that ties in with the curricullem, that is written from an educational point of view and send it to every school???
> 
> Big job but if we all contribute a little


Thats not a bad idea :2thumb:

It's a thorny subject when it involves children and education. I think marketing things either way could be frowned upon but to get something together with fun info and things that children could do, would do no harm 



Caz said:


> Perhaps we should each contact our local Council Education Departments making them aware of the forthcoming APA campaign, its mistruths and underlying message. Politely of course and underlining how strongly we disagree with unbalanced school visits from the APA, providing misleading information for their own ends?


 If we are approaching local council before anything is mentioned, going on the offensive may look a bit premature, as we do not yet know for sure that this is where the APA will be headed.

To send a letter asking to be made aware as to whether or not an approach by the APA would be receptive could work well though, as it would serve as a pre cursor that if the APA were allowed to provide info to schools there could well be an uproar?: victory:


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## David L (Jul 13, 2009)

This site could do with some powerhouse back up. If RFUK (and the people who contribute to it) want to take itself seriously as a campaigner and center for reliable information and trustworthy advice, we need to have much more on the front page than fan photos and adverts.

Some charity donations would be a good place to start, or setting one up of our own. Surely this place would be the best place in the UK for an exotic animal trust and welfare society? 

Then we could start getting CITES / DEFRA / WWE etc in our favour and BE the source of reliable information, with the heavyweight back up we need to make sure that our hobby is what we say it is without question.... Riding our own high horse so to speak.

Just an idea


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

paulds said:


> Thats not a bad idea :2thumb:
> 
> It's a thorny subject when it involves children and education. I think marketing things either way could be frowned upon but to get something together with fun info and things that children could do, would do no harm


We dont want to sell anything or look to be forcing issues on children. We need to be factual which i think the flyer produced for lush was. 

Also writing it from an educational view point - like a lesson plan or an activity topic would look really good. In year 5 the children learn about conservation etc and ive used reptiles in this before.

Ironically i have year 5's this september - i will have a word with a few people and see if i can start building some reptile/conservation lesson plan and notes. if this can be tied to some legal stuff directed at the headmaster i think it could be a really powerful tool


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

David L said:


> This site could do with some powerhouse back up. If RFUK (and the people who contribute to it) want to take itself seriously as a campaigner and center for reliable information and trustworthy advice, we need to have much more on the front page than fan photos and adverts.
> 
> Some charity donations would be a good place to start, or setting one up of our own. Surely this place would be the best place in the UK for an exotic animal trust and welfare society?
> 
> ...


That would be a great idea, although I wonder how the organisations in question would receive it?

I would really like to see a way here of becoming a member of the FBH and if we could also sell memberships to the WWF and the like, I could see them being a lot happier to get behind us, if we were proving a good source of revenue. : victory:


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

skimsa said:


> We dont want to sell anything or look to be forcing issues on children. We need to be factual which i think the flyer produced for lush was.
> 
> Also writing it from an educational view point - like a lesson plan or an activity topic would look really good. In year 5 the children learn about conservation etc and ive used reptiles in this before.
> 
> Ironically i have year 5's this september - i will have a word with a few people and see if i can start building some reptile/conservation lesson plan and notes. if this can be tied to some legal stuff directed at the headmaster i think it could be a really powerful tool


 Agreed, I think one of the easiest ways of getting points across would definitely be from the conservation stand point. 

If we could get schools involved in native reptillia concervation projects, with a view to expanding it worldwide? :2thumb:


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## skimsa (Sep 28, 2007)

paulds said:


> Agreed, I think one of the easiest ways of getting points across would definitely be from the conservation stand point.
> 
> If we could get schools involved in native reptillia concervation projects, with a view to expanding it worldwide? :2thumb:


Yeah i'll reserve you a spot on the plane for rolling it out to South Africa or Indonesia lol


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

skimsa said:


> Yeah i'll reserve you a spot on the plane for rolling it out to South Africa or Indonesia lol


I did mean just teaching about world conservation but if you'd prefer I travel? Far be it from me to say no :2thumb:


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## lionfish (Jul 15, 2009)

Just a couple of thoughts...If the A.P.A is a registered company as Chris Newman says they will be registered at Companies House , it is a legal requirement , a visit to the Companies House website will tell anyone interested who the registered directors of any company are and give their names and address's , that way the FBH can find out who is behind the A.P.A - a case of "know your enemy". Also if the A.P.A has set up a charity "The A.P.A Foundation" , this will have a registered charity number and have to be registered with The Charities Commission . If The A.P.A is producing literature that can be proven to be both false , misleading/inaccurate a complaint can be made to the Charities Commission .


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## Geomyda (Aug 11, 2008)

lionfish said:


> Just a couple of thoughts...If the A.P.A is a registered company as Chris Newman says they will be registered at Companies House , it is a legal requirement , a visit to the Companies House website will tell anyone interested who the registered directors of any company are and give their names and address's , that way the FBH can find out who is behind the A.P.A - a case of "know your enemy". Also if the A.P.A has set up a charity "The A.P.A Foundation" , this will have a registered charity number and have to be registered with The Charities Commission . If The A.P.A is producing literature that can be proven to be both false , misleading/inaccurate a complaint can be made to the Charities Commission .


Is this what you are looking for?
Contact and trustees


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

David L said:


> This site could do with some powerhouse back up. If RFUK (and the people who contribute to it) want to take itself seriously as a campaigner and center for reliable information and trustworthy advice, we need to have much more on the front page than fan photos and adverts.
> 
> Some charity donations would be a good place to start, or setting one up of our own. Surely this place would be the best place in the UK for an exotic animal trust and welfare society?
> 
> ...


the HMRC and CITES people had a display at kempton park on sunday, and from what i can see are already allying with us? they are alreaady useing our events to promote there cause.. which is deffinatly a good step and something i was very surprised but pleased to see!!

i think a counter charity is a very interesting idea.. with the funds going to truthfull education aimed at children and adults alike....

how ever i can see one major issue with this.. The APA, IRA and even the RSPCA ect are alll aprouching the topic with there own misleading and very one directional opinions.. totally negative and it is 100% propaganda... 

reptiles have always been seen in a negative light.. combined with that and the fact that by the general public the APA are seen as helping the fight against animal cruelty, we have a much harder battle to fight than they do...

we already come from a counter group, it would be very very easy for us to simply be seen as an equaly biased counter action... and for them to convince the public of such.

*it needs to not be that.. it needs to be the truth... the good and the bad from every angle.. not another propaganda group!!
we need to admit that yes there is abuse to exotic animals and yes in some places it is happening.. we need to show that as a community we are just as against that if not MORE against that than even the APA ect... and that we are trying to stop it.. that we are part of the cure and not part of the problem!

the cruelty and abuse that does exist needs to be addressed but it needs doing in a fair honest and truthful way that educates not brainwashes!*


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> ... by the general public the APA are seen as helping the fight against animal cruelty


It may not be as bad as you think, you'll find that very few members of the general public have even heard of the APA, let alone know what they stand for.

It may be hard to change the minds of those who do know of them and support them, but the vast majority who have never heard of them should be a lot easier to convince if we get there first!

I think you'll also find that your average Joe Public holds most animal rights people in fairly low esteem, especially the more radical elements.


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

Graham said:


> It may not be as bad as you think, you'll find that very few members of the general public have even heard of the APA, let alone know what they stand for.
> 
> It may be hard to change the minds of those who do know of them and support them, but the vast majority who have never heard of them should be a lot easier to convince if we get there first!
> 
> I think you'll also find that your average Joe Public holds most animal rights people in fairly low esteem, especially the more radical elements.


this is very true.. peta and such extremeist groups are looked apon negatively my most.. however other groups such as the rspca have a lot of support and trust from the general public... and the rspca will support these extremeist groups, they have already shown support towards banning exotics, and although less extreme they are just as misinformed and uneducated as the APA, IAR ect... i think the problem is most people dont know enough about reptiles to know that these people are extremeists? so i suppose in that case us educateing them first may well make all the difference.. 

i think maybe its going to be quite split?


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## David L (Jul 13, 2009)

I doubt we would ever get the support of the RSPCA. Which is fine, I'm not their biggest fan either.

But I agree with the comment that we can't simply look like an opposing extremist view point. That for me would make us as bad as them them. I am sure CITES and DEFRA would prefer to be linked to an organisation like an RFUK trust, which would support proper husbandry, wild animal conservation, care and welfare, rather than a bunch of militant anti, who's only way of gathering support is to rabble rouse a load of extremist view points by using lies and exaggerations.

Do you think this could be something we could approach the RFUK forum 'elite' to discuss and try to see if it is feasable to implement? 

It something I would love to see and would very much be honoured to be a contributor to..


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## wohic (Jun 19, 2006)

David L said:


> I doubt we would ever get the support of the RSPCA. Which is fine, I'm not their biggest fan either.
> 
> But I agree with the comment that we can't simply look like an opposing extremist view point. That for me would make us as bad as them them. I am sure CITES and DEFRA would prefer to be linked to an organisation like an RFUK trust, which would support proper husbandry, wild animal conservation, care and welfare, rather than a bunch of militant anti, who's only way of gathering support is to rabble rouse a load of extremist view points by using lies and exaggerations.
> 
> ...



I am going to direct this towards the owners, its up to them obviously and not something that could be decided over night, I have stated I am willing to give up what free time I have to put weight behind this .


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## David L (Jul 13, 2009)

wohic said:


> I am going to direct this towards the owners, its up to them obviously and not something that could be decided over night, I have stated I am willing to give up what free time I have to put weight behind this .


 
:notworthy:


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## naz_pixie (Oct 6, 2008)

wohic said:


> I am going to direct this towards the owners, its up to them obviously and not something that could be decided over night, I have stated I am willing to give up what free time I have to put weight behind this .


fantastic news wohic... im sure there are other people like myself who would be willing to help and give up time to anything that we are needed for? i for one am currently not working and so have rather alot of free time and would be very pleased to have something worth while to do with it!


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

wohic said:


> I am going to direct this towards the owners, its up to them obviously and not something that could be decided over night, I have stated I am willing to give up what free time I have to put weight behind this .


 Right there with you. :2thumb:

If there is anything I can do to help just give me a shout : victory:


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## reptile_man_08 (Jan 14, 2008)

Would be great if this formed:no1:


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## Skorps (Nov 23, 2009)

Chris Newman said:


> Dear All,
> 
> 
> From what I understand the Lush campaign specifically targeted children under 12 with various tools, quizzes, offering sweets that kind of thing, I am awaiting copies of all the instore promotional material etc and will let you know more when I receive it. I further understand that the APA intend to use funds to produce so called educational material for school children!!!!!!!! Perhaps this is where we should concentrate our efforts next!
> ...


Brain wash the children when they are young...
The APA make me sick.


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## Caz (May 24, 2007)

Just got reply from LUSH..
Check out the comments at the bottom which they forgot to edit out..

Dear C Palmer, 

Thank you for writing to us with your concerns about the Lush Times article, and I am grateful for this opportunity to explain why we are supporting the Animal Protection Agency (APA). Please accept my apologies for the delay in my reply. At Lush we love creating fresh, lovely smelling, effective cosmetics that are kind to animals, people and the environment, and we use the proceeds from a number of our products to support causes and organisations with whom we share similar values.

The Animal Protection Agency (APA) campaigns against the trade in wild animals as pets, and works with scientists who are renowned experts in the fields of animal behaviour, veterinary medicine and conservation. APA has received wide support from politicians as well as the general public and their concerns about the exotic pet trade are echoed by the British Veterinary Association, the RSPCA, and all of the major animal welfare organisations.

With the Chameleon campaign we are trying to raise awareness of the suffering of reptiles in captivity and of the damage caused to species conservation by the trade in exotic pets. Our position, and that of the Animal Protection Agency, is clear: we believe that reptiles do not belong in the pet trade.

If you would like further information about any of the areas covered by the article please visit the APA website (www.apa.org) or contact the Animal Protection Agency directly at the details below.

Animal Protection Agency
Brighton Media Centre
15-17 Middle Street
Brighton
BN1 1AL
Tel: 01273 674253
Email: [email protected]

Throughout the course of the year we support many humanitarian, animal and environmental causes, many of which are nominated by our own customers. We welcome and value all feedback, so thank you for getting in touch with us. I will be sure to pass your comments on to our Campaigns team for future consideration. 

Kind regards,

Kat Walters 
Customer Care 
Lush Retail Ltd 
Tel: 01202 641006 
Email: [email protected]

Vicky Jansson wrote: 


-------- Original Message -------- 
*From: *​- Tue Aug 10 15:20:30 2010
*X-Account-Key: *​account2
*X-UIDL: *​7690268
*X-Mozilla-Status: *​0001
*X-Mozilla-Status2: *​00000000
*X-Mozilla-Keys: *​
*Return-Path: *​<[email protected]>
*Received: *​from [192.168.1.27] (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by mail.lush.co.uk (Scalix SMTP Relay 11.4.6.13676) via ESMTP; Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:52:50 +0100 (BST)
*Date: *​Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:49:33 +0100
*From: *​*Sean Gifford **<[email protected]>*
*To: *​*Vicky Jansson **<[email protected]>*
*cc: *​*Elaine toland **<[email protected]>**, leonie davies **<[email protected]>**, Gavenna Gibson **<[email protected]>*
*Message-ID: *​<C886ED4D.8F64%[email protected]>
*In-Reply-To: *​<C886E874.1C89F%[email protected]>
*Subject: *​FW: I'm a Chameleon, get me out of here.
*User-Agent: *​Microsoft-Entourage/11.4.0.080122
*Thread-Topic: *​I'm a Chameleon, get me out of here.
*Thread-Index: *​Acs4cyXSfpXRE9PuQQ6wZ8IL3VXZkgAA63vDAAC47Ds=
*Mime-version: *​1.0
*Content-type: *​multipart/alternative; boundary="B_3364285969_584017"


Heya Vicky ma’ dear, I hope this finds you well. 

Could you do me a favour and send out the standard reply to this lovely chap? 

Many thanks!

X


:whistling2:


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## paulds (Mar 17, 2009)

Caz said:


> Just got reply from LUSH..
> Check out the comments at the bottom which they forgot to edit out..
> 
> Dear C Palmer,
> ...


:lol2:

Interesting to see this found it's way passed Elaine Toland : victory:


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## Sephiroth (May 1, 2007)

Caz said:


> Heya Vicky ma’ dear, I hope this finds you well.
> 
> Could you do me a favour and send out the standard reply to this lovely chap?
> 
> ...


That was seriously on the email??? If so

FAIL!


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## Caz (May 24, 2007)

Sephiroth said:


> That was seriously on the email??? If so
> 
> FAIL!


Yep - that was the email less my original letter and reply.
FAIL indeed. :lol2:


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## heron (Nov 21, 2008)

Maybe vicky should stick to making soap..

...it seems emails are just too complicated for some people to handle


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## carlo69 (Apr 12, 2007)

Caz said:


> Yep - that was the email less my original letter and reply.
> FAIL indeed. :lol2:


:lol2::lol2::lol2: LMFAO


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

David L said:


> I doubt we would ever get the support of the RSPCA. Which is fine, I'm not their biggest fan either.
> 
> But I agree with the comment that we can't simply look like an opposing extremist view point. That for me would make us as bad as them them. I am sure CITES and DEFRA would prefer to be linked to an organisation like an RFUK trust, which would support proper husbandry, wild animal conservation, care and welfare, rather than a bunch of militant anti, who's only way of gathering support is to rabble rouse a load of extremist view points by using lies and exaggerations.
> 
> ...


Fantastic, I think this is a great idea! :no1:



wohic said:


> I am going to direct this towards the owners, its up to them obviously and not something that could be decided over night, I have stated I am willing to give up what free time I have to put weight behind this .


:notworthy: this is great news!


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## andy007 (May 13, 2008)

The Advertising Standards Authority are obviously still looking at the whole advertising campaign as I have just received this email - 

_"As part of queries raised in our investigation into Lush and Animal Protection Agency advertising, we need to confirm with you what your interest in the case is.

Could you please confirm your interest in the case, and whether you are making the complaint on behalf of any organisation, whether it’s a group or commercial business.

I’d appreciate it if you could please respond to me by 17 January so we can continue our work on the investigation.

If you have any queries please let me know.

Kind Regards


Natasha"
_

Natasha McFlinn | Investigations Executive
Direct line 020 7492 2104 | E-mail [email protected]


Advertising Standards Authority
Mid City Place 71 High Holborn London WC1V 6QT
Telephone 020 7492 2222 ASA - Advertising Standards Authority


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I had the same email today, just replied to it.


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## quizicalkat (Jul 7, 2007)

Geomyda said:


> An idea, might be to send schools via email a pdf of the RFUK flyer, and suggest that school children might consider joining the British Herpetological Society - Junior section. Estabilshed in 1947, this fine organisation caters for all aspects of Herpetology. They are exhibiting at the FBH show on Sunday and would I am sure welcome the opportunity to increase membership, and continue to promote good education about herptoculture and the science of Herpetology.:2thumb:


Must het my daughter to join - she is 12 - I'm sure she'd also be happy to take in leaflets or do talks if she is needed.



Caz said:


> Perhaps we should each contact our local Council Education Departments making them aware of the forthcoming APA campaign, its mistruths and underlying message. Politely of course and underlining how strongly we disagree with unbalanced school visits from the APA, providing misleading information for their own ends?


A few weeks ago my kid had to sit through a whole lesson on how great the RSPCA is - She managed to bite her tounge but I was not impressed!



wohic said:


> I am going to direct this towards the owners, its up to them obviously and not something that could be decided over night, I have stated I am willing to give up what free time I have to put weight behind this .


I'm in :2thumb:


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## andy007 (May 13, 2008)

Graham said:


> I had the same email today, just replied to it.


Cool. I suppose it shows that they are taking it seriously:2thumb:


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I think they probably received so many complaints they had no choice but to take it seriously, if hundreds of people all complain about the same thing they're pretty much obliged to look and see if there's anything in it.

I was careful to emphasize that, although I was aware many other reptile keepers like myself had also complained, my complaint was a personal one and not part of some organized mass complaint on behalf of any group or organization.


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## andy007 (May 13, 2008)

Graham said:


> I was careful to emphasize that, although I was aware many other reptile keepers like myself had also complained, my complaint was a personal one and not part of some organized mass complaint on behalf of any group or organization.


Same here: victory:


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