“Compassion for animals is a reflection of our humanity.”
Nice To Meet You!
Project HumaneKind introduced students from Youth Community Service to our Equine Stewardship Program, where they learned about horses—their individuality, care, and what constitutes good welfare and well-being for their species. Project board member Jennifer Cameron showed the students around Portola Pastures in the Arastradero Preserve, where they met her two horses, Otis and Ed, along with a pig, miniature donkey, herd of goats, and other horses living in this bit of California paradise. If your classroom or organization would like to participate in the program, please contact Jennifer at jottcameron@yahoo.com. Project HumaneKind is always pleased to work with Youth Community Service, and our thanks to Mora Oomen and Monica Ponce and their staff for this partnership in leadership development.
Getting Away With It
Assembly Bill 2344 was drafted by Assemblymember Matt Haney (San Francisco) to create an animal abuser registry for the State of California. Project HumaneKind enthusiastically supports this proposal. As we wrote to the Public Safety Committee, “There currently is no central system for shelters, animal control facilities, law enforcement, or pet owners to check if an individual has a history of animal abuse. This gap allows for repeat offenses to occur, placing animals at continued risk.”
The committee last week saw fit to radically change the bill’s intent. The amended bill would instead streamline the adoption/foster home transition for animals that are victims of cruelty.
Right now, animals involved in cruelty cases are legally required to be kept in shelters as evidence until the court wraps up their cases. The amended bill would allow shelters to petition to the court for animals to get adopted or moved to foster homes before the case concludes, helping animals get access to safe homes more quickly. Project HumaneKind reports that Assemblymember Haney will continue to push for his original proposal for an animal abuser registry. California would follow on similar registries passed in Florida and Tennessee and under consideration by Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Legislative Alert
Project HumaneKind advocates for animal welfare legislation. We will update you on developments regarding farm animal welfare as the federal Farm Bill 2026 (dubbed the “Factory Farm Bill”) gets to committee in the Congress. The “Save Our Bacon” provision in the bill would nullify the votes of millions of Americans (including Californians who passed Proposition 12) who expressed a humane desire for decent cage space for hogs and chickens.
Project HumaneKind is supporting the Luna-Costa-Garbarini amendment (#28) to strip this terrible provision from the federal bill. For information and details, we refer you to the Center for a Humane Economy. They encourage everyone to call your U.S. Representatives at 202-225-3121 and urge them to support animal welfare and back Amendments #s 22, 24, 28, and 39.
Coming This Summer:
Creative Creatures Camp
Compassion continues this summer!
Project HumaneKind will hold two separate special camps for young pet painters through the Los Gatos Recreation Department.
Through Creative Creatures, students will spend a week creating artwork and portraits of animals housed at the Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority shelter. Young artists will explore watercolors, mixed media, and sculpture with professional art teachers Vandana Pawar, Zohreh Safdari, and Manisha Chawda, all the while learning to become humane advocates. There are two separate weeks available in June to choose from.
- Click here to register for Creative Creatures Art Camp June 15–18
- Click here to register for Creative Creatures Art Camp June 22–26
Because when children learn to create with empathy, they grow into adults who lead with compassion.
Thank you for being part of this extraordinary community. Every act of kindness truly is a little bit of magic—and together, we are creating something beautiful.