Parents teaching love for all animals

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This article was published 18/06/2022 (1524 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As a teenager, Danae Tonge came upon a book in the library about animal factories and told her parents she was going vegan.

“My parents made me write a report and present it to them about why I wanted to go vegan. They made sure I was prepared,” said the now 39-year-old mother of two young children. With her husband, the couple is raising their family with a keen awareness of the world they live in.

Known among friends and colleagues as a thoughtful person who uses kindness and compassion to lead people to make better choices for animals and the environment, Tonge does so by example.

“My husband and I are teaching our children the values of love and compassion, how that extends to everyone, humans and animals and the planet, how connected we all are, and how we need to take care of each other, that we have a responsibility to stand up against things that harm others, and to help,” said Tonge.

“Not eating animals or animal products is one of the best ways to help. Animals are our friends, not food. They are our family members. When we look at our pets, we don’t see food, we see an individual.

“When I had my daughter, that’s when I said I need to get involved. All these mom cows have their babies taken away from them so soon after birth. I felt the connection while nursing.”

She’s been a co-organizer and active member of Manitoba Animal Save ever since.

MAS works to end violence, exploitation and oppression of animals through bearing witness, love-based activism and political change. Tonge has organized many peaceful demonstrations that she has allowed her children to attend.

“I try to involve them as much as I can. I will often bring Harley and Hale to a protest or rally with me, so activism is normalized for them, so they can see many people working to change things and make the world better, and they can grow up around the helpers. I want them to know that if they don’t like something, they have a voice and they can use it, and they will find others like them who are also fighting for something.”

MAS campaigns have worked against the mass slaughter of pigs and chickens in Manitoba, and shipments of live horses for slaughter to Japan via Winnipeg’s international airport. MAS spent several years documenting and exposing the live horse transports before the issue gained media attention.

Corey Feere, 34, has been working alongside Tonge with MAS for the past five years, and has volunteered and worked in animal rescue in some capacity since he was 15. The longtime vegan works in the railway industry when he’s not dedicating his time to giving a voice to animals.

Feere said the “airport” horses are sent to Japan to be fattened up and then killed to be turned into a type of sushi popular among Japan’s wealthy.

He said that through the work of MAS, as well the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition and Calgary Animal Save, organizations such as the Winnipeg Humane Society and celebrities including Jann Arden and Bif Naked have become advocates in stopping the live horse shipments and putting an end to the horse meat industry in Canada.

“We have created exposure to many atrocities of the animal agriculture industry in the past six years, both locally and beyond the Manitoba borders,” Feere said.

“It’s important to put your time and energy into causes you really agree with,” added Tonge, who has also given time to a number of local non-profit organizations involving youth and women. “I’ve learned a lot; it feels good to be part of a community, to give your time, to show up for things you believe.”

Noting that animal farming’s global environmental footprint is frequently being overlooked in climate-crisis summits, Tonge voices her passion about speaking up for the otherwise hidden lives of farmed animals, whose plight is often unrecognized by most of society.

“Being a vegan is more than just different food choices. People start to notice and ask questions, and it is a great conversation-starter to help pull back the veil on how cruel and damaging animal agriculture truly is. While I’m somewhat hopeless on being able to turn the climate crisis around at this point, I’m hopeful because veganism is becoming part of the mainstream dialogue, and starting important conversations. I’m grateful that it’s gained public support and there are vegan options almost anywhere, and that I can raise vegan children without much difficulty. I believe the future is plant-based and that our children will be in good company with many other vegan children.”

Creating a world with empathy and kindness as its core fuels Tonge’s drive to raise her children to be part of a new, informed generation that will take the lead in being sensitive to the needs of all beings.

“Society and animal agriculture work so hard to override the innate compassion and understanding that children have, but if we can allow that to grow and flourish on its own by choosing plant-based foods, we aren’t creating that inner divide that many people have, of pets versus farmed animals, of ‘speciesism.’ All life is sacred, is valuable, and we all have a right to be here. Veganism, to me, is about love. About love for animals, the planet, and love for yourself and other humans.”

You don’t have to be vegan to support MAS, any other animal-rights group, or those addressing climate change, Tonge says. It’s about getting involved with something with which there’s an emotional connection.

MAS, which is on Facebook and Instagram, produces a biweekly newsletter and sends out action alerts.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca