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Outstanding Activist!
Both
Jim Gisondi and Shelagh Inglesley have loved animals since they were very
young. Jim first connected with animals as a child working on his family's
farm in upstate New York. There, he bonded with a cow named, "Monster",
and learned to see farm animals as the living, feeling beings they are.
Jim was a friend to Monster for many years, caring for her after she was
brutally dehorned, and providing her with love and companionship throughout
her long life. Shelagh, too, bonded with animals when she was very young.
She felt a special kinship with farm animals as a child, recognizing instinctively
in her heart that the animals people choose to kill for food are no different
than the animals people keep as pets. Once she recognized that farm animals
were no different than the cats and dogs she shared her life with and
loved so much, she decided to take a stand on their behalf. At Thanksgiving
dinner each year, she refused to eat the turkey that was offered to her.
Today, turkeys still hold a special place in Shelagh's heart, because
of the courageous childhood decision she made not to eat them.
Due
in part to Shelagh's great love for turkeys, the first demonstration she
and Jim planned together as a couple was a banner drop designed to convince
motorists not to eat turkey for Thanksgiving. With the help of other caring
activists, they donned homemade turkey costumes, located a busy intersection
in St. Petersburg, Florida to stage their event, and held up a huge 30-foot
banner that read, "Thanksgiving is Murder on Turkeys." The event
garnered local news coverage and was such a success that it has now become
a Thanksgiving tradition for Jim and Shelagh.
Soon
after their successful Thanksgiving demonstration, Jim and Shelagh deepened
their involvement in animal activism. During this time, they became involved
with Farm Sanctuary when they participated in the Tampa Walk for Farm
Animals. Then, in 2002, they eagerly agreed to participate in Farm Sanctuary's
petition drive to gather 800,000 signatures in support of a Florida initiative
to ban gestation crates. On Election Day, they set up tables, hung signs
and even built huge "Yes on Amendment 10" billboards for their
van. Although the initiative did end up passing in Florida, Jim and Shelagh
came away from the campaign disheartened by the public's lack of awareness
about farm animal issues.
To
combat this lack of awareness, Jim and Shelagh decided that they would
organize as many public events as they could to help educate people in
their community. Over the past two years, they have held over 30 demonstrations
for various animal rights issues. On behalf of Farm Sanctuary, they planned
their first Mother's Day "Say No to Veal" demo with a cow costume,
banners, and posters at St. Petersburg's Macaroni Grill restaurant. The
event was a success and received local media coverage. Then, when a local
Tampa restaurant refused to take foie gras off its menu for a charity
event, despite numerous phone calls from concerned citizens, they staged
a last minute "Say No To Foie Gras" demo. Over a dozen local
Farm Sanctuary and PETA activists dropped everything at the last minute
to attend this important demonstration.
In
addition to organizing and participating in demonstrations, Shelagh and
Jim also help transport rescued animals to Florida sanctuaries and often
care for needy critters in their own home. So far, they have rescued cats,
dogs, birds, snakes, ferrets, opossums, goats, sheep, farm pigs, and potbellied
pigs. When Jim isn't helping rescue animals, he uses his knowledge and
skills in public speaking and media interviews to get the message out
about animal cruelty. He also helps educate the public about the horrors
of factory farming by using his mechanical and construction skills. Currently,
Jim is in the process of building a video van complete with 50" projection
TV's. For her part, Shelagh helps expose animal cruelty by using her talents
as an artist and writer to create artwork, illustrations, web sites, newsletters,
banners, poetry and eye-catching literature.
Thank you, Jim and Shelagh, for standing up for animals. We are incredibly
grateful for all you do to educate the public about factory farming and
for opening your hearts and home to animals in need.
Together, we ARE making a difference. If you would like to find out more about volunteering your time to educate others about factory farming and vegetarianism, please contact us at activist@farmsanctuary.org, or call 607-583-2225 ext. 229. Click here to find out what YOU can do to help!