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Animals and the Environment: the Other Victims of the LA Fires
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Animals and the Environment: the Other Victims of the LA Fires

LA Fires screenshot from Billy McNamara

Activists uncover the overlooked cost of the LA fires and their impact on animals, vegan activism, and the climate crisis

Jane Velez-Mitchell discussing LA fires with activists
Jane Velez-Mitchell discussing LA fires with activists

Los Angeles, January 19th, 2025 โ€” The Los Angeles fires have become one of the most devastating natural disasters in U.S. history, leaving at least 27 people dead, over 12,000 structures destroyed, more than 90,000 residents hit with evacuation orders, countless companion animals abandoned in the chaos and an untold number of wild animals killed and injured. The final monetary cost of the L.A. fires could be over 200 billion dollars. ย These fires, fueled by climate change and a lack of preparedness, underscore the urgent need for reflection and action. Beyond the towering flames lies a deeper crisis of accountability and the critical role of our choices โ€” our diets โ€” in shaping the future. UnchainedTVโ€™s Jane Velez-Mitchell talked to ten animal activists in an L.A. Fires Town Hall to discuss how to prevent a similar disaster from happening again. You can watch the entire event here:

The Unseen Victims: Animals Left Behind

Jane Garrison
Jane Garrison, Animal Rescuer

As the fires raged, rescuers like Maya Benperlas from VivaGlobalRescue.org described heart-wrenching scenarios: animals trapped in homes without food or water, their guardians helpless to return due to evacuation orders. Jane Garrison, a seasoned rescuer, called the situation “criminal,” citing how local authorities repeatedly refused outside help.

These animals, often seen as property, were left in peril, highlighting systemic gaps in disaster response. Garrison said, โ€œThe situation on the ground that is the most frustrating to me right now is that animals are in these areas that are no longer on fire, but they are trapped in houses without food, without water. We dealt with this 20 years ago with Hurricane Katrina, and nothing has changed.โ€ย  In the absence of robust city intervention, activists risked their lives to reach companion and farmed animals, emphasizing that no living being deserves to suffer such fates.

Click Here for a List of Groups Rescuing Animal Fire Victims

Activist Billy McNamara, who risked his life to rescue animals, put it simply: โ€œWhether it’s a dog, cat or a goat, people love their animals. I don’t care what their animals are. There should be no discrimination here. If you’ve got a goat and you love that goat, we’re going to get it out.โ€

8 days after the fires erupted, the city finally issued a hotline number for those desperate to find their lost pets while locked out of their burnt-out neighborhoods. Los Angeles city officials issued this statement in response to the criticisms. “Mayor Bass is leading our city through one of the worst crises in our history. Hurricane-force winds and unseasonably dry conditions drove these firestorms โ€“ misinformation surrounding this crisis has been staggering.โ€ We invite Mayor Bass on at any time to respond further.

Watch this video to learn more about why the contribution of animal agriculture to the current global climate crises, manifested in different forms, including rampant wildfires, has been ignored:

Climate Crisis Escalates: The Cost of Inaction

Judie Mancuso
Judie Mancuso, Social Compassion Founder, CEO

These fires are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a worsening climate crisis. Experts like Judie Mancuso from Social Compassion in Legislation pointed to decades of warnings, from Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth to Sir David Attenborough’s stark climate predictions. Mancuso stated, โ€œAl Gore talked about that tipping point, that we needed to do this-and-that before we got to the tipping point. Well, it didn’t happen. They’ve been kicking the can and kicking the can with all those UN COP conferences. And people are walking away from the Paris Agreement. No one has taken this seriously. So, this is what we have now; we’re now faced with these events.โ€

Planet Slaughterhouse is Starting to Collapse

Humans raise 92-billion land animals annually to slaughter for food. 92-billion! That’s not including fish. That staggering figure, of animals raised just to be killed and eaten, demands vast tracts of land, often cleared at the expense of carbon-absorbing forests. Climate change is accelerated by deforestation, much of which is driven by animal agriculture. Samantha Lau of Plant Based Treaty said, โ€œDisaster relief centers should be offering more plant-based options, if not 100 percent plant based-options, because what we’re doing right now is absolutely adding more fuel to the fire.โ€

Watch another video about one of the activists in the LA Town Hall, Judie Mancuso, here:

Turning Grief into Action

Arthur and Lisa Levenson
Arthur and Lisa Levenson

Lisa Levinson, who lost her partner Arthur Simoneau in the fires, shared a poignant call to action: โ€œThis is time to go vegan. This is the opportunity to do the one thing that we can do, each one of us in our daily lives. Something that is a very simple act of kindness and compassion, which is to choose to live a vegan lifestyle so that we can reduce the impacts on the climate, we can try to heal the planet, and reduce or prevent these catastrophes.โ€

Levinson’s words resonate with the urgency felt across the community. Plant-based disaster relief efforts, led by the Plant Based Treaty and groups like Chef Supreme Dao’s Harvest Academy,ย  Besties Vegan Paradise and the Animal Alliance Network, provided food and hope to displaced families while underscoring the connection between diet and climate. Support + Feed, run by artist/activist Maggie Baird, has also mobilized to feed plant-based meals to those who have lost so much.

See Also
Beagle in Breeding Facility

Click Here to Help Vegan Restaurant Owner who Lost EVERYTHING!

John Hopkins, an elderly man who has long been a pillar of the Altadena community, lost his iconic vegan restaurant – Oh Happy

John Hopkins lost everything in the LA fires.
Vegan restaurant owner John Hopkins lost everything in the fires.

Days Cafe – and his home and his vehicle. Those who wish to support this beloved man who is now in crisis and living in the spare room of a friend, can donate to his GO-FUND-ME.

The Los Angeles fires are a wake-up call. They demand accountability not only from governments but also from individuals. Transitioning from heavy meat-eating to a plant-based lifestyle can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75%, offering a tangible way to combat climate change.

Jane Velez-Mitchell ended the Town Hall meeting with this thought: โ€œMy friend Patty Shanker coined this phrase, peace begins on your plate. I’ll say it one more time. Peace begins on your plate.โ€

โ€œThis is historically the worst fire Southern California’s ever seen, and the city not having a plan in place is something that needs to be acknowledged.โ€ โ€” Valarie Ianniello, Animal Rescuer

 

Check out this show and more at UnchainedTV.
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