Support the Petition




To support this petition, ask your financial advisor to contact support@yourstake.org.

Target Companies

Ariel

Avoid companies that breed dogs for animal testing

$145,196 Dollars in Ariel

Avoid companies that breed dogs for animal testing

$145,196

Dollars in Ariel Supporting

Ariel Investments, a fund family, that claims to be "ethical" owns LabCorp and Charles River Laboratories.  According to CrueltyFreeInvesting.org, LabCorp is the world's largest breeder of dogs for use in experiments, and Charles River Laboratories is the world's largest breeder of animals for use in experiments.  Remember not all "SRI" funds are equal.

Eaton Vance Corp

Divest from dairy companies.

$7.7 million Dollars in Eaton Vance Corp

Divest from dairy companies.

$7,665,434

Dollars in Eaton Vance Corp Supporting

Calvert Emerging Market Fund should not own China Mengniu when we know how cruel the dairy industry is to cows.  

Calvert Equity should not own Lab Corp. of America as Covance has been cited for violations such as leaving dogs to suffer from preventable dental disease, allowing monkeys to be housed outdoors in frigid weather, and keeping primates in isolation, which fails to meet the basic psychological needs of these highly social and intelligent animals.

Impax

Engage with McDonalds on adding a vegan burger.

$6.5 million Dollars in Impax

Engage with McDonalds on adding a vegan burger.

$6,479,230

Dollars in Impax Supporting

If Impax is going to own McDonalds in their Pax ESG fund, then they should be putting those shares to use.  

BlackRock Inc

Remove McDonalds from MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF

$20.3 million Dollars in BlackRock Inc

Remove McDonalds from MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF

$20,297,709

Dollars in BlackRock Inc Supporting

According to iShares, the iShares MSCI KLD 400 Social ETF seeks to track the investment results of an index composed of U.S. companies that have positive environmental, social and governance characteristics as identified by the index provider.

Many investors would be unhappy to learn that McDonald's is included in this index.

Spread the Word

Facebook
Twitter

Author

This Petition was created by an individual shareowner, like you.

Reasons for Supporting

sherrie_tullsen: Divest from animal agriculture too! It's destroying the planet and causing unfathomable suffering to billions of sentient beings. Plant-based and cultivated meat are the future.

tchamm: Cruelty Free investments should be the gold standard in sustainable investing.

leahredwood: Please put every dollar you can into regenerative agriculture rather than supporting businesses that treat animals with cruelty.

Divest from companies that exploit animals

When people seek out investments that purport to be "ethical", they should have confidence that their portfolio managers are not investing in companies that substantially support, cause, or contribute to animal exploitation and suffering.

Portfolio managers need to be held accountable to the people who have trusted them with their investment dollars.  Whether a fund is "Sustainable", "Socially Responsible", or "Green", it should also be cruelty-free.

Seventy-five percent of investors are interested in sustainable investing making it one of the fastest growing investor movements.  Couple that with the fact that individuals are more concerned about the welfare of animals than ever before and this is something that portfolio managers cannot afford to ignore.

  • A Gallup poll of 1,024 adults in the US done in 2015 found that the majority of people surveyed(62%) believe that animals deserve "some protection".[1]
  • A nationwide poll of 1,000 adults conducted by SurveyUSA in August, 2019 on the behalf of Cruelty Free International showed that 79% of voters in the United States would support a federal ban on cosmetic animal testing.[2]
  • In March 2019, President Donald Trump signed bipartisan legislation that limits the use of dogs in scientific research conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
  • In Sept. 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency announced its plans to phase out animal testing used to determine whether chemicals are safe, setting a goal of eliminating such testing completely in 16 years.

Money managers need to recognize that investors are seeking out companies that are transforming the world for the next generation, not those who turn their heads or even contribute to the suffering of animals. 

Shareholders request that funds that purport to being "environmental", "sustainable", or "socially responsible" avoid holding or recommending investments in companies that substantially support, cause, or contribute to animal exploitation and suffering.  

[1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/183275/say-animals-rights-people.aspx

[2] https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/what-we-do/latest-news-and-updates/new-poll-reveals-us-united-against-cosmetics-animal-tests