From Killer Looks to No-Kill to Nabbing a Kitten Killer: The Barbi Twins Connect the Dots to Save Animals

Joan K. Smith Become a fan
Philadelphia-based cultural critic, editor, and artist
www.HuffingtonPost.com
HP article posted: 08/29/2014 6:07 pm EDT Updated: 10/29/2014 5:59 am EDT

What do stray cats and the ocean have to do with each other?

Quite a bit in the current work of Shane and Sia Barbi, better known as the Barbi Twins. The blockbuster Playboy cover models and vegan book authors who are now highly respected - and unabashedly outspoken -- animal activists have long used their celebrity as a highly effective platform to incite change, awareness, and action. Since I first wrote about them in 2012, their activism has ramped-up to a new level: To be a unifying force for animal rights issues and organizations, finding common ground and establishing a stronger base of nonpartisan power to address all the causes related to human treatment of animals.

Shane and Sia Barbi - The Barbi Twins and Rescue Dog

They'd long admired the work of Captain Paul Watson (of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Whale Wars fame), and this April they joined forces with him for a weekly radio show on LA Talk Radio called "State of the Oceans" ("because our existence begins with oceans," explains Shane). The weekly guests, recruited by Shane and Sia, comprise a who's-who of well-known animal rights leaders and celebrity activists.

As Shane describes their roster: "We want to be the United Nations of animal rights." By bringing together so many big organizations with different interests for the first time ever, "we want to get out a mainstream bipartisan message that resonates," says Shane, "The focus should be on principles ahead of partisan differences. We need to stop making animals a political issue. "

Among their guests on the radio show have been Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary; Scott Beckstead of the Humane Society of the U.S; Chris DeRose of Last Chance for Animals; reality show star and animal activist Joanna Krupa; the family of Willie Nelson; Michael Budkie of SAEN/Stop Animal Exploitation Now; Nathan Runkle of Mercy for Animals; Dr. Naomi Rose of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI); Alison Eastwood, daughter of Clint and founder of the Eastwood Ranch Foundation; Dr. Jenny Conrad of The Paw Project , and the movie of the same name; comedian and activist Elayne Boosler; the cast of the movie Blackfish; and activist, animal rights attorney, and filmmaker Shannon Keith of Beagle Freedom Project and ARME (Animal Rescue Media Education); and veteran animal lobbyist Chris Heyde of the AWI.

Read Complete Article:  www.HuffingtonPost.com

June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

In a new cat comic strip, Sia and Shane Barbi play heroines who help stop pet pound killings by secretly trapping and fixing stray cats and adopting them!

June is “Adopt a Shelter Cat” month! For more info on how to adopt, go the Stray Cat Alliance website!

EXTRA TV.com  Celebrity News

Barbi Twins: Bunnies Rescuing Bunnies - ExtraTV

During the Easter Holidays the Barbi Twins, along with LA Animal Services continued their rescue efforts by getting the word out that the cute little bunnies that are purchased for Easter are not Toys - they are a responsibility and need to be adopted for life.  Remember it may be after Easter holidays but the bunnies are still cute and still need love.

The Barbi Twins' Easter Message: Adopt a Bunny!

Original article: http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2012/04/the_barbi_twins_easter_message_adopt_a_bunny.php#ixzz1reDfolDM

visit www.LAAnimalServices.com

Barbi Twins: Famous for… Equine Advocacy - National Geographic

The Barbi twins and I agree to disagree on a lot of issues, but I certainly commend them for doing their homework.   They vehemently oppose horse slaughter on the grounds that horses weren’t bred for human consumption.  I did not ask them to comment on zoo animal consumption of horse meat, but I pretty much know where they stand.

The Barbi twins assert that “horses were bred and domesticated to be companion animals like a dog or cat. They also served as working animals on farms, and provided transport for people. They also risked their lives in wartime.”


Read the rest of the article:  http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/03/02/barbi-twins-famous-for-equine-advocacy/

Barbi Twins and Elayne Boosler - "Help Stop Repeal of Hayden Law" - Sign Petition Please!

Barbi Twins and Elayne Boosler combine efforts to help Stray Cat Alliance's petition against the repeal of the Hayden Law which was written to protect shelter animals.

Elayne, Shane and Sia - The "Triplets"
Elayne Boosler and the Barbi Twins

Elayne:    "Then came the "Hayden Law." SB 1785, named for its sponsor, California State Sen. Tom Hayden, became a life saver for adoptable shelter animals, and a humane and valued partner to animal rescuers and owners. It made animal shelters more accountable. It gave the public longer to find their lost animals before they were killed. It mandated more "work friendly" hours to the public for going to the shelters. It was so good, after a few years it expanded to offer owner-surrendered animals the same amount of time (four to six business days) to stay alive for adoption and rescue instead of being instantly killed.

Better and better, right? And now, worse. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to repeal the Hayden Law. Everything comes down to money, but even here, the math is wrong"

Read Elayne's post in its entirety in the Huffington Post:   Barbis, Boosler vs. Brown & Board of Extermination

Sign the petition:  Don't Repeal Hayden

Visit www.StrayCatAlliance.org for more information about their fight to stop the repeal of the Hayden Law.

Visit our friend Elayne Boosler's official website at  www.elayneboosler.com and her animal rescue organization website at www.tailsofjoy.net

Barbi Twins Speak Out Against Hayden Law Repeal: Doom for Shelter Pets

We are spokespersons for Stray Cat Alliance (SCA), against the Hayden Law Repeal.

Governor  Jerry Brown wants to revoke the Hayden Law for shelter pets in California which currently gives 4-6 days to allow owners to find their lost pets, injured animals to relieve donated medical attention or for fostering or adoption opportunity.   Gov. Jerry Brown wants to cut funds off by eliminating the wait period and killing the pets within only a 72 hour waiting period. This will create mass killings at shelters. THIS IS NOT AN OPTION! Killing has only opened the window for breeders, creating more discarded pets that are dumped at shelters.

As SCA points out, it actually saves money to implement a spay/neuter program.  For instance, to house, euthanize and dispose a pet, it's $250, whereas to simply fix the pet, it is less than $50.

Jerry Brown's solution is not only unethical and uncompassionate, it also won't solve the problem of pet population.  Killing never has been an answer, just an excuse for breeders to continue to over-breed.

It is far cheaper and more cost effective to implement a spay/neuter program.
Petition to urge Gov Jerry Brown to reconsider the Hayden Law Repeal.


http://scapetitions.org/dont-repeal-hayden-petition

THE COLLECTION AGENCY - Rescuism vs. Rescuing

By The Barbi Twins, Founders, TwinBunnies.com (originally posted on Kitty Liberation Front May 31, 2006) To the animal community, In reading these e-mails about hoarding I could not resist in commenting. My sis and I are known for our recovery from bulimia, and my mom is a top therapist for alcoholics and addicts. I have learned to recognize addictive behavior, not by their symptoms of excess weight or being drunk, but instead by their character defects: control issues, being  a victim, denial, etc. Hoarding is a mental illness, just like bulimia, and the addiction that follows hoarding allows us to add the "ism" to rescue. In fact, I recoined the word hoarding into "rescuism", to force people to view hoarding as mental addiction and disease. You cannot judge or get angry at someone mentally ill. However, just as we should not judge a "drunk", you still can stop the drunk from driving, when it involves other living creatures. I believe this should hold true with a hoarder and  rescuism. Their illness makes them unfit to see their sickness and unfit to run a shelter with dependent living creatures. Furthermore, you cannot tell a drunk they are drunk. Telling a mentally ill person they are a hoarder, will only make them defend themselves or defend other fellow hoarders.

MYTH BUSTER!

By The Barbi Twins, founders, TwinBunnies.com

There is NO pet overpopulation, but rather a pet crisis which is directly related to the lack of laws and spay and neuter programs. The pet crisis is also because people are unwilling to commit for life to their pet, just like a family member, or they are unwilling to adopt imperfect or older pets. The chances of an older dog getting adopted is less than 10% and the chances of an older cat getting adopted is less than 1%. Rabbits aren't even considered pets, they are "property". They all end up killed or abandoned on the streets

Ken and Barbis Helping The Horses

Models and animal activists Shane and Sia Barbi are starring with Michael Blake in the documentary “The Petition,” which supports an end to horse slaughter.

The Petition

The Pop 5 Barbi Twins Interview - The Top 5 Ways to Stop the Canadian Seal Hunt

The Examiner, April 19, 2011
By Jeromie Williams, Canada Pop Culture Examiner

A recent article by the Canada Pop Culture Examiner regarding the Canadian seal hunt unexpectedly caught the attention of the world famous Barbi Twins.  The international super models, turned vegan animal rights activists, have been drawing attention to the highly contested seal hunt in Canada and asked for the opportunity to speak to the Canadian public.

The Canada Pop Culture Examiner has opened up this editorial space in an exclusive interview with the Barbi Twins to bring to you The Pop 5 Ways to Stop the Canadian Seal Hunt.
Ladies and gentlemen - the Barbi Twins.

The Barbi Twins Motto: Cowgirl Up for the Wild Horses!

Examiner.com, Dena Stapleton, Feb 23, 2011


The Barbi Twins, Sia and Shane, were Playboy Bunnies that were plastered on the front Covers of the magazine. Well not much has changed by the way of being on the cover of magazines, but a lot has changed in the way of being a Playboy bunny. They took their “bunny” status over the top by becoming animal activists for every animal on earth, including the cute little fuzzy bunnies. They became the Bunny Crusaders, per-say.

They started out by getting more involved in rescue and helping out in shelters then moving onto bigger things like getting involved in the laws and urging US representatives to create better laws of protecting the animals. One, very close to home for both Sia and Shane, is the issues for the Wild Mustangs and also horse slaughterhouses. The Barbi Twins are doing what they can to urge people to come together to help support the Wild Mustangs and help show that the Bill HR503 (prevent cruelty to horses used for human consumption) and the Bill HR305 (help with the transportation of horses) are two bills that need to be passed. They are taking on a whole new motto: Cowgirl-up and help save the Wild Horses before they are extinct.

Read the Entire Article:  http://www.examiner.com/pet-advocacy-in-national/the-barbi-twins-motto-cowgirl-up-for-the-wild-mustangs

CUTEST - A Shelter Rescue Pet Story

By the Barbi Twins and Ken Wahl,

Hi, I'm Cutest. I'm a rescued shelter cat that owns Ken and Barbi. I want to tell you my story.

One cruel, cold day I asked myself, "Where did I go wrong?" Sitting here at the shelter, with my other "co-abandonees", we all backtracked to "the scene of the crime" as to why we were here.

I was a kitten born among many other animals in some back-yard breeders place. It was cold, over-crowded and dirty. I witnessed many of my family and friends being torn from each other, to be sold to various people, some of whom didn't even like animals. There was NO discrimination. I was lucky and a little girl spotted me and took me to her home. I thought she really loved me.

COZYWOOD, A Katrina Story

by The Barbi Twins

This story is not a story for the faint of heart, though it does have a fairy tale ending. It is about my life. I am a Katrina rescue cat and my current name is Cozy

I was born from a litter of 4, outside the city of New Orleans. New Orleans mostly consisted of single moms like my mom, because of few spay and neuter programs. Though I thought I was a cute kitten, humans in the state of LA still viewed me and my litter-mates as "varmints" and treated all cats as such. Gosh, my relatives were the reason the rat population was down! Nothing like a "thank you" to be born behind the junk yard and thrown in the streets with the other ferals. I quess that is why I am anti-social with other cats, (and dogs), because I had to fend for myself

Do Hollywood Stars Support Causes or Cults?

By Shane and Sia Barbi, Founders, TwinBunnies.com
Beverly Hills Times Magazine,  October 2008

Celebrities have the kindest hearts when it comes to supporting charities, gladly offering their names and fame to raise millions for causes.  What's unfortunate, however, is that many stars don't have the time or desire to research the charities they endorse.  Result:  they lend credibility to dishonest organizations that don't follow through with their promises.  One of the worse offenders?  Animal Rights Organizations.  As animal activists, we are shocked to see big-name celebrities endorsing big-name animal rights organizations known for fraudulent claims, misappropriation of funds and even worse -- supporting the belief that "killing is saving."