MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

Each year we award a distinguished person of international standing with the Winsome Constance Kindness Gold Medal. 
The award also includes a Cash Prize of $20,000.

Past recipients include some illustrious names, many of who may be known to you, including: Dame Dr Jane Goodall (UK)
 Captain Paul Watson (USA)
 The Hon. Maneka Gandhi MP (India)
 Dr Ian Gawler (Australia)
 Professor T Colin Campbell (USA)
 Dr Jill Robinson (China)
 Dr Christine Townend (India)
 Sri Pradeep Kumar Nath (India)
 Captain Peter Hammarstedt (Sweden)
 And of course others, who wish to remain private.I am delighted to advise that, in recognition of his sterling efforts and our respect for him over decades

Mr CHRIS DEROSE from the USA, the Founder of Last Chance for Animals, has been awarded The Winsome Kindness Gold Medal and Cash Prize for 2017.Chris is a remarkable man and epitomizes what is great and authentic in the Animal Rights Movement. He is one of the first animal rights activists and has been an inspirational leader for over three decades. In 1984, he founded Last Chance for Animals (LCA), an international, non-profit animal advocacy organization focused on investigating, exposing, and ending animal exploitation. Since its inception, LCA has remained at the forefront of the animal rights movement with masterful undercover investigations and highly impactful campaigns that have put some of the worst animal abusers behind bars, and spared the lives of countless animals.Chris had a promising future as an actor, a profession he eventually turned his back on; instead he chose to devote 100% of his time fighting for the rights of animals and educating people about animal exploitation. For ten years, using the power of the media, he worked as a reporter and special correspondent for TV’s Hard Copy and Current Affair. By the time they left the air, Chris had contributed to more than 100 animal stories that reached millions of people. Chris was the first ever voice for the animals on an international scale.Since his youth in New Jersey, Chris has committed his life to ending oppression – wherever he finds it. As a Big Brother, he has supported and encouraged over 20 tough street kids, who, as a result, have built better lives for themselves. Through his experience as a private investigator, Chris gained the necessary skills to investigate criminal activity, pursue the perpetrators, and see them brought to justice. He organized the Los Angeles Sunset Green Party, aimed at combining environmental and animal issues, and founded a spay/neuter program called New Hope for Animals.Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., Chris fights all his battles non-violently; he has been shot and locked up in jail, including solitary confinement, for his peaceful actions. One tactic that rocked the foundation of animal experimentation was a daring daytime break-in at UCLA’s Brain Research Institute, documented by a film crew that showed the shocking truth of animal “research.” This first ever live-action footage clearly demonstrated that animal rights activists do not fabricate laboratory horrors, as they had been accused of for years. The 1988 UCLA break-in footage aired around the world on CNN and on the national television show 48 Hours.
Chris was also the driving force behind the first animal rights television show designed for the mainstream public, Hollywood Animal Crusaders, which aired nine times in 1999 on the cable channel Animal Planet. This remarkable achievement opened the door for other shows that introduced animal rights into American homes.Through his investigative work, Chris and LCA gathered evidence that resulted in the nation’s first federal and state prison sentences for multiple-count animal cruelty cases. He spearheaded an undercover investigation and won a lawsuit against the Gettysburg National Park Service to halt the slaughter of deer in national parks. LCA’s frontline campaign to save the Coulston primates/chimps came to fruition in 2002, when the Coulston Foundation shut its doors for good after years of total disregard for the lives and welfare of the primates in its care.In August 2003, LCA’s 15-year investigation of USDA licensed Class “B” animal dealers cumulated in the bust of C. C. Baird, America’s largest and most notorious “B” dealer. For six months, LCA’s undercover investigator worked at Baird’s facilities, documenting unthinkable cruelty at Baird’s Martin Creek Kennels, that for years, supplied the country’s research labs with tens of thousands of animals – many of them stolen pets. This was the largest multi-agency investigation (federal, state and local) on any animal issue in U.S. history. It was the first time a US Attorney’s office took on an animal issue and the largest federal bust of any kind, even in USDA history. Baird was convicted on federal charges; his license was permanently revoked and he received the largest fine ever imposed by the USDA. The 2006 Emmy-nominated HBO America Undercover’s documentary Dealing Dogs, profiles LCA’s ground-breaking undercover investigation.LCA’s work played a crucial role in Congress’ historic decision to ban all funding of USDA licensed for B dealers on December 8, 2015 – effectively putting them all out of business. This was the final nail in the coffin for the B dealer industry.LCA was also instrumental in the demise of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey’s circus. For decades, Chris and LCA investigated Ringling and conducted protests to educate the public on the cruelty circus animals are forced to endure. Ringling owner Kenneth Feld even hired a private investigator to spy on Chris – but the investigator ended up “flipping,” and sided with LCA once he learned the truth about Ringling’s abusive practices. Because of the relentless campaigning by LCA and other activists, the public grew unwilling to tolerate animal cruelty in the circus, and Ringling was forced to shut its doors. After 146 years, Ringling held their last show on May 21, 2017 in Uniondale, NY.  Still going strong today after 33 years, Chris and LCA relentlessly continue the fight for justice for all animals, exposing the horrific dog and cat meat industry in China and S. Korea, the cruelty and neglect to whales at Marineland, Canada, and the torturous animal experiments at Canada’s International Toxicology Research Labs, among numerous other investigations. Together with the Cindy & Michael Landon Foundation, LCA donated a Cessna 206 airplane to help the rangers of Virunga National Park in the Congo to protect the park and the animals – including the endangered mountain gorillas -- from poachers and political instability.In 1997 and again in 2016, Chris released his autobiography, In Your Face, reporting on his life and his values on compassion. Chris has also been awarded the prestigious Courage of Conscience International Peace Award – an honor he shares with previous award winners Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.Chris’s sole mission in life is to expose and eradicate the most horrendous forms of animal cruelty, spreading the truth far and wide. He is a fearless man with a passion for justice and an unrelenting instinct to do what is right and he will never give up fighting for the animals.It would be remiss of me not to recognize the sterling support provided by Cindy Beal-DeRose. Her steadfastness, support and energy, as Chris would be the first to acknowledge, has enriched and powered his successes in the grim battle for the protection of the powerless. Cindy is a gem, and we are deeply indebted to her.I am sure you will all agree that Chris is a worthy recipient of this prestigious award.Please join me in thanking Chris, Cindy and Last Chance for Animals for their courage and compassion.One day, civilization will owe them a debt of gratitude it could never repay.Yours sincerely,Philip and Trix Wollen
Australia