[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 18 (Monday, May 10, 1993)]
[Page 788]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

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Proclamation 6560--Be Kind to Animals and National Pet Week, 1993

 May 7, 1993

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Throughout our history, animals have played an important part in our 
lives. In colonial times, we relied on animals to carry us and our 
belongings over great distances to our frontier homesteads. When we 
arrived, they worked with us, sustained us, and helped us earn a living. 
Today, animals still help us in our economic lives, but they have taken 
on a greater role as our guardians and companions.
    We celebrate this week in order to remember the many ways that 
animals help us. By serving as guides, animals aid the blind. As 
lookouts and detectives, animals assist in our military, customs, and 
law enforcement efforts. As friends and companions, pets befriend our 
children, ease the loneliness of the elderly and the ill, and entertain 
our families in our daily lives. We also salute the veterinary 
professionals and animal protection organizations that help us provide 
food, shelter, and medical care for animals and pets.
    Together with all the creatures of the world, human beings are a 
part of nature. Just as we must respect our environment, we must treat 
animals kindly. In recognition of this, the Congress, by Public Law 102-
504, has designated the week of May 2 through May 8, 1993, as ``Be Kind 
to Animals and National Pet Week'' and has authorized and requested the 
President to issue a proclamation in observance of this week.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of May 2 through May 8, 
1993, as Be Kind to Animals and National Pet Week. I urge the people of 
the United States to observe this week with the appropriate ceremonies 
and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this seventh day of 
May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
seventeenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:34 a.m., May 10, 
1993]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on May 
11.