The other day I saw amazing footage of a massive rescue operation involving bulls. Santa Catalina Island, a few miles off the California coast, became the breeding ground of non-native bulls taken there in 1925 as part of a silent film. And they bred all right. In order to avoid the auctioning of the animals and their possible killing, IDA (In Defense of Animals) managed to remove part of the bull population back to where they belong: South Dakota. The rescue operation of the 105 animals involved several barges across 23 miles of ocean, then 1,800 miles by highway to South DakotaIDA now has the opportunity to rescue and relocate 150 more buffalo so they can join their cousings on Standing Rock, South Dakota. The organization needs $35,000 to get the job done. So, if you can spare a little bit of money, you could make all the difference to these gorgeous animals and avoid a huge amount of future suffering.
It really baffles me when people say they hate non-human animals. What have they done to us? If anything, it’s humans who have done a lot of damage to other species. It’s specially dangerous when politicians go around saying they hate animals, as did Idaho Governor Butch Otter.Wolves were only taken off the Endangered Species List in Idaho in May, 2009, but Mr Otter was very quick to not only endorse the proposed trophy hunt this fall, he’s vowed to participate in it.He told a group of hunters, “I’m prepared to bid for the first ticket to shoot a wolf myself.” The wolf hunt is an apparent effort to boost elk populations for hunters to slaughter, and will begin on September 1, 2009.Adding insult to injury, Mr Otter told The Idaho Statesman: ”You can still hate them and respect their cunning and their place in nature.”The permit to kill a wolf costs $11.50 - with 220 wolves set to be killed state-wide. A life for $11.50 - what kind of world do we live in?Animal rights and veganism-promoting organization Friends of Animals’ president was outraged and decided to call for a boycott of potatoes produced in Idaho. “Gov. Otter’s enthusiasm for wolf killing not only demonstrates a complete lack of conscience and understanding of the word ‘respect,’ it shows a lack of respect for nature and the ecosystem; wolves don’t need Gov. Otter—or anyone else—to manage them”, says Feral.”As long as Idaho is in the business of killing wolves, the nature-respecting public should stop buying potatoes there.” Look for potatoes grown in Maine, Colorado, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and other states, advises the organization.Friends of Animals is a non-profit, international animal advocacy organization, founded in 1957. Its goal is to cultivate a respectful view of non-human animals, freeing them from cruelty and institutionalized exploitation around the world.
Great news! Today the European Parliament made history when it voted overwhelmingly to ban trade in seal products. This vote means that all three European Union (EU) institutions - the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament — are now in agreement, and seal products will no longer be placed on the market within the EU.
Europe has been a primary market for Canadian seal products, and many believe this ban spells the beginning of the end of the slaughter. This particular issue has become a cause-cèlebre for animal rights, perhaps because of the harrowing imagery that it creates as well as the sheer banality of this cruel trade. Canada’s defiance has left the world in shock for many decades.
“Closing markets saves seals’ lives. Just the prospect of an EU ban on seal product trade was enough to drive the prices for seal fur down to just $15 Canadian per skin this year — a decline of 86 percent since 2006. Many sealers chose not to hunt seals this year as a result — and to date, out of a quota of 338,200 seals, just 57,622 have been killed. It is likely that when the seal hunt officially ends on 15 May, a quarter of a million seals will have been spared a horrible death. Now that the EU has banned its trade in seal products, countless more seals will live out their lives in peace from this year forward”, said the Humane Society, one of the main organizations working towards the ban, in an official statement.
“But even as we celebrate this amazing victory, we must remain vigilant. Because there is every chance the sealing industry will develop new markets”, the organization warned. “We will continue maintaining economic pressure on Canada’s fishing industry through our boycott of Canadian seafood products. We will continue pressing for a strong law in Canada to stop commercial sealing. And we will continue to lobby other nations to ban seal products.”
Please join us as we finally put an end to the cruel slaughter of baby seals. Become a monthly supporter of Humane Society International and help us keep the pressure on Canada. We are thrilled by our success in passing this ban today, but there is still more to be done.
We are so close to putting this cruelty in the history books where it belongs — thank you for being a part of this historic campaign to save the seals. I know we can count on you to stay with us as we bring a final end to Canada’s commercial seal slaughter.
This is the week when the plight of animals in laboratories is remembered by compassionate people world over. Every year, hundreds of millions of animals are tortured and exterminated in laboratories and classrooms, victims of a backward mindset stuck in the 19th century.
Despite what the medical professional and scientists say, everyone can argue against the use of animals in laboratory on ethical grounds. It just is plain wrong to sacrifice several species to the benefit of only one. Besides, an increasing number of ethically-minded scientists are working to put an end to this cruel testing system in favor of scientifically advanced new systems such as in-vitro tests, computer simulations and cultured cells, to name but a few. The respected magazine The Ecologist has an illuminating article about animal experimentation with eye-opening data that industry and government prefer to keep out of view. Take a look at the story here.
In Defense of Animals has a dedicated website with activism suggestions and tools for this week dedicated to animals in laboratory. Apart from that, everyone can help by talking to people about the topic, boycotting companies that test on animals and looking after their health in order to avoid medication tested on animals: one great way of doing that is going and staying vegan.
A series of pro-vegetarian spots started being broadcast on MTV as of yesterday, and will run for five weeks. Produced by Compassion Over Killing, the adverts appeal to the youth market and focus on exposing the cruelty of animal farming, telling viewers exactly where animal products come from. Recent research shows that vegetarianism is growing faster among teenagers than other groups so it’s a good idea to target this type of audience. Says COK’s Erica Meier:
Our 2009 MTV Pro-Veg Ad campaign launches tonight: viewers around the country will see, perhaps for their first time, a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the cruel world of factory farming—and they’ll be further directed to visit our website TryVeg.com for more information.
To watch the adverts, click here. I think they are very good.
On Saturday I wrote about grey seals being safe in Canada afters buyers cancelled their orders. However, those blood-thirsty sealers managed to get an order for 200 seals and so that number of animals were murdered for what is most certainly a meagre amount of money. How much is life worth? It’s priceless, but not in the sick minds of these assassins. According to a report in the Chronicle Herald:
Bridget Curran of the Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition said she was upset her group, which monitors the hunt, wasn’t notified that sealers were on the island. It just shows a total lack of transparency on DFO’s part,” she said. “As licensed observers, we have a right to be there to monitor and document the kill.”
It’s disgusting that Canada allows such a thing to happen. In fact, this vile industry has come up with a novel way to defend the slaughter of seals: to protect fish stocks! Now, humans have been overfishing for decades and they want to put the blame for the disappearance of ocean fish population on seals? Puh-lease! I’ve never heard anything as hypocrytical in my whole life.
Valentine is a time for love, so it’s no wonder that animal lovers, the ones who really love animals and don’t eat/wear/use them, use the date to also celebrate their commitment to making this a better world for our non-human friends. I found two things that I’d like to share. First is the Discerning Brute’s take on Valentine crafts with help from the wonderful and compassionate Todd Oldham. Check out the video and the amazing ideas these two materialize together.
Over in the UK, AnimalAid and Viva! have joined forces to send a love message to British pigs via the Have a Heart for British Pigs! day of action on the 14th. You see, celebrity TV chef Jamie Oliver has been telling people to eat British pork because he says the animals are treated ‘better’ in his country than in the rest of Europe. First of all, no animal is treated nicely if they are going to be killed. Secondly, it’s not true that ‘welfare’ standards are higher in Europe as undercover investigations show. “The answer to saving pigs is not to buy British - the answer to saving pigs (and all farmed animals) is to go veggie!” says Viva!
The blogger at Food For Change has a good comment on this Jamie Oliver fiasco: “How can a chef who claims to be concerned with the nation’s health promote foods which are strongly linked to heart disease, obesity and cancer? In particular, sausages, bacon and other processed meats are extremely damaging to health, so much so that the World Cancer Research Fund have warned that there is no safe level of consumption.”
I couldn’t agree more and it shows yet again what hogwash the whole ‘humane meat ‘ movement is.
Peta ’s latest publicity stunt was getting its Super Bowl ad banned due to its sexual content. I personally don’t think it is that sexually daring, but then I’m a Brazilian living in Europe, which may explain a more relaxed attitude towards sex. However, I wonder if the old advertising motto, ’sex sells’, really works to promote vegetarianism as it does to promote cars. Sex sells … but what exactly? Perhaps sex only? I don’t know. I don’t mind the high camp humor in the ad, but it is the ethics benefits of a plant diet should always be the emphasis of go-veg campaigns. If anyone will have a better sex life for being a veggie, that’s an added bonus, not the central issue. What do you think? Have a look at the video below and chime in.
A good idea needs to be praised publicly and London’s Vegan Campaigns ‘ Vegan Pledge scheme certainly fits the bill. It’s very simple - the group advertises a meeting which members of the public are invited to attend (that’s today, by the way). During the meeting they are given nutritional advice and all sorts of information they may require to take the leap to vegan goodness. Says VC’s website:
As well as the opportunity to taste all kinds of vegan food, there will be talks, a cookery demonstration and a chance to ask all the questions you ever wondered about being vegan. There will also be advice on nutrition, and a free booklet of healthy recipes, shopping and dining tips to take away.
That is called taking the Vegan Pledge. Then a month later (this time, February 15) the group gets together and reports on how things went.
It’s a great idea to give people support to go vegan since there are several cultural obstacles they may have to conquer - and then they will see it’s really quite simple. “Being vegan is easy! There is an alternative to almost every animal product. Vegan foods – including non-dairy milk, cream, yoghurt, custard, cheese, ice-cream and much more – can now be found easily in high street shops and supermarkets. Most restaurants have a vegan option, and if not, the majority are prepared to adapt their dishes. So if you’ve been thinking about going vegan or you’d like to reduce your impact on the planet or improve your health – why not take the Vegan Pledge in 2009?” says Chrissy Leyland, Vegan Pledge organiser.
Recently I learned about the work of an amazing UK-based organization called International Animal Rescue . They carry out several good deeds but the one that really stayed with me is the work they do to save bears from the cruel tradition of bear dancing which mercifully they are helping to put to sleep. The tradition, that is, not the bears.
The other day I saw amazing footage of a massive rescue operation involving bulls. Santa Catalina Island, a few miles off the California coast, became the breeding ground of non-native bulls taken there in 1925 as part of a silent film. And they bred all right. In order to avoid the auctioning of the animals and their possible killing, IDA (In Defense of Animals) managed to remove part of the bull population back to where they belong: South Dakota. The rescue operation of the 105 animals involved several barges across 23 miles of ocean, then 1,800 miles by highway to South DakotaIDA now has the opportunity to rescue and relocate 150 more buffalo so they can join their cousings on Standing Rock, South Dakota. The organization needs $35,000 to get the job done. So, if you can spare a little bit of money, you could make all the difference to these gorgeous animals and avoid a huge amount of future suffering.
Recently I learned about the work of an amazing UK-based organization called 