In Relation to World Vegetarian Week: Top Ten Reasons To Go Vegetarian

A great article that really quickly sums up the benefits of vegetarianism.

I like this quote from Sir Paul McCartney found in the article: "If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty."

Article:

Top Ten Reasons To Go Vegetarian

http://www.alternet.org/environment/85828/?page=entire

By Bruce Friedrich, AlterNet. Posted May 19, 2008.

It's World Vegetarian Week and here's a few reasons to kick the meat habit.

Gone are the days when vegetarians were served up a plate of iceberg lettuce and a dull-as-dishwater baked potato. With the growing variety of vegetarian faux-meats like bacon and sausages and an ever-expanding variety of vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants, vegetarianism has taken the world by storm.

With World Vegetarian Week here, without further ado, are the Top 10 reasons to give vegetarian eating a try, starting now!

1. Helping Animals Also Helps the Global Poor While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it's about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is. Care about global poverty? Try vegetarianism.

2. Eating Meat Supports Cruelty to Animals The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years past are now distant memories. On today's factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems. These animals will never raise families, root in the soil, build nests, or do anything else that is natural and important to them. They won't even get to feel the warmth of the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter.

3. Eating Meat Is Bad for the Environment A recent United Nations report entitled Livestock's Long Shadow concludes that eating meat is "one of the ... most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." In just one example, eating meat causes almost 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, and planes in the world combined. The report concludes that the meat industry "should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity."

4. Avoid Bird Flu

The World Health Organization says that if the avian flu virus mutates, it could be caught simply by eating undercooked chicken flesh or eggs, eating food prepared on the same cutting board as infected meat or eggs, or even touching eggshells contaminated with the disease. Other problems with factory farming -- from foot-and-mouth to SARS -- can be avoided with a general shift to a vegetarian diet.

5. If You Wouldn't Eat a Dog, You Shouldn't Eat a Chicken Several recent studies have shown that chickens are bright animals who are able to solve complex problems, demonstrate self-control, and worry about the future. Chickens are smarter than cats and dogs and even do some things that have not yet been seen in mammals other than primates. Dr. Chris Evans, who studies animal behavior and communication at Macquarie University in Australia, says, "As a trick at conferences, I sometimes list these attributes, without mentioning chickens and people think I'm talking about monkeys."

6. Heart Disease: Our Number One Killer Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including the United States' three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Drs. Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn -- two doctors with 100 percent success in preventing and reversing heart disease -- have used a vegan diet to accomplish it, as chronicled most recently in Dr. Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, which documents his 100 percent success rate for unclogging people's arteries and reversing heart disease.

7. Cancer: Our Number Two Killer Dr. T. Colin Campbell is one of the world's foremost epidemiological scientists and the director of what The New York Times called "the most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease." Dr. Campbell's best-selling book, The China Study, is a must-read for anyone who is concerned about cancer. To summarize it, Dr. Campbell states, "No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein."

8. Fitting Into That Itty-Bitty Bikini Vegetarianism is also the ultimate weight-loss diet, since vegetarians are one-third as likely to be obese as meat-eaters are, and vegans are about one-tenth as likely to be obese. Of course, there are overweight vegans, just as there are skinny meat-eaters. But on average, vegans are 10 to 20 percent lighter than meat-eaters. A vegetarian diet is the only diet that has passed peer review and taken weight off and kept it off.

9. Global Peace

Leo Tolstoy claimed that "vegetarianism is the taproot of humanitarianism." His point? For people who wish to sow the seeds of peace, we should be eating as peaceful a diet as possible. Eating meat supports killing animals, for no reason other than humans' acquired taste for animals' flesh. Great humanitarians from Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi to Thich Nhat Hanh have argued that a vegetarian diet is the only diet for people who want to make the world a kinder place.

10. The Joy of Veggies

As the growing range of vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants shows, vegetarian foods rock. People report that when they adopt a vegetarian diet, their range of foods explodes from a center-of-the-plate meat item to a range of grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables that they didn't even know existed.

Sir Paul McCartney sums it all up, "If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty."

So are you ready to give it a try?

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter Signs Historic Farm Animal Welfare Law: SB 201 Phases Out Gestation Crates for Pigs and Veal Crates for Calves

I’ll state the obvious – a strong move that sets a precedent towards further legislation in other locations. As stated below, in summary, “SB 201 phases out veal crates within four years and gestation crates within 10 years. It also jumpstarts a process, to be administered by the Agriculture Commissioner, to allow for ongoing dialogue between agriculture and animal welfare groups.”

Obviously, 10 years is an unreasonably long time to implement such simple changes. Yet, it’s not simply the act that will lead to change, but also the success of such a law passing. This move sends a strong message that the crating of pigs and calves is unnecessary, and even industry supports phasing out such inhumane and archaic practices.

Please read on for further information. The posting below comes from the website of the Humane Society of the United States

Article:

Governor Ritter Signs Historic Farm Animal Welfare Measure into Law

http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases

/cogestationvealcrates051408.html

May 14, 2008

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed landmark legislation prohibiting two controversial factory farm confinement methods. Specifically, the new law will phase out gestation crates and veal crates—individual cages that confine breeding sows and veal calves.

The measure came as the result of negotiations by The Humane Society of the United States and Colorado agricultural groups. SB 201 was introduced by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Jim Isgar (D-Hesperus) and House Agriculture Committee Chair Kathleen Curry (D-Gunnison). Governor Bill Ritter, Agriculture Commissioner John Stulp, and Colorado State University Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Dr. Bernard Rollin, played crucial and leading roles in the negotiations.

"Americans demand humane treatment of animals, including animals raised for food. With this measure, adversaries turned into allies to advance animal welfare concerns," stated Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The HSUS. "Through cooperation, progress on this important issue can indeed belong to everyone."

SB 201 gained support in both the House and Senate, with the House approving it 59-4 and the Senate approving it unanimously.

"This legislation is proof that humane groups and agriculture interests can work together to find common ground and move toward better treatment of farm animals," added Professor Bernard Rollin, who has worked closely with humane organizations and agricultural groups and played an instrumental role in the negotiations. "The movement toward ending abuses such as gestation crates and veal crates is unmistakable, and states elsewhere should follow this example."

SB 201 phases out veal crates within four years and gestation crates within 10 years. It also jumpstarts a process, to be administered by the Agriculture Commissioner, to allow for ongoing dialogue between agriculture and animal welfare groups.

The HSUS has officially withdrawn a ballot initiative petition on the same subject, which would have also phased out the confinement of egg-laying hens in battery cages. The HSUS, Colorado agriculture groups, and Commissioner Stulp agreed to continue to have dialogue on that issue.

Facts:

* Nearly 150,000 breeding pigs are confined in gestation crates in Colorado. While the state has no current veal industry, its sizable dairy industry could potentially attract veal operations, and the veal crate provision was a preemptive measure.

* Gestation crates are barren, two-foot-wide individual metal cages so small, the animals cannot even turn around. Veal crates are narrow wooden stalls that prevent calves from turning around or lying down comfortably. The calves are typically chained by their necks and suffer immensely.

* Colorado is now the first state in the country to ban the use of gestation crates and veal crates by action of a state legislature. Florida, Arizona and Oregon have prohibited gestation crates. Arizona has prohibited veal crates. And a California measure to prohibit veal crates, gestation crates and battery cages recently qualified for November's ballot.

* Smithfield Foods, the largest U.S. pig producer, is phasing out gestation crates, and the American Veal Association voted to urge the entire veal industry to phase out veal crates. Colorado-based chain Chipotle already refuses to buy any pork from producers that use gestation crates. Chains such as Safeway, Burger King, Carl's Jr. and Hardees have also implemented policies to reduce their reliance on gestation crate pork.

Undercover Investigation Again Exposes Truth of Greyhound Racing Industry: Greyhounds Sacrificed to be Prodded, Abused, and Killed in Research

I received this email from another group. I’ve attached their comments below and then the story below that. I’ll let their words speak to the disgust of this killing program. Proof again of the animal abuse inherent in greyhound racing.

Anyone wanting further information, please contact Trudy Baker at: info (at) greytexploitations.com Trudy is "...more than willing to communicate with anyone who wants further information."

From the email I received:

“Yet another undercover investigation of how the greyhound racing industry so crudely ‘take care’ of their greyhounds. Not only are greyhounds being sacrificed for scientific research once they are no longer a financial asset in their retirement, they are being sacrificed as young as a year old, simply because they won’t chase or perform.

Please leave online comments at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3908388.ece

Please also take some time to thank the journalist Daniel Foggo, yet again, who investigated and wrote the article. Without him, the abuse, slaughter and exploitation of greyhounds would have continued to be denied by the racing industry who clearly do ‘take care’ of their greyhounds but only as cheaply and as quickly as possible! You can email Daniel at The Sunday Times via the news desk: newsdesk@sunday-times.co.uk”

Article:

Greyhound breeder offers slow dogs to be killed for research

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/

news/uk/crime/article3908388.ece

Daniel Foggo

The largest breeder of greyhounds in Britain is offering to sell healthy young dogs to be killed and dissected for research, an investigation has found.

Charles Pickering told an undercover reporter that his breeding programme continually throws up dozens of “fit and healthy” dogs that are “just a bit too slow for the tracks” and therefore a financial burden to him.

Pickering, who offered to sell them for £30 each, said he was helping to supply dogs to the animal teaching hospital at Liverpool University.

He provides yearling greyhounds to Richard Fielding, a greyhound trainer, who gives his older dogs for free to university veterinary staff, who put them to sleep and remove organs for teaching and research.

Pickering said he wanted to keep his dealings “nice and confidential” because it was “extremely sensitive”. The disclosure throws fresh light on the way in which the greyhound racing industry treats both retired dogs and those that fail to make the grade.

The Sunday Times disclosed in March that the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) was buying canine body parts from John O’Connor, a vet whose clinic was willing to euthanase healthy greyhounds, no questions asked.

An undercover reporter approached Pickering after hearing he was quietly sending young dogs to be put down at Liverpool University.

Pickering, a former pig farmer, breeds about 200 racing dogs a year at his Zigzag Kennels. Its website says: “We make the welfare of all our stock our highest priority.”

The reporter told Pickering that he was from another university and was interested in procuring surplus dogs for research. Pickering, 56, who is based at Dunholme in Lincolnshire, said: “We look to sell them [for racing] for a minimum of £200-£300 at 12 weeks [old].

“When they get to a year old we are hoping that we can get between £800 and £20,000 for the very fastest. But, of course, along the way we get some that aren’t quite suitable. If it’s in the interest of someone for scientific purposes or study purposes, well that’s a good thing. It’s better than just being put down and disappearing.”

Asked which of his dogs were not “suitable” for racing, he said: “We’ve got ones that simply won’t chase, they are absolutely healthy, fit as you could want, but just choose not to chase the artificial hare or are just a little bit too slow for the tracks. Or the ones that turn and fight.”

Pickering said he had been supplying up to 30 dogs a year to Liverpool University but “we could do more if required”. He later said that the dogs sent to Liverpool had either “finished racing or they are the ones that don’t make the grade” and were taken there by Fielding, who is accredited by the National Greyhound Racing Club, the sport’s governing body.

Pickering said that he could supply as many dogs as required at £30 each and could even breed them specifically to be killed. “When we are breeding, the ones that only reach the minimum standard for what we want, if we get too many of those it becomes a complication because we have to look for pet homes and all that sort of thing,” he said.

“I do give as many away for pets as we can, but these young ones, they are not used to the house environment. If they can have a use and help someone somewhere, and it gets me a tiny bit of money back, that’s all the better for me.”

Fielding, who is based in Lancashire told the reporter he had four “very healthy” dogs which he was happy to have taken away and killed immediately.

“I got shot of 10 old ones last year. Liverpool is a godsend in that respect because they are used for a good purpose.” He did not charge the university for them.

When contacted by the Sunday Times he denied taking any of Pickering’s dogs to the university and insisted the only greyhounds he took there were old and not rehomeable.

Pickering later denied ever having sent dogs for research.

Dr Eithne Comerford, who works at the university’s hospital and had arranged to take greyhounds from Fielding, told the undercover reporter that it was “not something we’re particularly mad about . . . we’re all vets”. She stressed that the dogs were “euthanased properly” and used for “multiple projects”. She said they were not paid for and the RVC scandal had caused “huge havoc”.

A spokeswoman for Liverpool University defended its activities. “Our approach to veterinary research is of the highest ethical standard. We only carry out research on tissues of dogs and cats that have died or been euthanased and with the full consent of the animal’s owner.”

Group Tells President Arroyo of the Philippines the Obvious: Become Vegetarian and Help Solve the Problem of Starvation in the Country

Once again a politician is shown the obvious and they refuse to listen. Unfortunately, in this case, this lack of openness to the truth leads to suffering of people.

Article:

GMA declines animal rights' group invitation to become vegetarian

http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Local%20News
&p=54&type=2&sec=2&aid=200805097

Friday, May 9, 2008 10:02 AM

MANILA (AP)-President Arroyo has declined an animal rights group's invitation to become a vegetarian to help fight hunger in her country, her spokesman today said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals challenged Mrs. Arroyo in an open letter to shun meat, saying that "adopting a vegetarian diet and publicly advocating the same would do far more than any photo op."

The PETA director for Asia-Pacific, Jason Baker, said that raising animals for food is "condemning people in the Philippines and around the world to starvation." He said food fed to animals is enough to feed half the world.

Mrs. Arroyo was not persuaded to change her diet.

Animal Abuser and Pharmaceutical Company Covance Again Targeted by Group: Company Asked to Stop Importing Monkeys and Exporting Dogs for Research

It’s amazing that the resolutions proposed find absolutely no support among executives and the shareholders. The group simply asked for Covance to stop importing monkeys and exporting dogs for research testing purposes. Why they won’t even agree to such simple and humane measures is confusing.

Covance is no stranger to carrying out animal abuse. We posted on a story in which they were fined for animal abuse. You can read about that here: http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/04/usda-has-fined-drug-testing-company.html

Article:

Animal rights activists protest as drug company shareholders meet

http://www.nj.com/centraljersey/index.ssf/2008/05/
animal_rights_activists_protes.html

by Bill Mooney/The Times

Thursday May 08, 2008, 11:34 AM

Michael Mancuso/The TimesPETA members protest outside the entrance to the Princeton Marriott in Plainsboro, where shareholders of Covance, a drug development company, met Thursday. PETA alleges that Covance harms monkeys.

PLAINSBORO -- Animal rights activists staged a protest Thursday morning outside the annual shareholders meeting of drug development company Covance here.

A resolution introduced by members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asking Covance to stop importing monkeys and exporting dogs for research testing purposes was defeated at the meeting, which was held at the Princeton Marriott hotel.

Alka Chandna, a researcher with PETA and a shareholder of Covance stock, introduced the resolution. Meanwhile, outside the meeting, on College Road East, six PETA activists huddled in cages and displayed signs calling for a halt in the use of animals as test subjects for pharmaceuticals or other products.

Chandna said that in previous meetings, when PETA has presented what it said is evidence of animal cruelty, the response of Covance executives has been dismissive. "They basically shrug their shoulders," she said.


Laurene Isip, Covance spokeswoman, denied the allegations and said that the company complies with all U.S. laws regarding the regulation and care of animals.

The resolution PETA presented was overwhelmingly defeated, but Chandna said Covance agreed to take a look at video PETA had that Chandna said shows animal cruelty at a facility in Vietnam that provides monkeys for importation to the United States.

Australia to Return to Old, Cruel Ways: Will Resume Live Animal Exports to Egypt Even After Excessive Cruelty Discovered

Too bad Australia has to return to it’s old, cruel ways.

In the past I wrote about the absolutely disgusting practice of livestock import from Australia to the Middle East. That included actual footage of the just horrible treatment that occurs to sheep. You absolutely won’t believe what you’ll read about and see. You can see it here at:http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/03/unbelievable-video-exposes_08.html

Fortunately, that led to an investigation. Unfortunately, as expected, little has changed and the practice will resume.

Article:

Australia to resume live cattle exports to Egypt after halt over cruelty allegations

http://www.pr-inside.com/australia-to-resume-live-cattle-exports-r580333.htm

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australia will resume live cattle exports to Egypt after a two-year halt due to alleged cruel treatment of the animals.
Agriculture Minister Tony Burke, who planned to announce the agreement later Friday, told Fairfax newspapers that resumption of exports will be subject to strict conditions, including the cattle being handled according to international standards and slaughtered only at a new facility.

Exports were halted abruptly in 2006 after the previous government reacted to a television documentary showing cattle having their tendons slashed and their eyes poked out by Egyptian cattlemen.

Livecorp, the Australian lobby group for the live cattle industry, gave assurances that stock would be well-treated.

«Under this system Australian cattle will be well cared for and managed under agreed procedures throughout the entire livestock export chain from the farm in Australia to the processing facilities in Sokhna,» CEO Cameron Hall said in a statement. «The Australian public and federal government can be confident that Australian cattle will be well cared for along the entire supply chain to Egypt.

But the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the decision as a commercial move, saying there was no guarantee that the animals would be handled and slaughtered humanely.

«The Government should be phasing out the export of live animals for slaughter, not expanding the trade into regions with a proven record of disgraceful animal cruelty,» RSPCA Australia Scientific Officer Melina Tensen said in a statement Friday. «RSPCA Australia is calling on the Government to stop stalling and put animal welfare ahead of the bottom line.

Animal rights groups have lobbied the Australian government for several years to end live animal exports to the Middle East because of concerns over the Islamic halal slaughter method, which involves slitting the animal's jugular vein and draining all the blood from the carcass.

Australia's live cattle trade is worth about 730 million Australian dollars (US$690 million; ¤450 million) a year.

Los Angeles Reporter Investigates Puppy Mills: Same Sad Reality Found: Pet Stores Fuel Abusive Puppy Mills and Breeding: Death, Disease, and Abuse

Same reality found again. But still, puppy mills and pet stores go on.

We’ve actually posted about the pet store, puppy mill, breeders connection before see this posting for more information - http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/09/pet-stores-and-puppy-mills-why-hsus-is.html

For more information on puppy mills and pet stores and tips on finding and buying dogs, cats, etc. from reputable sources other than pet stores and puppy mills see the following links:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/
get_the_facts_on_puppy_mills/index.html

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_adoption_information/
buying_a_puppy/buying_a_puppy/

Stoppuppymills.com

Article:

David Goldstein Investigates Puppy Mills

http://cbs2.com/goldstein/Puppy.Mills.
David.2.719762.html

Reporting

David Goldstein

LOS ANGELES (CBS) ― They're locked in cages. Put there to breed. With little love or attention.

The animal rights group Last Chance For Animals videotaped this puppy mill in Littlerock--near Palmdale.

Hidden behind a fence--more than 100 dogs. They do have a permit to breed from L.A. County--but not from the federal government. The federal animal welfare act says any breeder who sells to a pet store has to have a permit.

With a hidden camera we went into Posh Puppies in Tarzana. Here we found one of their maltese puppies for sale for over $2,000! But when we tried to question the employee--she didn't want us there.

"It's an unlicensed puppy mill yet the dogs come from there? Can I please ask the camera to leave?"

Last week we uncovered this puppy mill also in Littlerock. After our investigation -- L.A. County Animal Control cited the facility for overcrowding--and ordered more than 300 dogs moved out. They also don't have a federal permit.

But it seems Littlerock is fast becoming the puppy breeding capitol of L.A. County. Just around the corner--we found a third facility. In a county inspection last November--they found 274 dogs---which is legal. But again--we found no federal permit. No legal license to sell to pet stores.

"These stores are buying from puppy mills that are not properly licensed. Animals are basically illegal."

Chris Derose is the director of Last Chance For Animals. He blames the puppy mills in L.A. County on the trend in Hollywood.

The cute little dogs are all the rage with celebrities--so people want to follow suit. And breeders are trying to keep up. But the public doesn't see the dark side.

"This little girl's leg is missing."

This dog was rescued from the puppy mill last week with leg problems. Others rescued also are mistreated.

"These dogs pay for it over and over and these people--these celebrities that have animals don't go out and see where these animals come from."

Because of our investigation -- L.A. County supervisor Mike Antonovich is going to introduce a motion to see if further inspections are needed.

Gray Wolves Taken Off the Endangered Species List: Now Being Hunted Freely For First Time Since 3 Decades Ago: Let’s Break Down The Flimsy Argument

What really stands out in this article is the absolutely flimsy and ridiculous arguments / rationalization used by those who have decided to go about killing wolves.

Here’s one found in the article below: “For Saunders, killing that wolf was a long-awaited chance to even things out because he has lost two horses to wolves…”

Maybe I need to break this down to show how flimsy and illegitimate this “argument” is. I’ll keep it simple – how would killing another wolf allow you to “get even” with the fact that another wolf supposedly killed two horses? Essentially, you’ve killed to say that killing was wrong. And not only that - the wolves killed for food or to survive. You're simply killing for fun or for some flimsy excuse of getting even with a natural predator.

It’s positions like this that show that taking species like the wolf off the endangered list will only simply put them right back to where they were in numbers. Shows that this really was a move only to appease ranching and hunting interests.

Here’s some facts from the article below:

“Since federal protection was lifted March 28 and states took over wolf management, 37 wolves have been killed, just over 2 percent of their population. Since 66 animals were transplanted to the region 13 years ago, an estimated 1,500 now roam Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.”

Article:

Off endangered list, wolves face new pressure from hunters By MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press Writer
Sun Apr 27, 3:21 PM ET

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080427/
ap_on_re_us/hunting_wolves

BILLINGS, Mont. - Tony Saunders stalked his prey for 35 miles by snowmobile through western Wyoming's Hoback Basin, finally reaching a clearing where he took out a .270-caliber rifle and shot the wolf twice from 30 yards away.

Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies have been taken off the endangered species list and are being hunted freely for the first time since they were placed on that list three decades ago, and nowhere is that hunting easier than Wyoming.

Most of the state with the exception of the Yellowstone National Park area has been designated a "predator zone," where wolves can be shot at will.

For Saunders, killing that wolf was a long-awaited chance to even things out because he has lost two horses to wolves and blames the canines for depleting local big game herds.

"It's hard for people to understand how devastating they can be," said Saunders, 39, who ranches at Bondurant, Wyo., 30 miles southeast of Jackson, Wyo.

Since federal protection was lifted March 28 and states took over wolf management, 37 wolves have been killed, just over 2 percent of their population. Since 66 animals were transplanted to the region 13 years ago, an estimated 1,500 now roam Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.

Environmental and animal rights groups plan to file a lawsuit Monday seeking an emergency injunction to block the killings and trying to put wolves back on the endangered list.

They predict that if states continue to control the animals' fate and proceed with public hunts, wolves could be driven back nearly to extermination in the region.

"There will be opportunistic shooting 365 days a year. This will become a continual black hole for wolves," said Franz Camenzind with the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, which is joining the lawsuit.

Despite the removal of wolves from the endangered list, killing them in the Northern Rockies is nothing new. Last year, a record 186 were shot, primarily by wildlife agents, for killing and harassing livestock.

But since the beginning of this year, 59 wolves already have been reported killed in the three Northern Rockies states, about three times the 19 killed over the same period last year — most of them just in the month since they lost federal protection.

State officials blamed this year's increased hunting in part on heavy snow, which kept wolf packs at lower elevations where sheep and cattle range.

"That's the reality of managing wolves in a modern landscape. Some of them are going to be removed," said Eric Keszler, spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

In fact, entire packs have been legally killed off in past years because of livestock conflicts, according to biologist Mike Jimenez with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

With public hunts planned this year, federal biologists project the three states will maintain a population of 883 to 1,240 wolves at least for the next few years — well above the government's goal of maintaining a population of at least 300 wolves.

But wolf advocates say the states could systematically cull the population right down to that minimum unless a court intervenes.

Idaho and Wyoming in particular have a "hostile legal regime" that is stacked against wolves, said Doug Honnold, the Earthjustice attorney preparing the lawsuit.

"If anybody can kill wolves, you have no way of ensuring wolf killing isn't excessive," he said.

Honnold and other advocates say a minimum of 2,000 to 3,000 wolves is needed to protect their genetic diversity. They contend the government was on track to meet that goal when it caved in to political pressure and stripped the species of endangered status.

Some state officials and ranchers, including Saunders, acknowledge a lingering hostility for wolves, which had been exterminated in the region in the 1930s.

"There's times I'd like to get rid of all of them, but that's not realistic either," Saunders said. "And I'd like for my son one day to be able to hunt them, too."

Why is Annual Canadian Baby Seal Slaughter Protected?

A good, brief writing on the economics behind the annual Canadian baby seal slaughter.

By the way...I've held off on posting for about a week in order to maintain focus on this annual slaughter. See the prior posting to learn more about this horrible event.

To follow a group and their campaign and to support them in ending this ridiculously cruel and unnecessary annual slaughter fest, visit their site at: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008/

Article:

Re:Seal hunt protest ship seized off East Coast

http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/414434

April 13

It is ironic that Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn characterizes protesters against the seal hunt as "money-sucking." Given the economic realities of the hunt, it's clear that the only thing keeping this slaughter going are the subsidies that sealers receive from taxpayers.

These include the cost of search-and-rescue operations for sealers who get into trouble, the cost of "policing" the killing to ensure that humane groups can't film what's being done, the legal costs to fight the European Union's attempts to ban imports of seal-related products from Canada, and the money spent on trying to "spin" this issue so that Canadians will believe there's nothing inhumane about clubbing and skinning thousands of seals to death.

The costs to Newfoundland and Labrador and other parts of the Maritimes are likely even higher when you factor in the folks, like myself, who have vowed never to visit this part of Canada until the seal "hunt" is abolished.

And what economic benefit does Canada get in return? About $16 million last year – a fraction of the cost of the subsidies disbursed by the government in order to stain Canada's international reputation.

Paul Warren, Toronto

Loyola Sullivan, Canada's ambassador for fisheries conservation, was concerned with the "disturbing, false and misleading images that distort the image of Canada as a humane nation," claiming that footage used in the European anti-fur campaign was "dated."

Yet when a group of people sit in international waters attempting to get up-to-date footage, their boat is seized in an attempt to stop these newer images from being released.

What is Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn trying to hide by doing this?

Shane Dalgleish, New Norfolk, Australia

Now we know that the real role of the RCMP is to serve and protect commerce. Boarding a ship in international waters is usually called piracy. We can only hope that the Dutch government treats this case with the seriousness it deserves.

The barbaric seal hunt was bad enough. For Canada to flout international law to prevent people from seeing what is actually going on is disgraceful.

Gary Dale, Toronto

Why is this horrific annual event called a "hunt"? What chances do these helpless, hapless sitting ducks have against a gun and/or a Caligula-like device called a hakapik? The very word sends chills down my spine. This is so outdated and so very primitive.

What kind of people do this killing? They call themselves Canadians? I'm ashamed of Canada.

I've cancelled my trip this summer to Newfoundland and Labrador. The TV ads inviting people to "come and see" turn my stomach.

Darina Oravec, Courtice, Ont.

What's up with the word "militant"? Why does the Toronto Star apply it to an animal rights group documenting the seal hunt, but not to the fishermen who illegally cut their lines or the Canadian Coast Guard, which illegally boarded the Sea Shepherd vessel?

This is a word that has normally been associated with Islamic fundamentalist suicide bombers over the past few years.

It's interesting that your newspaper uses the same word to describe animal rights activists who are legally filming the slaughter of baby seals.

Bonnie Sullivan, Toronto

Annual Canadian Baby Seal Slaughter Begins: 325,000 Seals Targeted this Year

Well, here we go again.

What really can I report other than gruesome details of baby seals being shot OR bludgeoned - grown men putting clubs or hakapik or picks through the heads of baby seals who cannot move. The result being baby seals wounded and thrashing about in agony on the surface of the ocean.

As stated at the website of the group Sea Shepherd at http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008/, “Canadian Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn has set this year’s quota at 275,000 harp seals to be killed, 5,000 higher than last year, without any scientific justification and without any market justification…. In total over 325,000 seals are being targeted this year.”

The group that is tireless in fighting this unfortunate spectacle of human cruelty is Sea Shepherd.

To follow their campaign and to support them in ending this ridiculously cruel and unnecessary annual slaughter fest, visit their site at: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008/

Colorado Animal Rights Laws 2008 So Far: 3 Important Bills Recently Signed into Law

Some good news. Though again not all that stringent, it’s good to see issues such as Internet Hunting brought to the attention of the public. Hopefully this will spread to other states.

Here is what has been recently signed into law by Governor Ritter so far:

HB-1185 will require that all dogs & cats adopted from shelters and rescue organizations in Colorado be spayed or neutered.

HB-1200 Establishes criminal penalties for Internet hunting in Colorado. This applies not only to operating an Internet hunting facility (which was already made illegal by rule of the Colorado Wildlife Commission), but also to participating in a "hunt" from a computer located in Colorado.

HB-1304 Increases the penalties for killing a bald eagle.

Navy Release EIS: Sonar Training Exercises WILL Kill at Minimum 30 Marine Mammals Per Year: Will Not Impose Stricter Standards Imposed by Judge

Will Not Impose Stricter Standards Imposed by Federal Judge

Surprise, surprise. The US Military will not safeguard any life AND they won't listen to court orders. As stated below, “Navy training exercises could expose 94,370 marine mammals to behavior-altering sonar frequencies each year, potentially injuring or killing as many as 30.”

Article:

Navy Crock-It

http://www.grist.org/news/2008/
04/04/navy/index.html?source=rss

Sonar will kill some marine life but safeguards are adequate, says Navy

Posted at 2:47 PM on 04 Apr 2008

Navy training exercises could expose 94,370 marine mammals to behavior-altering sonar frequencies each year, potentially injuring or killing as many as 30, according to an environmental impact statement released Friday by the Navy. But in its 1,796-page report, the Navy sticks with current safeguards for protecting marine animals, not adopting stricter standards imposed by a federal judge earlier this year. Green groups are likely to challenge the EIS in court, continuing a seemingly neverending cycle of litigation and appeals.