Despite Acknowledging the Dwindling Numbers and Massive Deaths of Seal Pups Due to Global Warming, Canada OKs Annual Bloody Baby Seal Slaughter

It’s amazing to me that Canada actually admits that the seal pup deaths this year have been astronomical, but they still will allow the killing of 270,000!

Just look at this quote from that actual Fisheries Department spokesperson and you’ll see this twisted logic: “Fisheries Department spokesmen Kevin Stringer and Mike Hammill told reporters that pup mortality in the southern Gulf could be as high as 90 to 100 per cent this year.”

So that would mean that only a small percent lived this year, but they’ll still allow the bludgeoning of that small population? Only callous, twisted thinking could provide such a rationalization of such a distorted decision.

For more on cruel Canada’s annual baby seal slaughter including photos and video that show the reality of grown men putting clubs or hakapik or picks through the heads of baby seals who cannot move see: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/

And

http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/site/pp.asp?c=dhKPI1PFIqE&b=437193

Here is some great information on how you can attempt to stop the annual baby seal slaughter: http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/site/pp.asp?c=dhKPI1PFIqE&b=1477703



Article:

Quota for seal hunt reduced sharply

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/story/3927328p-4538990c.html
Updated at 1:30 PM

OTTAWA (CP) — Canada’s decision to allow a reduced seal hunt despite the deaths of many pups this year is being condemned by animal rights groups as a recipe for the eradication of the East Coast harp seal.

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn announced Thursday that this year’s quota for the seal hunt is 270,000 animals — a reduction from last year’s catch of 335,000 seals.

Fisheries officials said during a telephone briefing from Ottawa that hunters will be able to kill seals in all traditional hunting areas, including the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, where thin and broken ice has led to the deaths of many newborns.

Fisheries Department spokesmen Kevin Stringer and Mike Hammill told reporters that pup mortality in the southern Gulf could be as high as 90 to 100 per cent this year.

Nevertheless, Stringer said the southern Gulf is open to hunters who want to look for seals amid the thin ice and already decimated population.

“It’s an appropriate number,” Stringer said of this year’s quota. “It’s consistent with our precautionary approach.”Fisheries officials insisted the harp seal herd is healthy and abundant at about 5.5 million animals.

However, the department is accelerating a population survey of the herd, which will be carried out next year instead of 2009.

“This is an important resource for Canadians and we take the sustainable management of it very seriously,” Stringer said.

The 2007 quota and management plan was greeted with howls of protest by animal rights groups who have made the annual East Coast seal hunt the focus of international condemnation.
Rebecca Aldworth of the Humane Society of the United States said in an interview that seals are being subjected to the same kind of political mismanagement that led to the collapse of the cod fishery.

Aldworth said Hearn, who is from Newfoundland and Labrador, has it in for harp seals.
She said Hearn and the Fisheries Department appear determined to eliminate the seal, a marine mammal despised by many Atlantic fishermen as a competitor for dwindling fish stocks.

“I don’t believe the harp seal population can withstand this kind of mismanagement much longer,” Aldworth said.Sheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said she’s shocked Ottawa is allowing a commercial hunt in the southern Gulf despite the fact that officials acknowledge the high pup mortality.

“We could be looking at wiping out what is left of the Gulf herd this year,” Fink said.

Newborn seal pups can’t swim and need solid ice on which to survive.

Although Canadian hunters no longer kill the newborn whitecoats, the vast majority of seals killed in the hunt are between three and 12 weeks of age.

Fink said figures provided by the Canadian government’s own scientists show that any catch limit set above 165,000 will see the harp seal population continue to decline.

“With harp seals facing a growing threat from global warming and poor ice conditions, continuing the hunt at the unsustainable level announced today is nothing short of irresponsible,” Fink said.
Stringer said the reduction of the quota by 65,000 animals is substantial.

The vast majority of the hunt this year, as in past years, will take place off the northeastern coast of Newfoundland in an area called the Front.

Seventy per cent of the quota will be taken on the Front. The remaining 30 per cent will come from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, mostly the northern Gulf where ice conditions are better than they are in the south.The one-year quota includes allocations of 2,000 seals for personal use and 4,860 seals for aboriginal initiatives.

Stringer said there will be no change this year in the rules for observers who want to watch and report on the hunt.

However, it is much more difficult to observe the hunt off Newfoundland because of the greater distances involved.

Traditionally, animal rights groups and news reporters observe the hunt in the southern Gulf, between Iles de la Madeleine and Cape Breton Island.

Stringer said the department has had fewer applications this year for observer permits, which are designed to keep observers and hunters at safe distances from each other.

21st Annual Genesis Awards Bring Out and Reward Celebrities and Companies Who Support Animal Rights and Shed Light on Animal Abuse and Exploitation

An amazing and well-established event that rewards those who do good, but also sheds light on the issues of concern. It is put on annually by The Hollywood Office of The Humane Society of the United States. Here is a description of the event from their website at http://www.hsus.org/about_us/offices_and_affiliates/hsus_hollywood_office/

“Based on the philosophy of Hollywood Office founder Gretchen Wyler that "Cruelty Can't Stand the Spotlight," The Genesis Awards has been paying tribute to the news and entertainment media for the past 20 years for shining that spotlight into the darkest corners of animal abuse and exploitation. Recognized as the nation's premier consciousness-raiser of animal issues, The Genesis Awards is a star-studded ceremony attracting representatives from the media, entertainment, social, business and humane communities. The event is taped and edited for broadcast. For the past several years is has aired nationwide on Animal Planet, exposing millions of viewers to animal wrongs and animal rights. And here's how our members can play a part: if you've seen any animal-friendly storylines, no matter how small, in a television show or film, contact us at contact@hsushollywood.org.”

Article:

Animal-lovin' stars come out for Genesis Awards

http://www.dailynews.com/spywitness/ci_5531409

By Jenny Peters and Joel Stratte-McClure
Article Last Updated: 03/27/2007 04:43:11 PM PDT

There was definitely no fois gras, and certainly no fur-bedecked females, at the 21st annual Genesis Awards. The Saturday night fete at the Beverly Hilton was all about protecting animal rights, and the Hollywood office of the Humane Society of the United States presented awards to the media for "raising awareness of animal protection issues."

Emcee James Cromwell, guests Amy Smart, Steve Valentine, J.K. Simmons, Wendie Malick, Constance Marie, Sara Rue, Olivia Hussey, Bill Maher, Tippi Hedren and others chowed down on a tasteless vegan meal. Wolfgang Puck got a standing ovation for his recent decision to ban fatty goose liver in all of his restaurants.

The evening, which Cromwell said was "dedicated to fighting cruelty toward animals," underlined triumphant media moments that championed animal rights.

Sir Paul McCartney received the newly inaugurated Wyler Award for his longtime
defense of animals, while other winners included "Larry King Live," "CBS News" and the feature film "Happy Feet."

Burt Young showed up with Rusty, his canine co-star in "Rocky Balboa," who posed eagerly with every woman on the red carpet. And Catherine Oxenberg and Esai Morales ripped up the dance floor at the after party. Want more? The Genesis Awards will air on Animal Planet next month.

Many guests rode to and from the politically correct event in eco-limos that used hybrid engines and bio-fuel. No word as to how many directed their drivers to the closest In-N-Out Burger on the way home for a square meal before calling it a night.

Shirley Manson, Formerly of Band Garbage, Joins Campaign to Educate Where Fur Really Comes From

The image that will be used.

I have to say that this form of campaign in which reality is clearly shown is very much needed. Images to not lie and you cannot contest a real image of a skinned fox. People see the final product of the coat or other article lined with fur and do not see how it got that way. This type of blind ignorance may be comfortable, but it’s not the truth. Seeing where fur really comes from and that yes, it came from a living being is necessary to making informed decisions. I applaud any celebrities that use their power for educating people.

Of course, the fur comes from China where they love to torture dogs. You can read more about that at -

http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/01/sean-diddy-combs-admits-dog-fur-used.html

and

http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/03/crash-course-in-unbelievable-cruelty.html.

For photos on the horrors of fur see http://www.atourhands.com/furfarm.html

For additional photos and to learn why fur is so wrong see http://www.furkills.org/furfarming.shtml

Article:

Garbage singer is latest recruit for Peta's anti-fur ad campaign

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2393369.ece

By Andrew JohnsonPublished: 26 March 2007

The cult Scottish rock singer Shirley Manson has become the latest celebrity recruit in the rear-guard action against the re-emergence of fur on the catwalk and on the backs of the world's wealthiest and most famous women.

Manson, who fronted the band Garbage before embarking on a solo career, will be pictured in a hard-hitting ad campaign launched today by the animal rights organisation Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Wearing a Stella McCartney evening gown, Manson holds up a skinned fox over the caption "Here's the rest of your fur coat".

It is a campaign which last month saw the R&B singer Jamelia pictured naked with a white rabbit on her back and which promises many more celebrity shock adverts. Anita Singh of Peta said: "For every celebrity who wears a fur coat, we have 100 lining up who want to use their fame to raise people's awareness."

In December, Madonna was pictured in a £35,000 coat made from the skins of 40 chinchillas and, in February, Naomi Campbell, who once appeared in a Peta advert claiming she would rather go naked than wear fur, took to the catwalk in a fur-trimmed parka.

Designers including Julien Macdonald, Dior and Gucci are also using fur. Harrods and the high street store Joseph are selling fur again. All have contributed to making fur more acceptable than it was when controversy raged a decade ago.

In November, The Independent on Sunday revealed sales of fur clothing hit £500m for the first time, up 30 per cent on the previous two years, with £40m of new fur products imported every year.

Figures from HM Customs and Revenue showed almost one million tons of fur were imported each year - and the global market for fur has hit almost £7bn. But the backlash has been equally fierce, and effective. During British fashion week anti-fur campaigners pelted Julien Macdonald with flour on the opening night.

The designer Tommy Hilfiger announced at the weekend he was joining Calvin Klein in refusing to use fur. Prada is also said to be "bored"with fur and has not used any in this year's collection.

Sinclair Research Center Recent Animal Testing Facility to Be Found Guilty Of Committing Nearly 40 Violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act

It’s interesting to note here that this was a lab that carried out animal testing for Iams (Proctor & Gamble) and for Menu Foods – the recall company. So, this should give you a hint on just how bad this place is. This includes the Iams product – Eukanuba. For more information on Iams and Eukanuba and animal testing this see http://www.iamscruelty.com/introduction.asp

Here is a brief description of what was found inside this torture chamber:

“Among the alleged violations found by Agriculture Department inspectors: failing to provide sheep with appropriate pain relief during surgery; inadequate training of employees for animal handling and care; failure to vaccinate research dogs and cats; and keeping animals in cages smaller than the legal limits.”

"The gravity of the violations alleged in this complaint is great," the report concluded.”

Also interesting to note is that “…Bouchard purchased Sinclair Research, formerly known as Reproductive and Toxicology Consultation Services, from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994. Bouchard was a university employee before he started Sinclair Research.”

And…

“Sinclair Research, which has a site in Windham, Maine, is also a licensed dealer of research animals. According to the Agriculture Department, the company sold more than 6,500 animals for a combined revenue of at least $4.5 million from 2001 to 2004.”
So all in all, they were making a lot of money off of animal torture.

Article:

Mo. Animal Research Lab Agrees to Settle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/4656593.html

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER Associated Press writer© 2007 The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A Callaway County animal research lab has agreed to pay a $33,000 civil penalty after investigators alleged the company committed nearly 40 violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed the complaint against Sinclair Research Center in October 2006, more than three years after animal rights activists targeted the lab in an undercover sting.

Among the alleged violations found by Agriculture Department inspectors: failing to provide sheep with appropriate pain relief during surgery; inadequate training of employees for animal handling and care; failure to vaccinate research dogs and cats; and keeping animals in cages smaller than the legal limits.

"The gravity of the violations alleged in this complaint is great," the report concluded.
The Agriculture Department also accused Sinclair Research of a "lack of good faith" for conducting research at a location not known to the federal agency.

The company had no previous animal welfare violations but had been issued a written warning for failing to submit an annual report.

In a Feb. 28 settlement, Sinclair Research agreed to pay the fine and to "cease and desist" from further violations of federal law.

"It was a business decision," said company owner Guy Bouchard. "We had to resolve it promptly."

The federal inspections that triggered the complaint came several months after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a series of video recordings showing animals it said had been mistreated. The secret recordings were made by a PETA employee who had also been hired by the research lab.

The PETA investigation prompted two of the research lab's biggest customers to sever ties: pet-food-maker Iams and pet-food-supplier Menu Foods. Iams is owned by Procter & Gamble.
Menu Foods recently recalled more than 60 million cans and pouches of pet food nationwide after the deaths of at least 16 household pets due to suspected rat poison found in food.

Bouchard purchased Sinclair Research, formerly known as Reproductive and Toxicology Consultation Services, from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1994. Bouchard was a university employee before he started Sinclair Research.

The company was previously located in Columbia on university property. It has since moved to the town of Hatton, near Auxvasse in western Callaway County.

Sinclair Research, which has a site in Windham, Maine, is also a licensed dealer of research animals. According to the Agriculture Department, the company sold more than 6,500 animals for a combined revenue of at least $4.5 million from 2001 to 2004.

Bill Proposed In Arkansas to Make the Cruel Treatment of Dogs and Cats a Felony Defeated In a House Committee

Not a good ending. Nuff said.

Article:

Animal cruelty bill defeated in committee
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2007/03/27/News/341455.html

Tuesday, Mar 27, 2007

By John LyonArkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - A bill to make cruel treatment of dogs and cats a felony was defeated in a House committee Monday.
Senate Bill 777 by Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, failed in a 5-8 vote in the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development. Under the bill, aggravated cruelty to dogs and cats would be a Class D felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
The bill originally included cruelty to horses, but it was amended Monday to remove any reference to horses. Rep. Pam Adcock, D-Little Rock, who presented the bill to the committee, said the amendment resulted from a compromise with the Arkansas Cattlemen's Association.
The measure passed last week in the Senate in a 21-5 vote, after receiving the endorsement of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the House, however, the bill was referred to the Agriculture Committee, which some supporters believed sealed its fate.
Adcock said she was "extremely disappointed" by the vote but was not surprised by the opposition the bill faced in the committee.
"I thought that ... whenever they actually heard the truth, that it would change their minds, and it didn't," she said.
Adcock said she did not plan to present the bill again.
During the presentation of the bill, committee members viewed several photos showing the results of animal abuse, including aerial photos of the property of a Baxter County couple found guilty of 20 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty after authorities found more than 500 neglected dogs in their possession. Several of the animals had been displaced from their homes in other states by Hurricane Katrina.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said the couple absconded after being sentenced and are still at large.
"If they're found outside the state, I can't go get them" because the offense is only a misdemeanor, Montgomery said.
Adcock said the bill includes a provision to require a psychiatric or psychological evaluation and, if appropriate, counseling for any person convicted of the offense. People who are cruel to animals often are abusive to people as well, she said.
Rodney Baker of the Arkansas Farm Bureau testified that the Farm Bureau opposes SB 777 but supports House Bill 2788 by Rep. Rick Saunders, D-Hot Springs. Saunders' bill would make aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat or horse a Class A misdemeanor on first offense and a Class D felony on any subsequent offense occurring within five years of a previous aggravated cruelty offense.
Baker said the Senate bill is too broadly worded. As an example, he said that under the bill a person who loses his temper while training a dog and hits the animal could be charged with aggravated cruelty if a juvenile is present at the time.
Several committee members gave other hypothetical examples of actions they feared might be prohibited under the bill, such as the branding of hunting dogs or the shooting of feral cats.
Fayetteville lawyer Eva Madison said the bill applies to people who knowingly hurt or kill cats or dogs "in an especially depraved manner" and would not apply to any of the actions the committee members described.
Voting for the bill were Reps. Sandra Prater, D-Jacksonville; Gregg Reep, D-Warren; Lindsley Smith, D-Fayetteville; Robbie Wills, D-Conway; and John Lowery, D-El Dorado.
Voting against the bill were Reps. James Norton, R-Harrison; Stan Berry, R-Dover; Lenville Evans, D-Lonoke; Scott Sullivan, D-De Queen; Roy Ragland, R-Marshall; Eddie Cooper, D-Melbourne; Monty Davenport, D-Yelleville; and Bill Sample, R-Hot Springs.
Saunders' animal cruelty bill passed in the House last week in a 57-26 vote. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Global Warming and Related Thin Ice in Northwest Atlantic Slowing Start of Canada’s Annual Baby Seal Slaughter

Unfortunately the government still hasn’t simply ended this barbaric practice of literally bludgeoning the heads of baby seals. We will see how this plays out and will keep you all informed should the government again sanction this baby slaughter.

For more on cruel Canada’s annual baby seal slaughter including photos and video that show the reality of grown men putting clubs or hakapik or picks through the heads of baby seals who cannot move see: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/

And

http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/site/pp.asp?c
=dhKPI1PFIqE&b=437193

Here is some great information on how you can attempt to stop the annual baby seal slaughter: http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/site/pp.asp?c
=dhKPI1PFIqE&b=1477703



Article:

Global warming puts Canada's hunted seals on thin ice

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070323/sc_afp/
canadaanimalsealhunt_070322230218

by Michel Comte Thu Mar 22, 8:38 PM ET

OTTAWA (AFP) - Global warming threatens Canada's harp seals, protesters warned Thursday, calling for this year's annual cull to be cancelled to spare sea mammals already in peril from retreating ice used as breeding grounds.

"A large percentage of the seal pups born in the northwest Atlantic this year are dying as their habitat is destroyed," said Rebecca Alderworth, director of Canadian wildlife issues for the US Humane Society.

"We cannot allow the survivors of this ecological disaster to be slaughtered to produce fashion items," she said, estimating that more than 260,000 seal pups had perished due to climate change.

The government acknowledged the plight of the sea mammals, but would not commit to a hunt hiatus.

"Usually, we would have announced a hunt quota by now, but because ice conditions are poor, we're taking our time (to review data)," government fisheries spokesman Phil Jenkins told AFP.

"We've noticed that the ice over the past four or five years has been deteriorating and this year it's giving us some concern."

"We're seeing poor ice conditions (for breeding). So, we can expect a higher than average mortality of seal pups," he said, adding the quota is likely to be reduced from 335,000 harvested last year, if the hunt proceeds.

A commercial harvest is usually set now.

But Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn has delayed announcing a quota as government scientists explore the impact of thin ice in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence in eastern Canada on harp seal breeding.

Up to 20 percent of the herd usually nests on thick ice floes in the region in February or March. But this year authorities and animal rights groups found only slush and ice fragments too small to support a newborn pup.

Animal rights groups have been out in force, stripping naked in front of Canada's parliament in freezing temperatures, dousing themselves in red paint to protest the seal hunt and holding news conferences.

"We're calling on the (government) to take a precautionary approach and stop this year's hunt," said Toni Vernelli of Greenpeace Canada.

"Continuation of the commercial seal hunt cannot be reconciled with the long-term conservation of the harp seal -- an ice-dependent species which is already suffering critical habitat loss due to global warming."

Jenkins countered that animals tormented by warmer temperatures in the southern Gulf represent only 20 percent of the entire Atlantic herd.

Ice floes in the northern Gulf and around Newfoundland province where most of the seal hunting occurs is "fine," he said, rejecting speculation the fisheries minister might cancel the hunt this year.

In the past three years, one million seals have been killed as part of the commercial hunt in eastern Canada, which animal rights groups call "the largest marine mammal massacre in the world."

Demonstrators in Europe and Canada in recent weeks denounced the "cruelty" of seal hunting.

But Ottawa maintains the hunt poses no threat to the seal population.

Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said in a statement last week that opponents of seal hunting were presenting a "biased" view of a practice that he called "sustainable, economically viable and culturally significant."

Fisheries officials meanwhile said the Atlantic seal population has ballooned over the past three decades to 5.4 million in 2004.

Wolfgang Puck Agrees to Using Meat and Eggs from More Humane Suppliers and Refuses to Serve Foie Gras: Stops Short of True Changes Such as No Veal

I applaud his changes. They are small steps, but move toward a larger goal. However, continuing to serve such ridiculously cruel items such as veal sends the wrong message. Veal is perhaps the cruelest form of meat. Literally, it’s an abused, underfed, motherless baby cow. I hope that in the future he too adds the removal of veal from his menu in order to begin to move towards a more humane menu.

For more on the horrors and abuse behind veal and veal calves including photos and video proof of such abuse see http://www.noveal.org/


Article:

Celebrity Chef Announces Strict Animal-Welfare Policy

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/22/dining/22puck.html

Article Tools Sponsored By
By KIM SEVERSON
Published: March 22, 2007

Wolfgang Puck, the Los Angeles chef whose culinary empire ranges from celebrity dinners at Spago to a line of canned soups, said yesterday that he would use eggs and meat only from animals raised under strict humane standards.

Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Some chefs refuse to serve foie gras because of force feeding of ducks.

With the announcement, Mr. Puck has joined a small group of top chefs around the country who refuse to serve foie gras, the fattened liver of ducks and geese. But Mr. Puck, working with the Humane Society of the United States, has taken his interest in animal welfare beyond ducks.

He has directed his three companies, which together fed more than 10 million people in 2006, to buy eggs only from chickens not confined to small cages. Veal and pork will come from farms where animals are not confined in crates, and poultry meat will be bought from farmers using animal welfare standards higher than those put forth by the nation’s largest chicken and turkey producers. Mr. Puck has also vowed to use only seafood whose harvest does not endanger the environment or deplete stocks.

“We decided about three months ago to be really much more socially responsible,” he said in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. “We feel the quality of the food is better, and our conscience feels better.”

Many chefs at high-end restaurants, some smaller food-service chains and grocery chains like Whole Foods have refused to buy meat and eggs unless animals are raised under certain conditions. In 2000, McDonald’s became the first American food company to impose minimum animal-welfare standards, like increasing cage size, on its egg producers. But Mr. Puck’s program goes much further than most corporate animal-welfare policies, and he is the flashiest culinary name yet to join with animal rights groups in the movement to change farming practices.

Mr. Puck’s ventures include 14 fine-dining restaurants mostly on the West Coast. The flagship is Spago in Los Angeles, which helped him become the nation’s first celebrity chef. He also runs more than 80 Gourmet Express restaurants, many of which are in airports, and sells frozen pizza, soups, kitchen cookware and cookbooks. Mr. Puck estimated his companies’ value at $360 million.

Since 2002, at least one animal-rights activist group has tried to persuade Mr. Puck to stop using foie gras from ducks that are force fed extra amounts of grain to fatten their livers and veal from calves chained to small crates and fed a liquid diet to keep their flesh white and tender.

The group, Farm Sanctuary, protested in front of Spago and started a Web site called wolfgangpuckcruelty.org, which has since been taken down. Mr. Puck dismissed those efforts and said he decided to make the change as a result of a few trips to large-scale farms, discussions with the Humane Society and a desire to mark his 25 years in the business with something more significant than the kinds of big parties he is used to holding for the Oscars.

“I have been telling people we have to stand for something for the next 25 years,” he said. “It’s time for us to make a statement and a time for us to see how we treat what we eat.”

Mr. Puck said prices would increase only a few percentage points on some items.

As many as 98 percent of eggs come from chickens kept in banks of small cages to facilitate mass production, said Diane Storey, a spokeswoman for United Egg, which represents most major egg producers. She and Richard Lobb, a spokesman for the National Chicken Council, which represents major producers of chickens for meat, said their groups had science-based animal welfare certification programs that used humane and ethical guidelines.

“We applaud the fact that he sells a whole lot of chickens,” Mr. Lobb said. “But we think our program is very progressive and he should look at ours before he goes off with the Humane Society.”

Group to Launch First All Vegan Elite Cycling Team: OrganicAthlete Announces Launch of Team Vegan

I’ll let the quote below speak for the weight of such a decision and why this is such a monumental move:

“We want to show people a healthy, plant-based diet is possible for active, sporting people of any level. The bottom line is that reducing one's consumption of animal products and increasing one's consumption of whole, plant foods is better for one's health and the environment."

You can find out more at:

http://www.teamvegan.org or http://www.organicathlete.org.


Article:

OrganicAthlete to Launch All Vegan Cycling Team

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/3/prweb513172.htm

Official Team Vegan presentation takes place at Clif Bar Headquarters in Berkeley, CA on March 29th, 2007.

Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) March 22, 2007 -- On March 29th, 2007 at the Clif Bar Headquarters, 1610 5th Street in Berkeley, CA, OrganicAthlete will introduce the first group of elite bicycle racers aiming to bust the myth that animal products are needed for strength and stamina. The Team Vegan Presentation is being held from 6-9pm next Thursday to celebrate the team's official launch.

OrganicAthlete, a nonprofit that educates people about health and environmental stewardship, started the vegan cycling team to lead by example. OrganicAthlete founder and team captain Bradley Saul explains, "We want to show people a healthy, plant-based diet is possible for active, sporting people of any level. The bottom line is that reducing one's consumption of animal products and increasing one's consumption of whole, plant foods is better for one's health and the environment."

Saul, a former pro with the Jittery Joe's Cycling Team, founded OrganicAthlete in 2003 to educate people about the benefits of an organic, plant-based diet and lifestyle. "I saw that most people were fearful of a vegan lifestyle as if it was somehow lacking or difficult," Saul says, "But unless health, ecological footprint, and compassion for animals are things to be afraid of, these fears are unfounded."

While OrganicAthlete has over 500 members worldwide, the young cycling team consists of over 20 riders from all over the country, from category 5 riders to category 1 racers. In conjunction with their racing schedule, which includes races from California to New York City, the team's elite riders are scheduling speaking engagements to talk about plant-based nutrition.

The team launch event includes food, a silent auction, a screening of "Raw Wheels," and a Q&A session with the team. Raw Wheels is a short movie about a vegan cyclist from the city who falls in love with a meat-eating waitress in a small town. The event is a $20 donation, and RSVPs are requested.

"We're excited to have the support of Clif Bar for this project," adds Saul. "They've been committed to organics for several years, and they already support our series of Tour d'Organics bike rides." The OrganicAthlete Cycling Team is sponsored by VegNews Magazine, Organic Spa Magazine, Clif Bar, Mill Valley Cycleworks, New Harvest Organics, Melissa's, PDS Sports Medicine, Earl's Organics, Bio-Lube, Speedplay, Specialized, Beljum Budder, and Living Nutrition Magazine.

For more information about the OrganicAthlete Cycling Team, visit or http://www.teamvegan.orghttp://www.organicathlete.org. To RSVP for the team launch, email info(at)organicathlete.org or call 707-360-8511.

On Heals of Pet Food Recall, Here are Some Symptoms to Look for from Sick Cats or Dogs: Signs of Food Toxicity in Cats and Dogs

Last count put the deaths in very high numbers due to the recent recall. We provide a list of the recalled foods produced by Menu Foods at http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
menu-foods-recalled-dog-and-cat-food.html

Pets in Peril: Recognize the Signs of Poisoning

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2964521

March 19, 2007 — Since a number of cases of kidney damage among cats and dogs prompted a voluntary recall of numerous popular brands of pet food, including Iams, Nutro and Eukanuba, many pet owners have begun to worry that their pets, too, may be affected. However, veterinary experts say there are steps that owners can take to ensure their pets' health.

If your dog or cat is exhibiting the following signs, you should seek the opinion of a veterinarian immediately:

Uncharacteristic lethargy

Severe loss of appetite

Vomiting

Profound changes in eating and drinking

Increased urination

If you have been feeding your dog or cat one or more of the products that have been recalled, you should contact your veterinarian and arrange for tests to see if your pet's health has been affected. Here again is a link to the list of recalled foods http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
menu-foods-recalled-dog-and-cat-food.html

Pets will not always exhibit signs of kidney damage, so it is best to have them screened for potential problems.

Meat and Milk from Cloned Animals Moves Closer to Reality as FDA Moves to Clear it for Sale

It looks like if the government and industry have their way that meat from cloned animals will not be far off. We’ll wait to see some more reaction from all sides.


Article:

Group blasts FDA plan to allow food from clones

http://www.reuters.com/article/health-SP-A/
idUSN2129512620070321

By Christopher Doering
ReutersReuters

Mar 21, 2007 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Findings of a U.S. government study that would help pave the way for the sale of milk and meat from cloned animals was "flawed" and failed to adequately check for possible side-effects, a consumer group said on Wednesday.

The Center for Food Safety's report said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's risk assessment of food from cloned animals used data that was "selectively reported to fit predetermined conclusions" and relied heavily on unpublished data from two cloning companies.

The consumer group urged FDA to ban food or feed from cloned animals until the government conducts more safety testing on possible side-effects and addresses concerns over animal cruelty and ethical issues tied to the technology.

"I think the process was heavily influenced by industry … and it was unnecessarily rushed," said Charles Margulis, who wrote the report. FDA "needs to go back to the drawing board and bring a lot more stakeholders in the process."

The December draft ruling by FDA would allow the sale, for the first time, of food made from cloned cattle, pigs and goats. Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a surrogate mother.

At present, these products cannot be sold, and the ban remains in place until a final ruling is issued. FDA's proposed draft is currently open to public comment.

An FDA spokeswoman said the agency has received the Center for Food Safety's document and is reviewing it, but that she can not comment any further.

Advocates of livestock cloning say it will improve the quality of steaks and dairy products by propagating disease-resistant animals who can produce lean and tender meat or make more milk.

Barb Glenn, a spokeswoman for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, said additional studies released on cloning since December support the conclusion that milk and meat products from these animals are safe. She added that FDA's risk assessment was subjected to peer review by outside experts and an editorial board of a scientific journal.

FDA's report "is a very exhaustive and intensive analysis of all the world's available data, hundreds of scientific studies independently analyzed by the agency and all available transparently to the public," said Glenn.

The Center for Food Safety said in its report that FDA was unable to find the necessary studies needed to look at the safety of meat and milk produced from clones. It said FDA omitted or downplayed findings that contradicted its assumption from other studies it reviewed, including whether defective clones can be identified and removed from the food supply.

"FDA's review finds so little data, and so many inconsistencies in the studies cited, that any safety conclusions are based more on faith than science," the report from the Center for Food Safety said.

Dean Foods Co., the largest U.S. dairy processor and distributor, said last month it will not sell milk from animals that have been cloned even if it were allowed, because of ongoing consumer concerns .

Two-Time Runner-Up Ramy Brooks Disqualified From Iditarod for Abusing Dogs: Hits Each of 10 Dogs with A Lathe: One Dog Dies Next Day

Just last week we did a posting on the truth behind the Iditarod - http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/why-is-iditarod-cruel-and-what.html

As stated, these dogs are forced to run through abuse. Many end up dead or very sick. Well, telling proof has arrived in this story. Keep in mind that this isn’t some amateur here; this was a t two-time runner-up who was disqualified for abusing the dogs. So, it falls to conclude that is he is doing it, then it’s common place. And, as you’ll see, just after the abuse, one of the dogs actually died on the trail. So, not only abused, but then forced this dog to run sick and literally killed it. I can imagine the pain suffered as she ran sick and bruised from the musher’s abuse. Even more, the article claims the abuse came because the dogs were literally exhausted and couldn’t move. Just read these paragraphs from the article below. They really paint the true picture of what is actually behind the Iditarod:

“The 38-year-old Brooks hit each of his 10 dogs with a trail marking lathe, similar to a surveyor’s stake, after two refused to get up and continue running on an ice field, race marshal Mark Nordman told The Associated Press from Nome on Sunday.

Witnesses reported the incident to race officials. It happened Tuesday near Golovin, about 90 miles from the end of the 1,100-mile sled dog race in Nome.

“He lost his temper,” Nordman said. “He spanked each dog on the team, just a real frustrating moment for him.”

One of Brooks’ dogs died the next day on the trail, between White Mountain and Safety, the last checkpoint before Nome.”

For additional facts on why the Iditarod is cruel see http://www.helpsleddogs.org/faq.htm



Article:

Iditarod officials disqualify musher for hitting dogs

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/articles/2007/03/19/
news/national/doc45fe8953ed06b757796574.txt

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Two-time runner-up Ramy Brooks was disqualified from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for abusing his dogs.

The 38-year-old Brooks hit each of his 10 dogs with a trail marking lathe, similar to a surveyor’s stake, after two refused to get up and continue running on an ice field, race marshal Mark Nordman told The Associated Press from Nome on Sunday.

“He felt it was a discipline he needed to get his team off the ice,” Nordman said.

Witnesses reported the incident to race officials. It happened Tuesday near Golovin, about 90 miles from the end of the 1,100-mile sled dog race in Nome.

“He lost his temper,” Nordman said. “He spanked each dog on the team, just a real frustrating moment for him.”

One of Brooks’ dogs died the next day on the trail, between White Mountain and Safety, the last checkpoint before Nome.

Nordman said based on inconclusive necropsy results on Kate, a 3-year-old female, he has no reason to believe the two incidents were related. Further tests were being conducted.

An animal rights group was upset about the incident because it came when the dogs did not want to run.

“I’m sure they’re exhausted and sick of the whole thing,” said Lisa Wathne, a spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Menu Foods Recalled Dog and Cat Food: List of Products Affected By the Recall to Remove From Your Home: And Iams Animal Testing Reminder

As you’ve all heard, deaths are occurring from the brands produced by Menu Foods. You will see the lists of both cat and dog foods below. If you have any of these brands, remove them and find alternatives for both cats and dogs.

By the way, if you’re opposed to animal testing then you shouldn’t be using Iams anyway. This includes the Iams product – Eukanuba. Why? Well, they support and engage in animal testing. For more information on this see http://www.iamscruelty.com/introduction.asp

Here is just a brief snippet of what Iams has been found guilty of doing in terms of animal testing:
“For nearly 10 months in 2002 and early 2003, a PETA investigator went undercover at an Iams contract testing laboratory and discovered a dark and sordid secret beneath the wholesome image of the dog- and cat-food manufacturer: dogs gone crazy from intense confinement to barren steel cages and cement cells, dogs left piled on a filthy paint-chipped floor after having chunks of muscle hacked from their thighs; dogs surgically debarked; horribly sick dogs and cats languishing in their cages, neglected and left to suffer with no veterinary care.”

For a list of dog and cat food companies that do not test on animals or fund animal tests of their products please visit http://www.iamscruelty.com/notTested.asp



Dog and Cat Food Recall Lists

Recalled Dog Product Information
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Award
4. Best Choice
5. Big Bet
6. Big Red
7. Bloom
8. Bruiser
9. Cadillac
10. Companion
11. Demoulas Market Basket
12. Eukanuba
13. Food Lion
14. Giant Companion
15. Great Choice
16. Hannaford
17. Hill Country Fare
18. Hy-Vee
19. Iams
20. Laura Lynn
21. Loving Meals
22. Meijers Main Choice
23. Mighty Dog Pouch
24. Mixables
25. Nutriplan
26. Nutro Max
27. Nutro Natural Choice
28. Nutro Ultra
29. Nutro
30. Ol'Roy Canada
31. Ol'Roy US
32. Paws
33. Pet Essentials
34. Pet Pride - Good n Meaty
35. Presidents Choice
36. Price Chopper
37. Priority
38. Publix
39. Roche Bros
40. Save-A-Lot
41. Schnucks
42. Shep Dog
43. Springsfield Prize
44. Sprout
45. Stater Bros
46. Total Pet
47. Western Family
48. White Rose
49. Winn Dixie
50. Your Pet

Recalled Cat Product Information
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Best Choice
4. Companion
5. Compliments
6. Demoulas Market Basket
7. Eukanuba
8. Fine Feline Cat
9. Food Lion
10. Foodtown
11. Giant Companion
12. Hannaford
13. Hill Country Fare
14. Hy-Vee
15. Iams
16. Laura Lynn
17. Li'l Red
18. Loving Meals
19. Meijer's Main Choice
20. Nutriplan
21. Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
22. Nutro Natural Choice
23. Paws
24. Pet Pride
25. Presidents Choice
26. Price Chopper
27. Priority
28. Save-A-Lot
29. Schnucks
30. Science Diet Feline Savory Cuts Cans
31. Sophistacat
32. Special Kitty Canada
33. Special Kitty US
34. Springfield Prize
35. Sprout
36. Total Pet
37. Wegmans
38. Western Family
39. White Rose
40. Winn Dixie

St. Louis Zoo Kills Oldest Elephant: Clara Euthanized After Suffering Severe Health Problems Caused By Life in Captivity

The deteriorating health of Clara and others at the St. Louis Zoo was written about by IDA at http://www.helpelephants.com/st_louis_zoo.html

The zoos lack of concern has been proven now, as they did nothing to attend to these issues and alleviate the suffering caused by life in captivity.

It is commonly held now that it was captivity that led to her death as she was forced to stand on concrete and hard surfaces. Over time, an animal this size will suffer from this type of treatment. Eventfully, her legs gave out and then poisoning occurred due to circulation issues. I’m sure she was in severe pain when it occurred.

For more on the health issues caused by putting large animals like elephants in zoos see http://www.helpelephants.com/



Article:

TEXT: Clara Euthanized

Zoo's Oldest Elephant Euthanized

http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/News/
Detail?contentId=2666147&version=1&locale=EN-
US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-myFOXstl.com) --

The oldest elephant at the St. Louis Zoo was put to sleep after midnight. Clara, 54, was the matriarch of the zoo's herd. She had been suffering from arthritis and foot problems. Clara is receiving a necropsy Wednesday, which is an autopsy for animals, and she will be buried at an undisclosed location. The zoo calls Clara's death "a sad part of the circle of life."

Zookeepers say she was humanely euthanized. Clara was 54 years old, which zookeepers say is pretty old for Asian elephants. The average life expectancy is 44 years, either in zoos or in the wild.

Clara had arthritis and her painkillers were no longer working.

Clara was born in Thailand and brought to St. Louis in 1955 with seven other elephants to perform in the elephant show, which has since been phased out. In five decades at the zoo, Clara danced in elephant shows and also was there for the construction of two elephant facilities.

Clara was a "great aunt" to Raja, the first Asian elephant born at the zoo in 1992. Clara was also there for the birth of Mahlia, who was born seven months ago, and Jade, who was born three weeks ago.

25 Penguins Die of Toxin at Sea World on the Gold Coast in Australia: Proof Again that Zoos and Captive Situations Unnatural and Deadly

The killing of Clara at the St. Louis Zoo that was just motioned in the prior article (see http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
st-louis-zoo-kills-oldest-elephant.html)

just adds weight to the argument that captivity WILL lead to premature and painful death for captive animals. Essentially, this toxin was related only to captive situations. As stated, “The toxin, which has yet to be properly identified, attacks the brain, kidneys and liver of penguins.” In other words, an extremely painful death.

This also follow the incident this month of the killing of a Jaguar and zoo worker. You can read about that at
http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/03/
killing-of-zookeeper-and-subsequent.html

For more on the health issues caused by putting large animals like elephants in zoos see http://www.helpelephants.com/


Article:

Penguin deaths put zoos in spotlight


http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/
Penguin-deaths-put-zoos-in-spotlight/2007/
03/16/1173722719363.html

March 16, 2007 - 2:00PM

The death of 25 penguins at Sea World on the Gold Coast has reignited debate over the treatment of animals in Australia's zoos and parks.

The popular Gold Coast theme park is planning to rebuild its population of fairy penguins after a mystery toxin killed 25 of them in the past week.

The toxin, which has yet to be properly identified, attacks the brain, kidneys and liver of penguins.

The birds became ill on Thursday last week and by last weekend, 25 of the 37 penguins at the park were dead.

Trevor Long, marine sciences director at Sea World, described the deaths of the fairy, or little, penguins at the popular theme park as a "sad day for all".

"This is a very unfortunate event and there's a lot of lessons to be learnt from many zoos and aquariums all around Australia.

"We think it's a freak occurrence but until we get more information and identify what the toxin is, we won't really know."

But the incident has raised questions about the safety and treatment of animals in captivity.

Wildlife Queensland policy and campaigns manager Des Boyland says the death of the penguins was a "very unfortunate accident".

Mr Boyland, who worked closely with Sea World when he worked for Queensland's Environmental Protection Agency, said the park had some of the best procedures for handling animals in the world.

But he said like players in any other industry, there were "good ones and bad ones".

"I would prefer to see animals in the wild, but there is a case for zoos and zoos can play a role, provided they are not driven by commercial gain and that they do positive things for the environment," Mr Boyland said.

He says parks such as Sea World and the late Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, on the Sunshine Coast, were world-class operations.

"Steve's major contribution would be his extremely generous contribution to wildlife protection in the wild," Mr Boyland said.

"Sea World has an international reputation for animal rescue."

But there are concerns government environmental agencies and the RSPCA do not have the resources to regularly monitor zoos and animal parks

"The EPA barely have enough resources to satisfy their statutory obligations," Mr Boyland said.

"The RSPCA are very good but they are under a lot of financial stress and strain."

Zoos hit the headlines last year when Sydney's Taronga faced a battle with animal rights activists over four Asian elephants brought in from Thailand.

Campaigners launched a series of protests and legal challenges in a bid to stop the endangered elephants - part of an Australian-first breeding program - coming into the country, arguing it was cruel to keep them in zoos.

At the time, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), RSPCA Australia and Humane Society International (HSI) called on the public to monitor the zoo.

Australian Democrats deputy leader Andrew Bartlett, a long-time animal rights campaigner, says the federal government should stop issuing permits for the export and import of animals that are not suited to the zoos they are bound for.

"This includes Australian native animals like kangaroos and koalas being exported to unsuitable zoos in Asia, or the import of Asian elephants into Australia," Senator Bartlett says.

"Governments can also implement comprehensive legislation that covers the welfare of the animal in zoo and park settings and they can make sure that the law is enforced."

Senator Bartlett says it is unfortunate that zoos had "historically poor standards".

"I believe that we need to work on reinventing zoos - ensuring that they all operate at a high standard that replicates natural habitats and circumstances as closely as possible," he says.

In response to public concerns, the quality of zoos and parks is about to get a boost with the peak body for operators set to launch a new accreditation system.

Australasian Zoos and Aquariums Association executive director Jonathan Wilcken said the new standards, to be launched in New Zealand next week, would include periodic audits of the organisation's 74 members.

"It's helpful to have a process which specifically aims at setting up best practice targets, and moving towards making them minimum," Mr Wilcken said.

In any case, zoo operators argue Australia has some of the toughest regulation in the world, with both state and federal governments setting standards.

"We are regarded in the international zoo community as one of the most regulated in the world," Mr Wilcken said.

As Sea World examines its specific problem, Senator Bartlett says questions should be raised about why penguins are allowed in a park in a subtropical environment like southern Queensland.

"It's hard to see how the way they are kept and displayed encourages a greater appreciation of these animals or their natural habitats," Senator Bartlett says.

"There is no environmental need for these animals to be kept in captivity.

"The purpose for doing so is little more than entertainment.

"We could and should be doing better than this in the 21st century."

Japanese Insistence on Killing Whales Due To Ignorant Politicians and Also To Early United States Intervention Post World War II

There are a couple good things to point out about this article:

One, it shows that really there is very little interest by the Japanese people (not politicians) to eat whale meat. It literally has to be forced on them

Two: It was the United States who originally pushed them to resume whaling, but now, thankfully, the US is opposed to the unnecessary practice.

But, unfortunately, as they typically do, the Japanese continue to engage in unnecessary and cruel practices such as killing whales and dolphins.

For more on the truth behind whaling in general see
http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/10/iceland-resume-whaling-excellent.html

For more on Japan and it’s other deranged practice of killing of dolphins - http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/11/coalition-of-marine-scientists-has.html


Article:


Whaling: A Japanese Obsession With American Roots

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/
world/asia/14whaling.html?pagewanted=2

Ko Sasaki for The New York Times

By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: March 14, 2007

AYUKAWA, Japan — Why does Japan insist on whaling?

The Japanese suffered a major embarrassment recently when they had to cut short their annual whale-hunting season in the Antarctic after a fire crippled their main ship and killed a crewman. The vessel sat idle for 10 days, loaded with 343,000 gallons of fuel that New Zealand said threatened to leak into the pristine waters, creating a potential public relations nightmare.

A few weeks earlier, more than half the members of the International Whaling Commission, led by antiwhaling nations like the United States, Britain and Australia, boycotted a conference that Japan had called in Tokyo to discuss the resumption of commercial whaling.

Why does Japan go through the annual clashes with antiwhaling ships from Western environmental groups? Why does it subject itself to the opprobrium its so-called scientific whaling elicits in the very same countries with which Tokyo proclaims to have shared values? Out of all possible issues, why defy the United States on this one?

After all, current demand for whale meat in Japan is abysmally low. Even in a town like Ayukawa — a small northern community at the tip of a peninsula that juts into the Pacific Ocean, home to a century-old whaling tradition — officials are struggling to preserve the tradition of eating whale meat by serving it in classroom lunches. Whale nuggets stewed in ketchup was on the menu on a recent Friday.

“I believe this is our traditional culture,” said Natsumi Saito, 15, a junior in high school. “It’s whaling that made this town famous.”

For Japan as a whole, whaling is a far more complex issue. It is intricately tied to Japan’s relations with the West, especially the United States.

It comes as little surprise that foreign opposition to whaling has fueled nationalist sentiments in Japan. What is far less known is how the United States instigated, at least partly, Japan’s nationalist obsession with whaling by first encouraging the Japanese in the postwar years to hunt and eat whale meat, and then urging them to stop.

Tokyo is currently leading a worldwide campaign, arguing that it has the right to manage natural resources and that whale meat is part of its traditional culture.

The clash over whaling emerged with the United States-led environmental movement, which emphasized the belief that endangered animals should be protected and that certain highly evolved ones, like whales, should not be killed at all. Under a 1986 ban on commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission, Japan was allowed to engage in limited, scientific whaling of certain species — for things like gauging populations and tracking movements — and to sell the meat for consumption.

Japan has maintained ever since that human beings should be allowed to consume any animal as long as the fishing or hunting is sustainable. To establish this point, Japan sends whalers all the way to the Antarctic’s international waters, said Tetsu Sato, a professor of environmental science at Nagano University. In a world of diminishing marine resources, establishing this principle is critical to Japan’s long-term food security and natural resource management, he said.

“Precisely because whaling attracts so much worldwide attention, Japan can’t afford to lose,” said Mr. Sato, who supports whaling.

Last year, Japan killed 1,073 minke whales, which ended up in restaurants, supermarkets, school cafeterias or unsold. Most biologists agree that certain species of whales, including the minke, have not only recovered but are now thriving. Disagreement remains, however, about whether they can be harvested in a sustainable way or whether they are now so numerous that, as Japan asserts, they are threatening other marine animals.

But arguments about resource management do not resonate as much as those about culture.

“I was afraid that our food culture was going to die, so that’s why we began serving whale meat in school cafeterias,” said Shigehiko Azumi, 80, who served as mayor here when the ban went into effect.

Few deny that whaling is part of Ayukawa’s culture. But opinions divide over whether it is part of Japan’s.

Historically, fishermen in coastal towns, like Taiji in southwestern Japan, hunted whales in nearby waters. But things changed after the Commodore Perry’s so-called Black Ships forced an isolationist Japan to open up in the 1850s. Back then, the United States used whale oil lamps, and part of Perry’s mission to Japan was to secure the rights of American whalers in the Pacific.
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Multimedia
AyukawaMap
Ayukawa
Slide Show: Whaling in Japan (iht.com)

As whaling became knotted with Japan’s traumatic opening to the world and its subsequent drive to modernize, the Japanese adopted American and Norwegian whaling vessels and techniques. Some coastal towns were transformed into whaling stations, including Ayukawa, when the Toyo Whaling Company started operating here in 1906.

More Japanese, in turn, began eating whale, especially in western Japan. But it was after World War II, when a devastated Japan had few resources, that the American occupation authorities urged that whale meat be offered in classroom lunches nationwide as a cheap source of protein. For the first time, under America’s influence, whale meat became part of Japanese everyday life.

Japan’s whale consumption peaked in 1962 at 226,000 tons, then declined steadily until it fell to 15,000 tons in 1985, the year before the commercial ban took place. Whaling advocates argue that consumption fell because increasingly strict quotas by the Whaling Commission, followed by the ban, reduced supply.

“The demand didn’t die,” said Joji Morishita, an official at Japan’s fisheries agency and its negotiator at the Whaling Commission. “The supply was cut off. The Japanese didn’t have a say in the matter.”

Whaling opponents say that Japanese mostly stopped eating whale as the country became richer and alternatives became widely available.

“In the midst of Japan’s postwar food shortage, whale meat was used in classroom lunches, but it wasn’t very popular,” said Shuichi Kitoh, professor of environmental studies at the University of Tokyo. “The reaction was, ‘How can you eat that stuff?’.”

Nevertheless, to unify public sentiment behind whaling, the government promoted the argument that whaling was part of Japan’s cultural heritage and that it was being threatened by the West, Mr. Kitoh said. The argument resonated in a country where many feel that traditional culture has been lost in Japan’s confrontation with and then embrace of America; it was also in keeping with a modern Japanese tradition to construct a unified culture to face the West.

Ayako Okubo, a researcher at the private Ocean Policy Research Foundation, said that the cultural argument first emerged in the late 1970s, and was then enthusiastically and effectively used by politicians. Nowadays, most Japanese favor whaling.

“It’s not because Japanese want to eat whale meat,” Ms. Okubo said. “It’s because they don’t like being told not to eat it by foreigners.”

Japan’s unyielding stance on whaling also scratched a nationalist itch.

“Japan, in fact, can’t say no to America on many issues,” Ms. Okubo said, adding, however, that whaling was one issue where disagreement was implicitly tolerated. “It’s become like a form of stress release.”

Mr. Morishita, Japan’s negotiator to the Whaling Commission, chuckled at the term “stress release.”

“And we’re constantly saying no,” he said about pressure on Japan to stop whaling. “That makes some people feel good, no doubt about it.”

“But,” he added, “policy, of course, shouldn’t be decided based on that.”

Around Ayukawa, people are also struggling over the meaning of culture. Like other communities trying to maintain whale-meat eating, Ayukawa has tried to make the strong-smelling meat more palatable to youthful tastes by stewing it in ketchup or serving it sweet-and-sour style.

Yoichi Nishimura, 55, a city agricultural official who grew up eating whale meat, said ketchup and other nontraditional ways of preparing whale meat were just facts of modern life.

“But it definitely is a little strange,” he said.

Arkansas Looks To Make the Cruel Treatment of Dogs, Cats and Horses A Felony

Very positive to see this occurring in Arkansas. We’ll keep you all up to date on this bill.

Article:

Animal Cruelty Legislation Clears Senate Committee

http://www.swtimes.com/articles/2007/03/15/
week_in_review/news/thursday/news03.txt

Thursday, March 15, 2007 10:31 AM CDT
By Doug Thompson

Arkansas News Bureau

dthompson@arkansasnews.com

LITTLE ROCK — Cruel treatment of dogs, cats and horses would become a felony under a bill recommended by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

The committee also recommended a much-debated bill on expanding drug courts that retained a provision for an oversight committee that judges oppose.

Senate Bill 777 by Sen. Sue Madison, D-Fayetteville, “very, very narrowly focuses on only the most extreme forms of cruelty to animals and only on dogs, cats and horses,” Madison told the committee.
Previous animal cruelty bills

have floundered because of concerns they could be misused by activists to disrupt livestock, poultry and other animal agriculture.

“We don’t want anything limiting agriculture in the bill,” Madison said. “It is restricted to torture, to purposely prolonging pain, to killing for pleasure and for neglect. It also prohibits cruelty in front of a child. Often abusers will tell a child, ‘If you tell, this is what will happen’” and commit cruelties on an animal, she said.

Exemptions are also included to allow veterinary practices.

Violation of the provisions of the bill would be a Class D felony, punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation, the largest voluntary association of rural residents in the state, would support the bill if the felony charge only applied to the second and subsequent offenses, spokesman Rodney Baker said.

The qualified support is a major change from the organization’s previous opposition to any law restricting owners’ use of their animals, he told the committee.

He said the penalty provision could be misused to harass animal owners or punish a one-time fit of anger with up to six years in prison, he said.

Madison said that she considered the change but rejected it.

“We’re not convinced that somebody needs a second chance to skin a cat,” she told the committee.

Tubby Smith, director of the Arkansas Cattlemen’s Association, said the organization opposes the bill because it includes horses, setting a precedent for treating horses differently from other livestock.

Juveniles would be charged as juveniles and not be subject to sentences that would last beyond the offender’s 18th birthday, Madison told the committee.

Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery testified for the bill, saying that authorities in his county made arrests at a kennel with 500 dogs that were kept “in the most unbelievably deplorable conditions imaginable, and all we could charge the owners with was a Class A misdemeanor.”

SB 777 was recommended in a voice vote.

In the drug court bill, Senate Bill 18 by Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins, was recommended in a 5-2 vote of the eight-member committee. The bill retained a provision that would create an oversight committee including lawmakers, which raised concerns among judges over constitutional separation of powers.

Judges also object to language that could allow juvenile drug courts to get money under the bill. The bill would expand the drug court system and set standard drug court procedures.

Canada Prepares to Begin it’s Annual Baby Seal Slaughter: Group Urges Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Call off First Leg of East Coast Kill

I have no hope that Harper will call it off. He seems to love seeing baby seals have clubs or hakapik or picks put through the heads. However, given the lack of seals on the east coast, perhaps he will call it off for that reason.

For more on cruel Canada’s annual baby seal slaughter including photos and video that show the reality of grown men putting clubs or hakapik or picks through the heads of baby seals who cannot move see: http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/

And

http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/site/pp.asp?c=dhKPI1PFIqE&b=437193

Here is some great information on how you can attempt to stop the annual baby seal slaughter: http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/site/pp.asp?c=dhKPI1PFIqE&b=1477703



Article:

Animal rights group urges Ottawa to call off East Coast seal hunt

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.
html?id=7d92000a-dba5-4376-86e6-f22c032c0ec4&k=92964

Canadian Press
Published: Wednesday, March 14, 2007

HALIFAX — An animal rights group is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to call off the annual East Coast seal hunt because of a lack of seals.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare says ice conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are among the worst on record.

Harp seals normally give birth and nurse their pups on pack ice, but a lack of ice means few animals have been seen.

Sheryl Fink, a researcher for the group, says surveillance flights are reporting that there is not a single harp seal to be found in the southern Gulf.

The federal government has yet to announce this year’s hunt quota.

Fink says Harper has an opportunity to give Canada’s wildlife a fighting chance in the face of global warming.

Victory! Measure is Passed That Outlaws Cockfighting in New Mexico: Louisiana Now Only State Which Allows Cockfighting

One more down and one more to go. This was an incredible move and will hopefully lead to the end of cockfighting in the US. This has literally taken 18 years but gives hope to ending it in Louisiana as well. Luckily, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco has stated that she will support making cockfighting illegal.

For more on why cockfighting is wrong, see -
http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/animal_fighting_
the_final_round/cockfighting_fact_sheet


Article:

Cockfighting Ban Approved in New Mexico

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=
/n/a/2007/03/12/national/a143219D98.DTL

By TIM KORTE, Associated Press Writer

Monday, March 12, 2007

(03-12) 17:11 PDT Albuquerque, N.M. (AP) --

Gov. Bill Richardson signed a measure Monday that outlaws cockfighting in New Mexico, leaving Louisiana as the only state where the centuries-old bloodsport remains legal.

State Sen. Mary Jane Garcia, who has introduced legislation to ban cockfighting over the past 18 years, thanked Richardson, who until this legislative session had declined to take a stance on the issue. The prohibition takes effect June 15.

"Today, New Mexico joins 48 other states in affirming that the deliberate killing of animals for entertainment and profit is no longer acceptable," said Garcia, D-Dona Ana.

Richardson signed the bill at a ceremony at the state Capitol in Santa Fe.

Cockfighting fans have accused Richardson of taking a sudden interest in cockfighting now that he is seeking the Democratic nomination for president. They also defend cockfighting as a family activity and said opponents were meddling.

"I'm so upset that it's damn near ruining my life," said Ronald Barron, president of the New Mexico Game Fowl Association. "I've got 38 years doing this. I don't know if I should hatch off some baby chicks right now. This isn't a business. It's my pleasure. It's my right, or rather it was my right."

Barron said the association planned a legal challenge.

During a cockfight, two roosters fitted with blades or gaffs on their legs are placed into a pit and fight until one is dead or badly wounded. Although gambling on the fights is illegal, spectators openly wager on the outcome.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, called the law's passage "a major moment in the effort to rid our nation of this barbaric and reprehensible practice."

"New Mexico removed an ugly blemish today, and it is a proud moment for the state," Pacelle said.

Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who took no position on a cockfighting ban last year, said Monday she now supports making the practice illegal.

"I support banning cockfighting," Blanco said in a one-sentence e-mail from her press office.

In 2006 a state senator's bill to criminalize rooster fights failed in Louisiana Legislature.

One More Elephant Retired to Sanctuary: Unfortunately though, Los Angeles Zoo Doesn’t Learn Lesson: Has Plans for Large Elephant Captivity Development

We wrote last year about the premature and unnatural death of the 48-year-old Asian elephant named Gita at Los Angeles zoo - http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/06/
another-premature-and-unnatural.html

Of course, much is still to be determined about the cause of death, but those who truly understand elephants know that captivity literally killed her. Fortunately, the same fate may not await Ruby, another elephant at the Los Angeles zoo. By a sheer miracle, she will go to the Performing Animal Welfare Society's Ark 2000 elephant sanctuary in San Andreas, southeast of Sacramento - http://www.pawsweb.org/site/media/index.htm

It is surprising beyond belief that the Los Angeles Zoo allowed this. It looks like it was a political move as they likely didn’t’ want to face bad press again. Unfortunately though, one elephant remains behind and the zoo - Billy, a 22-year-old Asian bull. And, the zoo in its arrogance plans on huge future developments for elephant captivity. As stated below, “In fact, the zoo has embarked on an ambitious, $39-million capital project to build a new pachyderm habitat that is expected to be devoted to keeping and breeding Asian elephants.”

I guess they didn’t really learn.

One key fact to remember –

The average life span of Asian elephants in captivity is 42-years. In the wild, Asian elephants live about 70 years. Unless you’re an idiot, you can see the obvious difference.


Whatever happens it’s clear that the lives of elephants in zoos are unnaturally short and painful.

For more on the Los Angeles zoo and it’s questionable practices as well as additional facts about elephants in captivity see http://www.lcanimal.org/cmpgn/cmpgn_elephant_zoo.htm

Article:

L.A. Zoo to retire elephant to animal sanctuary

Animal rights activists praise decision on Ruby, which ends months of speculation on her fate.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ruby
12mar12,0,4279339.story?coll=la-home-headlines

By Carla Hall, Times Staff Writer
March 12, 2007
The Los Angeles Zoo is expected to announce today that it is retiring its female African elephant, Ruby, to an animal sanctuary in Central California.

The decision ends months of speculation over whether the pachyderm would go to another zoo or a sanctuary, and was praised by animal rights activists who lobbied for several years for her retirement to a preserve.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has expressed concern about the conditions for elephants at the L.A. Zoo, plans to discuss the decision to relocate Ruby at a news conference today.

"I am very pleased that the city and the zoo recognize that it's best to send Ruby to a sanctuary, which unlike a zoo can provide the vast space and natural conditions that elephants need," Catherine Doyle, elephant campaign director for In Defense of Animals, said Sunday night.

Activists have made the zoo's elephant habitat a rallying cry, long arguing that the giant land animals, which roam miles in the wild and form social bonds, simply do not have enough space at the L.A. Zoo.

State Assemblyman Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys), who has tried to mandate space minimums for elephants in captivity, has said that L.A. Zoo elephants simply don't have enough space to be content. Levine is also expected to appear at today's news conference at the zoo.

But zookeepers and L.A. Zoo director John Lewis have insisted that space alone is not the issue in caring for captive elephants. Zoo officials had no comment Sunday.

Currently, Ruby is off-exhibit and solitary, having lost the closest thing she had to a companion in the female Asian elephant Gita, who died last summer.

After Gita's death, Lewis said he would consider either transferring Ruby — at 46, her breeding years behind her — to another zoo or sending her to a sanctuary.

The advisory L.A. Zoo Commission voted at a meeting earlier this year to urge that Ruby go to a sanctuary. Ruby's departure will leave the zoo with only one elephant, Billy, a 22-year-old Asian bull, in residence and on exhibit.

Ruby will go to the Performing Animal Welfare Society's Ark 2000 elephant sanctuary in San Andreas, southeast of Sacramento.

Like a kind of Leisure World for elephants, PAWS offers some 75 acres of rolling hills to wander, plus a 3-acre lake and mud holes.

"Here, she'll be able to bathe when she chooses to bathe, mud when she choose to mud, and graze," said Pat Derby, co-founder and co-director of PAWS.

"We're really happy the zoo has made this decision," Derby said Sunday night.

Like any other relocation for an elephant, Derby said, this one will take some adjustment.

"There's the popular misconception that you put them in the truck, drive to the sanctuary, let them out and they all live happily ever after," said Derby, who has been caring for elephants at a sanctuary for 21 years.

"Every move is traumatic and stressful for an elephant. They're grounded in routine. They don't adapt well to a change. It will be a real experience for her…. I will say she's healthy and she doesn't have any major medical problems, and she has a really lovely personality. I feel she will move more quickly."

The L.A. Zoo joins a small but significant list of institutions that have decided, for the good of the animals, to retire elephants.

Eight zoos accredited by the Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums — including San Francisco and Detroit — have placed a total of 11 elephants in sanctuaries, Doyle said.

The L.A. Zoo, however, is in the interesting position of retiring one elephant to a sanctuary but not getting out of the elephant-keeping business. In fact, the zoo has embarked on an ambitious, $39-million capital project to build a new pachyderm habitat that is expected to be devoted to keeping and breeding Asian elephants.

Ruby came to the L.A. Zoo from Circus Vargas in 1987, but was sent off to Tennessee's Knoxville Zoo in 2003 to serve as a maternal example to other elephants. In her wake, she left outraged animal rights activists who said the zoo was breaking the bond between Ruby and Gita, and even filed a lawsuit to get her returned. She did come back to L.A. in 2004 after her introduction to the herd in Knoxville proved unsuccessful. But she has been off-exhibit ever since, a result of construction on the zoo grounds.

The zookeepers and the director have always staunchly defended their management of and devotion to the elephants. Principal elephant keeper Jeff Briscoe has spent years caring for the zoo's elephants and travels to see them in the wild.

Animals in captivity are well-cared for, Briscoe said, and not subject to "incredible humanelephant conflict issues" that plague pachyderms in the wild, Briscoe said last year.

"There are space issues and poaching. It's important to keep them in people's eyes so they pay attention…. These guys are safer here than out there."

India Joins Rank of Cruel China: Orders Massive Dog Cull

Though by numbers this cull pales in comparison to China’s cruel and unnecessary continuing dog cull – read about China’s dog cull here –
http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/08/
cruel-china-plans-another-large-dog.html - the numbers don’t matter. One dog matters and the means of these actions are inexcusable. The descriptions in the writing below are graphic enough to give you an idea of what really is taking place. Essentially, dogs are literally grabbed from wherever they are seen and taken to cages by any means. Of course, the politicians are no different there, and they attempt to sugar coat the situation. In this case they mention the presence of veterinarians. Is it not possible to have a sadistic veterinarian? Of course.

Article:

200 dogs killed in India campaign

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070313/
ap_on_re_as/india_dogs_1

By GAVIN RABINOWITZ, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 13, 12:12 PM ET

NEW DELHI - Authorities in the southern city of Bangalore have killed more than 200 strays in a bid to rid the city of dangerous packs of dogs, officials said Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT

The killings of the animals in India's high-tech hub have sparked protests and allegations of animal cruelty.

Officials launched a drive to round up strays last week after a young child was mauled to death by a pack of street dogs, the second such deadly incident in three months, Municipal Commissioner K. Jairaj told The Associated Press.

More than 1,300 dogs were captured in five days and more than 200 that were identified by veterinarians as diseased, rabid or aggressive were euthanized, Jairaj said.

The drive, however, has been suspended until more animal shelters can be built.

Animal activists also have protested, saying dogs were being indiscriminately killed and cruelly treated.

Millions of strays live on the streets of India. Some, particularly in areas near garbage dumps or butcher shops, form dangerous feral packs that have attacked people. Rabies is also rampant.

Animal activists, who claim to support the plan in principle, say it has gone horribly wrong, as overzealous laborers failed to differentiate between dangerous dogs and "community pets" — somewhat tame animals that are cared for by residents. These dogs, activists say, help keep wild dogs away from the neighborhood.

"The commissioner has given orders that only sick, ferocious and dangerous dogs should be taken, but on the ground level, even innocent dogs were picked up," said Sanober Bharucha of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action, which runs one of Bangalore's largest animal shelters.

The shelter is already full of strays rounded up by authorities and has had to suspend its regular operations, which include sterilizing and vaccinating city dogs, while they deal with the newcomers, she said.

They have also had to turn away hundreds more dogs because they do not have the space. "It is absolutely tragic," she said.

Jairaj said the drive was suspended until three new shelters were built.

Bangalore residents allege that the wrong animals were captured and abused.

"I saw one white dog being dragged on the ground by a chord around her neck while one of the catchers beat her with a plank that had nails embedded in it," said Jeremy D'souza, 42, who took part in a protest Monday night along with about 500 other people.

"When I tried to get them to stop, they said, 'Why do you care how it's being treated? It's going to be killed anyway,'" said D'souza, adding that the dogs caught in his neighborhood had clipped ears — a common sign used by animal groups to show they have been vaccinated and sterilized.

Pictures taken by D'souza showed one dog being hauled into a cage on a truck upside-down by a wire cord around its hind legs.

Jairaj denied animals were mistreated and said all dog-catching teams were accompanied by veterinarians. However, he said some dogs may have been left in vans overnight once the shelters overflowed.

"People should look at this in some perspective. Public safety is first and foremost, that is the issue here," he said.

Arrogant and Greedy Nike at it Again: This Time Releases Shoe Made out of Crocodile Skin

My question is why use crocodile? It seems that none of the bad press they receive has any affect on them. Perhaps this is why they do it – they simply don’t care and just look to the bottom line. Obviously if they’re now moving to using crocodile, they have absolutely no concern for anything other than money.

If after reading this article you’re disgusted at Nike and want to let them know (not that they’ll care I’m sure) here is the information to do so:

Tell Nike to Stop with Crocodile Shoes! Phone, Email, Write Now!!
by contact info
Monday Mar 12th, 2007 9:55 AM
Nike USA Consumer Services
• 1-800-344-6453 (7am - 3:50pm PST, Monday - Friday)
• E-mail Us - https://nike-store.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/nike_store.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php and hear back from us within 1-2 business days
• Corporate mailing address:

Nike USA, Inc.
Consumer Services
P.O. Box 4027
Beaverton, OR 97076-4027


Article:

Animal rights groups fuming after Nike unveils new crocodile shoe
by Sun (repost)

Monday Mar 12th, 2007 9:49 AM

ANIMAL rights groups were fuming last night after Nike unveiled £1,400 trainers made from CROCODILE skin.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007110630,00.html


The sports shoes — with 18-carat gold lace tags — went on display at the company’s flagship store in London’s Oxford Circus at the weekend.

The trainers were made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 line.

Shoes are also being made from the skin of the world’s largest snake — the anaconda.

Stores around the world are exhibiting the croc shoe in a glass case while stocking only one pair in each size.

But Nick Rudge, of the National Animal Welfare Society, said last night: “What a horrific and objectionable way of making money — they are croccy horrors.

“It is fashion gone mad and no different to wearing fur.”

Clifford Warwick, a reptile biologist with the Animal Protection Agency, said: “Wild crocodiles are hacked up alive for their skins, while farmed animals are treated equally barbarically.

“If people knew, it would put a lot of them off buying these shoes.

“It is distasteful consumer excess.

“Nike has crossed the line.”

Poorva Joshipura, of ethical animal treatment group Peta, said: “Anyone buying them is supporting cruelty.”

Andrew Tyler, director of campaign group Animal Aid, dismissed the shoes as “the height of decadence”.

No one from Nike was available to comment last night.

HSUS Take Dog Fur Issue to New Level: Asks FTC to Fine the High-End Retailers and Designers Who Mislabeled Jackets That Contain Fur from Dogs, Wolves

We wrote about this investigation recently. You can read the disturbing details at http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/02/
humane-society-of-united-states-found.html

Essentially, the Humane Society of the United States found that 24 of 25 fur-lined or trimmed coats contained dog fur. The coats were labeled as containing fake fur. So, an issue of mislabeling and lying to consumers.

Cited in this issue are the following companies and designers:

Designers Andrew Marc and Michael Kors; major department stores, including Barneys New York, Macy’s, Dillard’s, J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus, I. Spiewak and Sons Inc. Macy’s parent - Federated Department Stores Inc.

“The petition stems from a Humane Society investigation that turned up products that were made with fur from dogs, wolves or raccoon dogs, a species found mainly in China, that were sold as either fake fur or other types of fur in violation of the Federal Fur Products Labeling Act.”

Of course, the fur comes from China where they love to torture dogs. You can read more about that at -
http://geari.blogspot.com/2007/01/
sean-diddy-combs-admits-dog-fur-used.html

and

http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/03/
crash-course-in-unbelievable-cruelty.html.

For photos on the horrors of fur see
http://www.atourhands.com/furfarm.html

For additional photos and to learn why fur is so wrong see http://www.furkills.org/furfarming.shtml

AND PLEASE VIEW THE VIDEO IN THE STORY BELOW. TO VIEW IT, SIMPLY CLICK ON THE LINK TO THE STORY AND THE VIDEO OPTION WILL BE THERE.

Article:

Humane Society urges crackdown on dog fur
Animal rights organization wants FTC to fine retailers, grab inventories

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17584385/

NBC VIDEO
• Retailers accused on using dog fur

March 13: The Humane Society will file a petition against retailers who altered origin of fur. TODAY's Janice Lieberman reports.

WASHINGTON - A national animal rights group wants to put a group of fur retailers and manufacturers in the dog house.

The Humane Society of the United States will ask the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to fine high-end retailers and designers of clothing that contains mislabeled fur from dogs, wolves and raccoon dogs. The group also would like inventories seized and perhaps charges filed.

“Consumers have a right to know what they are purchasing,” said Michael Markarian, the executive vice president of the Humane Society. “If they are truly getting a type of dog fur, they should be outraged.”
Story continues below ↓ advertisement

The documents filed with the FTC name designers Andrew Marc and Michael Kors, among others. Many major department stores, including Barneys New York, Macy’s, Dillard’s, J.C. Penney, and Neiman Marcus also were cited.

The petition stems from a Humane Society investigation that turned up products that were made with fur from dogs, wolves or raccoon dogs, a species found mainly in China, that were sold as either fake fur or other types of fur in violation of the Federal Fur Products Labeling Act.

Raccoon dogs look like oversize, fluffy raccoons and aren’t kept as pets. Importing their fur is not illegal, but activists argue they are still a type of dog.

Mislabeling fur is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or a year in prison. Fur valued at less than $150 doesn’t have to be labeled.

Jim Sluzewski, a spokesman for Macy’s parent, Federated Department Stores Inc., said his company opposes selling dog fur but takes its vendors on faith that they comply with company policy.

“It is our vendors that label product, and we expect them to do so accurately,” he said in an e-mail. “We take immediate action whenever we find a violation of policy.”

Late last year, Macy’s immediately pulled from its shelves coats with raccoon dog fur but labeled as raccoon after the Humane Society raised the issue with the chain.

“Macy’s hasn’t done enough as far as we’re concerned,” Markarian said Monday, claiming that it is still selling other products with raccoon dog fur.

The Humane Society said in its petition that Barneys sold fur-trimmed jackets marketed as coyote fur when it was really fur from wolves. Barneys did not return a call for comment.

Josh Chapman, a spokesman for the manufacturer of the jacket, I. Spiewak and Sons Inc., said his company inspects the facilities where they purchase coyote fur. “We certainly know that everything is coyote, nothing could be anything else,” Chapman insisted.

Design company Michael Kors (USA) Inc. said it is conducting its own internal investigation on the sources of fur products it sold through Dillard’s stores.

“We certainly expect the companies to be discussing these issues internally, but they’ve had plenty of time to do that,” Markarian said.

Dillard’s did not respond to a requests for comment. J.C. Penney said it had no comment.

Neiman Marcus Group Inc. spokeswoman Ginger Reeder said her company removed all products with fur trim from their Web sites after the Humane Society investigation.

Callous Hunting Club Ties Live Turkeys to Straw Bales and Uses for Target Practice: Results in 8 Counts of Cruelty to Animals

What a sick bunch of people. I think this clearly demonstrates the typical mentality of a hunter – a complete disregard for any form of life. They actually literally tied up the Turkeys as well, making this a sadistic practice that offered no challenge. They simply lusted to torture and kill and get off on watching it.

From the article below:

“The Elstonville Sportsmen's Association admitted to staking the turkeys to straw bales and shooting them with bows and arrows during a contest, according to the office of the Lancaster County District Attorney.

The club was charged with eight violations of the Pennsylvania Cruelty to Animals statutes including four counts of ill treatment and four counts of offering live animals as prizes in a contest.”

Article:

Club used live turkeys for shooting contest

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070309/us_nm/
pennsylvania_turkeys_dc_1

Fri Mar 9, 3:59 PM ET


LANCASTER, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania sportsmen's club was fined $400 on Friday for cruelty to animals after using live turkeys as targets, prosecutors said.

The Elstonville Sportsmen's Association admitted to staking the turkeys to straw bales and shooting them with bows and arrows during a contest, according to the office of the Lancaster County District Attorney.

The club was charged with eight violations of the Pennsylvania Cruelty to Animals statutes including four counts of ill treatment and four counts of offering live animals as prizes in a contest. Lancaster County District Court Judge John Winters fined the club the minimum $50 for each offense after it pleaded no contest to the charges.

"This case sets a precedent that the gutless acts of animal cruelty perpetrated by the Elstonville Sportsmen's Association are in fact illegal," said Keith Mohler of Farm Sanctuary, which campaigns against cruelty to farm animals.

"Anyone seeking to gain amusement from the torture of innocent creatures will be prosecuted and brought to justice."

Why is the Iditarod Cruel, and What Companies Sponsor Such Cruelty?

Why is the Iditarod cruel? Well, keep reading and then visit http://www.helpsleddogs.org/faq.htm

Here are some quick facts on why this is a very cruel event:

“On average, 52 percent of the dogs who start the race do not make it across
the finish line. According to a report published in the American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do cross, 81 percent have
lung damage. A report published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
said that 61 percent of the dogs who finish the Iditarod have ulcers versus
zero percent pre-race.

Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40
years, tells us that the dogs are beaten into submission:

"They've had the hell beaten out of them." "You don't just whisper into their
ears, 'OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.' They
understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission the same way
elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it. And you know what?
They are all lying." -USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon Saraceno's column.

Mushers believe in "culling" or killing unwanted dogs, including puppies.
Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for
any reason, including those who have outlived their usefulness, are killed with
a shot to the head, dragged or clubbed to death. "Dogs are clubbed with
baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in harnesses....." wrote
Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade Newspaper (March,
2000).

A list of sponsors and their Email addresses are found below OR at http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm After reading the truth, you may want to express your disgust at their sponsorship of such cruelty. You can do so by using the following sample letter:

PLEASE WRITE AND FORWARD WIDELY

From the Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

Please help the Iditarod dogs by sending protest emails to race supporters.
These dogs are helpless victims of profoundly inhumane treatment and cannot
speak for themselves. What happens to them during the Iditarod includes death,
paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage,
ruptured discs, viral diseases and pneumonia.

For the dogs, the Iditarod is a bottomless pit of suffering. Throughout this
eight to 16-day competition, Iditarod personnel encourage mushers to race
diseased dogs. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians
frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running.

Veterinarians also work to help the mushers before the Iditarod begins.
Although the dogs are often sick, veterinarians allow them to start the race
anyway. One chief Iditarod veterinarian even published a musher/veterinary handbook
advising mushers on how to avoid having prohibited substances detected in
pre-race veterinary checks.

Please speak for the dogs by sending Iditarod supporters protest emails. The
2007 Iditarod sponsors, musher sponsors, race promoters and business members
are listed below. Emails are first given in a group and then individually under
the sample letter. Email addresses with semi-colons and commas in group form
can be found on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm at the bottom of the
page.

ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR IDITAROD SUPPORTERS - for easy sending, copy and
paste as a bunch into your "Blind Copy" box. You may want to divide the block into
several groups and email each one separately:

jeff.immelt@corporate.ge.com, dan.janki@corporate.ge.com,
Jacques.espinasse@vivendi.com, maurie_perl@advancemags.com, John_Bellando@condenast.com,
kklose@npr.org, investor_relations@hmco.com, editor@americanwaymag.com,
tom.horton@aa.com, Christopher.Gay@cabelas.com, rod.ross@equilife.com, ken.hanna@csplc.com,
csab.media@cs-americas.com, jay@diabetesandwellness.org,
alan.w.bieler@marsh.com, media@carnival.com, DanielJ.Sescleifer@energizer.com, conso@royal-canin.fr
, info@royalcanin.us, contact.nl@masterfoods.com, askus@masterfoodsusa.com,
gpruitt@mcclatchy.com, ircontact@simon.com, jlowber@gci.com,
roger_millay@discovery.com, james.moses@elderhostel.org, tmattia@na.ko.com,
corpcsf@wellsfargo.com, newsroom@alaskaair.com, Shareholders.IM@pg.com, Mayor@ci.anchorage.ak.us,
mayor@ci.wasilla.ak.us, yum.investor@yum.com, karen.raskopf@blockbuster.com,
tom.tiller@polarisind.com, mhrmarketing@mhrmail.com, ir.dcx@daimlerchrysler.com
, manager@ci.nome.ak.us, programming@thirteen.org, stevecurwood@loe.org,
dkravis@nutroproducts.com, jvenh@acehardware.com, gpn@unl.edu,
teachersource@pbs.org, investor.relations@horizonlines.com, kroger.investors@kroger.com,
gdonnelly@mortonarb.org, gtedesco@mortonarb.org, info@workman.com,
vanmarterch@lilly.com, toronto@gartnerlee.com, investor.relations@akzonobel.com,
fhees@alaskanbeer.com, orders@riverboatdiscovery.com, media@cruisewest.com,
investor_relations@scholastic.com, skruse@hollandamerica.com, abuckelew@carnival.com,
eileen_masio@timeinc.com, communications@girlscouts.org, pubaffmr@chevrontexaco.com,
enterprise.comments@exxonmobil.com, info@penair.com, employment@providence.org,
ssolomon@dixieline.com, public.relations@stihl.us,
investor_relations@netapp.com, info@womenssportsfoundation.org, Investor.Relations@aa.com,
tony@playrooment.com, press@echostar.com, ir-newyork@shell.com, tjacobs@dobson.net,
hr1@amerigas.com, contact.privacy@mcd.com, customersupport@batteriesplus.com,
cparrott@sportsmanswarehouse.com, ann.simanis@elderhostel.org,
Chancellor@uaa.alaska.edu, info@akbushcompany.com, info@frontierflying.com, info@trapperscreek.com,
contact@meierslakeroadhouse.com, info@talkeetnalodge.com,
innkeeper@alaskafrontiergardens.com, rivercabins@doyon.com, HolyDogRanch@yahoo.com,
information@maclarenlodge.com, fishing@gottafish-charters.com, qiviut@gci.net,
sales@kaladi.com, traxak@alaska.com, gkatsion@kittelson.com, pat@northsloperestaurant.com,
pilot01@eagle.ptialaska.net, spikealaska@earthlink.net, info@inlettower.com,
info@akdogtour.com, adventure@raspberryisland.com, chan@d.umn.edu, tma@d.umn.edu
, allouiz@thepastyfactory.com, info@barker-ewing.com,
ryoung@altitudetraining.com, sales@redcom.com, jbilitz@jjkeller.com, rodney.bolls@bglobal.us,
trambars@trambars.com, info@princetontec.com, trophyglove@lisco.com, brewpub@rmisp.com
, gsipe@cogentsolutionsgroup.com, info@outfitterharborsprings.com,
info@ndindustries.com, mkrajews@volusia.k12.fl.us, sales@ursawagon.com,
tchozes@pathwaynet.com, bellevillenews@yahoo.com, admin@wtsda.com, hid@aelight.com,
info@westernplows.com, sales@pjoperating.com, innkeeper@folkestone.com,
hughesseafood@tds.net, ruby@arcocoffee.com, info@empirecanvasworks.com, Macgellan@mac.com,
wiggys@wiggys.com, info@jupitersolutions.net, info@coloradocrossroadsbandb.com,
terry@unitedrailroad.net, reservations@krabloonik.com, info@team-diel.de,
info@globetrotter.de, sales@immunocorp.no, post@viascandinavia.no, info@kamik.com,
post@brynje.no, post@noraid.no, anni@visees.no, info@alaskakayakacademy.com,
info@alaskavacationstore.com, spikealaska@earthlink.net,
alaskansplendor@yahoo.com, fish@fish4salmon.com, mlitzen@kenai.net, info@outerlimitsalaska.com,
info@talkeetnaair.com, wildart@davidtotten.com, info@alaskagrandview.com,
t-wolf@alaskatimberwolftours.com, info@alaskanativearts.org, POlson@randomhouse.com,
mcarr@nutroproducts.com, lechleiter_john_c@lilly.com, bsgro@cdschool.org,
jschrank@cclphoenix.org, mmow@elkhart.k12.in.us, greg.creed@tacobell.com,
dmcpherson@wned.org, Commissioner@fldoe.org, pr@hollandamerica.com,
home.pa-newsroom.168d00@statefarm.com, rich.johnson@conocophillips.com,
sarah_palin@gov.state.ak.us, feedback@versus.com

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear Iditarod Supporter:

I protest your organization's support of the Iditarod dog sled race. For the
dogs, this barbaric event is a bottomless pit of suffering. What happens to
them during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding
ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, ruptured discs, viral diseases and
pneumonia. Please end your involvement in this cruel race.

In the Iditarod, dogs are forced to run 1,150 miles, which is the approximate
distance between Miami, Florida and New York City. USA Today sports columnist
Jon Saraceno called the Iditarod "a travesty of grueling proportions" and
"Ihurtadog." Fox sportscaster Jim Rome called it "I-killed-a-dog." Orlando
Sentinel sports columnist George Diaz said the race is "a barbaric ritual" and "an
illegal sweatshop for dogs."


Throughout this eight to 16-day competition, Iditarod personnel encourage
mushers to race diseased dogs. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race,
veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them
running.

Veterinarians also work to help the mushers before the Iditarod begins.
Although the dogs are often sick, veterinarians allow them to start the race
anyway. One chief Iditarod veterinarian even published a musher/veterinary handbook
advising mushers on how to avoid having prohibited substances detected in
pre-race veterinary checks.

At least 130 dogs have died in the Iditarod. No one knows how many dogs die
after this tortuous ordeal or during training.

On average, 52 percent of the dogs who start the race do not make it across
the finish line. According to a report published in the American Journal of
Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do cross, 81 percent have
lung damage. A report published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
said that 61 percent of the dogs who finish the Iditarod have ulcers versus
zero percent pre-race.

Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40
years, tells us that the dogs are beaten into submission:

"They've had the hell beaten out of them." "You don't just whisper into their
ears, 'OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.' They
understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission the same way
elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it. And you know what?
They are all lying." -USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon Saraceno's column.

Mushers believe in "culling" or killing unwanted dogs, including puppies.
Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for
any reason, including those who have outlived their usefulness, are killed with
a shot to the head, dragged or clubbed to death. "Dogs are clubbed with
baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in harnesses....." wrote
Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade Newspaper (March,
2000).

Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, "He [Colonel Tom
Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain
their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens. Or
dragging them to their death."

Please end your organization's association with this horrific race.

Sincerely,

IDITAROD SPONSORS:

Cabelas
Email: Christopher.Gay@cabelas.com

Daimler Chrysler
Email: ir.dcx@daimlerchrysler.com

Coca-Cola
Email: tmattia@na.ko.com

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels
Email: mhrmarketing@mhrmail.com

Wells Fargo & Company
Email: corpcsf@wellsfargo.com

Kroger Company (Fred Meyer Stores)
Email: kroger.investors@kroger.com

Spenard Builders (Lanoga Corporation)
Email: ssolomon@dixieline.com

Chevron Corportation
Email: pubaffmr@chevrontexaco.com

Exxon Mobil Corporation
Email: enterprise.comments@exxonmobil.com

Anchorage Daily News (Mc Clatchy Company)
Email: gpruitt@mcclatchy.com

Providence Health System
Email: employment@providence.org

Alaska Airlines (Alaska Air Group)
Email: newsroom@alaskaair.com

Peninsula Airways, Inc. (Pen Air)
Email: info@penair.com

Alaska Brewing Company
Email: fhees@alaskanbeer.com

The City of Anchorage
Email: Mayor@ci.anchorage.ak.us

The City of Nome
Email: manager@ci.nome.ak.us

5th Avenue Mall (Simon Property Group)
Email: ircontact@simon.com

Horizon Lines
Email: investor.relations@horizonlines.com

City of Wasilla
Email: mayor@ci.wasilla.ak.us

Network Appliance, Inc.
Email: investor_relations@netapp.com

General Communication, Inc. (GCI)
Email: jlowber@gci.com

IDITAROD PROMOTERS:

NBC Universal (GE -General Electric Company owns 80%)
Email: jeff.immelt@corporate.ge.com, dan.janki@corporate.ge.com

NBC Universal (Vivendi - owns 20%)
Email: Jacques.espinasse@vivendi.com

Glamour Magazine (Conde Nast Publications - Advance Publications)
Email: maurie_perl@advancemags.com, John_Bellando@condenast.com

NPR (National Public Radio)
Email kklose@npr.org

Houghton Mifflin Company
Email: investor_relations@hmco.com

American Way Magazine -American Airlines (AMR Corporaton)
Email: editor@americanwaymag.com, tom.horton@aa.com

Travel Channel (Discover Communications, Inc.)
Email: roger_millay@discovery.com

Elderhostel
Email: ann.simanis@elderhostel.org

Living on Earth
Email: stevecurwood@loe.org

Lilly Oncology (Eli Lilly and Company)
Email: vanmarterch@lilly.com

PBS Nature
Email: programming@thirteen.org

PBS Reading Rainbow
Email: gpn@unl.edu, dmcpherson@wned.org

PBS TeacherSource
Email: teachersource@pbs.org

Cruise West
Email: media@cruisewest.com

Playroom Entertainment, Inc.
Email: tony@playrooment.com

Riverboat Discovery
Email: orders@riverboatdiscovery.com

Women's Sports Foundation
Email: info@womenssportsfoundation.org

TIME for Kids
Email: eileen_masio@timeinc.com

Holland America Line (Carnival Corporation)
Email: skruse@hollandamerica.com, abuckelew@carnival.com

Scholastic Corporation
Email: investor_relations@scholastic.com

Workman Publishing Company
Email: info@workman.com

Girl Scouts of the USA
Email: communications@girlscouts.org

Morton Arboretum
Email: gdonnelly@mortonarb.org, gtedesco@mortonarb.org

STIHL (STIHL Group)
Email: public.relations@stihl.us, stefan.caspari@stihl.de

Hawaiian Vacations
Email: guestservices@hawaiianvacations.com

University of Alaska Anchorage
Email: Chancellor@uaa.alaska.edu

Fodors (Random House)
Email: POlson@randomhouse.com

Carolina Day School
Email: bsgro@cdschool.org

Christ Lutheran School
Email: jschrank@cclphoenix.org

North Side Middle School
Email: mmow@elkhart.k12.in.us

Florida Commissioner of Education
Email: Commissioner@fldoe.org

State Farm Insurance Company
Email: home.pa-newsroom.168d00@statefarm.com

ConocoPhillips
Email: rich.johnson@conocophillips.com

Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska
Email: sarah_palin@gov.state.ak.us

Versus Cable TV
Email: feedback@versus.com

IDITAROD BUSINESS PARTNERS:

Alaska Timberwolf Journeys & Tours
Email: t-wolf@alaskatimberwolftours.com

Grand View Inn & Suites
Email: info@alaskagrandview.com

Alaska Kayak Academy
Email: info@alaskakayakacademy.com

Alaska Native Arts Foundation
Email: info@alaskanativearts.org

Alaska Vacation Store
Email: info@alaskavacationstore.com

Alaska Discovery RV Tours
Email: spikealaska@earthlink.net

Alaska Splendor Limousines
Email: alaskansplendor@yahoo.com

Fishtale River Guides
Email: fish@fish4salmon.com

Litzen Guide Service
Email: mlitzen@kenai.net

Outer Limits Alaska
Email: info@outerlimitsalaska.com

Talkeetna Air Taxi
Email: info@talkeetnaair.com

David Totten's Online Gallery
Email: wildart@davidtotten.com

MUSHER SPONSORS:

Marsh (Marsh & McLennan Companies)
Email: alfred.j.modugno@marsh.com, alan.w.bieler@marsh.com

Nutro Products, Inc.
Email: dkravis@nutroproducts.com, mcarr@nutroproducts.com

7-UP (Cadbury Schweppes plc)
Email: ken.hanna@csplc.com, csab.media@cs-americas.com

Equitable Life & Casualty Insurance Company
Email: rod.ross@equilife.com

Energizer Batteries
Email: DanielJ.Sescleifer@energizer.com

Royal Canin (Mars/Masterfoods owns 56 percent of the company)
Email: conso@royal-canin.fr, info@royalcanin.us, contact.nl@masterfoods.com,
contact.us@masterfoods.com, askus@masterfoodsusa.com

The Dish Network
Email: press@echostar.com

Jiffy Lube International, Inc. (Shell Oil Company)
Email: ir-newyork@shell.com

CELLULARONE (Dobson Communications Corp.)
Email: tjacobs@dobson.net

Eukanuba/Iams (Procter & Gamble Company)
Email: Shareholders.IM@pg.com

Blockbuster Video
Email: karen.raskopf@blockbuster.com

McDonalds Restaurants (McDonald Corporation)
Email: contact.privacy@mcd.com

Taco Bell (Yum! Brands, Inc.)
Email: greg.creed@tacobell.com, yum.investor@yum.com

Ace Hardware
Email: jvenh@acehardware.com

Amerigas (UGI Corporation)
Email: hr1@amerigas.com

Polaris Industries Inc.
Email: tom.tiller@polarisind.com

Sportsman's Warehouse
Email: cparrott@sportsmanswarehouse.com

Batteries Plus
Email: customersupport@batteriesplus.com

Great Alaskan Bush Company
Email: info@akbushcompany.com

Frontier Flying Service, Inc.
Email: info@frontierflying.com

Trapper's Creek Smoking Company
Email: info@trapperscreek.com

Meier's Lake Roadhouse
Email: contact@meierslakeroadhouse.com

Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge
Email: info@talkeetnalodge.com

Alaska Frontier Gardens Bed & Breakfast
Email: innkeeper@alaskafrontiergardens.com

Kantishna Wilderness Trails
Email: rivercabins@doyon.com

Holy Dog Ranch
Email: HolyDogRanch@yahoo.com

Maclaren River Lodge
Email: information@maclarenlodge.com

Gotta Fish Charters
Email: fishing@gottafish-charters.com

Oomingmak
Email: qiviut@gci.net

Kaladi Brothers Coffee Company
Email: sales@kaladi.com

Tracks of Alaska Photography
Email: traxak@alaska.com

Clam Gulch Lodge
Email: gkatsion@kittelson.com

North Slope Restaurant and Saloon
Email:pat@northsloperestaurant.com

Wright Air Service
Email: pilot01@eagle.ptialaska.net

Alaskan Discovery RV Tours, Ltd.
Email: spikealaska@earthlink.net

Inlet Tower Hotel & Suites
Email: info@inlettower.com

Homer Stage Line
Email: hsl@xyz.net

Pasty Factory
Email: allouiz@thepastyfactory.com

Alaska Icefield Expeditions
Email: info@akdogtour.com

Raspberry Island Remote Camps
Email:adventure@raspberryisland.com

University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN
Email: chan@d.umn.edu

Tweed Museum of Art
Email: tma@d.umn.edu

Intervet (Akzo Nobel)
Email: investor.relations@akzonobel.com

Barker-Ewing River Trips
Email: info@barker-ewing.com

Colorado Altitude Training
Email: ryoung@altitudetraining.com

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc.
Email: sales@redcom.com

J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.
Email: jbilitz@jjkeller.com

bGlobal, Inc.
Email: rodney.bolls@bglobal.us


Gartner Lee, Ltd.
Email: toronto@gartnerlee.com

Tram Bars
Email: trambars@trambars.com

Princeton Tec
Email: info@princetontec.com

Trophy Glove Company
Email: trophyglove@lisco.com

Snake River Brewing
Email: brewpub@rmisp.com

Trixsyn (Cogent Solutions Group LLC.)
Email: gsipe@cogentsolutionsgroup.com

The Outfitter
Email: info@outfitterharborsprings.com

ND Industries
Email: info@ndindustries.com

Ursa wagons
Email: sales@ursawagon.com

Great Lakes GeoScience
Email: tchozes@pathwaynet.com

Belleville Recorder
Email: bellevillenews@yahoo.com

World Tang Soo Do Association
Email: admin@wtsda.com

AE Light (Allsman Enterprises, LLC)
Email: hid@aelight.com

Western Products
Email: info@westernplows.com

PJ Operating Corp.
Email: sales@pjoperating.com

Folkestone Inn Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers
Email: innkeeper@folkestone.com

Hughes Seafood Company, Inc.
Email: hughesseafood@tds.net

Arco Coffee (Andresen-Ryan Coffee Co.)
Email: ruby@arcocoffee.com

Empire Canvas Works
Email: info@empirecanvasworks.com

Macgellan.com
Email: Macgellan@mac.com

Wiggy's, Inc.
Email: wiggys@wiggys.com

Jupiter Solutions
Email: info@jupitersolutions.net

Colorado Cross Roads Bed & Breakfast
Email: info@coloradocrossroadsbandb.com

United Railroad Materials
Email: terry@unitedrailroad.net

Krabloonik Kennels
Email: reservations@krabloonik.com

Teamdiel
Email: info@team-diel.de

Globetrotter.de
Email: info@globetrotter.de

Immunocorp
Email: sales@immunocorp.no

Via Scandinavia
Email: post@viascandinavia.no

Kamik
Email: info@kamik.com

Bynje
Email: post@brynje.no

Noraid
Email: post@noraid.no

Vi sees
Email: anni@visees.no

Deland Middle School
Email: mkrajews@volusia.k12.fl.us

Group Reminds Al Gore that Switching to Vegetarianism Has Greater Effect on Global Warming than Does Driving a Hybrid Car

Excellent and real points. I’ll let the following quotes speak for themselves. Notice how the facts come from the United Nations and the University of Chicago. So, any chance at branding them biased would be off:

“In its recent report “Livestock’s Long Shadow—Environmental Issues and Options,” the United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.

PETA also reminds Gore that his critics love to question whether he practices what he preaches and suggests that by going vegetarian, he could cut down on his contribution to global warming and silence his critics at the same time.”

Article:

PETA plea to Al Gore

http://people.monstersandcritics.com/news/
article_1274083.php/PETA_plea_to_Al_Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore poses for photos after "An Inconvenient Truth" won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature (UPI Photo/Phil McCarten)

By Stone Martindale Mar 7, 2007, 16:13 GMT

PETA claims that according to U.N., animals raised as food stock create more greenhouse gas then all the vehicles combined. They have penned a letter to Al Gore asking him to step away from the meat.

PETA issued a public letter to former vice president Al Gore explaining to him that the best way to combat the threat of global warming is to go vegan, and they offered to cook him faux “fried chicken” as an introduction to meat-free meals.

In its letter, PETA points out that Gore’s Oscar winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth" that outlines the potentially catastrophic effects of global warming has failed to address the fact that the meat industry is the largest contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions.

In the letter, PETA points out the following:

The effect that our meat addiction is having on the climate is truly staggering. In fact, in its recent report “Livestock’s Long Shadow—Environmental Issues and Options,” the United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.

PETA also reminds Gore that his critics love to question whether he practices what he preaches and suggests that by going vegetarian, he could cut down on his contribution to global warming and silence his critics at the same time.

“The single best thing that any of us can do to for our health, for animals, and for the environment is to go vegetarian,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “The best and easiest way for Mr. Gore to show his critics that he’s truly committed to fighting global warming is to kick his meat habit immediately.”

Animal Abuse, both Physical and Sexual, Very Common in Latin America: Country of Chile Especially Full of Egregious Cruelty

Yes, you read it right – sexual abuse. Unbelievable, but read this quote of an actual incident and you’ll see it’s no lie: “One bitch was brought in that had been sexually abused by its owner and burned with cigarettes," Navarro said.”

Article:

Buried alive puppy highlights pet abuse in Chile

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/3983808a12.html

By CAROLINA ALIAGA - Reuters | Wednesday, 7 March 2007

SANTIAGO: One recent summer's day, Ruth Moreno and her family were out walking in northern Chile when they came across an animal's snout sticking out of the ground, desperately sniffing for air.

They dug away the surrounding earth and found a six-month old puppy, barely alive.

"It was shocking. We uncovered its little face but we couldn't free it from the ground and we went to look for help," Moreno said.

Eventually, the puppy was freed and taken to a veterinary surgery where it died the following day.

"It was in a very bad condition, malnourished and severely dehydrated, with hypothermia and blocked airways," said vet Rodrigo Vasquez.

The puppy had been buried alive. No one has yet established who did it or why.

"This is the most extreme case of abuse I've seen, but it's quite common," Vasquez said. "Just recently we had a dog brought in which had been knifed."

Animal rights activists say abuse of dogs is common across Latin America and, despite its reputation as one of the region's richest and most developed countries, Chile is no exception.

The Andean nation has done much to eradicate rabies, prevalent elsewhere in the continent, but still, every year, hundreds of dogs in Chile are maltreated by their owners.

"This type of abuse is frequent in Chile, but it's hidden," said Luis Navarro, president of the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA). "Abandonment, physical maltreatment and sexual abuse happen more often than you'd think."

DOGS SEXUALLY ABUSED

Gertraud Ernst, a German who cares for around 120 abandoned and abused dogs in her home in Santiago, agrees.

"The situation in Chile is terrible and the police do nothing about it," she says.

A recent study from the University of Chile estimated there were a million pet dogs in the Santiago area, which has a population of 6 million people.

The government says there are a further 215,000 strays roaming the streets while animal rights campaigners put the figure at 250,000.

The SPA says it treats 5000 dogs a year, 10 per cent of which are in seriously poor health.

"One bitch was brought in that had been sexually abused by its owner and burned with cigarettes," Navarro said.

"The owner was arrested but the next day he was freed," he added.

The reasons for the abuse, and why it is prevalent in Chile, are not clear.

"Animals are simply receptacles of violence," said Mario Villagran, a sociologist based in Santiago. "The dog just happens to be the closest living thing to the man when he wants to vent his feelings."

At this time of year, summer in the Southern Hemisphere, the problem gets worse.

"People go on holiday and throw out their pets, leaving them in the streets," Navarro said.

The Chilean penal code allows for the imprisonment of those found guilty of animal abuse for up to 540 days, but activists say such penalties are almost unheard of and culprits are much more likely to be fined than jailed.

"There's been only one case of someone being jailed – a man who killed his dog by shooting it in front of children," Navarro said. "He was in prison four days and paid a fine of 70,000 pesos ($130)."

The government says it is doing what it can to combat abuse of animals.

"We've helped set up sterilization centers for pets and soon we will put forward a set of norms and rules on how to be a responsible pet owner," said Fernando Fuenzalida, a vet from the regional health ministry in the Santiago area.

He said the government also wanted to include lessons on animal welfare and responsible pet ownership in the national curriculum, taught in schools throughout the country. "That's a medium to long-term aim of the government," he said.

In the meantime, the SPA expects to deal with thousands more cases like that of the puppy buried alive in northern Chile.

"In some cases we've reported abusers to the police, with their first name, their last name and photographs of the animals showing they've been seriously physically abused," Navarro said. "And no one has done anything."

Utah Politicians Kill Bill That Would Have Made the Intentional Torture of an Animal a Felony in the State

Surprise, surprise. Politicians again only doing things for the sake of business. It’s beyond strange why something as simple as making horrible cruelty a felony would even have to be debated.

Article:

Utah’s Animal Torture Bill Runs out of Time

http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/article/
utahs_animal_torture_bill_runs_out_of_time/C104/L104/


By Tracy Medley, 3-05-07

Utah lawmakers let the clock run out before passing legislation that would make the intentional torture of an animal a felony in the state. Animal advocates, including the director of the Humane Society of Utah, Gene Baierschmidt worked hard to get SB190 on the books before the end of the 2007 legislative session, but were thwarted by certain legislators who felt the language of the bill was just too vague. For three years, Utah lawmakers have failed to create a felony provision for heinous cases of animal torture.

According to the Deseret Morning News, Rep. John Mathis, a Republican from Vernal was the strongest critic of the bill’s language. Mathis worried that the bill might impact neglectful pet owners for not feeding their pets or seeking veterinary attention, despite the explicit use of the words “intentional” and “torture” in the measure. “It’s a concern for me that someone could be charged with cruelty to an animal if they neglect to get veterinary care,” he explained in the D-News.

Mathis, who is also a veterinarian, is apparently unaware that neglect is already addressed in Utah’s current animal abuse laws.

Rep. Kerry Gibson of Ogden also quibbled with the bill’s language. “I have serious concerns with the word depravity. I don’t know if that’s defined anywhere,” Gibson said in the D-News. How about a dictionary – or looking through some law books, where the legal definition of depravity is clearly explained. But, I digress.

According to the D-News what Gibson really seemed worried about was appeasing insatiable animal rights extremists. “Make no mistake about going down this road. We won’t turn back from this.” Pardon me, but how exactly is the creation of a felonious option for extreme cases of deliberate animal-torture, somehow a point of no return? Have the 42 other states with similar laws experienced any problems? Did he bother to look? Is Gibson really just afraid that someday monkeys in pants will try to take his job – yes, Rep. Gibson, stop the madness now, before it starts.

It is outrageous that our legislators blackballed this bill for the third year in a row, especially given the glaring and horrific case of Henry, the Chihuahua who’s owner placed him in a 200 degree oven burning and leaving him irreversibly scarred and disabled. This was the perfect opportunity for Utah lawmakers to take such acts of unfathomable violence toward living creatures seriously and they blew it.

Boo!

Foie Gras Company - Hudson Valley Foie Gras - Fined $30,000 for Environmental Violations

Seems they got off easy too.

What is foie gras and why is it bad?

Foie gras (translated literally from French as "fatty liver" and pronounced 'fwah grah') is produced by cruel and inhumane farming practices. At just a few months old, ducks are confined inside dark sheds and force-fed enormous amounts of food several times a day. A farm worker grabs each duck and, one by one, thrusts a metal pipe down their throats so that a mixture of corn can be forced directly into their gullets. In just a matter of weeks, the ducks become grossly overweight and their livers expand up to 10 times their normal size.

As a result, ducks raised for foie gras have difficulty standing, walking, and even breathing. Many of them die before the end of the force-feeding cycle, and the mortality rate for ducks raised on foie gras farms is among the highest in the farming industry. Necropsies performed on foie gras ducks have shown extreme obesity, impaction of undigested food in the esophagus, lacerations in the throat, and a proliferation of bacterial and fungal growth in their upper digestive tracts.

More information on foie gras can be found at:
http://www.nofoiegras.org/

Article:

Hudson Valley Foie Gras fined $30,000 by DEC

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/
20070307/NEWS/703070350

March 07, 2007

Ferndale — The Humane Society of the United States has won a round in its battle against Hudson Valley Foie Gras. The state Department of Environmental Conservation fined the company $30,000 for violations that were brought to light in a lawsuit brought by the society.

The violations involved the discharge of manure pollutants and building an unauthorized cesspool. Most of the other 800 violations were technical in nature.

"The only comment is that we negotiated the settlement with the DEC and continue to work closely with them to make sure the operation is in compliance with all rules and environmental regulations," company spokeswoman Allison Lee said.

Jonathan Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for the humane society, said, "We applaud the state for finally recognizing that this facility is violating water pollution laws. But the decision to settle 800 violations for less than $50 apiece is inexcusable."

Another Greyhound Breeder Accused of Illegal Activity

Well, it comes with the territory. If you raise animals to be abused, then you’re probably a pretty sick person.

Article:

Greyhound Breeder Under Scrutiny

http://www.theintelligencer.net/News/articles.asp?articleID=17018

By CASEY JUNKINS

WHEELING — Paul Carbonneau, who earned more than $330,000 from breeding greyhound racing dogs in 2006, is under investigation for allegedly falsifying 35 health certificates for his dogs, according to George T. Sidiropolis, chairman of the West Virginia Racing Commission.

“At this time, Mr. Carbonneau’s dogs have been scratched from running at Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center in Cross Lanes because of suspicions we have about the validity of 35 of his health certificates,” Sidiropolis said.

“All of Mr. Carbonneau’s greyhounds are to be quarantined and segregated from the other dogs at Tri-State, which means none of his dogs are permitted on the track,” Sidiropolis said, noting he was unsure whether this would mean the dogs could be diseased or possibly on performance enhancing drugs.

Sidiropolis said the investigation of Carbonneau stems from an inspection conducted at Tri-State Monday, as well as a fax machine message sent to the West Virginia Racing Commission on Tuesday morning.

“On Monday, one of our inspectors showed up at Tri-State for a routine check and while he was reading the health certificates for Mr. Carbonneau’s dogs, 35 of them appeared suspicious to him. All 35 of these certificates had the signature of Dr. Bob Wilson from Grand Prairie, Texas,” Sidiropolis said.

“Because the certificates looked suspicious, our inspector called Dr. Wilson to ask him about the dogs, “ he said.

On Tuesday morning, the Racing Commission received a fax message from Wilson that was forwarded to The Intelligencer, and it states:

“I have not vaccinated any of the animals in his (Carbonneau’s) care for the past three years. Therefore, I have not issued him any vaccination certificates during this period of time, nor did I issue health certificates for him to travel from one state to another. Needless to say, anything signed by me in regards to items in this paragraph would be fraudulent and considered forgery.”

When Wilson was contacted Tuesday, he responded by saying, “My attorney has advised me not to comment about this any further.”

Sidiropolis said a complete and thorough investigation of Carbonneau is forthcoming.

“We are going to review each and every health certificate he has to find out where these dogs have been born, raised and treated,” he said.

Sidiropolis said Carbonneau has most of his dogs at Tri-State, but also runs some at Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Center.

“Mr. Carbonneau currently runs five greyhounds at our track,” said Kim Florence, spokeswoman for the Wheeling Island track.

“We are waiting to see how the Racing Commission is going to handle this to see what we should do,” Florence added.

Sidiropolis said Carbonneau has been ordered to appear before the board of judges in a conference room at Tri-State at 6:35 p.m. today.

Messages left for Carbonneau at his residence were not returned.

Medical Doctor Speaks Out: Dissection and Live Animal Labs Are No Longer Required or Even Hailed As Superior Teaching Tools

This is an excellent article that truly shows that medical schools that require live animal labs like dissection or vivisection are using outdated, inferior and wasted resources that are not producing good results. In essence, dissection and vivisection are not necessary parts of a good medial schools curriculum.


Article:

Animals are not meant for medical research

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2007/
03/02/news/opinion/letters/4letter3.2.txt

Dear Editor, As medical advisor for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, I'd like to clarify some misleading statements made about our efforts to promote humane alternatives to animal dissection in a recent letter ("Much ado about nothing by animal rights activists," Feb. 23).

Contrary to Dr. Paul Cosenza's letter, PCRM is a respected nonprofit health and research advocacy organization and is led by physicians, dietitians and scientists who publish their work in peer-reviewed academic journals, present their findings before scientific conferences and serve as consultants on government panels.

For more than 20 years, we have worked to educate the public about the need to move away from using animals in medical research and education.

Most physicians, like me, complete their medical education without ever cutting into an animal. In fact, more than 85 percent of U.S. medical schools have eliminated live animal labs in favor of more effective and humane teaching methods, such as human patient simulators, virtual computer programs and physician mentoring and observation.

The America College of Surgeons no longer uses live animals in its clinical training programs and has endorsed the use of simulation technologies to replace live animal use in surgery training programs.

I almost did not pursue medicine because I thought I might have to dissect and harm animals in the process. I am now a double-board certified neurologist and public health specialist.

Unfortunately, I do know many people who considered pursuing careers in biology and medicine, but chose not to because they believed they might be required to dissect animals. Today, dissection and live animal labs are no longer required or even hailed as superior teaching tools. To imply that dissecting animals is a necessary part of any education is simply wrong.

Aysha Akhtar, M.D., M.P.H.

Senior Medical and Research Advisor

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Washington, D.C.

BBC Show Exposes Kids to Reality of Where Meat Comes From: Slaughter Scenes Result in Predicted Reaction – Tears and Horror

This is how life should be – show kids and people in general the reality of how the meat gets to the table. Slaughter is not pretty business, a fact which is skewed and not seen when someone sees the packaged product on the shelves. Ignorance is bliss, but it isn’t the truth.

Want to see the reality behind slaughter?

See http://www.geari.org/photos-videos-animal-rights.html for pictures and videos of slaughter and other forms of cruelty.

For slaughter in particular see:
http://www.atourhands.com/commodity.html

Article:

SLAUGHTER.. LIVE ON TV
EXCLUSIVE Schoolkids weep as pig is butchered, skinned & eaten

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=slaughter---
live-on-tv&method=full&objectid=18703505&siteid=62484-name_page.html

By Jenna Sloan Jenna.Sloan@Mgn.Co.Uk

LIVE animals are slaughtered in front of horrified school-children in a new TV shocker.

Graphic scenes from BBC's Kill It, Cook It, Eat It show smoke coming out of a pig's head as it collapses after being electrocuted. Abattoir staff then hang the twitching animal up by its legs and cut its throat, sending blood gushing to the floor.

Audience members including schoolkids watch behind a glass screen and some weep as the pig is thrown into boiling water and skinned. Earlier a film showed the same animal as a cute piglet.

After the animal is dead, a butcher carves it up and cooks it - and guests tuck into meat they saw alive only minutes before. In other episodes a cow is sawn in half and a lamb's head is cut off, in an effort to "reconnect" us with the meat we buy.

Kids' TV presenter and vegetarian Rani Smith burst into tears as she saw blood gush from a cow's neck. Vegetarian Society spokeswoman Liz O'Neill said: "It was upsetting."

Beef farmer Ken Howie told presenter Richard Johnson: "I do question whether the general public needs to see that."

Another disgusted woman said: "It actually made me feel sick seeing an animal being killed just for TV."

But BBC Three controller Julian Bellamy said: "There is a desire to learn where the food we eat comes from and how that food reaches our plate. It will get people talking."

KILL It, Cook It, Eat It is on BBC3 from tomorrow to Wednesday at 10.30pm.

PA Senator Mike Brubaker Caught Meeting with Dog Breeders in Parking Lot of Store: Then Attempts to Restrain and Intimidate Person Who Took Photos

The senator is now being sued for his and his associate’s aggressive actions when they realized they were caught on camera.

There’s a few concerns about this and why this is worth posting.

One, it shows how business is actually run – politicians meet with lobbyists and business heads in places where they think they can’t be seen. If they meet at their office it will be registered.

Money is what makes the final decision.

In this case, once caught, they actually attempted to restrain the woman who took the pictures, violating free speech rights and her right of movement and to be free of harm.

In essence, it’s all dirty business complete with buying votes, intimidation and attempted physical restraint. All crimes.


Article:

Animal-rights activist sues over encounter with Pa. state senator

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/pennsylvania/ci_5349910

By MARK SCOLFORO The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 03/03/2007 09:30:48 AM EST

EPHRATA, Pa. -- An advocate of tighter restrictions on dog kennels claimed Friday in a federal civil-rights lawsuit that a state senator and his aide intimidated her after she photographed them meeting with dog breeders in a convenience-store parking lot.

Barb Showalter, 41, of Denver, Pa., sued over a Monday encounter with Sen. Mike Brubaker, R-Lancaster, and Kristin Ebersole, executive director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee that Brubaker chairs, outside a Turkey Hill store just off Route 222 in Ephrata.

Showalter claims Brubaker reacted to her taking pictures of participants in the gathering by trying to prevent her from driving away and that Ebersole pounded on her car window in an attempt to take her photos or camera.

Ebersole accused Showalter of exaggerating and called the allegations an "unfortunate" misunderstanding. Brubaker's office said the group assembled at the store for a fact-finding tour of dog kennels.

"In no way, shape or form was the senator trying to be threatening," Ebersole said

In the federal lawsuit mailed Friday to U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, Showalter alleges her rights under the U.S. Constitution related to free speech and search and seizure were violated.

The other defendants are four men who Brubaker and Ebersole were with at the store: Lancaster County kennel operators Nathan H. Myer and David W. Zimmerman, dog-industry lobbyist Kenneth E. Brandt and American Canine Association founder Bob Yarnall Jr.

The lawsuit accuses the four of violating Showalter's rights in allegedly concurring "that Brubaker and Ebersole should pursue (her) and presumably acquire her camera."

"She was there taking pictures," said Showalter's attorney, Don Bailey. "What are you going to chase somebody down for, block their car, beat on their windows? Obviously they wanted the pictures, and that's what blew the whole thing out of proportion."

Showalter said she purchased a disposable camera inside the store after recognizing people connected to the dog industry. She said she took several pictures, then locked herself inside her car as Brubaker and Ebersole approached.

Ebersole said they walked to Showalter -- whose name they recognized when someone else in their group identified her -- to introduce themselves, not to take her camera.

She said she tapped on Showalter's car window but did not hit the car aggressively. Brubaker did not try to prevent Showalter from leaving when he stood behind the car, Ebersole said.

Yarnall said Brubaker told him he thought Showalter might be with the news media and wanted to see if she had any questions.

"I would think it would have to be illegal to even put such a ridiculous lawsuit up," he said Friday by phone from California. Messages for Myer, Zimmerman and Brandt were not returned.

The Agriculture Department has proposed controversial new rules for larger kennels. Some people in the business of breeding and selling dogs have criticized the proposal as potentially too costly.

Dog Fighting also a Problem in Australia

A disturbing reality.

Article:

Dog fighting is becoming a big problem in the country of Australia

http://www.dogflu.ca/

The sight of the pit bull newly rescued from the ring haunted all those who laid eyes on it at the RSPCA's Brisbane headquarters in Australia.

The intelligent eyes of the adult pit bull fighting dog gazed back, from a totally lacerated head. Every square centimetre of the tight, short-haired skin has been cut, torn and ripped by another dog's incisors.

His upper lip is partially torn off, his eyelids are red scabs and his ears are missing, previously cut off to avoid them from being crunched in the vice-like grip of an opponent.

It's a grotesque representation of a dog-like head - a one-glance story of the brutality and suffering endured by these unlucky animals.

This particular dog is just one of many involved in the cruel, secret, illegal dogfights which occur regularly across Queensland and Australia.

Just this week, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals fostered an American Staffordshire terrier who's ears had been sheared off. Charges against the owner have yet to be filed, but to look upon the young dog, say RSPCA officers, is a reminder that ear removal is a sure sign the animal was subjected to illegal dogfighting.

"We definitely know dogfights happen in Queensland. From information received, we believe they are more common in rural areas," said RSPCA inspector Daniel Young. "The most information we usually get is an anonymous call from someone involved or who has been asked to come along. Or they have changed their ways and believe it's cruel."

How Dogfights work:

The known network of gamblers and "sportsmen" interested in attending dogfights are contacted with information such as the secret meeting place.

"It's all hush-hush, highly illegal and a lot of money is involved," Young said. "A fight will be organised in a secluded area, but they have been held inside suburban houses. There was once one at Chinchilla where the dogs fought in a lounge room."

If neighbourhood residents notice signs like a large number of vehicles showing up at a house and dogs being removed from the vehicles, they should be suspicious.

"There could be a handful of people," Young added, "but we have had reports of 20 cars arriving at an address."

The internet has allowed information to be shared quickly and easily between organizers of illegal dogfights. There are rules to conducting fights and an assortment of chat rooms and other "safe" internet havens. One document in RSPCA hands specifies the use of a ring 4.2 metres in diameter with a 60 centimetre high wall.

"A fight can take place in an empty above ground pool, or they'll make an arena with a plywood surround," Young said. "They usually put carpet down, for a non-slip surface."

If you're suspicious of illegal dogfights in your neighbourhood, you'll have to use your eyes more than your ears for clues.

"Don't expect to hear a lot of yelping and barking," he said. "The dogs are quite silent when they fight."

RSPCA officials have obtained warrants and raided many places where there existed strong suspicion of dogfighting. Other criminal activity often goes hand in hand with dogfighting. If there are scarred, separately tethered or caged dogs to be found, fight preparation and cruel training equipment are usually located as well.

"Dogfighting attracts a lot of ferals," said RSPCA community relations officer Michael Beatty.

"A fight is a very big ordeal and the dogs need to be at their peak to last. In the past we have found treadmills used to get dogs' fitness levels up," added Young.

Inspectors have also seized "breaking sticks", used to lever open the clamped jaws of a fighting dog in battle.

One dogfight website brags about animals tearing into each other for 23 minutes straight.

"Dogs do die, but that's not the purpose of a fight," Young said.

An article by former RSPCA chief inspector Byron Hall stated that fights can be as long as three hours.

"The dogs are fought for the simple pleasure of man in order that man satisfy his need to act violently," it read. "The dogs are subjected to hours of brutality to end up either being hailed a champion or killed because they failed to fight to the satisfaction of their owners."

"Drugs and weapons are also frequently located on properties where pit bulls are found," it continued, "which make the job of an RSPCA Inspector even more hazardous than it already is."

Hall also cited an Ipswich case where a man was convicted of keeping a place for the purpose of fighting animals.

"He was found in possession of 35 pit bulls, a fighting pit, dogfighting magazines and other implements used for dogfighting," he related. "This conviction was the first of its kind in Queensland. The defendant was fined $1000 and ordered to pay $3007 costs to the society. Five dogs were euthanised due to their inability to be rehoused with the public. Through no fault of their own they had been programmed to kill, making their rehousing too great a risk for the society to take. The owner of the dogs was also found in possession of 236 cannabis plants and an unlicensed firearm."

Hall continued: "In order that a dog achieve champion status, it must win three fights. To achieve grand champion status, the dog must win five fights consecutively and to remain a grand champion it must either keep winning or retire undefeated."

According to information kept by the RSPCA, breeds such as Staffordshire terriers, mastiffs, Dobermans and Rottweiler’s are often paired off in preliminary fights before the main events.

A Queensland Police spokesman said statistics on stolen animals did not specify breed, "but," she added, "I'm sure dogs have been stolen for use in dogfights. Anecdotally, I'm sure it is happening."

Young said that catching offenders in the act is difficult, but essential in proving a concrete case in court.

With 11,180 reports to investigate last year alone, most of them involving at least one visit, Queensland's corps of 12 RSPCA inspectors is severely undermanned. But the society's kennels are regularly inhabited by "black tag" animals – dogs seized by inspectors or which are the subject of investigations.

"We see a lot of cases of neglect," said Beatty. "The majority of our work is educating people to their responsibilities. But a lot of people we investigate have far bigger issues. We are not in a position to make an assessment on them but it's usual to deal with people with mental issues, for want of a better word."

"There is a proven link between animal cruelty and violence on human beings," he said. "A survey in the United States looked at a list of serial killers and 88 per cent had a history of animal violence."

Domestic violence and animal cruelty also have well-established links. In one recent Brisbane case, a woman in a refuge had a live recording delivered to her, made by her husband as he tortured her pet dog.

If anything, Young said, cockfights are even more common than dogfights, because breeding fighting cockerels can be done quietly and without causing suspicion.

Cockerels make very little noise and are trained with sheaths over the razor-sharp steel spurs attached to their legs.

Organised cockfights are a tradition in some Asian countries, but are banned in Australia and can lead to fines of up to $22,500 or 12 months in prison.

People with any suspicion or information related to dog and cockfighting can call the RSPCA in Australia at 1300 852 188. Anonymous information is accepted.

Ask Morningstar Farms To Stop Using Eggs In Their Products: If They Insist On Continuing to Use Eggs, Ask That They At least Use Cage Free Eggs

This actually comes from COK and Vegan Outreach, but I did receive the information not too long ago from another group. COK and Vegan Outreach did an excellent job with this writing, so I’d like to pass this along. Please see the following website for more information after reading the information below - http://www.morningstar-egg-facts.com

If nothing else, please at least consider switching to another product other than Morningstar Farms. Gardenburger is the main choice, as they do adhere to a policy of not using eggs for all but one of their products. For that one product, they do not use battery eggs. Here is a link to a statement by Gardenburger in relation to eggs in their products and specifically on their policy of only using cage free eggs: http://www.gardenburger.com/community/articles/index.php#No_Caged


Yet, if you do have time, there are many actions below you can take. They are all very easy, from making a simple call, to emailing a form letter.

Article:

http://www.morningstar-egg-facts.com

Compassion Over Killing
and Vegan Outreach
are teaming up with compassionate people everywhere to ask
Morningstar Farms® to stop using eggs in its product line.

Morningstar Farms®, which is owned by the Kellogg® company,

is currently purchasing eggs produced by hens confined inside barren
wire battery cages. Battery caged hens are typically provided with a
meager 67 square inches of space in which to live that s less than
the size of one sheet of notebook paper. These birds are so
intensively confined for their entire lives that they are denied
their natural inclinations to spread their wings, perch, preen, or
even walk.

Morningstar Farms® has long been a leader in supplying delicious
vegetarian foods to a growing market. Let them know that the market
also wants them to remove their support from the cruel battery egg
industry. Please encourage them to join with companies like
Gardenburger®, which last year announced it has taken eggs out of all
its products except for one private-sourced item.

Take action today by submitting your comments online!
<http://www.morningstar-egg-facts.com/contact-morningstar/>

Use the form in this alert or visit Morningstar-Egg-Facts.com
<http://www.morningstar-egg-facts.com>
to send a letter.

Please also call Kellogg® s customer feedback hotline:
1-800-962-1413.

Hours (Eastern Standard Time):

Mon. - Thurs.: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Say: Representative.
Press 2 for product information
Press 1 for general inquiries

Killing of Zookeeper and Subsequent Killing of Jaguar Shows Stupidity of Keeping Animals Captive (Zoos)

What a tragedy all around. A woman dies and then they kill the Jaguar who simply was acting out of instinct. I’ll let the following quotes sum it up, but really this proves once again just how unnatural zoos and keeping animals captive is. Just plain stupidity that is completely obvious to the thinking person.

Here are a couple quotes that sum this issue up:

"That is how a jaguar kills its prey, and that animal has been programmed to do that for thousands of years," she said.

"Regardless of the handling, the hand-rearing, the years of captivity, that animal is still a jaguar," she said. "Any predator is a predator and it will always have that instinct. They are looking for opportunities to be themselves."

"These animals should not be in zoos because of the possibility of these things happening, and for the welfare of the animals," Bekoff said. "What's to be gained by having an animal like that in the zoo?"


Article:

Jaguar Attack Renews Predator Debate

Some question whether big predators should be captive

http://www.myfoxcolorado.com/myfox/pages/News/
Detail?contentId=2517996&version=2&locale=EN-
US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

DENVER --

A jaguar's lethal attack on a keeper at the Denver Zoo has renewed the debate over whether big predators should be kept in captivity in the first place.

Ashlee Pfaff, 28, died Saturday after she was mauled by a 140-pound jaguar named Jorge. The jaguar was shot and killed when it approached workers trying to save Pfaff.

Marc Bekoff, a retired University of Colorado biology professor and author of "The Emotional Lives of Animals," called Pfaff's death a tragedy.

"These animals should not be in zoos because of the possibility of these things happening, and for the welfare of the animals," Bekoff said. "What's to be gained by having an animal like that in the zoo?"

Others argue that allowing humans to see such animals up close makes it easier to raise money and public support to preserve the animals and their habitats in the wild.

"Money that's raised by zoos goes a great distance to preserve their habitats. We can do so much with education," said Jack Grisham, vice president of animal collections at the St. Louis Zoo.

Denver Zoo officials said Tuesday they were cooperating with investigations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and Denver police.

An autopsy found Pfaff died of a broken neck and had extensive internal injuries. Police spokesman Sonny Jackson said toxicology tests from the autopsy will likely take several days.

Pfaff was attacked in a service hallway adjacent to the jaguar's enclosure. Zoo officials said the door to the enclosure was open.

"We don't know if she was going in, and we never will," zoo spokeswoman Ana Bowie said. "Why that door was open and what she was doing, we do not know."

Zoo policy requires doors to be closed when keepers are in adjacent areas and forbids keepers to be in an enclosure when an animal is present. Zoo officials said Pfaff had experience working with big cats and knew the routines.

The animal had no history of abnormal behavior, and a necropsy showed it was in good health.

Bekoff said even experts exercising extreme caution can make mistakes that put them in danger when dealing with predators.

He cited himself as an example: Despite extensive experience studying wolves, he once took a step toward a male gray wolf's food inside an enclosure. The wolf backed him against the fence, stared and growled before eventually backing off.

"I was foolish to do what I did and I know wolves well," he said. "I almost got nailed by a wolf being stupid."

Mara Rodriguez, an instructor at the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moorpark College in California, said Pfaff's neck injuries sounded like the result of a classic jaguar hunting behavior.

"That is how a jaguar kills its prey, and that animal has been programmed to do that for thousands of years," she said.

"Regardless of the handling, the hand-rearing, the years of captivity, that animal is still a jaguar," she said. "Any predator is a predator and it will always have that instinct. They are looking for opportunities to be themselves."

Steve Feldman, spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, said fatal animal attacks in zoos are "fairly rare." He said it was still too early to know exactly what happened in Denver.

The association, which accredits the Denver Zoo and more than 200 other institutions, requires its members to train its workers and follow safety procedures.

Zoo officials say they continually train employees and evaluate safety procedures and conduct "red alert" animal escape drills at least four times a year.

The zoo has 16 staffers trained in the use of firearms in case of an escape. Four of those employees responded to the attack on Pfaff.

Before Saturday, the most recent fatal attack at the Denver Zoo was a bear attack that killed a zookeeper back in the 1920s.

Death of Greyhound Causes Groups in Tasmania to Call for a Ban to Dog Hurdle Racing

I have to admit, I hadn’t heard of such a ridiculous event. As is shown by the article below, it is extremely dangerous for the greyhounds. And this danger is really why this only goes on in the one area of Tasmania.

For more on Greyhound racing (not with hurdles) and why it’s wrong see http://www.downbound.com/Greyhound_Racing_s/427.htm


Article:

Call to ban greyhound hurdle races

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/
0,20867,21306659-5006788,00.html

By Glenn Cordingley

March 01, 2007 12:58pm
Article from: AAP

Font size: + -

Send this article: Print Email

AN animal welfare group has called for dog hurdle-racing to be banned in Tasmania after a greyhound smashed into a barrier and died on the track.

The dog slammed into the second hurdle at high speed during trials for the Hobart Greyhound Racing Club on Tuesday night.

Witnesses at the Elwick racetrack in Hobart said its back was broken and skull smashed.

"The death of this greyhound is a reminder of why greyhound hurdle racing takes place in no other state in Australia, other than Tasmania," said Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania (AACT) spokeswoman Emma Haswell.

Last August, a dog at the same track died when it careered into a rail, raising concerns over a lack of a safety fence.

Ms Haswell said greyhounds converted to hurdle racing were generally considered past their prime and have always been used to running on flat tracks.

"These gentle and graceful dogs have never seen an uneven surface let alone a jump," she said.

"On top of this, many have been trained using live baits such as possums and rabbits.

"The dog's eye is on the lure and lure only. Hurdle racing is an accident waiting to happen every time and the AACT wants it banned immediately.

The Tasmanian Greens, who described the latest death as "shocking" and "avoidable", are calling for all dog races and trials to be suspended until a safety rail is installed at the track.

A spokesman from TOTE Tasmania said it would hold its own investigation into the incident.
Hobart Greyhound Racing Club chair Denise Fish said she was not considering a ban on greyhound hurdle racing.

"The chief steward is holding an investigation which is normal procedure. We are not considering a ban and will wait and see what comes out of the inquiry," she said.

"This was a racing accident, nothing more than that. A dog has clipped a hurdle and fell.

"It's just one of those unfortunate things. Like any other fall, you may or may not hurt yourself. You never want to see an animal get hurt but it happens."

Group in Italy Puts Forth Charter that Would Prevent Animals from Being Exploited on Television

An excellent idea. As the article below states, “The guidelines forbid programmers from using animals in a way that goes against their nature, including making them perform tricks or putting them in situations that can be seen as offending their dignity.”

Article:

Charter signed on TV animal rights.

http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/news.php?id_n=2810

Animal rights activists, Italian state broadcaster RAI and the minister for the environment, Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, have presented a new charter that will prevent animals from being exploited on television.

The guidelines forbid programmers from using animals in a way that goes against their nature, including making them perform tricks or putting them in situations that can be seen as offending their dignity. Gianluca Felicetti, president of the Italian Anti-Vivisection League (LAV), said the charter was necessary following an increased exploitation of animals in television programmes. He cited the use of a kangaroo in the RAI programme Carramba che Sorpresa as an example.

In addition to setting out guidelines for the use of animals on television, the charter also recommends the establishment of a special commission made up of animal experts and vets who can evaluate plans for the presence of animals in transmissions and ensure they are in line with the philosophy of the charter. All other television channels are also asked to sign up to the guidelines. For the full text of the charter, see www.sas.rai.it.

Troy Lee Gentry, of the Country Singing Duo Montgomery Gentry, Sentenced to Three Months Probation and $15,000 Fine for Killing a Captive Black Bear

How cowardly is this? Pay for a captive bear to kill. That’s just plain weak and even hunters would agree that this constitutes unethical behavior on all levels.

Article:

Singer Gentry sentenced in bear killing

http://www.insidebayarea.com/celebrities/ci_5323546

Associated Press

DULUTH, Minn. - Troy Lee Gentry, of the country singing duo Montgomery Gentry, has been sentenced to three months of probation and a $15,000 fine for killing a captive black bear. He also must give up hunting in Minnesota for five years.

Gentry pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor in November. Under a plea deal, he agreed to forfeit the bear and the bow he used during the hunt near Sandstone. The 600-pound bear has been part of a taxidermy display at Gentry's home in Tennessee. He was sentenced Friday.

The bear was killed in October 2004 at the 80-acre Minnesota Wildlife Connection. Owner Lee Marvin Greenly sold the bear for $4,650 and orchestrated the hunt, which Gentry videotaped and edited to make it appear the bear had been killed in a fair chase hunt, according to authorities.

Montgomery Gentry, which includes co-singer Eddie Montgomery, are known for hits such as "My Town" and "If You Ever Stop Loving Me."

A Quick and Brief Look at the History of Vegetarianism

This writing really provides a quick and brief look at the history of vegetarianism. Of course much is left out, but for a good overview, it’s worth reading.

Article:

Vegetarianism is not a fad, has meaty history

http://media.www.daily49er.com/media/storage/
paper1042/news/2007/03/01/Opinion/Vegetarianism.
Is.Not.A.Fad.Has.Meaty.History-2749664.shtml

Celine Dilfer

My first encounter with the death of an animal was years ago, but it was so emotional that it still affects me so much that it still influences my diet today. I was on a train that made a stop much earlier than announced. Confused, I looked outside and saw something that still haunts me to this day - the sight of fresh blood splattered throughout a 5-foot radius and an herd of agonized cows severed beneath the train.

Under my tears, I felt an impossible sadness and wished never to see a dying animal again. A vegetarian diet has been my way of life since then - a decision which has invoked all types of remarks. Among the most notable of the remarks is how vegetarianism is just a new fad and I'll grow out of it eventually. I quell my desire to call them out on their uneducated assumption, and opt for a polite nod.

The truth is that vegetarianism has a very long history, and is nothing new. An agreement that the history of vegetarianism even classifies as intellectual history has yet to be accepted, perhaps because it's the same very people that disregard "rights" for animals, that denies any "history" for animals.

However, the vegetarian movement has been tried and tested, with varying degrees of success and owes its rockiness to the fact that there has not been a single compelling argument in favor of vegetarianism that hasn't been countered by one against it, both of equal authority.

Nonetheless, the concept is still strongly embraced by about 4 million people worldwide and dates back to sometime in 500 B.C. According to an article published in the Jan. 22 issue of The New Yorker, scholars believe a group of mystical mathematicians, known for their most notable leader, Pythagoras, was the first group to engage in a philosophical debate about carnivorous behavior.

These mathematicians placed equal value on animal and human life, and they often questioned the proper relationship between a human and animal. They followed a doctrine known as metem-psychosis, which stated that in the afterlife your soul passed from one species to another. Abstaining from eating animals then was the only way to avoid cannibalism. Metempsychosis gained a lot of followers, but remained hidden from the Catholic Church. The Catholics, believing that the afterlife consisted of souls migration between heaven and hell, condemned any other belief, and saw vegetarians as a defiant to God's will.

But even between the devout, discrepancies arose. Some felt that it was not only our right, but also our divine duty to eat animals, whereas others felt that all of Gods' creations should be valued, and neither have dominion over one another.

Not excluding the religious beliefs of others, it is important to notice that Egyptians practiced a vegetarian ideology around 3200 B.C. based upon karmic beliefs. Also, India, the vegetarian capital of the world, centered their religion on ideas of non-violence and respect for all forms of life.

The Greeks and Romans played a significant part in the revival of the movement between the 3rd and 6th centuries. It is interesting to note that Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, some of the greatest philosophers of all time, all advocated a "natural" life, free from animal cruelty.

Many other reasons for going meatless stemmed throughout history until the 1700s, when another prominent group of thinkers emerged who outwardly opposed the treatment of animals.

From The Enlightenment of the 18th century emerged a new thought about humans' place in creation order. From this era rose another reason for a meatless diet, apart from religion - a moral issue. Arguments that animals were in fact intelligent, feeling creatures were voiced and the morality of killing them inhumanly was questioned.

George Cheyenne, a Scottish diet doctor, and other commentators argued that the habit of killing, like that of meat eating itself, hardened the heart and the nerves, both figuratively and literally. Our first step towards peace begins on our plate. Thus, abstinence from flesh eating strongly appealed to those against war and violence.

What makes this movement so fascinating are all the different reasons throughout history that have inspired people to take on a vegetarian diet. Its should be noted that health was at some pinnacle of the reasoning for many years, as a plant based diet was often a remedy to different ailments.

But whatever the reason, whether religious affairs, moral or health, the notion of a vegetarian diet has been embraced by some of history's most significant and influential thinkers, such as Albert Einstein, Leonardo DiVinci, Mahatma Gandhi made a whole religion based on it, Isaac Newton, Plato, Socrates, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, César Chavez and countless other prominent people throughout world history. Embarassingly, so was Adolf Hitler.

People who wanted to contribute abstract thought, and analysis of what consequences human actions have set out with a vision for a better life, improvement of society's status quo.

Vegetarianism is not a new trend, but a continuing struggle for an enhanced moral life. I think it's fair to say then that vegetarians would be good company - people with a desire to question the world and attempt to better it.

Celine Dilfer is a senior communications major.