Thursday, December 09, 2010

Would you Like to See the Reality of the Cruelty Behind Foie Gras? Video: “The Foie Gras Assembly Line”

As you may know, I’m a fan of video. You simply cannot argue against the reality of what it shows.

Well, here’s a video that exposes the horribly cruel reality of Foie Gras. You simply will not believe the cruelty involved in Foie Gras. For those who do not know, Foie Gras is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This video focuses on the cruelty exposed inside Elevages Perigord, Canada's largest foie gras producer.





DVD of “At the Edge of the World” to be Released Soon: Chronicles the Sea Shepherd Antarctic Campaign Against a Japanese Whaling

I was asked to post this by creator of the film. Please read below.

The DVD of “At the Edge of the World” will be released soon.

Please ask your friends to add the film to their Netflix Queue – it’s helpful in persuading Netflix to make At the Edge available to their subscribers; the Netflix link for the film is www.netflix.com/Movie/At-the-Edge-of-the-World/70108790?trkid=226872


If people want to watch the trailer or get more information, the film’s site is www.WhaleCampaign.com

At the Edge of the World chronicles the controversial Sea Shepherd Antarctic Campaign against a Japanese whaling fleet.

Quick Action for the Dolphins of Indian River Lagoon

I don’t have too much time due to work load to include all of the details regarding this action for the Dolphins of Indian River Lagoon. I did place a link below and some details regarding the issue.


Target: Commissioners of Brevard County, Indian River County, St. Lucie County, Martin County and Palm Beach County

Sponsored by: Ocean River Institute

In 2008, the dolphins of Florida's Indian River Lagoon faced a "marine mammal unusual mortality event." This year, it looks like another such event is underway. Dolphins are being found emaciated, with respiratory problems, brain lesions, skin-eating fungal infections and other signs of suffering.

To save the Indian River Lagoon dolphins, we must lessen the phosphorous and nitrogen entering the lagoon.

The dolphins' home has become a toxic soup. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the Indian River Lagoon gets more than 400,000 pounds of phosphorus per year. That's 200,000 more pounds than it can sustain. But we have the power to change the fate of these dolphins.

Urge the commissioners of counties surrounding the Indian River Lagoon to ban fertilizers with phosphorus and quick release nitrogen to lessen the community's contribution of toxins into the lagoon.

Good Page on Famous Animal Rights Quotes. Always Good to Remember that You're in Good Company

Simple as it gets. Good page on famous animal rights quotes. Always good to remember that you're in good company - http://www.betterworld.net/quotes/animal-quotes.htm

Monday, November 22, 2010

Id al-Adha: Idiotic, Cruel and Shocking Annual Muslim Holiday Begins: Insanity Legalized as Sick Voyeurs Get Off on Mass Slaughter

Let me start with this quote taken from the story below: “In abattoirs, some workers sodomize the beasts with knives to drive them into the pens…”

Yes, the idiots are at it again: mass slaughter based on a story of religion. So, others suffer horrendous deaths (and pre-deaths) while idiots actually cheer, take pictures and, as mentioned below, “[l]ittle boys daubed their hands in the blood and spattered one another…”

LET’S JUST SAY THAT IF WE DID THIS IN OUR HOMES, WE’D BE CONSIDERED INSANE.

I could go on, but I’ve decided to post three paragraphs that pretty much sum up the idiotic and horribly cruel holiday in the Muslim world known as Id al-Adha. For the complete story, you will find the text of it and a link to it posted in below these disturbing paragraphs.

“Amateurs slaughter their own sheep at home in many Arab countries, with no special training on how to spare the animals pain. It is common to see men hurling terrified sheep into the backs of trucks, and beating the animals as they herd them to the killing grounds. In abattoirs, some workers sodomize the beasts with knives to drive them into the pens, Ms. Abaza and other activists said.

The scene in Cairo’s working-class Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood Tuesday morning was fairly typical: camels bellowed as blood-soaked butchers wrestled dozens of animals to the ground and slashed their throats for an admiring crowd.

Neighbors leaned out their windows to watch and cheer, or snap cellphone pictures. Little boys daubed their hands in the blood and spattered one another, and teenagers helped remove steaming entrails from the carcasses. Scores of people pressed forward to buy fresh meat for the ritual holiday meal, standing in puddles of clotted gore.”

Article:

Activist Relies on Islam to Fight for Animal Rights

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/world/africa/22egypt.html?_r=1&src=me

CAIRO — It is never easy to be an animal rights activist in the Arab world. But on Id al-Adha, the annual Muslim religious holiday when the streets run red with the blood of slaughtered sheep, cows and camels, it is a nightmare.

Scott Nelson for The New York Times

Amina Abaza, an Egyptian animal rights activist.

“Ah, I can’t stand it!” wailed Amina Abaza, wincing as she drove through a gantlet of hanging carcasses and entrails, with doomed sheep bleating all around her. “Islam is all about compassion, but we don’t practice it!”

An ebullient 55-year-old with a big mane of blond hair, Ms. Abaza has spent a decade campaigning to spare the animals, or at least require more humane slaughtering methods. She has a long way to go.

The scene in Cairo’s working-class Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood Tuesday morning was fairly typical: camels bellowed as blood-soaked butchers wrestled dozens of animals to the ground and slashed their throats for an admiring crowd.

Neighbors leaned out their windows to watch and cheer, or snap cellphone pictures. Little boys daubed their hands in the blood and spattered one another, and teenagers helped remove steaming entrails from the carcasses. Scores of people pressed forward to buy fresh meat for the ritual holiday meal, standing in puddles of clotted gore.

For most Muslims, the holiday, which ended Friday night, is a joyful time with a charitable theme: according to tradition, a third of the slaughtered meat is to be given to relatives, and a third to the poor. It is a welcome gift in Egypt, where the price of meat has been rising and many families cannot afford it.

What bothers Ms. Abaza and other activists is not the principle of Id al-Adha — the Feast of Sacrifice — which commemorates the biblical story in which God allows Abraham to slaughter a ram instead of his own son. Nor do they object to animal slaughter itself (Ms. Abaza is not a vegetarian).

Instead, they complain that many butchers fail to abide even by Islam’s own strictures: that the animal should not be mistreated, and should not see or hear other animals being killed.

Amateurs slaughter their own sheep at home in many Arab countries, with no special training on how to spare the animals pain. It is common to see men hurling terrified sheep into the backs of trucks, and beating the animals as they herd them to the killing grounds. In abattoirs, some workers sodomize the beasts with knives to drive them into the pens, Ms. Abaza and other activists said.

“If you want to give a good image of Muslims and the Koran, why do you do this?” Ms. Abaza said, her operatic voice rising in indignation. “Why are we Muslims the ones known for this kind of behavior?”

Ms. Abaza and a small but growing band of fellow activists have had some impact. In 2006 she helped an Australian reporter film at a slaughterhouse with a hidden camera. The resulting exposé created a scandal in Australia, and soon afterward the Australian government suspended shipping live sheep to Egypt.

That got Ms. Abaza some attention, most of it negative. “People think we are attacking Islam,” she said. “They accuse you of being an American, a Jew, a Freemason.”

It is true that Westerners tend to recoil a bit from the mass slaughter that takes place on Id al-Adha, despite the reality that plenty of animals are slaughtered in the West in ways that make animal rights activists cringe. Muslims can be sensitive about the Western reaction, and Ms. Abaza, who grew up here in a wealthy Francophone family, is an easy target.

When she first started her organization in 2001, the Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt, her rhetoric was largely borrowed from similar Western groups.

“Then I discovered that there are animal rights in Islam,” she said. “Once we started using the Islamic arguments, they didn’t attack us as much.”

Some religious authorities agree with Ms. Abaza, but they rarely raise their voices, certainly not on the Adha holiday.

“Muslims are passing through a period of degeneration where they are applying the Shariah law circumstantially and moodily,” said Sheik Ahmed al-Baba, a prominent Sunni cleric and member of the Islamic Endowment Council in Lebanon. “Some ordinary people do the slaughtering process and in a wrong way. They don’t have experience, they don’t know we are obliged not to harm the animal.”

In fact, the Koran and the Islamic written traditions that form Shariah, or religious law, specify minimum ages for animals to be slaughtered, and provide details about avoiding any unnecessary pain, Sheik Baba said.

In fairness, those rules are difficult to apply on a large scale. At the Basateen slaughterhouse, near the vast cemetery known as the City of the Dead, butchers stride about in knee-high rubber boots, surrounded by lakes of feces, blood and urine. It was here that the Australian reporter documented animal abuses in 2006.

But the procedures do not appear to have changed. On Monday, one butcher described it this way: “We just throw them on their sides and cut their throats and say ‘Allahu Akbar.’ ” Asked whether the beasts were able to see and hear others being killed, he replied: “Sure, why not?”

As for Ms. Abaza, she chose to celebrate the holiday in her own unique way. She drove to the local sheep market, where she bought a female sheep for 1,000 Egyptian pounds (about $175) and asked the butchers to load it in the back of her S.U.V. The men offered to slaughter it for her, and on hearing that she planned to “rescue” it, they could not contain their mirth. She paid no attention.

“Baaaa! You’re lucky!” she said jauntily, beaming at the animal.

She then drove to her ramshackle farm in the town of Sakara, on the outskirts of Cairo, where she keeps donkeys and sheep as pets. On the way, she groaned as she passed trucks full of sheep headed for slaughter, and dozens of fly-specked animal carcasses hanging in the sun.

“It’s a bloody day,” she said scornfully. “I hate this feast. Millions will be killed.”

Dawlat Magdy and Scott Nelson contributed reporting from Cairo, and Hwaida Saad from Beirut, Lebanon.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Rise Again of Psychopathic Dog Abuser Killer Michael Vick Proves that Society (and the NFL) is Based not on Ethics, but on Money: FU Roger Goodell

Let me start by saying that I am a football guy. I’ve played it and I’ve coached it. So, this is why I need to say this. I’m beyond angry that a sport I’ve loved is forever soiled and the transparency of which is the nature of the NFL is now clear.

In summary, had most people committed and become convicted of felonies (regardless of the crime) we’d be hard pressed to even get a job unless it’s very low level, low pay work. In fact, felons are ineligible for student loans, which would prevent anyone from improving their lives after release from jail.

So why is it then that Michael Vick, a convicted felon (aka, convict) is now back at superstar, millionaire status with people eating out of his hands? Roger Goodell speaks a good game about the NFL having ethics, but the truth stands that this talk is simply window dressing. The truth stands that the NFL gladly welcomes convicted felons back into their league. Why? Money.

I guess it’s true; the NFL is an acronym for the National Felon League.

Since I have no other means of airing this anger, I had to post this. All the idiots have forgotten about the horrid crimes of animal abuse committed by a sick and twisted Michael Vick. But for those who stand for ethics beyond money, we stand sick and disturbed by the nature of the NFL, and of society. Because, when it comes down to it, if this society truly put morals and ethics above money (which it says it does) the NFL would have to follow and Michel Vick would be picking up trash in shame vs. once again being treated like a god so full of money that it seems his evil was rewarded.

FU Roger Goodell and the NFL!! Thanks for ruining my game!


Monday, November 15, 2010

Amazon.com and Chief Jeff Bezos Exposed for Selling Books on Dog Fighting and Cockfighting: In Addition to Selling Books on Pedophilia

WTF is wrong with Bezos and Amazon? Money has gone to his head? He doesn’t care?

Whatever the reason is, why is Amazon allowed to provide assistance in engaging in illegal activity?

I guess the abuse of kids and animals doesn’t bother Bezos while he sits in his Seattle mansion. Wake up idiot!!

As stated below:

“In a letter sent Friday, PETA cited two books, "The Art Of Cockfighting -- A Handbook for Beginners and Old Timers" and "Dogs of Velvet and Steel." The group said that like the "Pedophile's Guide," both books encourage illegal actions.”

Article:

PETA wants animal-fighting books removed

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/11/13/PETA-wants-animal-fighting-books-removed/UPI-70901289672465/

Published: Nov. 13, 2010 at 1:21 PM

NORFOLK, Va., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. animal-rights group has written Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos, urging him to remove books on dog and cockfighting from the online store.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals cited Amazon's decision this week to drop "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure," CNN reported.

In a letter sent Friday, PETA cited two books, "The Art Of Cockfighting -- A Handbook for Beginners and Old Timers" and "Dogs of Velvet and Steel." The group said that like the "Pedophile's Guide," both books encourage illegal actions.

Lindsey Rajit, a PETA spokeswoman, said in addition to encouraging animal abuse the books could do further harm to society.

"Animal abuse is one of the first warning signs we see in people who turn and direct violence toward people," she said. "This is really important because the twisted whims of people who enjoy watching animals fight to the death is not something Amazon should be catering to. There are greater societal implications."

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Election 2010: Results Bad for Animal Rights

Is it really that much of a surprise? Sadly, no.

As stated in the article below, “…voters in Arkansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee approved constitutional rights to hunt and fish.” Yet, there were a couple bright spots as you’ll also read below.

I’d like to thank the author at http://hcb.typepad.com/hounded_cowed_badgered/ for keeping track of these issues. I’ve pasted in the text below for those in need of quick information, but please do visit the site to read this and more.

Article:

Animal initiatives become law


I'm sure animal law is on few folks' minds this morning, given the changed legal landscape in our federal government and in many states. It seems safe to say the gains made by Republicans will have little effect on animal welfare, much less animal rights. Only animals in the wild are seriously protected by law, in the form of environmental statutes, and few politicians seem focused on environmental issues.

The election did mean some changes in animal law though, much of it anti-animal. As noted below, voters in six states were asked to vote on animal-related ballot initiatives. The results are in and voters in Arkansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee approved constitutional rights to hunt and fish. North Dakotans rejected Measure 2, which banned the canned hunting of some animals. Measure proponents say "We were out-spent."

On the plus side, Prop 109, a proposed right-to-hunt amendment in Arizona was rejected by voters. Prop 109 was distinct from other right-to-hunt initiatives, since it also shifted the power over hunting and fishing from an administrative agency to the legislature. This political aspect, and the possibility that the law would limit future initiatives, allowed the opposition to paint it as a power grab. And successfully! A second bright spot is the passage, per USA Today, of Prop B, which regulates puppy mills.

Friday, October 29, 2010

The Sick Mentality of Country Music Singer Troy Gentry: Buy a Captive Bear, Pretend it’s in the Wild, then Shoot it in the Lungs with a Bow and Arrow

Pretend it’s in the Wild and Shoot it in the Lungs with a Bow and Arrow and Film the Act

This goes beyond anything I’ve seen lately.

What Troy Gentry does to this tame bear is beyond cruel. This video is disturbing and shows just how cruel Troy Gentry of the country music duo Montgomery Gentry is. You won’t believe it when you see the tame bear come over to them and then Troy shoots him in the side. The bear is in shock and attempts to walk away. He then begins to breathe heavily as blood fills in his lungs. You can hear it and it’s disturbing. Troy laughs and has no sympathy for this timid and tame bear as he suffers in death.

It’s pretty clear this bear suffered not only in life, but horribly in its last minutes on Earth.

I always hate to bring up this stuff, but it’s the unfortunate truth of this life that the cruelty of some people knows no bounds.



Thanks to SHARK - Showing Animals Respect and Kindness – which obtained the video from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. Had they not done this, this horrid event would have gone unnoticed by the public.

Yes, the title is right. He bought a bear, forced it into unnatural captivity (which is torture in itself), then, perhaps to make himself look tough, staged the killing incident for film. Luckily, the only thing that came from this is that he was (somewhat) punished. Yes, it wasn’t to the level of felonies (probably because he’s famous in country music) but at least it wasn’t let go.

Here is a description of the event from another site at http://www.tinygreenbubble.com/eco/environmental/item/1005-country-singer-kills-captive-bear It’s pretty clear this bear suffered not only in lift, but horribly in its last minutes on Earth.

“Enter Troy Gentry, who after buying the bear, the staged a hunt (in a fenced in area), pretended he was in the wild, and then proceed to film his tough-guy self shooting the bear in the lungs with a bow and arrow.

How does a bear die from being shot in the lungs? Like anyone shot in the lungs, death comes by drowning in one's own blood. In fact, in the video as smiling, triumphant Gentry is holding the dead bear, Cubby's mouth is filled with blood.”

Article:


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - An animal rights group has posted a video of country music star Troy Gentry killing a captive, tame black bear in Minnesota.

The group SHARK - Showing Animals Respect and Kindness - obtained the video from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act, and posted it on YouTube on Monday.

Steve Hindi, president of the Geneva, Ill.-based group, said SHARK wanted to make the video public because it thought Gentry got off too lightly.

Gentry, half of the duo Montgomery Gentry, pleaded guilty in 2006 to falsely registering the bear as shot in the wild. He was fined $15,000 and put on probation for three months. He also forfeited the stuffed bear and the bow he used.

Montgomery Gentry's management company did not immediately respond to messages.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Election 2010: Excellent Article Lays Out the Animal-Related Initiatives (Potential Laws) on the Ballots in the Upcoming Election: Any in Your State??

I won’t say much here other than visit this posting at http://hcb.typepad.com/hounded_cowed_badgered/2010/10/on-the-ballot-on-tuesday.html to see if any initiatives are on the ballot in your state. You'll also see that the author tells you how to vote. I’ve posted the text of the article in below as well for quicker reading, but make sure you visit the posting as well.

You’ll also notice that the blog “Animals & Politics” at http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/ is listed below. Please also visit this site for more on animal rights-related legislative initiatives.

Article:

Animal law on the ballot


Animal-related initiatives are on the ballots in several states in this upcoming election. All but one involve hunting and fishing; one concerns the breeding of dogs. Unfortunately, no initiative this year addresses the most commonly abused animals in the U.S., farm animals.

Voters in four states will be asked to vote on a constitutional right to hunt. It's difficult to know what motivates these efforts, except the need for pro-gun groups to energize their hunter members. The NRA says the amendments are needed to head off attempts to limit hunting and fishing by "well-funded anti-hunting activists." This is not a serious statement, given that gun groups have exponentially more power and resources than those few animal rights groups that target hunting.

When these initiatives do pass, as others have, it's not doomsday for hunting opponents. The provisions typically recognize the state's power to regulate---they cover the right to hunt or fish "lawfully" or say these activities are subject to regulation. Courts have treated similar provisions in other states as basically inspirational. The Wisconsin Supreme Court, for instance, has held an amendment establishing the right to hunt "does not affect our analysis of the DNR's authority."

The reasons for animal rights advocates to oppose a constitutional right to hunt are fairly miminal, though they outweigh the nonexistent benefit to animals. If any of these initiatives were voted down, it would mean that pro-hunting groups had wasted their time and money (though who knows, maybe a successful "NO" campaign would make proponents feel ever more paranoid about the alleged threat of animal rights groups). And, if there ever was an attempt to ban hunting---maybe around 2060?---these initiatives would be an impediment. On these symbolic initiatives, a symbolic NO is the way to go.

I've listed each of the ballot items below, with a recommended vote. For more election coverage, check out Animals & Politics, where Michael Markarian has been doing an excellent job, especially on the Arizona and Missouri ballot items.

Arkansas. Issue 1, if passed, would recognize a constitutional right to hunt, fish, and "harvest wildlife." It would also set these activities as the preferred method of wildlife control. The language would benefit from a comma, as a hasty reader might be shocked that "[p]ublic hunting, fishing, and trapping shall be a preferred means of managing and controlling nonthreatened species and citizens...." (The rest of the sentence makes clear humans are not in fact in danger.)

Arizona. Prop 109 would also enshrine a constitutional right to hunt and fish, and make hunting and fishing the preferred method of wildlife population control. In addition, the measure would shift the power to regulate those activities to the legislature, which may in turn, delegate it back to a commission, which presumably would keep doing what its doing. Feeling dizzy? This move contrasts with Arkansas's Issue 1, which expressly retains power for its game and fish commission, which is itself constitutionally based (see amend. 35). In a fine analysis, Kristin Borns and CJ Eisenbarth Hager point out potential problems with some vague language in the measure. Vote NO.

Missouri. Prop B sets regulations for large-scale "puppy mills," including giving dogs space to move around and to exercise. In contrast to the position of some in the debate over Prop 2 in California, it seems unlikely that the proposed regulations could increase the number of animals bred. Rather, it would reduce the scale of breeding operations and (if enforced) improve the conditions of animals being bred. Vote YES.

North Dakota. The North Dakota Constitution already has two provisions recognizing the value of hunting. Measure 2 would criminalize canned hunts of big game and "exotic animals." The measure's proponents claim it reflects "Fair Chase" principles. For folks opposed to factory farming, some of their ideas might be appealing: no breeding programs, no feeders, no government culls. People opposed to animal exploitation for food and recreation, however supposedly benign, could be less easily persuaded. For me, the question is whether fewer animals will be killed or wounded.

Supporters claim canned hunting makes all hunting look bad. Would a NO vote then reduce hunting? I doubt it. This is rare case where criminalizing an act might actually stop abuse. The proprietors of canned hunting ranches are businesspeople and, if there is enforcement, would be forced to shut down. If less canned hunting meant less hunting, I'd say to vote YES. But this is the sort of dispute, between different types of hunters, that I find difficult to find a good ethical position on.

South Carolina. Amendment 1 would recognize a right "to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife traditionally pursued." The invocation of tradition could be a loophole: it would be hard to argue hunting "traditionally" occurred with high-powered scopes, or fishing with sonar and GPS (not that any law coming down the pike would ban these tools). Vote NO.

Tennessee. An amendment to the constitution would create a "personal right to hunt and fish." Vote NO.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Quick Action: Urge Congress to Pass The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act: Prohibit the Transport of America's Horses Across State Lines for Slaughter

Yep, this issue is still very much active. Horrible, as most do not realize that “More than 100,000 horses are slaughtered every year overseas for horsemeat in Europe and Asia.”

Here is a link to a page that will provide more detail about this important issue and allow you to act:


Don’t be a slacker! Get on it!!

“A Stevens-proof ban on crush videos?” A Deeper Look at the Bills Being Drafted to Counteract the Supreme Court Legalizing Animal Crush Videos

Insightful Article Asks: “A Stevens-proof ban on crush videos?” A Deeper Look at the Bills Being Drafted to Counteract the Decision by the Supreme Court to Make Animal Crush Videos Legal

We wrote last week on the issue of the likelihood of the US Senate drafting a new law to counteract the Supreme Court decision to allow animal crush videos - http://geari.blogspot.com/2010/09/us-senator-states-that-re-banning.html

Yes, for those who didn’t see it, the US Supreme Court decided to make sick animal crush videos legal.

This article again addresses this issue, but provides great insight as to the nature of both versions of the bill coming from the separate chambers of the US legislative branch.

Titled, “A Stevens-proof ban on crush videos?” I suggest that all interested in this issue read this article.

I posted in the text below for quick reading, but, please view the original at http://hcb.typepad.com/hounded_cowed_badgered/2010/10/a-stevens-proof-ban-on-crush-videos.html as the author provides MANY hyperlinks to outside resources.

Article:

OCTOBER 11, 2010

A Stevens-proof ban on crush videos?


In April, the Supreme Court decided United States v. Stevens, its biggest animal law case since the Lukumi decision in 1993. The case involved a First Amendment challenge to a federal law designed to stop crush videos, pornography showing small animals being crushed to death. The government in Stevens ran with the statute and prosecuted a seller of dog fighting videos. The Supreme Court, on an 8-1 vote, held the statute was constitutionally overbroad.

The majority opinion faulted the law for reaching animal-related acts that are not defined as "cruel." The law, as written, required use of a depiction of "animal cruelty," but defined cruelty to include any wounding or killing of an animal that violated federal or state law. The court imagined various scenarios where a depiction of a purportedly uncruel act (e.g., hunting without a license) would nonetheless violate the law. It found particularly troubling that a person could be convicted of possessing a video showing violence against an animal that was not in fact illegal in the possessor's state.

The Stevens court held out the possibility that a more targeted law--one "limited to crush videos or other depictions of extreme animal cruelty"--could pass constitutional muster. Now comes news that the House and Senate have passed bills aimed at crush videos that ... actually target crush videos.

I've put together a table comparing the language in the statue now, in the Senate bill, and in the House bill. The full texts of both versions are at Govtrack.us. Both bills do a better job of defining the depictions being banned, though the Senate does a better job still by not requiring the depicted abuse to also be a state or federal crime. Both contain findings that draw parallels to caselaw on obscenity and child pornography. Both in fact require the depiction to be obscene; given the descriptions in the case, I'd hope all crush videos would qualify.

I personally find it difficult to get excited about these bills. They target a tiny segment of the pornography market and a miniscule portion of the animal abuse in this country. How little Congress cares about animals is evident in one change between the House and the Senate bills. The House bill recognizes a compelling interest in "preventing animal cruelty," a good policy goal, if one rarely acted on. The Senate bill, however, finds a compelling interest only in "intentional acts of extreme animal cruelty." What of "mere" animal cruelty? Well, some arguably cruel practices are expressly excluded from the statute's reach by an exception for depictions (even obscene ones!) involving hunting, fishing, and agriculture.

The one bright spot I see in the legislation is in the Senate's definition of the offense. It criminalizes the sale, distribution, etc., of depictions of animals being abused in several specific ways (e.g., drowning, suffocation), but also includes a catchall for depictions of severe bodily injury against animals. Severe bodily injury is defines not once but twice in reference to existing laws against humans. The law incorporates the definition in 18 U.S.C. § 1365(h)(3), which contemplates the injury of "another person" and "any individual." Most strikingly, the Senate bill defines severe bodily injury to include "conduct that, if committed against a person and in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, would violate section 2241 or 2242." As the links show, these statutes define the federal crimes of aggravated and simple sexual abuse. The Senate bill thus implicitly recognizes that harm to nonhumans is of a similar kind as harm to humans.

The Senate bill is also notable for its definition of the animal being depicted. While the current law and the House bill cover "living animals," the Senate covers "non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians." On the one hand, this definition excludes insects and fish; on the other, it acknowledges frankly that humans are animals of a sort. This language parallels some state definitions of "animal" which expressly exclude human beings. See this Maine statute.

Famous Artist Banksy Storyboards and Directs the Opening to "The Simpsons": Don’t Miss the Animal Rights / Cruel China Message

I’m always on the lookout for new ways to creatively express the concerns we address on this blog.

All I can say is please watch to the end as the message is quite clear as to the cruel Chinese way of life in relation to all of life. Sad, but true. Amazing that this was even allowed to be shown considering the message. I guess the overlords didn’t get it!

For more information on just how cruel China is, also see our article “Crash Course in the Unbelievable Cruelty Behind the Eating of Cats and Dogs in Korea and China: Sick Countries Beyond Ethically Challenged” at http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/03/crash-course-in-unbelievable-cruelty.htm







Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Photos from Nikon's “Small World Photomicrography Contest” Speak to the Unity of Life, Regardless of Species

This is one incredible project. So why am I posting on it? Seeing photos like this speaks to the unity of life, regardless of species. As you’ll see, this contest “…capture[s] some of the first moments inside the eggs of animals including starfish and butterflies.”

When you see photos like this, you cannot deny the commonality. For example, you’ll see the photo showing the bones of the feet of a developing frog. Just as with a developing human, you’ll see 5 fingers and very similar bones.

The question that immediately came to mind for me was why are certain species literally born to be tortured or live very cruel lives and then die? When developing, they are innocent and that innocence is beautiful. But, then it’s broken as they live out their lives. This to me was a sad realization of the beauty and ugliness of life. Of course, also the reality that this is all human-defined as it’s humans that cause such a lack of empathy to other species – speciesism.

The link to the actual project is http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/vote From here you can actually vote for your favorite.

Wired also did a very good summary of the project at http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/09/gallery-microphoto-embryos/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+wired/index+(Wired:+Index+3+(Top+Stories+2))&pid=128

Animal Testing Company - Professional Laboratory and Research Services - in Corapeake, North Carolina Shut Down After Video of Cruelty Released

One win in a huge battle.

Of course, this is only one lab in a huge network that carries out the exact same cruelty day to day. It’s horrible to imagine just how many dogs, etc. are tortured daily and no one bears witness.

Article:

Lab shuts down after animal rights video released - September 16, 2010

http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2010/09/animal_testing_lab_shuts_down.html

A private laboratory involved in animal testing has halted research and will hand over its animals, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced yesterday (AP).

The shutdown comes after the animal rights organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), released an undercover video showing how animals were treated at Professional Laboratory and Research Services, based in Corapeake, North Carolina. According to PETA, the company had contracts from several major pharmaceutical companies to test products on animals.

The video shows laboratory employees discussing the use of sedatives that expired in 2007. “Maybe that’s why it doesn’t work,” says a voice on the video, shortly before the scene cuts to a dog twitching as its teeth are pulled with a pair of pliers. In another clip, one employee counsels another not to bother reporting a dog’s sores to the veterinarian. “If you have ten dogs that have the same problem, it’s not a problem,” she says. “It’s a living condition here.”

The USDA reportedly inspected the lab last week, and has launched a formal investigation. Officials are now trying to find new homes for about 200 animals.

U.S. Senator States that Re-Banning Animal Crush Videos 'A Virtual Certainty' After Horrible Supreme Court Decision Made them Legal

Thank whatever you want – god or not – but this is a huge development. It’s heartening to see that the Senate still has some decency as a key member used the terminology 'A Virtual Certainty' when saying that a bill to ban sick animal crush videos will survive.

Unbelievably, this is due to the fact that “On April 20, the Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision overturned a 1999 federal law that banned the creation of such videos...” I could go on and on as to the sick ramifications of this horrible decision, but you get the point.

As stated below, “Crush videos visually depict the abuse and killing of animals, many showing "a scantily clad, high-heeled woman stomping, squishing" and otherwise torturing animals such as puppies and kittens to feed a sexually deviant audience…”

We can only hope this happens and we’ll keep you informed.

Article:

Senator Says Re-banning Animal Crush Videos 'A Virtual Certainty'

http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/09/senator-says-re-banning-animal-crush-videos-a-virtual-certainty-.html

A speedy Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning paid notice to animal rights groups that hope to flatten a resurgence of "animal crush" videos, an industry they say has regained ground after the United States v. Stevens decision reversed a previous ban on their creation and distribution.

Crush videos visually depict the abuse and killing of animals, many showing "a scantily clad, high-heeled woman stomping, squishing" and otherwise torturing animals such as puppies and kittens to feed a sexually deviant audience, said Nancy Perry, vice president for government affairs for The Humane Society, during testimony.

On April 20, the Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision overturned a 1999 federal law that banned the creation of such videos, reversing a criminal conviction of Robert Stevens, who was sentenced to three years of jail time for making videos of dog fights. The Court said the law was too broad and could include productions relating to hunting and fishing.

Ever since, Congress and animal rights organizations have been working on legislation that would put a federal ban back in place. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) presided over the hearing and said it was his hope, after testimony and questioning, to help draft a Senate version of the July 21 House bill that would "narrowly tailor" the issue. The more specific the bill, the better chances it has of standing should it ever face scrutiny again, he explained.

Kevin Volkan of the California State University psychology program testified that crush video fans suffer from paraphilias, or sexual disorders similar to fetishes. There's no question what purpose the videos serve, he said.

"They are clearly sexual in nature," Volkan said. He also said his research shows that viewers typically will not acknowledge or treat their behavior unless they've been arrested and forced into treatment by the court.

ACLU lobbyist Michael Macleod-Ball said Volkan's testimony also contributed to the obscenity argument, a rule of measure that excludes speech referring to explicit sexual acts from First Amendment rights. Animal cruelty is illegal but banning the depiction of such acts inherently violates free speech, he said.

Congress could be trying to expand the definition of obscenity, which they cannot and should not do, he said.

An audience of roughly 50 listened as Perry described a video in which a puppy's mouth and legs were tied shut while someone stomped a stiletto heel through its eye socket. Further, a Humane Society investigation has found that new videos are being custom produced — a viewer may place an order specifically requesting the type of animal and torture — and receive it within 48 hours, she said.

A federal ban would help limit the crush video industry, which almost disappeared after the 1999 law, she said.

Kyl said the likelihood of the new bill being signed into law before the end of this session is "a virtual certainty." Both he and Macleod-Ball said the challenge would be that the law is written narrowly enough to survive judicial scrutiny.

"If they don't get it right, it's just going to go back up and down again," Macleod-Ball said, referring to the possibility that someone could challenge a new ban and bring it to the Supreme Court once more.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Video Acts as Undeniable Proof: Baby Elephants Tied Up and Electro-Shocked by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Trainers

In my research today for another posting I came across this video of absolute unspeakable cruelty toward BABY Elephants. This truly shows the truth of how circuses like Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus MAKE elephants do unnatural tricks - they torture them. If you don't believe me then look at the video.

To see this unbelievable cruelty which shows via video Baby Elephants Tied Up and Electro-Shocked by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Trainers visit: http://www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com/bound-babies.asp

European Union Bans Animal Testing Using Great Apes: Also Puts Restrictions on Using Other Primates and Requires Non-Animal Methods When Possible

The title says it all. Wow. As stated below, “The new legislation also places significant restrictions on testing on other primates and requires that non-animal methods be used whenever possible.”

Any change, be it small or large can lead to more. Celebrate this one and use it to cause more change to occur.

However, the fight is not over. As also stated in the article below, an important question is asked about the fate of chimpanzees in a New Mexico torture facility: “This is an exciting development—but it also raises a question: In light of this humane advance, how can the U.S. government justify its plans to transfer more than 200 “retired” chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a research laboratory in Texas, where they’ll probably be forced to endure cruel experiments?”

Article:

VICTORY: EU BANS TESTING ON GREAT APES!

http://animalrightscollective.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/victory-eu-bans-testing-on-great-apes/

September 9, 2010, 11:23 pm

Filed under: AR News, News, Video | Tags: primate testing, great apes, EU bans great ape testing

From The PETA Files:

There’s great news from across the Atlantic, where the European Union has voted to ban the use of great apes in experiments. The new legislation also places significant restrictions on testing on other primates and requires that non-animal methods be used whenever possible.

This is an exciting development—but it also raises a question: In light of this humane advance, how can the U.S. government justify its plans to transfer more than 200 “retired” chimpanzees from a facility in New Mexico to a research laboratory in Texas, where they’ll probably be forced to endure cruel experiments?

There is no excuse for it, of course, so please help us persuade officials to permanently retire the chimpanzees to a sanctuary.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

New EU Rules on Animal Testing Ban Use of Apes

from AFP

STRASBOURG — Europe banned the use of great apes in animal testing Wednesday as part of drastically tightened rules to scale back the number of animals used in scientific research.

After two years of heated debate on how to protect animal welfare without scuppering scientific research, the new limits, updating regulations from 1986, were adopted by the European Parliament despite objections from Green MEPs.

Under the new legislations, experiments on great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are to be banned and “strict” restrictions set on the use of primates in general.

Members of the 27-nation bloc, who are given two years to comply with the rules, also need “to ensure that whenever an alternative method is available, this is used instead of animal testing.”

And they must work at “reducing levels of pain inflicted on animals.”

Proponents of the abolition of animal testing objected that the new rules failed to go far enough.

“Animals will still be used as guinea pigs,” said the Greens in a statement. “They will still suffer pain.”

“It is possible to reduce the number of animals used for science without hindering research,” added Belgian Green Isballe Durant.

But Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli dubbed it “a good compromise on a difficult topic.”

“Today we have the chance to bring the EU to the forefront by caring for animals and protecting science,” he said.

Other MEPs said the demands of scientific research came over and above animal welfare.

“An animal’s an animal and a human being’s a human being,” said Italian conservative Herbert Dorfmann.

“Medical progress is crucial to humanity and unfortunately, to achieve this progress there must be animal testing.”

The legislation notably allows the use of primates in testing illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, cancer or Parkinson’s disease if there is scientific evidence that the research cannot be achieved without using these species.

To avoid repeated suffering by an animal, it lists different categories of pain that may be inflicted during a test (non-recovery, mild, moderate or severe) and proposes that the same animals be reused only if the pain is classed as “moderate,” and provided a vet is consulted.

At the moment some 12 million animals are used each year in scientific experiments in the EU.

The legislation calls for government inspections on a third of national laboratories that use animals, some of which must be unannounced.

Last year the European Union banned the testing of animals for developing cosmetics, except for long-running toxicology tests which will be banned altogether in 2013.

Two National Groups Challenge the EPA in their Proposal to Carry Out Unnecessary Animal Testing on 29 Chemicals

It seems like this comes up every few years. We can only hope that the existing data located can be used to prevent the EPA from believing that they need to carry out these unnecessary tests

Article:

Animal rights group challenges EPA chemical test proposals

http://chemicalwatch.com/4906
09-Sep-2010

NGO People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was due to give evidence today at a public meeting organised by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to discuss a proposal to require further test data for 29 high production volume substances for which the agency says it has "preliminarily determined that there are insufficient data and experience to reasonably determine or predict the effects of the manufacture, processing, or use of these chemical substances, or of any combination of such activities, on human health or the environment".

PETA and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine today argued that some of the tests proposed for 15 of the chemicals are unnecessary as the data sought can be found elsewhere. PETA accuses the EPA of failing to apply its own animal welfare guidelines to the testing proposals.

PETA located existing data for seven of the chemicals or groups of chemicals included in the proposed test rule. These include two chemicals, 1-tetracosanol (CAS No. 506-51-4) and 1-hexacosanol (CAS No. 506-52-5) the aluminum salts of which have already been addressed in the HPV program, and a third, 1-Decene, sulfurized (CAS No. 72162-15-3), that has already been included as part of a chemical category. PETA also suggested analogous chemicals for which data exist for three additional chemicals. Chemical manufacturers and importers made in-house toxicity and exposure data available for five additional chemicals.

Artist Amy Grace Draws Attention to the Cruelty of Circuses and of Course of the "Cruelest Show on Earth" Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

I am a firm believer in using graphics to show the reality of the issues we discuss. Photos and videos go a long way toward changing hearts and minds, as it’s hard to forget images.

I’ve pasted in one of Amy’s graphic art pieces below titles “Elephants Never Forget” which I believe delivers a strong visual message about the hell and cruelty animals in circuses endure, especially elephants.

You can view the photo directly at her site at http://amygrace.com/blog/2010/08/elephants-never-forget/

To see unbelievable cruelty which shows via video Baby Elephants Tied Up and Electro-Shocked by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Trainers visit http://www.ringlingbeatsanimals.com/bound-babies.asp

For more on the cruelty of circuses, including videos showing the reality of the abuse animals endure in them, visit http://www.circuses.com/ringling.asp

To see more of the work of Amy Grace, visit her site at http://amygrace.com/blog/

Here is what she writes directly under the graphic athttp://amygrace.com/blog/2010/08/elephants-never-forget/

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and other circuses beat and whip elephants to force them to perform silly tricks. Far away from the big-top spotlight, the cries of these isolated and scared animals go unheard.

Many may or may not know that I am a big advocate for animal rights. It really breaks my heart to pieces to see any animal suffer, and there’s a lot of abuse that goes on today…most of which people probably aren’t even aware of. I do what I can to help bring awareness to these issues…so when PETA recently sent out notices about these poor circus elephants, I was immediately inspired to do my own photo piece that would help to bring notice to the issue. I truly feel for these poor animals. I will never support the abuse of animals for the entertainment of people by taking my child to the circus. I hope that others can say the same.

Chains are for swings, not elephants.

Boycott ringling.











Yes, People Hunt Alligators: Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) Plans to Protest

I posted this because I want to make sure people are aware that there is alligator hunting. No surprise, unfortunately, but sometimes we forget that no species is safe.

Article:

Gator-hunt protest

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_lifestyle_animal/2010/09/gator-hunt-protest.html/comment-page-1

alligators — posted by mary anna gentleman on September, 9 2010 4:10 PM

A notice from the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF):

Activists with ARFF plans to call attention to alligator hunting by hanging a large banner reading “Gator Hunting = Heartless Killing” at the Interstate 4 overpass at Conroy Road at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9.

Lake Jesup, Lake Harney and Lake Monroe are among the Orlando-area destinations for alligator hunters. Florida’s 2010 alligator hunt began on Aug. 15 and continues until Nov. 1.

AARF objects to the way in which alligators are snared by hunters.

According to ARFF coordinator Bryan Wilson, “Death is rarely quick, and alligators may be left to suffer long after being pulled from the water.”

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Annual Cruel Dolphin Slaughter Begins in Taiji, Japan: The Documentary “The Cove” Has Attempted to Expose this Unspeakable Horror

I usually don’t make such a statement as really, almost all of the issues I cover are of extreme cruelty. But, this practice really pushes me to state it as one of the cruelest. This is literally a dolphin slaughter of extreme cruelty and proportion.

I’m hoping that in my life time this will end. One group has attempted to expose this practice.

Perhaps you’ve heard of the documentary “The Cove” that has attempted to expose this unspeakable horror. They literally had to go undercover to get the footage necessary to show the world just how horrible the Taiji dolphin slaughter is.

Here is the trailer for the movie:




The website for the movie is at http://www.thecovemovie.com/ and also lets you know what you can do to end this practice - http://www.takepart.com/thecove .

Japan, with its illegal continuation of whaling is still one of the world’s cruelest countries. It cares nothing for life. We can only hope that one day they wake up and end their love of death and cruelty.

Article:

Dolphin hunt kicks off in Japan 'Cove' town

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hiTLwbby8nMONbMgY-

L91WPmDWFA

(AFP) – 7 hours ago

TOKYO — Fishermen from the Japanese town depicted in Oscar-winning eco-documentary "The Cove" kicked off their annual dolphin hunting season Wednesday, undeterred by international criticism.

A flotilla of boats went to sea in the morning but failed to catch any of the sea mammals on the first day, said a local government official from Taiji in southwestern Wakayama prefecture, who asked not to be named.

Every year, fishermen in Taiji herd about 2,000 dolphins into a secluded bay, select several dozen for sale to aquariums and marine parks and harpoon the rest for meat, a practice long deplored by animal rights activists.

The Taiji official said several foreigners with cameras were seen walking around town, but that there had been no protests and no confrontations between animal rights activists and pro-dolphin-hunting nationalist groups.

"I have no idea what the foreigners' intentions are, but there is nothing unusual going on in the town. Our stance remains the same. The town will continue hunting dolphins no matter what they say," said the official.

"The Cove", directed by Louie Psihoyos, won the Academy Award for best documentary this year, and has been followed up by a series that has started screening on cable channel Animal Planet called "Blood Dolphins".

The team that shot "The Cove" over several years often worked clandestinely and at night to elude local authorities and angry fishermen, setting up disguised cameras underwater and in forested hills around the rocky cove.

Individual fishermen in Taiji routinely decline to speak to foreign media, but they have the support of many local people in the town of 3,700 who defend hunting dolphins, porpoises and small whales as a centuries-old tradition.

Right-wing nationalist groups in Japan -- known for their ear-splitting street demonstrations using megaphones -- have attacked "The Cove" as anti-Japanese and tried to stop its screenings by harassing movie theatres.

Such harassment forced the film's distributor to scrap screenings in June, but it managed the first commercial showing at a police-guarded Tokyo theatre in July, despite a brief skirmish between right-wingers and supporters.

The official said Taiji had expected protesters against the dolphin hunts to flock to the town Wednesday but he told AFP: "I see no impact from the movie. The town's stance to continue dolphin hunting will not change either."

Activist Ric O?Barry, a central character in "The Cove", wrote in his blog that his campaign, Save Japan Dolphins, had called off a visit to Taiji after receiving news that "extreme nationalist groups are set to confront us".

Instead, he said he and other volunteers would on Thursday visit the US embassy in Tokyo "to symbolically present 1.7 million signatures from 151 countries" in a campaign to end the annual dolphin hunts.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Dog Fighting Kingpin David Tant Up for Parole Sept 8th: Easy Way for You to Comment To Prevent Tant from Being Released

You can see just how sick David Tant is by viewing the photos at the Facebook page set up for this at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=491739&id=503460435&fbid=10150249984935436

This is very easy to do. In fact, the first link below takes you right to a window to fill out a comment, and the second link below provides an easy petition to sign.

Please keep reading. I was sent this by another group:

LETTERS ARE MOST IMPORTANT! PLEASE SEND REGULAR MAIL AS WELL! ***EVERYONE CLICK THIS LINK TO PROVIDE THE LETTER TO OPPOSE DAVID TANT'S PAROLE. THEY MAKE IT VERY EASY TO DO. MAKE SURE YOU PUT IN DAVID'S # 306170***
http://www.dppps.sc.gov/oppose_parole.html (for those having an issue when they click on this link, I did too. You need to copy the URL address and paste in new window. For some reason the site is slow).

*WE NEED LETTERS SENT AND PLEASE SHARE!* KINGPIN DOG FIGHTING BREEDER SET FOR PAROLE SEPT 8TH!!

**AND SIGN PETITION HERE**

"Tant was notorious as a long-time, high-profile breeder and fighter of pit bulls, and his demise delivered a startling blow to the underground dogfighting industry in the entire country."

David Tant of Charleston County, South Carolina was reportedly considered by the underground dogfighting community to be one of the top breeders of fighting pit bulls in the country. In April 2004, authorities seized 47 pit bulls from Tant's property, many with injuries consistent with dogfighting.

They found dogfighting
equipment: caged treadmills, a "rape box" (designed to restrain female dogs so that they can be forcibly bred), cattle prods, harnesses, a bear trap, homemade gun silencers, dogfighting magazines and remnants of a dogfighting ring.

In November 2004, after two days of a jury trial, the defendant pleaded guilty to four counts of animal fighting and one count of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison for animal fighting, 10 years in prison for creating a booby trap, and restitution of about $150,000.

On July 21, 2010, six years into his 30 year sentence, Tant was granted his first parole hearing in front of three members of the seven-member parole board. He was not required to go in front of the full parole board because,shockingly, his is considered a non-violent offense. The vote was split 2-1 in favor of parole. Because the partial board did not reach a unanimous decision, Tant will go in front of the full board on September 8.

Write a polite letter to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services to oppose parole for this dogfighter, who is responsible for the suffering of many innocent animals in this violent bloodsport. Use SC PPP's online comment form to oppose parole for

DavidTant, SC Department of Corrections inmate # 306170.

SUBJECT: NO PAROLE FOR David Tant # 306170

Inmate # 306170
South Carolina Department of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services
2221 Devine Street, Suite 600
P.O. Box 50666
Columbia, SC 29250

MORE INFO ON CASE: http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/2187/SC/US/

FOR INFO CALL: For Public Information people can call 803-734-9267 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 803-734-9267 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Parole/Pardon Information
1-803-734-9200

***EVERYONE CLICK THIS LINK TO PROVIDE THE LETTER TO OPPOSE DAVID TANT'S PAROLE. THEY MAKE IT VERY EASY TO DO. MAKE SURE YOU PUT IN DAVID'S # 306170***
http://www.dppps.sc.gov/oppose_parole.html (for those having an issue when they click on this link, I did too. You need to copy the URL address and paste in new window. For some reason the site is slow).

VISIT PREMADE LETTER TO SEND (please edit so all aren't the same! The parole board will NOT take this seriously if everyone send same letter!):
VISIT FOR A PREMADE LETTER: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=491739&id=503460435&saved#!/notes/stacy-paige/justice-through-action-dog-fighting-kingpin-up-for-parole/422916648095

Even After OSHA Cites SeaWorld $75,000 Death, they Refuse to Admit Just How Unnatural and Dangerous it is to Keep Wild Animals Such as Killer Whales

I think this quote says it all in regard to how unnatural it is to keep wild animals such as Killer Whales / Orcas:

“SeaWorld recognized the inherent risk of allowing trainers to interact with potentially dangerous animals,” said Cindy Coe, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta, Ga. “Nonetheless, it required its employees to work within the pool walls, on ledges and on shelves where they were subject to dangerous behavior by the animals.”

In addition, look at this quote which again ponts to just how unnatural and dangerous this practice is:

"In addition to the history with this whale, the OSHA investigation revealed that SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities, including its location in Orlando. Despite this record, management failed to make meaningful changes to improve the safety of the work environment for its employees."

Article:

OSHA Cites SeaWorld $75,000 Following Animal Trainer’s Death

http://ehstoday.com/safety/news/osha-cites-seaworld-animal-trainer-death-2372/
Aug 24, 2010 2:58 PM, By Laura Walter

OSHA has cited SeaWorld of Florida LLC a total of $75,000 for three safety violations following the Feb. 24 death of an animal trainer. SeaWorld, however, argued that OSHA’s allegations are unfounded and intends to contest the citations.

On Feb. 24, a 6-ton killer whale grabbed a trainer and pulled her under the water as park guests watched. Video footage shows the killer whale repeatedly striking and thrashing the trainer and pulling her under water even as she attempted to escape. The autopsy report describes the cause of death as drowning and traumatic injuries.

“SeaWorld recognized the inherent risk of allowing trainers to interact with potentially dangerous animals,” said Cindy Coe, OSHA’s regional administrator in Atlanta, Ga. “Nonetheless, it required its employees to work within the pool walls, on ledges and on shelves where they were subject to dangerous behavior by the animals.”

OSHA’s investigation revealed that this animal was one of three killer whales involved in the death of an animal trainer in 1991 at Sea Land of the Pacific in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SeaWorld had forbidden trainers from swimming with this whale because of his dangerous past behavior, but allowed trainers to interact with the whale, including touching him, while lying on the pool edge in shallow water.

In addition to the history with this whale, the OSHA investigation revealed that SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities, including its location in Orlando. Despite this record, management failed to make meaningful changes to improve the safety of the work environment for its employees.

“All employers are obligated to assess potential risks to the safety and health of their employees and take actions to mitigate those risks,” said Les Grove, OSHA’s area director in Tampa, Fla. “In facilities that house wild animals, employers need to assess the animals under their care and to minimize human-animal interaction if there is no safe way to reliably predict animal behavior under all conditions.”

OSHA has issued one willful citation to SeaWorld for exposing its employees to struck-by and drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales; a serious citation for exposing employees to a fall hazard by failing to install a stairway railing system by a Shamu Stadium stage; and one other-than-serious violation for failing to equip outdoor electrical receptacles in Shamu Stadium with weatherproof enclosures.

SeaWorld to Contest Violations

SeaWorld called OSHA’s allegations “unfounded” and intends to contest the citation.

“The safety of our guests and employees and the welfare of our animals are core values for SeaWorld and areas in which we do not compromise,” the company said in an Aug. 23 statement sent to EHS Today.

According to SeaWorld, the Feb. 24 death of a trainer “inspired an internal review of our whale program that has been unprecedented in scope. The findings of that review have been presented to an independent committee made up of some of the world’s most respected marine mammal experts. Their conclusions, drawn from decades of experience caring for marine mammals, are in stark contrast to OSHA’s. The safety of SeaWorld’s killer whale program was already a model for marine zoological facilities around the world and the changes we are now undertaking in personal safety, facility design and communication will make the display of killer whales at SeaWorld parks safer still.”

The company went on to state the OSHA’s allegations are unsupported by evidence and exhibit a lack of understanding of marine animal safety requirements. SeaWorld operates under permits to exhibit killer whales; is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service; and is a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, which address employee safety in their accreditation processes.

“It also is important to note that while maintaining a safe environment for our trainers, the demands of humane care require our zoological team to work in close physical proximity to these animals. Our trainers are among the most skilled, trained and committed zoological professionals in the world today. The fact that there have been so few incidents over more than 2 million separate interactions with killer whales is evidence not just of SeaWorld’s commitment to safety, but to the success of that training and the skill and professionalism of our staff,” the company stated.

Government Wants to Kill Wolves Again: What You Can Do to Speak Out Against

By the way, just because I post from other groups doesn’t always mean I’m a full supporter of that group. I’m just passing on the horrible news.

Seems the government wants to kill Wolves again. They seem to love doing this.


Help Stop the Federal Wolf Killing Plan


Speak out against a federal plan to use aerial gunning and poisonous gas to kill entire wolf packs in Idaho.

Goal: 30,000 • Progress: 502

Sponsored by: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
The federal Wildlife Services agency (a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) is the primary wolf-killer in the United States— and now wants to expand their wolf-killing operations. They plan to work with Idaho officials to eliminate up to 80 percent of the wolves in north-central Idaho by land and from the air.

Their plan also includes killing entire packs— including gassing helpless wolf pups in their dens— and surgically sterilizing alpha wolf pairs.

Pregnant Pit Bull Doused with Gasoline and Burned to Death While Giving Birth to Her Puppies: What You Can Do to Bring Prosecution

Need I say more? Received this via email.


JUSTICE FOR MIMI ... PREGNANT - DOUSED WITH GASOLINE
Target: Animal Control, Memphis TN, the Governor of TN, ASPCA overseeing TN
Sponsored by: Ingi's Quest 2 save the abused

POOR LITTLE MIMI ... JUST 2 YEARS OLD ... EVEN IN DOG YEARS THAT'S JUST 14 :( BARELY A TEENAGER!!!

She was a gorgeous Pit Bull and pregnant, January 2008 - she was doused with gasoline and burned to death WHILE GIVING BIRTH TO HER PUPPIES!!!!

This outrageous, cruel, evil behaviour must end, and must end NOW!!! We can no longer sit back and pretend this abuse does not exist. It DOES exist, and it is extremely wide spread across this nation. Will you continue to pretend it doesn't???

UPDATE AUGUST 4th, 2010
I HAVE RECEIVED THIS INFORMATION FROM THE CREATOR OF THE FACEBOOK PAGE "JUSTICE FOR MIMI"
Justice For MiMi - Prosecute Her Killer!

Targets: Memphis Police Department - Larry A. Godwin, Director; City of Memphis - A C Wharton, Jr., Mayor; Memphis City Council - Bill Morrison, William C. Boyd, Harold B. Collins, Wanda Halbert, Jim Strickland, Edmund Ford, Jr., Barbara Swearengen Ware, Joe Brown, Janis Fullilove, Myron Lowery, Kemp Conrad, Shea Flinn, Reid

Ohio Veal Calf Farm Exposed in New Video: Shows Calves Covered in Feces and Chained by their Necks in Narrow Stalls

Note: this post went live yesterday, but I found out today that Costco is actually a big customer of this group. As a consumer, you should know this.

I have embedded the actual video shown in the article below. Again, you can’t argue against video. Anyone still not aware of the hell and suffering baby veal calves endure just isn’t paying attention.






Article:

Activists Say State Board Not Doing Enough To Protect Animals

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2010/aug/31/3/mercy_for_animals_accuses_veal_farm-ar-216504/

By Marshall McPeek & Donna Willis
Published: August 31, 2010
Updated: August 31, 2010 - 12:07 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Animal-rights activists lash out at the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board Tuesday morning, saying the board is dragging its feet and not doing enough to protect animals.

Mercy For Animals released a new, undercover video Tuesday morning, hosted by TV star Bob Barker, that shows the conditions and treatment of calves at an Ohio veal farm.

According to a statement from the animal-rights group Mercy For Animals, the video shows calves covered in feces and chained by their necks in narrow stalls, where they are unable to turn around or walk.

WARNING: Video May Be Disturbing To Some Viewers.

The group said the footage shows the calves in 2-feet-wide wooden veal crates, which restrict the animals from lying down comfortably, breathing fresh air, seeing sunlight, cleaning themselves or bonding with their mothers.

The activists said the video is an example of standard veal-production practices and they call on the OLCSB to immediately ban those practices.

The group said the video was recorded covertly April 19, 2010, during a walking tour of a Northwest Ohio veal farm.

NBC 4 attempted to contact the farm in question and has left messages.

NBC 4 has not received a response from the farm and will release the farm's name when a statement is obtained.

Mercy for Animals said it sent a letter to the OLCSB Monday, Aug. 30, to demand action.

It has not yet received a response.

Mercy For Animals is the same group that released video from a dairy farm in Union County, showing workers beating cows with crowbars, stabbing them with pitchforks and punching them in their heads.

Will Ohio Change their Ridiculous and Lax Laws About Keeping Exotic Pets after Bear Killing?

My answer, probably and sadly no, but maybe the death will make some think.

Article:

Bear attack highlights lax Ohio exotic pet laws

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNrDb5ra1GovER_itgzgfh9ORb3QD9HUALAG0

By JULIE CARR SMYTH (AP) – 11 hours ago

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The bear that recently killed a caretaker in a Cleveland suburb was the latest example of animal violence in a state that has some of the nation's weakest restrictions on exotic pets and among the highest number of injuries and deaths caused by them.
After a standoff between the Humane Society and agriculture interests, state officials are crafting restrictions on the ownership of dangerous wild pets. But the killer beast and others owned by former bear-wrestling entrepreneur Sam Mazzola, who was on probation at the time of the attack for illegally selling and transporting exotic animals, would have been grandfathered out of them.

"It's just a free-for-all in Ohio, and Sam Mazzola is just an example of that," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States. "Tigers, wolves, bears in a suburban Lorain County community: It is a disaster waiting to happen."
The death in Ohio and attacks elsewhere — including the maiming of a Connecticut woman by her friend's pet chimpanzee and a 2-year-old Florida girl squeezed to death by her family's python — highlight that the patchwork of federal, state and local laws on keeping dangerous wild animals at home has holes.

Mazzola had the proper state permit to keep the black bear, a species native to Ohio, on his property. He also kept wolves, tigers and a lion, saomething he was free to do because Ohio and at least four other states — Alabama, Idaho, Missouri and Montana — impose few or no restrictions on the ownership of non-native animals kept solely as pets, according to a review of state regulations by The Associated Press.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates animals exhibited to the public but not private ownership. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires permits for native endangered and threatened species but doesn't track non-native, endangered species unless they cross state borders.

The Humane Society cut a deal this year with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and leading farm groups that traded pulling an animal cruelty measure off the November ballot for certain animal protections, including a ban on exotic pets. Farm groups opposed the ballot measure, which would have imposed treatment and caging requirements on livestock, as threatening to Ohio's $93 billion agricultural industry.

Existing non-native animals, like the ones Mazzola continues to keep, may be kept under Ohio's proposed regulations, but owners would not be able to breed them or replace them when they die.

The ban also would exempt animals in zoos, research centers and existing athletic mascot programs, Strickland spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said.
Many exotic pet owners in Ohio and elsewhere believe big animals — especially predators such as lions, tigers, bears and cougars — are no longer safe in the wild because of habitat loss, public fear and poaching. They view themselves as conservationists.
"Of the overall amount of people who actually have snakes as pets, who actually have chimpanzees as pets, these incidents are a very small percentage," said Cindy Huntsman, whose Stump Hill Farm near Massillon houses 250 wild animals.
According to a database of publicized exotic-pet escapes and attacks since 1990 kept by the animal rights group Born Free USA, Ohio ranks fifth in the number of episodes that hurt or killed a human — 14. The leader, Florida, has had 43, followed by Texas with 19, New York with 18 and California with 16. Alabama ties Ohio with 14.

The Ohio bear attack occurred Aug. 19 when caretaker Brent Kandra, 24, took the animal out of its cage for feeding at Mazzola's menagerie. Mazzola's federal license to exhibit the bear was revoked after animal rights activists complained about his practice of taking money to let people wrestle Ceasar, another bear he owned. But he was still free to keep the animals.
Most people who work regularly with exotic beasts know and accept the risks, Huntsman said, comparing it to being a farmer or working with killer whales at SeaWorld.
Mazzola reflected that attitude in comments to reporters the day after the fatal attack, showing off a facial scar he got from an encounter with a bear and saying he had a total of 2,000 stitches from his time working with animals.

"These are the things that happen when you deal and love these type of animals," he said.
Tom Burrington, 68, a retiree who lives two doors from Mazzola, recalled after the attack that one of the man's bears once rolled over a neighbor, who had to go to the hospital.

"It was a big joke," Burrington said. "They said the bear sat on a guy, but it was not funny to the safety forces. There wasn't anything funny about it."

A federal judge on Friday ordered mental health treatment for Mazzola as new terms of his probation sentence after pleading guilty in 2009 to transporting a bear to Toledo and selling a skunk without a license. Mazzola's attorney didn't return a message Monday seeking comment.
Animal rights groups have used attacks like the one that killed Kandra to push for tougher regulations elsewhere.

After a friend's 200-pound pet chimpanzee mauled and blinded a Connecticut woman in 2009, state lawmakers voted to ban ownership of large primates and other potentially dangerous animals, such as bears, leopards and wolves.

Since the Florida girl was suffocated by her family's Burmese python last year, it has become illegal for individuals there to own them and six other large, exotic reptile species.
Born Free USA considers it inhumane to keep large, wild animals in captivity even if they don't hurt anyone, Executive Vice President Adam Roberts said.
Exotic pet ownership also includes the risk of infectious disease, damage to the environment when pets are set free or escape, and a growing financial burden on animal rescue groups that run sanctuaries for animals that are abandoned, he said.

The Association of Zoos & Aquariums recommends against exotic pet ownership in part because of the lethal diseases wild animals can carry: distemper and rabies in carnivores; herpes in monkeys; and salmonella in reptiles. Vaccines used on domestic animals often don't work on their wild cousins, the group notes.

"People see wild animals and they see them as cute, as something they want to have, want to hold, want to covet," Roberts said. "Then they get bigger and more dangerous and the owner is in over their head."

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Parole Hearing Coming for Juan Daniels Who Beat a Pitbull with a Shovel and Then Doused with Lighter Fluid: Make Sure He’s Not Released

Pretty easy thing to do. I was sent this from another group via a Facebook page. You can access that page at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=480583&id=503460435 but the most crucial information is found below.

To see what this scum did, visit the page for photos. Michael Vick would be very proud of Juan Daniels for how he tried to kill this pitbull. Might even invite him to his new mansion.

Take a few minutes and write to the Alabama Board of Pardons/Paroles to deny parole for him. The hearing is on August 24th so you need to get on it. You’ll find the information below. You can also visit this link for a premade e-mail to send via e-mail since snail mail WILL NOT MAKE IT in time - http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=419260713095

Information:

Hello everyone! UPDATE. We have today (Thurs), Fri, & Mon before Juan Daniel's parole hearing. So please visit this link for a premade e-mail to send via e-mail since snail mail WILL NOT MAKE IT in time.


**19 second video clip**

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=719420867#!/video/video.php?v=10150242157130436&ref=mf

PLEASE SHARE ON YOUR PAGE!!

Meet Louie. The pitbull beaten with a shovel, doused with lighter fluid, and set on fire by JUAN DANIELS. Why? Because his family wouldn't let him borrow the car.

"The dog was tied to a tree at the time of the attack and viciously ripped its own flesh off trying to escape the flames.

When news broke of the act, Juan Daniels fled the capital city. The vicious nature of the crime lead to an all out manhunt for Daniels who was tracked down by U.S. Marshals a short time later in the Tuscaloosa area."

On August 24th there will be a parole hearing for Juan Daniels. Please write letters to the Alabama Board of Pardons/Paroles to deny parole for him. The letter can be brief. It took me 5 minutes to write. I mailed it 2 days ago. We need these letters out ASAP.

This man should not be released. Every person who does not write a letter to send in is choosing to act on behalf of this sick, twisted animal abuser, JUAN DANIELS. So please take a few moments to write and mail to:

The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles
PO Box 302405, Montgomery, Alabama 36130
The letter should reference: "Juan Daniels, AIS#263875"

**The Board reads ALL letters sent to them concerning these cases.**

Long Island Man Edward Semke Arrested and Charged with Animal Cruelty after Brutally Beating Seven-Month-Old Puppy to Death: Make Sure He’s Convicted

What can I say? Please visit the link below to sign the petition to make sure this is taken seriously. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/li-man-beaten-7-month-old-puppy-2-death/

As you’ll see from the text taken from the article below Edward Semke is a sick person that needs to be convicted.

“Jack died a short time after the brutal beating, SPCA officials said.

Semke also admitted to digging a hole and burying the bloodhound in the backyard. But Semke gave the investigators permission exhume the puppy and the body was taken to a local veterinarian to have the necropsy performed.

The necropsy revealed that Jack had suffered a broken neck -- causing him to slowly suffocate.”

Site:

L.i Man beaten 7 month old puppy 2 Death !!!!


Long Island man was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty by the Suffolk County SPCA today, after he allegedly beat his seven-month-old pup to death.

Investigators at the Suffolk County SPCA received a call on Friday from the Suffolk County Police Department about an alleged case of animal cruelty at the Centereach home of Edward Semke.


Jack died a short time after the brutal beating, SPCA officials said.

Semke also admitted to digging a hole and burying the bloodhound in the backyard. But Semke gave the investigators permission exhume the puppy and the body was taken to a local veterinarian to have the necropsy performed.

The necropsy revealed that Jack had suffered a broken neck -- causing him to slowly suffocate.

"This was a horrible way for the bloodhound puppy to die," said Roy Gross, Chief of the Suffolk County SPCA. "I've been doing this 26 years and I still lose sleep over it. You never get used to it."

European Union Ban on the Trade of All Seal Products Begins: Victory in Action

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s here. Hopefully this will help lead to the end of such brutal practices as the annual baby seal slaughter in Canada.

Article:

EU Seal Trade Ban Begins

http://blogs.wsj.com/brussels/2010/08/19/eu-seal-trade-ban-begins/

By John W. Miller


This week marks the beginning of a European Union ban on the trade of all seal products, except for those hunted by traditional methods. (Those aren’t necessarily more humane; they also involve shooting seals, just far fewer of them.)

Animal welfare groups fought for decades to secure the ban, and they say it is their biggest ever victory. “I can’t think of a bigger one,” says Adrian Hiel of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. IFAW credits the impending ban with helping to reduce the haul of Canada’s commercial hunt by hundreds of thousands of seals over the past two years.

So what’s next for animal welfare groups?

Says Mr. Hiel: Fighting trade in two other rare animal products: whale meat and ivory. It is illegal to import both into the EU, though smugglers do try.

There is currently an international moratorium on hunting whales, which some countries, led by Japan, are trying to overturn. Animal rights groups want the EU to stay committed to the moratorium. Earlier this year, a batch of whale meat that was discovered imported into Latvia from Iceland. It was immediately tracked down and destroyed.

Ivory often gets smuggled from Africa to China. IFAW and other groups are lobbying the EU to fund efforts to fight poachers and smugglers in Africa. “African countries don’t have the resources to properly protect their parks and animals,” says Mr. Hiel.

Meanwhile, the fight over the seal trade is perhaps not over. Canada has challenged the EU ban at the World Trade Organization, on the grounds that it constitutes illegal discrimination.

Solomon Islands Businessman Francis Chow Imprisons Eight Dolphins to Sell them to Marine Parks in Australia and the US

Humm, ever wonder where all those theme parks and aquariums get dolphins? Well, here we go – from sleaze that imprison them and then shop them around.

Article:

New face in Solomons dolphin trade

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/new-face-in-solomons-dolphin-trade-20100819-12rlh.html

Ilya Gridneff
August 19, 2010 - 4:44PM
AAP

Animal rights activists are outraged by a Solomon Islands businessman who has virtually imprisoned eight "totally stressed" dolphins in a tiny pool for months while he tries to sell them to marine parks in Australia and the US.

Despite opposition from both the Australian and New Zealand governments, Solomons dolphins are captured and sold to aquariums, marine parks and even hotels around the world, often fetching as much as $200,000.

Solomons dolphin activist Lawrence Makili, who is the Earth Island Institute's Pacific Regional Director, has told AAP that despite the institute's tireless efforts to end the live trade, another dolphin dealer had emerged.

The American-based Earth Island Institute earlier this year began paying Solomon villagers to stop hunting dolphins.

At the time, Canadian Chris Porter, the so-called 'Darth-Vader' of the Solomons dolphin trade, had a change of heart and switched from dolphin seller to dolphin saver.

But for the past six months local businessman Francis Chow has been trying to sell eight dolphins he keeps in a pen.

"The real concern is how the dolphins are being held," Makili said on Thursday.

"They've been sitting in a tiny shallow pool for six months now, it's especially bad at low tide.

"These poor animals are totally stressed".

Makili said the Solomons government once banned the trade but now, in the pursuit of much-needed revenue, ignores directives by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

"Hopefully the next government will have a clear dolphin policy," he said.

"There is confusion and an absence of regulation for the welfare of these animals.

"The Solomon government quota was 100 but CITES said it should be reduced down to 10. Then the government downsized to 50 but we say 50 is too much."

Mr Chow told AAP his 'Solomons Marine Wildlife Park' was an adequate dolphin enclosure.
"We are not killing the dolphins, we are exporting them to marine parks like in Australia or America, we are not breaking any laws.

"I follow the law, we use scientists, follow procedures.
"Why don't those hypocrites stop driving Japanese cars and go and harass the Japanese whalers.
"They harass us, bully local MPs, trespass and give us a hard time. I don't know why all the fuss?"

Mr Chow said last year he traded 20 dolphins and hoped to sell as many this year.

"I have a seafront property so I want to make use of it, we've also been hurt by the global financial crisis and trying to make business," he said.

"Now the market is low, dolphins are worth about $50,000."

Some Solomon Islanders still hunt dolphins for food and use their teeth for traditional 'shell money' but since 2003 they have also been hunted for profit on the live export market.

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