In search of intelligence … just not finding much.

I am, admittedly, stymied.  Not one to usually falter under the inanity of pro-exploitation validations,  I find myself lacking words at this moment, in response to the “gadgeting” of non-human animals.  Internet hunting, vending machines,  pet spas … Humans have the capacity for greatness yet instead choose to whittle away decency and time designing faddish contraptions that serve zero benefit except to the ones profiting off money and chuckles.   These are utterly revolting, the contrived creations of childish sense gleefully characterizing and accepting fault as gift and cruelty as necessity but are nothing but the patsy of immature, indoctrinated minds soliciting approval using convenient tchotchke as excuse.  Speciesism has many faces, including the ones showing up online, at hardware stores, and in subways, but as long as cattle and sows are killed for food, as long as mink and foxes are killed for fur, and as long as rats and monkeys are tested for pharmaceutical bombs, expect to see more animal appliance novelties for kicks and giggles.  SR

Lobster Zone

The Lobster Zone is a cruel “game” that’s found in some bars and restaurants. The arcade-style contraption allows patrons to pluck a lobster out of a machine using a joystick-controlled crane with an attached claw. Once caught, the lobster is dropped down a chute, boiled or cut up while still alive, and then eaten. But like all animals, lobsters can feel pain, and they suffer when they are injured, cut, or boiled alive.

Luckily, there are plenty of caring individuals who wish to end the use of these lobster-torture machines. If you happen to come across the Lobster Zone, you can help lobsters by doing the following:

• Call and write the owner of the restaurant. Politely, but firmly, let him or her know that games are supposed to involve skill, fun, and prizes, not suffering—then ask that the contraption be removed.
• If the tank is excessively crowded or if it looks as if there are dead lobsters inside it, complain to the local health department.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper letting people in your area know that all animals, including lobsters, deserve our consideration.  To determine local media and how you can contact up to five with one message, please click HERE.
• Report the use of these “games” to PETA by sending a quick e-mail to LobsterZone@peta.org. Include the name of the restaurant, bar, or resort as well as the location’s address and phone number. Please also include your personal contact information so that we can get in touch with you should we need more details.

Several dining establishments continue to feature the Lobster Zone “game” despite outrage from local patrons. Please take a minute to contact each of the following locations and request that they remove the Lobster Zone machine immediately.

Please visit PETA at the following to send automatic messages to restaurants using Lobster Zone (I have removed the alerts that were no longer active):

• Tell Los Angeles Restaurant to Ditch Its Lobster-Tormenting ‘Game’
• Tell Illinois Restaurant to Ditch Its Lobster-Tormenting ‘Game’
• Tell Ohio Restaurant to Ditch Its Lobster-Tormenting ‘Game’
• Tell San Pedro Fish Market to Ditch Its Lobster-Tormenting ‘Game’
• Tell Wisconsin Bar to Ditch Its Lobster-Tormenting ‘Game’
• Tell Pennsylvania Restaurant to Ditch Its Lobster-Tormenting ‘Game’(via postal, sample letter provided)

Living in a Vending Machine

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Pet Spa

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The cruel Japanese dog washing machine will never catch on in pet-friendly Britain
By Pete Wedderburn

Have you seen the video from Japan (above), showing an automated pet washing machine that shampoos, rinses and blow-dries a pet in half an hour? It may seem like a good idea in gadget-mad Japan, but I’ll be astonished if it ever arrives in pet-friendly Britain.

The person who designed it obviously views pets as “objects that need to be cleaned” rather than as small, sentient creatures. A little anthropomorphism is in order here: how would you like to be locked into a waterproof closet then assaulted by water, shampoo and hot air, with no warning as to what was coming next?

In the video, you can see the dog shivering up against the door as it endures wave after wave of washing cycle, as if it was a piece of laundry. Compare this with the usual petting and reassuring that’s given to dogs when they’re washed by humans. If I was a dog, I know what I’d prefer. And as for the thought of putting a cat into the machine?  They must have very lax animal cruelty laws in Japan.

It doesn’t even seem likely that it can be an effective way of doing the job: shampoo needs to be rubbed in, physically massaging debris and dirt out of the coat. Perhaps the next model will include rotating rubber arms to do this job? Better again, the next machine could include a child seat so that babies can be strapped in and dealt with in the same way: far easier for parents than having to endure the usual laborious and messy bathtime before bed.

Internet Hunting

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From HSUS

Internet hunting originated in Texas, and allows hunters to shoot animals with the click of a mouse. Feeding stations lure animals within range of a rifle mounted on a tripod. At one facility, the animals eat at the same time and place each day. When the animal approaches the feeding station at the appointed time, the desktop hunter uses the computer mouse to line up the crosshairs and fire the rifle.

Trophy mounts are prepared at the ranch and shipped to the customer.

Recognizing a bad idea when they see it, many states have passed laws banning this “pay-per-view” slaughter, but we need federal legislation to ban it in all states.

***Please note this is strictly informative. Our Compass adamantly opposes ALL hunting, not just internet hunting. SR

Internet Hunting Bans

Internet Hunting Facts

Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act

RESOURCES

Want to do something to help?  Please visit What Can I Do or look through the widget actions, please use the arrow in the upper right-hand corner for different organizations and associated actions; use the scroll bar to visit the entire list:

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• VEGAN GUIDES
• FUR / SKIN

there is a need to educate
intelligent life has left this planet
why did man decide to sh*tcan it?
we are buried under a “stupid” blizzard
oh we so do need the wizard
no nerves, not hearts, just a few
straggler brains
and only pockets left of
the sane

Karen Lyons Kalmenson

Karen Lyons Kalmenson