HighestWelfare.Humane.Assured.GoodPractices.Vegetarian. Regenerative.Flexitarian.Lies...
What is the difference between No Welfare, High Welfare, and Highest Welfare when they all require animals to die? Only human comfort, NONE protect the actual animals. The most humane, ethical, and honest Webster-defined "welfare" is NOT exploiting animals - not using, not wearing, not eating, not killing - animals. The only meaningful position is vegan, everything else is just how humans euphemize animals' required suffering and violent deaths: no human exploits animals because they honestly believe that NOT exploiting animals is UNethical or INhumane.
“Witch-Hunts” on the Rise in Rural India
Photo | William Bradford Institute
From Care2
Posted by Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
It’s hard to believe, but “witch hunts” seem to be alive and well in the twenty-first century, despite the fact that they belong, in most people’s minds, in history textbooks. These witch hunts are not happening in Salem, Massachusetts, though; they’re in rural India, where a shaman was recently arrested for forcing women to drink poison in a “witchcraft test.”All of the women in the village of Shivni in the central Chhattisgarh state were forced to drink a toxic concoction after a young woman fell ill. Of the 30 women who were initially hospitalized, five remain, and one 70-year-old woman is in a serious condition.
Stories of women beaten, poisoned, paraded naked or forced to eat human excrement are disturbingly common in parts of India. Sometimes these witch hunts deliberately target widows or women with property in an attempt to take advantage of them, but other times they’re rooted in religious beliefs.
“Witch hunts are most common among poor rural communities with little access to education and health services, and longstanding beliefs in witchcraft,” explained Rebecca Vernon, an editor at the Cornell International Law Journal. “When an individual gets sick or harm befalls the community, the blame falls not upon a virus or crop disease, but upon an alleged witch.”
Others have said that as women gain power in these communities, witchcraft is invoked as a way of keeping women in subservient roles. Women are also the victims of witchcraft accusations after refusing sexual advances from village men.
Related | HRW: In Silence, Maternal Health Disputed in INDIA
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But other times, these women are simply scapegoats. “Poor, low-caste women are easy targets for naming/branding (as a witch),” said Kanchan Mathur, a professor at The Insititute of Development Studies in India. “Women who are widowed, infertile, possess ‘ugly’ features or are old, unprotected, poor or socially ostracized are easy targets.”
Photo | Wikimedia Commons
Please click on and send the following two messages:
1. University of Michigan: Stop Using Live Pigs and Cats in Medical Training
2. Cats And Pigs Aren’t People. Must UM Nursing Students Hurt Them?
1. BACKGROUND | From Change
Started by: Stephanie Feldstein
The University of Michigan is one of only five percent of programs that still use live animals in emergency response training. Although U of M switched from dogs to simulators for similar trauma training courses, their Survival Flight training still uses pigs and cats for trainees to practice on.
U of M claims that training Survival Flight nurses “requires these procedures to be performed on live tissues.” However, the professional organization representing flight nurses, the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association, disagrees. They not only endorse the use of simulators to teach these skills, but in the last year, 29 out of 30 of their own training courses used simulators instead of animals.
Tell the University of Michigan to stop using live animals in their Survival Flight Training.
MESSAGE TEXT
I recently learned on Change.org that the University of Michigan continues to use live pigs and cats in Survival Flight training. While I commend the University for switching over to simulators in other courses for nurses and physicians, the ongoing use of animals in this course is outdated and inhumane.
Although the University’s position has been that animals are necessary for this type of training, other institutions which offer the same training disagree. In fact, the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association not only endorses the use of simulators to teach these skills, but in the last year, 29 out of 30 of their own training courses used simulators instead of animals.
While animals may provide live tissue for nurses to practice on, they do not represent the same anatomy as future patients and anesthetized animals do not respond to medical treatments in the same way live humans or simulators do. In addition, there are a limited number of times that procedures can be performed on animals, whereas simulators allow for exercises to be repeated until the trainees are fully proficient.
The University of Michigan Medical School has a reputation for innovation and academic excellence. I urge you to be among the “leaders and best” in embracing humane alternatives for Survival Flight training as well.
Thank you.
RELATED | Vivisection
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2. BACKGROUND | From Kinship Circle
Plainly, cats are not people. Neither are pigs…
But the University of Michigan thinks they’re close enough to train future nurses in a Survival Flight course. This hurts animals and people. Students learn skills that aren’t applicable. Size, location and texture of a cat’s organs differ considerably from those of a human. Would you want a cat-trained practitioner to push a tube down your windpipe? (Well, maybe if you are a cat).
UM nursing students forcibly intubate cats and stab needles into the hearts and bones of pigs. This would be absurd if not so tragic. UM already uses human-patient simulators in Advanced Trauma and Life Support courses. Anatomically advanced simulators, along with human cadaver systems and hospital rotations, prepare trainees for human encounters. Animal labs do not. Dr. Emad Aboud — co- inventor of a system that pumps specially dyed water into a human cadaver’s vessels and arteries — says animal-free models are more accurate, affordable and “the perfect alternative to live animals in surgical training.”
Politely insist that University of Michigan Survival Flight courses exclusively use animal-free teaching tools.
Send our automated petition or send your comments direct
MESSAGE TEXT
Dear Mr. Kolars, Mr. Lowell, Mr. Rush and Mr. Forrest:
I am deeply concerned about training methods used in a University of Michigan Survival Flight course for nurses. Intubation is practiced upon cats (acquired from animal shelters in the past) in repetitive drills that call for trainees to drive a rigid plastic tube down a cat’s fragile windpipe. Trauma response exercises require students to carve holes into the limbs, throats and chest of pigs. They jab needles into the pigs’ hearts and bones as well. All animals are killed.
This is not a matter of whether UM abides by basic care standards set forth in the U.S. Animal Welfare Act. It is simply that these animals do not need to undergo confinement, invasive procedures and death in the first place.
ONE MILLION pigs have been buried alive in the Republic of Korea while BILLIONS of others are butchered globally.
We’ve seen the headlines, read the graphic details, reacted with horror and indignation, and condemned the Republic of Korea. But remember that childhood saying about pointing fingers and that three are pointing back at yourself when you do so?
This isn’t a Korean problem, one of geographic isolation, but rather a global crime affecting billions. The speciesist mentality that has allowed these pigs to be perversely treated is the same speciesist mentality that infects every place on Earth. We are ALL culpable when we do not reject ALL abuse.
But what is disturbing is that some people will criminalize other nations and practices as an EXCUSE to commend more “civilized” societies. People exploit cases such as these to continuously endorse exploitation elsewhere. Someone, please share how being buried alive is anymore INHUMANE than being eviscerated alive, burned, boiled, or skinned, the LEGAL and STANDARDIZED form of agriculture “production” and slaughter in our very own “civilized” backyard in America? While so many are screaming for better welfare practices, which only benefit humans rather than the animals for whom they are “intended”, please remember that the US, for example, has NO protections for animals commodified for food. And, too, how come so many protest puppy mills but not sow, cattle, chicken, or mink mills?
Why I don’t eat chicken (or any other animals …)
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So what do you want? You want them to be “humanely” slaughtered? You mean, via electrocution bath, skinning, or dismemberment? Or vaccinated a few months before they are humanely slaughtered?
The only reason why this has caused such widespread condemnation is because it makes it so much easier to support cruelty elsewhere as comparatively “humane” and “considerate”. Please, don’t be shocked at other countries when your very own has trivialized life by championing “kind” euphemisms to describe the EXACT SAME WIDESPREAD INHUMANE BARBARISM.
I’m not trying to diminish anyone’s horror; I understand that it IS shocking and repulsive and unacceptable and NEEDS EXPOSURE. I just want others to recognize that it is just as unacceptable and repulsive and shocking as what happens DAILY by the millions EVERYWHERE. So please keep protesting, but also protest on behalf of those whom suffer daily horrors only to be killed via JUST-AS if not MORE-SO shocking ROUTINE practices everywhere else.
In other words, as Jude says, “Illuminate the hypocrisy …”
Be certain. Be humane. Be vegan.
sr
OneKind | Snares uncovered: Killers in the countryside. Scottish friends, please send message
Photo | http://www.onekind.org/
From OneKind
OneKind has commissioned a new film, starring popular broadcaster and naturalist Bill Oddie, which demonstrates the extent of snaring in the Scottish countryside.
The film, entitled “Snares uncovered: Killers in the countryside”, shows Bill’s disbelief at the number of animal snares placed on a typical estate, as well as his shock at the indiscriminate nature of these cruel devices. OneKind would like to thank Bill Oddie for taking the time to participate in this film, and for his ongoing commitment to the campaign to end snaring.
You can also email your MSPs (if you live in Scotland) to let them know you want an end to snaring in Scotland.
Please read and share your thoughts with us in the comment section HERE.
What a perverse piece of logic it is in a way, isn’t it? That people want to kill an animal, and the reason they want to kill an animal, is to keep another animal, in this case a bird, alive, so that people can then kill that bird or animal for pleasure or money …
OneKind | Snares uncovered: Killers in the countryside
This film does include OneKind library footage of animals caught in snares, which you may find distressing.
Save animals from snares | Scotland friends, please visit HERE
Wildlife legislation in the Scottish Parliament gives us an opportunity to change the law on snaring.
Related, please sign:
Hidden Valley Lake, Please Halt Cruel Bow Hunts!
From Shreveport Times
Walter Hill is allowed to hunt with a laser thanks to his wife, Margaret, calling Louisiana Representative Henry Burns of Haughton and encouraging him to walk a special bill through the legislature last year.
Signed into law by Gov. Bobby Jindal, HB 39 authorizes the use of laser scopes by visually impaired hunters while hunting with a sighted individual. Prior to the law, sighted hunters had the “daunting” task of looking over an impaired hunter’s shoulder and then trying to guess if a rifle or shotgun was properly aligned to make a clean shot.
The law says you have to have sight of 20/400 or worse.
“In my case, I’m completely blind,” Hill said.
Hill “harvested” his first deer in 36 years in mid December, while hunting in the Benton area with a laser-sighted shotgun. The laser malfunctioned, but the shot came off due to the assistance of a friend.
“We missed two deer last year, but Margaret had a couple of broken ribs and I caught the crud, so we didn’t give it a real good try,” Hill said recently. “I had three laser beams on three different guns and two of them completely failed us. I got the third one yet to go and I’m trying to get some horns.”
The Hills hunt regularly on the Sailes Hunting Club in Bienville Parish, although they’re picky about the day. Walter is 80 and Margaret is 75.
“We can’t take this real cold weather. She has arthritis real bad. We’re mainly afternoon hunters,” Walter said.
“We went in the offseason and took our breakfast and we’d sit up there and see what was going on,” Margaret said. “He would shoot the deer with his camera.”
Margaret Hill, who also has a legally blind son, was spurred to seek the bill after seeing an article in a magazine about a blind Texas hunter who was hunting with a laser scope . She called Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Robert Barham to ask if she could get a permit for her husband to hunt with a laser.
“He told me absolutely not … that it was against the law,” Hill said. “So I picked up the phone and called Henry, who’s been a long time friend. He just took the ball and ran with it. Sixteen states already had the bill in place.”
Related | Monsters Amongst Us Who Kill for Sport, GRAPHIC
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According to the National Rifle Association, allowing the use of laser sighting devices will provide visually-impaired hunters a far greater degree of certainty. It will also result in higher success rates and possibly encourage more visually impaired citizens to enjoy hunting in the “Sportsman’s Paradise.”
“Anytime you can ‘harvest’ an animal on a hunt, it makes the trip seem much more worthwhile,” said Justin Griffith, chapter president of the North Louisiana Wheelin’ Sportsmen. “I’m a disabled hunter myself. Any change that helps us hunt easier is a great addition.”
From GAHC, YouTube
Sports hunters are disturbed people
“For me and many of the people who contact me to offer their support, killing innocent animals for self-gratification is no different from killing innocent people for self-gratification. By extension, then, trophy hunting — the repeated killing of wild animals — should surely be viewed as serial killing. And in the same moral light, humanity’s thinking is, I feel, beginning to approach such a level of morality.”
- Gareth Patterson
“So much of animal cruelty… is really about power or control,” Lockwood said. Often, aggression starts with a real or perceived injustice. The person feels powerless and develops a warped sense of self-respect. Eventually they feel strong only by being able to dominate a person or animal.”
- Dr. Randall Lockwood, who has a doctorate in psychology and is senior vice president for anti-cruelty initiatives and training for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Something is very wrong with humans who derive pleasure from and enjoyment of killing animals. If hunters claim they “love” the outdoors and hunting is really “not about killing” then why do they kill? What is the urge for them to kill? “I love hunting, too, but that is it … hunting. Soon a deer’s antler will be falling off and people will be out there, including myself, hunting for the shed antler, but I have no desire to kill a living creature …” Uh huh. In reality those talk about “Hunting as not being about killing” is a flat-out lie because if it’s “not about killing” then you would not kill.
Most recreational hunters do not “hunt”, they just sit in their cowardly tree stands equipped with thousands of dollars worth of accesories and gadgets to lure the deer to them to KILL. Recreational hunters are sadistic serial killers of the animal kingdom who enjoy killing for sports, amusement, and trophies, just as serial killers stalk and kill their human victims for sports, amusement, and trophies. I have even heard that some sport hunters stalk certain victims for a couple of years before they will actually kill the deer for the size of the antler while at the same time killing many other wildlife victims. Recreational hunters need to kill, whether the victims be deer, elk, moose, duck, turkey, swan, pheasants, bear, birds, rabbits: there is always a season for all kinds of kiling to satisfy their bloodlust. What is worse with recreational hunters is that they know they can get away with it and that no one will hear the cries of the animals because it’s legalized cruelty to a living sentient being which makes their killing even more cowardly and evil.
I believe some recreational hunters use the deer to “get back” at women and to them the deer are surrogates for women, on whom to inflict pain and suffering. As far as killing the “big male” during rut season, it is because they, the hunters, could never perform like animals do and they are enraged and jealous. That is why they enjoy killing during the mating season to make up for their sexual inadequacies, and the larger the rack to compensate for their small size. There are women serial killers as well, and the ratio of female-to-male serial killers of humans is very much consistent with the ratio of female-to-male recreational hunters.
Related:
- Is Trophy Hunting A Form of Serial Killing? Lion Expert and Conservationist Gareth Patterson Takes Aim
- Killing for Sport: Inside the Minds of Serial Killers
Deer being cruelly hunted at Hidden Valley Lake in Indiana | From PETA
Hidden Valley Lake, a neighborhood in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, is killing resident deer in cruel bow hunts. We have been told that a doe is suffering in agony after recently being struck—but not killed—by an arrow.
Bow hunting is among the cruelest forms of hunting! Deer who are shot and wounded by arrows are often tracked by hunters for hours before they are retrieved; many disappear, never to be found. Fawns whose parents have been wounded or killed often starve.
Bow hunting also doesn’t work. As long as the area remains attractive and accessible to deer, more animals will simply move in to fill the voids that are created when others are killed. This hunt is a vicious killing cycle, and many animals will suffer needlessly.
Please help animals used in testing and fur: two alerts
Mummy's Smell | Wu Cuicui & Wu Cui & Wang Danyi Keyi College of Zhejiang
1. Please click on and sign Urge Husk to Stop Selling Fur!
2. Please Email Sample Message below encouraging an immediate discontinuation of animal research at ASU
1. BACKGROUND | From PETA
Australian store Husk is selling items made from rabbit fur. On fur farms all around the world, rabbits – who are sensitive and intelligent animals – spend their entire lives in tiny, filthy cages and suffer physical and psychological distress before they are killed by neck-breaking or skull-bashing.
In their natural habitats, rabbits live with their families in underground burrows called “warrens.” They can hop faster than a cat, human, or white-tailed deer can run. Rabbits love nibbling on alfalfa, timothy hay, apples, carrots, and crisp, green veggies, and they chew vigorously to trim their front teeth, which never stop growing. They communicate through body language, marking their territories like cats by rubbing their chins on twigs, rocks, or other landmarks.
You Can Help!
Please use the form HERE to urge Husk to join forward-thinking designers Stella McCartney, Alannah Hill, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole, Gail Elliott, and Tommy Hilfiger and department store David Jones and stop selling fur. Let Husk know that there are many fashionable alternatives to fur that don’t involve the slaughter of innocent animals.
Personalized letters always work best, so feel free to add your own thoughts and opinions!
Message Text
Countless animals on fur farms all around the world are maimed, mistreated, and killed – all in the name of fashion. I was shocked to hear that you still sell fur! Rabbits on fur farms spend their entire lives confined to cramped, filthy wire cages. Fur farmers kill rabbits using cruel methods – including neck-breaking and skull-bashing – before stringing the animals up by the legs and cutting off their heads.
With so many alternatives to animal fur available, it’s time for Husk to remove fur from its stores permanently. Fur always looks best on its original owners.
Want to do more?
Call or send a text message to Damien Taylor, director of Husk, at +61 (0) 421 289 799 and ask him to drop fur from Husk stores permanently.
Call or send a letter to Husk. Use the Sample Message above or use one from Anti-Fur Sample Letters.
Please send polite comments to:
Husk
Rear 3-13 William St.
Balaclava VIC 3183
Australia
+61-3-9528-7411
+61-3-9528-7466 (fax)
7 Reasons To Cut Out Dissection | Graphic, Have You Ever Heard a Bunny Scream?
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2. BACKGROUND | From PETA
Breaking news: Arizona State University (ASU) officials have informed PETA that the school has purchased non-animal teaching tools and will be evaluating them during the upcoming semester as replacements for its classroom physiology laboratories on animals. Take action below to help urge ASU’s president to utilize these non-animal methods and end the school’s cruel classroom experiments for good.
In addition to this great news, PETA has also learned that ASU has already reduced the number of frogs used in one of its classroom experiments by half, meaning that dozens of animals’ lives will be spared every year. In classroom biology experiments at ASU, live frogs are cut open so that students can watch the animals’ hearts beating, and pregnant rats are killed so that students can dissect them and experiment on their organs. In other experiments, rabbits have holes cut into their necks, are injected with various drugs, and are then killed.
Many modern non-animal teaching methods are available to replace these cruel and archaic animal experiments, and these methods have repeatedly been shown to teach anatomy and physiology as well as or better than animal-based lessons. The University of Arizona, for example, does not use any live animals in its undergraduate physiology laboratories.
Send an e-mail to Michael Crow, president of ASU, and politely ask him to ensure that ASU’s new, humane technology is utilized and that the school’s cruel classroom animal experiments are replaced once and for all. Also, make sure that your voice is heard by calling Michael Crow’s office at 480-965-8972.
Sample e-mail text is provided below to help you draft your message.
Contact Info:
michael.crow@asu.edu | 480-965-8972
Subject:
Please Take the Next Step to End Cruel Animal Experiments
Body:
Dear President Crow,
I am pleased to hear that Arizona State University has purchased alternatives to its cruel and crude classroom physiology experiments on frogs, mice, rats, and rabbits. I hope you will insure that your faculty members fully utilize this new technology and replace classroom animal experiments as soon as possible.
Alternative Sample Message:
Dear President Crow,
It is my understanding that Arizona State University has obtained non-animal teaching resources. As such, I am writing to express my support that you implement these animal research and testing alternatives, which have proven superior to unreliable live animal models, immediately. Previous experiments subjected sentient animals to enormous pain and suffering, contrary to an ethical field of study, and the decision to discontinue the ASU’s participation in such archaic methods of research is certainly encouraging.
Thank you for taking the time to read this important message.
NAME
GOT PLASTIC ???
Plastic Pollution Coalition | Ads of the World
From OMG: One More Generation
We know what you are thinking… What does Plastic have to do with an organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered species? Well, it is simple. While we are all about saving endangered species, we realize that unless we also do something about our environment, all our efforts to save the Sea Turtles or other Marine life etc., will be wasted because we are only saving them to have to live a life amongst our pollution.
Our Today is Forever
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Did you know that the number one item which is polluting our oceans is Plastic? Did you know that America consumes over 1-Billion single use plastic bags each year? Did you know that simply switching to paper bags is not much better for our environment?
Here is another fact-filled video about the real problem Plastic is creating and how it affects everyone:
Check out this awesome video which does a great job explaining the problem with cool music:
Here are also some sobering facts from our friends at Green Sangha:
Consequences of Convenience
We’re addicted to plastic, especially plastic bags.
If you are like 95% of US shoppers, whenever you purchase anything, it ends up in a plastic bag. In the grocery store, most of us put our vegetables and fruits as well as bulk items into single-use plastic produce bags, and all those bags end up in a single-use plastic check-out bag.
Shoppers worldwide are using 500 billion to one trillion single-use plastic bags per year.
This translates to about a million bags every minute across the globe, or 150 bags a year for every person on earth. And the number is rising.
“But plastic bags are so convenient!”
It depends on how far you are looking. A plastic bag may be convenient for a minute or two when you carry something out of the store, but consider these costs:
- Plastic bags are made from a non-renewable resource: oil!
An estimated 3 million barrels of oil are required to produce the 19 billion plastic bags used annually in California. - Greenhouse gas emissions
Plastic manufacturing’s air pollution contributes greatly to global “weirding” (extreme weather of all sorts) we are experiencing is the result. - Non-biodegradable
Plastic is food for no one. It never completely breaks down. - Litter
We see bags hanging on trees, along the roadside, slipping down the storm drain, and floating in the ocean. Even when we do put them in the garbage, they don’t always make it to the landfill. 47% of landfill blow-away trash is plastic.
Anthony Marr: My Gratitudes | #1: To My Parents
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A Series, By Anthony Marr
Gratitude #1 – to my parents
It is the time of the season to express gratitude, and I have much gratitude to express. In my life, and especially the last 15 years of activism, I have received many a wonderful gift, given in many a wonderful way, from many a wonderful giver.
Over the years, I have given public thanks whenever the spirit moves me, but mostly en mass, to all, impersonal and distant. The time has come for me to thank my benefactors personally, one by one, and I will do so daily, and chronologically.
I have looked forward way past death, and back at the meaningful moments of this my wonderful, remarkable and amazing lifetime on this wonderful, remarkable and amazing planet Earth. From what I can see in both directions, I feel truly blessed.
Okay, without further ado, here goes:
The first people I would like to thank are my parents – my father Ma Wung-Sui (“Great Emotion”, 1913-2000) and my mother Ho Deeb-Tsui (Butterfly Green, 1919-2008). Their gifts to me are life and education. Their way of giving is self sacrifice. Christmas means family, and this filial beginning is amazingly appropriate.
My ancestry was supposed to be northern Chinese, though I was born in Guang Dong, the southernmost province of China. The reason was that when Genghis Khan invaded China, destroyed the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) and established the Yuan Dynasty ( 1279-1368), the most enterprising of the northern Han Chinese moved south to continue the resistance. After the Yuan Dynasty had been terminated by the succeeding Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the northern Chinese who traveled south had taken root, and were there to stay.
Both sides of my family were accomplished. My father’s line was urban and law oriented. My father had a degree in law, a rarity of the time, which placed him high in the Nationalist government hierarchy. My mother’s line was rural. Her father owned a small bank, and her mother’s was an aquaculture business complete with irrigated fields and motorized junks. I was born in 1944, the first male child of the family, and heir-apparent to inherit all these substantial and profitable edifices.
In 1937, Japan invaded China with unspeakable cruelty. My mother was almost captured as a “comfort woman” – basically a disposable sex slave for Japanese soldiers. Had she not escaped that horrendous fate, I would not be here to write about it.
Three Actions: Testing, Tigers, Bison
Please click on and sign the following petitions, thank you:
1. Please Restructure the National Institutes of Health
2. Urge Mexico to Release Big Cats to U.S. Sanctuary
1. BACKGROUND | From PCRM
Please SEND EMAIL that encourages National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., and President Barack Obama to move forward with the restructuring of NIH, which will result in a greater focus on human health outcomes and less animal experimentation.
MESSAGE TEXT
Please Restructure the National Institutes of Health
I am concerned about the state of national health care. Billions are spent each year on ineffective, unethical animal experiments in the name of human health. I strongly support the establishment of a new translational medicine institute that will more efficiently turn laboratory advances into practical health solutions without the use of animals. It’s time to spend my tax dollars on efficient, cost-effective, and ethical research.
The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has guided the expenditure of millions of dollars on chimpanzee research over several decades and there is still no vaccine for HIV or hepatitis C. Although chimpanzees are our closest genetic relatives, physiological differences make chimpanzees poor models for human health research. The fact that the vast majority (85 percent) of federally owned chimpanzees are not involved in active research underlines the futility of their confinement in research laboratories. Yet NCRR continues to defend the use of chimpanzees in experimentation.
Considering our nation’s current health and economic crises, now is the perfect time to focus research on cost-effective solutions that help humans without harming animals.
Related | Consequences
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2. BACKGROUND | From PETA
The Mexican government has seized eight tigers and two jaguars who were found starving and living in poor conditions in a notorious makeshift Cancun zoo run by Jose Juarez Gil. Five cubs born at the facility in November had already died because of neglect. Animal protection groups like Gente Por La Defensa Animal (GEPDA) have advocated for these big cats for years, and last year, it looked as if the animals would be transferred to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. However, Gil managed to secure a last-minute injunction to stop the rescue! Now, a judge and Mexico’s federal environmental protection agency will decide the cats’ fate in court.
Please write to Mexico’s Federal Office for Environmental Protection. Ask officials to release the big cats to The Wild Animal Sanctuary—a reputable facility in Colorado that can provide these animals with the proper space, care, environmental enrichment, and respect that they deserve.
Your letter will be sent in Spanish to Federal Office for Environmental Protection officials, but it will be translated as follows:
MESSAGE TEXT ENGLISH
Please Release Cancun Tigers and Jaguars to a Sanctuary!
I was grateful to learn that Jose Juarez Gil’s big cats were recently seized by government officials, and I understand that their fate is in your hands. Wild animals suffer terribly in captivity, so I respectfully ask that you allow for the tigers and jaguars to be sent to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado. This is a wonderful facility that is eager to provide these animals with the proper space, care, enrichment, and respect that they deserve.
Thank you for your consideration.
MESSAGE TEXT SPANISH
¡Haga el favor de llevar los tigres y los jaguares de Cancún a un santuario!
Estoy agradecido de que hace poco oficiales gubernamentales confiscaron los grandes gatos de José Juárez Gil y tengo entendido que su destino está en sus manos. Los animales salvajes sufren mucho en cautiverio así que respetuosamente le pido que permita que los tigres y los jaguares sean enviados al Wild Animal Sanctuary en Colorado. Esta es una maravillosa facilidad que está muy dispuesta a darle a estos animales el adecuado espacio, la atención, el enriquecimiento y el respeto que se merecen.
Gracias por su atención.
3. BACKGROUND | From Defenders of Wildlife
Each winter, America’s wild bison face a grim fate: These iconic animals are harassed; shot on sight; or shipped off to slaughter — just for leaving the safety of Yellowstone National Park in search of food.
Over the last five winters, thousands of wild bison have been needlessly harassed and killed due to an exaggerated fear that they will transmit the disease brucellosis to cattle — even though there is no credible case of this happening.
Take action now: Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to stop the annual ritual of hazing and slaughtering of some of America’s last genetically pure wild bison.
Related, please click on and sign the two following petitions:
- Demand Investigation for NYC Carriage Horse Accident
- Ban The Carriage Horse Industry in New York City
- See also below for protest information in New York January 9.
Liam Bridles at Horse Bill | From New York Post
Liam Neeson might be going head to head with Alec Baldwin over Manhattan’s horse carriage industry. The Irish-born actor wrote a letter to the City Council in response to the proposed bill to ban the buggy business, according to the Irish Echo. “As a horse lover and rider, I am deeply disturbed by the unnecessary and misguided political and extreme rhetoric against the horse-drawn carriage industry,” the letter stated. “As a proud New York resident, I have personally enjoyed the beauty of Central Park on a daily basis for many years, and these horses are an undeniable integral part of that experience.” Neeson may have to face off with the 30 Rock star at the legislation hearing on Jan. 30. Baldwin, who believes the horses are suffering, once compared the “tradition” of horse drawn carriages to the “tradition” of drug dealers and public intoxication. The vegetarian has been an avid protester against the use of the four-legged creatures.
~~~
Liam thinks animal cruelty is okay as part of his life “experience”. Maybe Liam should haul people around all day in dangerous temperature variants, suffer from injuries and poor health, and then shipped and slaughtered. Indeed, Liam, how about you think of the HORSES’ EXPERIENCE?
- Learn why a ban is necessary, from Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
- Sample Letter against Horse-Drawn Carriage Industry HERE
WAR Protests Carriage Horse Trade in NYC – 2nd Protest of the New Year
- Time: Sunday, January 9 · 2:00pm – 5:00pm
- Location: Central Park, NYC | 59th Street & Fifth Avenue @ the Hack Line | New York, NY
- Created by Facebook Win Animal Rights
- More Info: Please RSVP only if you will attend this protest in person. We are trying to figre out how many signs to bring and if there is not enough response, this may be canceled at the last minute. If you prefer to RSVP private you can pm Camille Hankins or you can e-mail WAR at: centcom@war-online.org
Liam Neeson To Be Hunted By Wolves In Alaska | From Ecorazzi
Sure, Liam Neeson may have battle against the Caped Crusader in Batman Begins, but let’s see him handle a pack of wolves.
Deadline is reporting that Director Joe Carnahan has received a green light to start production on his original screenplay “The Grey”. The story follows a crew of oil-rig roughnecks led by Neeson and left stranded by a plane crash right in the hunting zone of a pack of rogue wolves on the frozen Alaskan tundra.
Violence Against Women: Afghanistan, Ethiopia
Image | Amnesty International
Related, please sign No More Violence for Ethiopian Women
From Care2
Posted by Ximena Ramirez
Reality TV has become a booming television trend that seems to have no limits.
From women competing for plastic surgery procedures to the infamous fist pumping escapades of the Jersey Shore, it seems that many of these shows don’t necessarily portray reality, but instead depict people in embarrassing, painful, or ridiculous situations for entertainment value.
If done well, however, the power of reality TV cannot be overlooked. Something I learned in a most unlikely place – a new show in Afghanistan that focuses on women’s abuse called Niqab, meaning The Mask.
On the show, women share their stories of abuse at the hands of their husbands behind the safety of a half blue and half white mask. The blue side of the mask is meant to symbolize a burka and the oppression the women of Afghanistan have endured and the white side of the mask is meant to signify a woman’s innocence.
The stories the women share are chilling, like guest Saraya, who was forced to marry a known 58-year-old rapist at only 15-years-old.
From CNN | Afghan women speak out on abuse from behind mask
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The women share their stories with a studio audience made up of religious and legal experts and human rights campaigners who offer insight on their lives and in many cases clarify the injustices the women have faced.
Of Saraya’s story, one of the religious experts said, “Your marriage at such a young age to such an older man is against Islam…His behavior is against Islam and against the law.”
I imagine being able to share their stories and get perspective from experts can be a therapeutic experience for victims and women watching who find that they are not alone. The show can also help educate women about their rights, especially when it comes to marriage, many of which are still forced in the country.
My only fear, however, is the negative consequences women can face if they are discovered for sharing their stories or even tuning in and the anger men may feel for being represented publically in such a negative light.
The Man Behind the Mask
Interestingly, The Mask was created by 28-year-old Sami Mandi, who said he was inspired by his mother and all the mothers of Afghanistan whose work and suffering he believes goes unnoticed.
“I was always desiring to have something like the mask, like this show in our media…Because in Afghanistan, it’s very difficult for women to talk about their difficulties and their problems, and the violence they are facing in their home,” said Mandi.
Determined to give a voice to these women through the show, Mandi is hopeful he can help change the culture in Afghanistan.
“…we can use the life of these individuals as an example to show the people, I am sure we can make some changes in the life of the women. And I am sure we can change in the minds of men in Afghanistan.”
This is the kind of reality TV that can change lives.
I strongly encourage you to watch the video provided by CNN online (and above).
No More Violence for Ethiopian Women | From The Hunger Site
A dangerous catch-22 plagues many Ethiopian girls today: they must choose between marriage before the age of 16 or face intense manual labor and sexual slavery if they leave home. It’s a life doomed for violence and injustice. But these girls don’t have to suffer.
The Bright Future program in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia helps low-income women and girls become assimilated into society by providing them academic education, life skills, and reproductive education. Mentors help the girls realize their true potential in society. Sign the petition HERE telling UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon the Bright Future Program is a monumental step in preventing violence against women.
Photo CTV | An X-ray showing the mother dog with a nail in her skull is seen in this undated photo.
Please click on and sign Demand Justice For Rosie, Dog Shot Dead By Des Moines, Washington Police
Police investigating after puppies shot with nail gun
From CTV Canada News
Police in a rural part of southwestern Quebec are investigating a horrible case of animal cruelty after a black Labrador retriever and her puppies were abandoned on the side of a quiet road — three of whom had been shot in the head with a nail gun.
The mother and her eight pups had been left for dead when Ken France and Genevieve Sabourin rescued them, after they got a call from a friend who discovered the dogs next to an isolated road in Monteregie.
France and Sabourin said it was a miracle that only two of the puppies died.
“My reaction at that time was of horror,” Sabourin recalled. “I was just horrified.”
Rescuers came across the mother first. She led them to a ditch 20 feet away where one of her puppies was shivering in the snow.
“Obviously to me she was not going to make it. She was dying,” Sabourin said.
She began petting the dog and felt something strange on its head.
“Then I looked and I saw that it was metal, like two pieces of metal that had been punctured in the brain,” she recalled.
“This is when I said: ‘something’s really, really wrong here.'”
Another puppy lay dead in a garbage bag nearby. It had also been shot by a nail gun.
Animal protection services took all the dogs to the vet. The mother, who also had a long nail lodged in her brain, was treated there and is recovering.
The six surviving puppies have been adopted. But police are investigating who abused the dogs.
Meanwhile, both France and Sabourin say they’re struggling to understand a crime, which they say still haunts them.
Police investigating after puppies shot with nail gun
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Demand Justice For Rosie
Please click on and sign Demand Justice for Rosie, Dog Shot Dead By Des Moines, Washington Police | From IDA
BACKGROUND
The most recent was in Des Moines, Washington. On November 7, police shot and killed a dog named Rosie who got loose from her yard. Judging from news coverage on the case and reports from eyewitnesses, this killing appears unnecessary. City officials owe the community an investigation and an explanation for the police officers’ actions.
According to news reports, police and animal control officials were called when the dog was seen in traffic near her home. Officers chased the Newfoundland, tried to use a catching device to grab her, and used a taser gun to stun her, to no avail. The dog allegedly growled at police and bared her teeth before running away. (Completely understandable behavior from a dog in this situation.)
Rosie ran into a fenced backyard and hid in the bushes, and the woman who lived at the residence locked the gate so she could not escape. This is where the story should have ended. A trained animal control officer should have been called to the scene to safely and humanely capture Rosie.
The woman told reporters that the dog did not present a danger to her, her dog, or her family. According to news reports, police showed up 20 minutes later, went into the backyard, and shot the dog four times, killing her. A police official told the press that the officer who shot the dog believed lethal force was necessary. The resident of the house told reporters that Rosie never came out of the bushes, and that the killing was wrong. With the information we have at this time, we agree.
Rosie should have had a collar and a license, so that her guardians could be located. She did not, and that made the task of capturing her and getting her home more difficult. But sometimes animals get loose from even the most responsible and vigilant guardians. Shooting a dog who is cowering in the bushes in fear – in an enclosed back yard – is indefensible when other humane outcomes were possible.
MESSAGE TEXT
Dear [Decision Maker],
On November 7, police shot and killed a dog named Rosie who got loose from her yard. The Seattle Humane Society has requested an investigation, as have members of the national organization In Defense of Animals (IDA), and I agree. City officials owe the community an investigation and an explanation for the police officers’ actions.
News coverage on the case and eyewitness reports indicate that this killing appears wholly unnecessary.
According to news reports, police and animal control officials were called when the dog was seen in traffic near her home. Officers chased the Newfoundland, tried to use a catching device to grab her, and used a taser gun to stun her, to no avail. The dog allegedly growled at police and bared her teeth before running away.
Rosie allegedly ran into a fenced backyard and hid in the bushes, and the woman who lived at the residence locked the gate behind her so she could not escape. At that point, a trained animal control officer should have been called to ensure a humane ending to the story.
The woman told reporters that the dog did not present a danger to her, her dog, or her family. According to news reports, police showed up 20 minutes later, went into the backyard, and shot Rosie four times, killing her. A police official told the press that the officer who shot the dog believed lethal force was necessary. The resident of the house told reporters that Rosie never came out of the bushes, and that the killing was wrong. Unless this information proves inaccurate, I agree.
Rosie should have had a collar and a license, so that her guardians could be located. She did not, and that made the task of capturing her and getting her home more difficult. But sometimes animals get loose from even the most responsible and vigilant guardians. Shooting a dog who is cowering in the bushes in fear – in an enclosed back yard – is indefensible when other humane outcomes were possible.
Please look into this matter and let me know what you conclude. Rosie deserves justice.
Please take a moment to remember the tens of billions treated viciously and killed for “socially-acceptable” reasons, the ones who are not dogs …
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UTMB sadistically torturing animals. Please protest.
Please click on and sign
If you have not already, please click on and sign as well
Update January 6 | USDA to inspect UTMB after PETA complaint
From PETA
An insider at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) has contacted PETA to report that I was appalled to learn about the alleged suffering of dogs, mice, pigs, sheep, ferrets, and other animals at the hands of University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston staff members who appear to have been improperly trained, neglectful, and uncaring.
The whistleblower says that experimenter Daniel Traber has subjected sheep, pigs, and mice to third-degree burns on up to 40 percent of their bodies and forced the animals to inhale smoke from burning cotton. UTMB experimenters also intentionally caused spinal cord and sciatic nerve injuries in sheep. One sheep who was subjected to back surgery reportedly could not stand for three days following the surgery and was given no pain relief.
Our source also reports the following:
- UTMB faculty members cut open dogs and surgically implanted tubes into their colons for irritable bowel experiments. One dog reportedly died during surgery, and another died in pain following surgery when staff members did not provide anesthetics and were apparently unable to use the monitoring equipment correctly.
- A macaque monkey—a highly-social being for whom social contact is necessary to maintain physical and mental health—was confined by herself to a stainless steel cage in a room where she had no contact with and no opportunity to see or hear other nonhuman primates.
- Several sheep and one pig suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg and trauma so severe that it caused one sheep’s intestines to penetrate her chest cavity.
- Mice died, most likely as a result of dehydration, after staff members failed to notice that the animals did not have access to water.
PETA has repeatedly reached out to UTMB through letters and phone calls in an attempt to discuss these alleged violations with the university directly, but our correspondence and calls have been totally ignored. Now, PETA has filed an urgent complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture calling for an immediate investigation.
You can also be a voice for the animals at UTMB. Please take a minute of your time today to urge UTMB President David L. Callender to immediately conduct a thorough investigation of the university’s laboratories and dismiss any employees whose incompetence, negligence, or outright cruelty are found to have contributed to increased pain and misery for animals.
Putting your subject line and letter into your own words will help draw attention to your e-mail, please click HERE to send.
Message Text
I was appalled to learn about the alleged suffering of dogs, mice, pigs, sheep, ferrets, and other animals at the hands of University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston staff members who appear to have been improperly trained, neglectful, and uncaring.
I urge you to immediately investigate the reported problems inside your university’s laboratories and take all necessary measures to end any mistreatment of animals that is uncovered. I respectfully ask that you, as president of the university, take personal responsibility for ensuring that these alleged unchecked abuses and unethical behavior are thoroughly investigated and dealt with, as any such abuses would surely be a stain on your institution’s reputation.
Click to read PETA’s Vivisector of the Month
RELATED | Big Pharma, Big Fraud
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The Ten Best and Five Worst Cooking Books
The Best Cookbooks of the Last Decade | From PCRM
A Report from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Dietitians from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine surveyed cookbooks from the past decade and found some bright spots—cookbooks that stood out above others in helping Americans improve their diets to fight obesity and other chronic diseases. Here are the last decade’s best cookbooks:
The Sublime Restaurant Cookbook
By Nanci Alexander
2009
Nanci Alexander created the award-winning Sublime restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Now you can make recipes from Sublime’s innovative vegan menu at home. Drawing inspiration from around the globe, the recipes are not only wonderfully healthful and completely cholesterol-free, but each recipe’s exquisite flavors will seduce even the most committed carnivore.
The Kind Diet
By Alicia Silverstone
2009
Actress and activist Alicia Silverstone wrote this cookbook to help others explore the wide-ranging benefits of a plant-based diet. She explains how eliminating harmful foods can have amazing benefits for your health, your appearance, and even the planet. This collection of hearty vegan recipes is full of tips and tools to help people transition to a plant-based diet, which has been shown to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!)
By Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
2007
Number one New York Times best-selling authors Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin wrote this cookbook after their manifesto, Skinny Bitch, sparked a worldwide movement toward healthy eating. The cookbook offers 75 easy, satisfying vegan recipes, served up with an irreverent sense of fun. From the Bitchin’ Breakfast Burrito to Cha Cha Chili, Freedman and Barnouin show readers that you can eat well, enjoy food, and lose weight—all at the same time. Abundant research has shown that people who maintain a healthy weight over the long-term tend to eat a plant-based diet.
The Conscious Cook
By Tal Ronnen
2009
Chef Tal Ronnen cooked for Oprah during her vegan cleanse and catered Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi’s vegan wedding. In his new cookbook, The Conscious Cook, Ronnen shares his enticing vegan dishes with everyone who enjoys beautiful, flavorful, and filling food. Every recipe delivers on his promise to omnivores and foodies: “You won’t miss the meat.”
The Engine 2 Diet
By Rip Esselstyn
2009
Professional athlete-turned-firefighter Rip Esselstyn is used to responding to emergencies. So when he learned that some of his fellow Engine 2 firefighters in Austin, Texas, were in dire physical condition—several had dangerously high cholesterol levels—he sprang into action and created a lifesaving plan for the firehouse. By following Rip’s program, everyone lost weight (more than 20 pounds, in some cases), lowered their cholesterol, and improved their overall health. Now, Esselstyn outlines his proven plan in The Engine 2 Diet. His plant-powered eating plan is based on a diet of vegetables, whole grains, fruit, legumes, seeds, and nuts.
Cooking the Whole Foods Way
By Christina Pirello
2007
Nutrition educator Christina Pirello was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a few months to live, but she fought her way back to health using good nutrition. Her cookbook invites health-conscious readers to cut out processed foods, meat, and dairy, and focus on fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Pirello’s book includes tips on meal planning and shopping to help readers transition to a wholesome vegan diet. Research has shown that people who follow diets low in fat and high in plant foods have a lower risk of developing cancer.Studies have found that a vegan diet can even reduce the risk of recurrence for some types of cancer.
Bryant Terry’s Vegan Soul Kitchen
By Bryant Terry
2009
Bryant Terry shows you how to make delicious soul food into delicious health food for the soul. Fabulous and tasty for the picky palate, this cookbook features Baked BBQ Black-Eyed Peas, Savory Triple-Corn Grits, and Blackened Tofu Slabs with Succotash Salsa.
Vegan food, recipes, and more … Click on the upper right arrow to view the full tab names, scroll down to see all entries. There are approximately 19 Vegan Groups represented, please let us know if you would like one to be added.
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The Five Worst Cookbooks of 2010 | From PCRM
A Report from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, December 2010
Some popular cookbooks of 2010, including recipe collections from top chefs and celebrities, encourage Americans to fill up on high-fat, meat-heavy meals, even as the country struggles with record obesity levels and skyrocketing diabetes rates. Dietitians with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reviewed the year’s new cookbooks and named the worst offenders.
Here are the five worst cookbooks of 2010:
Gordon Ramsay’s World Kitchen: Recipes from The F-Word
By Gordon Ramsay
Kitchen Nightmares and Hell’s Kitchen are Gordon Ramsay’s TV shows, but they also aptly describe the recipes in his latest book. Ramsay has traveled to the ends of the Earth to bring back dishes that will wreak havoc on your health. Choose British Pheasant Casserole (two pheasants, smoked bacon, butter, and double cream) for the kind of meaty, high-fat meal that promotes obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Or try Thai Pork Satay to spike cholesterol levels.
Second Smiths Falls dog dies in kill trap
As long as tens of billions of animals are viciously slaughtered yearly, globally, other companion or family animals remain viable candidates of speciesist casualties. The loved animals represent a minuscule exception to a disturbingly savage and immoral ubiquitous “rule” … sr
From CTV Ottawa
A Smiths Falls family is mounting a campaign to warn dog owners about kill traps in a farmer’s field that killed their family dog. It’s the second dog to be killed in traps set in the eastern Ontario town in the last month.
Stacey Cassell lost his dog Socks when he took her for a routine walk in a farmer’s field in Smiths Falls on New Year’s Eve. The 11-year-old Labrador Miska wandered off and got caught in a kill trap, chocking her to death.
“She went off a little bit. She was gone. When I went to go look for her, I found her in the trap,” Cassell recalled.
“We miss her terribly and we would do anything to have her back.”
Although Cassell said he had permission to walk his dog on the property, he told CTV Ottawa he was never made aware of the traps. The farmer who owns the land could not be reached for comment.
The Cassell family has now posted signs along the property, warning others of the potential danger for pets.
Related | Cull of the Wild Trailer 1
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Cull of the Wild Trailer 2
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The incident marks the second time within the last month that a dog has been killed in traps set in Smiths Falls. In early December, Chris Colton’s Border Collie was killed in a trap at a Smiths Falls golf course.
In Canada, it’s legal to set traps if you have a license. However, Colton says it’s extremely dangerous.
“What’s it going to take? Is it going to take a child getting caught in these traps before they do something about it?” he asked.
Meantime, the Colton family wants other dog-owners to be aware of the risks of walking their dogs on similar properties.
Our Compass 