Animal rights, awareness and issues 2014
 

Figured it would be okay to start a new one for the new year.

On canned hunting...

https://www.facebook.com/cannedlion.int

http://www.cannedlion.org/

Why would anyone pay to shoot helpless lions in a cage?

Sick people in this world.

From S.O.S....

100+ Shark Experts Oppose WA Shark Cull Policy in Open Letter

http://www.supportoursharks.com/en/N...ull_Policy.htm

Good Rolling Stone article

http://www.rollingstone.com/feature/...imal-activists

Multi media article on the cost of cheap meat. You want to talk about animal cruelty, our own factory farms are the place to start. Seriously good piece.

I don't eat meat, chicken, any of it (thanks in great part to golfer) but there are certain things I just can't even bear to look at.

I'm glad you posted it and am sure it's a great piece. I have seen enough of these types of things to last a few lifetimes.

Thank God for people who can bear to look and write, photograph and post such things.

19 arrested while protesting SeaWorld float at Rose Parade

http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/gene...at-rose-parade

Of course, assorted state governments' way of dealing with this sort of exposé is to make it illegal to photograph these cruelties:

http://inhabitat.com/ag-gag-bills-se...y-on-us-farms/

Because that's the way to deal with barbarity. Hide it and pretend it's not happening.

Shark’s fin trade faces extinction

Stephanie Lai | 02/01/2014 | Macau Business Daily

Macau sellers of shark’s fin have felt a sharp decline in business volume last year, amid pressure from environmentalists and Beijing’s drive against conspicuous consumption by officials.

“Even though we are in the peak season for seafood shopping, from November to January – a period in which people usually buy some shark’s fin for Chinese New Year – we now have only one or two customers buying shark’s fin per month,” she said.

http://macaubusinessdaily.com/Busine...ces-extinction

The snow leopard, a Sochi Olympics symbol, is near extinction

http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-01-0...ear-extinction

Yay! :{>: One of my favorite animals and perhaps this will draw attention to the Snow Leopard Trust http://www.snowleopard.org/ and Panthera http://www.panthera.org/content/tis-season-snow-angels both really amazing foundations.

Conservation leading to opening education for villagers...
http://www.thethirdpole.net/snow-leo...-valley-girls/

love big cats, but i'm especially fond of the leopards...whether snow, clouded, or african or any of the other subspecies.

here's a list. sadly, many of the sub species are in great danger.

http://voices.yahoo.com/subspecies-t...-10802491.html

Conjoined wale twins found dead.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...of-mexico?lite

:{>:

Sochi aquarium set to display killer whales during Olympic Games

http://www.vancouversun.com/technolo...021/story.html

Pilot Whales found dead off Florida Coast

Still no cause of death :(

http://news.msn.com/us/about-25-pilo...d-dead-off-fla

I watched Happy Feet for the first time. What a brilliant way to express the message and importance of ocean conservation.

:mad: I finally saw Blackfish, what was even more disturbing was the expert panel, led by Jack Hanna, that CNN put together.

Dangerous cows
 

German barn explosion caused by 90 farting cows..


http://www.salon.com/2014/01/28/germ..._farting_cows/

The Japan Times

(editorial)

Defend dolphins, not a ‘tradition’

Feb 1, 2014


In mid-January, somewhere between 250 and 500 dolphins were driven into the cove near Taiji, a small town in western Japan made famous in the award-winning film, “The Cove.” There, at least 100 of the dolphins were slaughtered for their meat. Others were packed up and sold to aquariums.

The dolphins are herded, butchered and sold every year, but this year, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, together with CNN news uploaded videos of the dolphin hunt. The video, available online, is not for the faint of heart. Despite claims of humane killing methods, the video shows the fishermen hacking into the heads and backs of the panicked dolphins, then leaving them to bleed to death, turning the entire cove bright red.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe defended the practice in an interview with CNN and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters at a news conference that marine mammals including dolphins were “very important water resources.” Suga insisted “Dolphin fishing is one of the traditional fishing forms of our country and is carried out appropriately in accordance with the law.”

Their argument that the force of tradition justifies the herding, capturing and slaughtering of dolphins is a flimsy one. Many past cultural practices, such as slavery, bordellos and beheading were stopped for ethical reasons. Tradition and culture are forces that change in accordance with new scientific understanding and evolving ethical standards. In addition, the Taiji hunt didn’t even become institutionalized on a large scale until 1969, so its roots are quite shallow.

Their argument that the slaughter adheres to principles of the law is equally questionable. Veterinarians and behavioral scientists who viewed the covertly recorded video contend that the killing method used in this year’s Taiji dolphin hunt would not be permitted in any slaughterhouse in the developed world.

Indeed, it is open to question whether the method would be acceptable if used to slaughter cows or other livestock in Japan.

Japanese law states that all methods of killing livestock should reduce the animals’ suffering as much as possible. The method of sending “fishermen” into the water with knives to stab the dolphins, clearly evident in the video, does not begin to meet that guideline. The desperate flailing of the wounded animals and the long time it takes them to die go against the accepted animal welfare standards employed in advanced societies.

Japan has already stopped invasive research and other harmful practices on species such as chimpanzees. Intelligent animal species have always held a special closeness to humans because of their intelligence, capacity for suffering and complex social relations. Dolphins are even known to commit suicide when distressed or confused.

Japan has another tradition, one of deep respect for nature and the creatures in it. That tradition would be much easier to defend. The dolphin hunt is an inhumane practice that should be stopped.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/.../#.Uu0YGbCYbIX

For anyone so inclined there will be demonstrations at Japanese Embassies and consulates on Valentines Day to draw attention to the barbaric and vile Taiji dolphin hunts.

World love for dolphins day protests:

Seattle
601 Union Street, Suite 500
Seattle WA 98101-4015

San Francisco
50 Fremont Street, Suite 2300
San Francisco CA 94105-2236

Los Angeles
350 South Grand Ave, Suite 1700
Los Angeles CA 90071-3459

Denver
1225 17th Street, Suite 3000
Denver CO 80202-5505

Houston
2 Houston Center Building
909 Fannin Street
Suite 3000
Houston TX 77010

New York City
299 Park Ave, 18th Floor
New York NY 10171-0025

Washington DC
2520 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTg4JPnAfFQ

:D

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-...lphins-da-1551

the sea shepherd group?!

ugh!

look, i get that dolphins have better pr than your average tuna or swordfish, but let's not get loony (like the sea shepherd group).

The sea turns red in Taiji day after day after day from the blood of slaughtered dolphins.

I have nothing but respect and admiration for their tireless watch over the cove.

:tro:

what about the blood from tuna? or cows?

i guess i just don't get how some people decided some animals are sacred and others aren't. especially since everyone doesn't have the same view.
what we cherish as hamburger, indians hold sacred (of course, that doesn't keep them from exporting sacred cows for consumption, money's money).

the sea shepherd people will willingly kill people to save an animal. that's bizarre to me. i've watched that show that has them vs the japanese whalers. i think they come across as a bunch of bozos. it's a wonder no one has had to take a ship down there and save any of them yet. they keep trying to sink one of their own ships, and kill their crew (or the ships and crews of the people they attack)...eventually i figure it'll happen. they should be charged with assault, piracy and any other nautical laws they break.

i'd be just as flabbergasted if people started attacking trainers, jockeys and race horse owners because they didn't like the sport of racing. it would be unreal. but, very much the same as what sea shepherd does.

Have you watched video of the slaughters of the dolphins in this particular area?

yes, i've seen footage.


i am sure it has to do with compartmentalization, that people can enjoy horse racing and not worry about exploiting horses, that you can dig into a juicy slab of medium rare prime rib...

and then get up in arms about dolphins.

Cows are livestock.. Dolphins aren't.

Ever see a cow as smart as a dolphin?

Cherish as hamburger?

Medium rare prime rib?

I'm assuming this is directed at me so, for the record, I do not eat animals, I don't watch the show (there is very little on tv I watch) and I don't eat crap so am not sure if maybe you had a few too many Girl Scout cookies and are coming down from a sugar high or what.

Re: the Sea Shepherd... I keep up with their actions because of my immense respect.

I love horse racing and constantly defend it, the industry, myself, etc. to most people in my life because they see it as cruel. I just spent lunch doing this, once again, and it's draining.

I have not decided, in my own life, well these animals are important and these are not...

Some days there is so much overwhelming stuff (dead whales and dolphins, dogs being killed before the Olympics, turtles, donkeys, etc) that, when I come here, part of me feels like asking Nick to just please delete the thread for me cause I feel guilty for not posting stuff but then I could spend hours posting every damned thing I've read so I end up backing off.

I hope that anyone who bothers looking at this thread (and it's clearly marked and down here out of the way... I am not trying to incite anyone) knows or is made aware of what happens in the cove. I have never once posted footage of it nor do I post the gruesome pictures.

You say you have seen footage. Did you hear it as well? It's beyond me how anyone could have watched even just a couple of minutes of it... seeing and hearing them... how anyone could then nonchalantly say oh yeah been there, don't that, seen that.

I wish I could get the images out of my head... chilling and horrific and God the sounds...

Your posts seem very hostile and I don't really get why anything I've said should incense you.

I do hope you have a nice time on Valentines Day and that it's however you want it to be.

Me? I'll be at the Los Angeles protest and, while I know it seems pretty meaningless, maybe a couple of these protests will be covered and a few people who don't know about the cove will be made aware. That's the beginning of ending bad things, right? Educating people and having them become aware?

Sounds like a good way to spend Valentine's Day to me anyway.

no, not directed at you, but to animal rights activists in general. and certainly not hostile. sorry you perceive it as such.

i think we've had far too many good discussions for you to think i'd suddenly become 'ol yeller in the corn crib.
that said, i do not understand how one can be a racing fan and defend it to people who don't understand the sport...and then turn around and attack people for doing something you don't understand.

i don't go for cruelty, i can see where some perceive the dolphin killing as such. but knowing about people catching thousands of tuna at one time in a net-i bet the fish don't think it's a picnic.

at any rate, i don't understand how some animals are ok to exploit, or eat, and others aren't.
people decry sea world, that they shouldn't keep killer whales and the like on display. i'd think dolphins and whales have gained a lot of really good pr because of those places. if people only watched nature shows to learn about killer whales, they'd find out why they're called that...or the wolves of the sea. they sure aren't omnivores.
i'd imagine people would find them a bit less cuddly if they saw them playing with a seal cub before eating it, or if they found out that killer whales have perfected the art of 'disrobing' a penguin so that they only eat the good stuff, not the feathers.

as for sea shepherd...i agree that japan shouldn't be able to exploit a legal loophole to take whales. i agree with their message.
i have huge issues with how they conduct their 'protests' against the japanese whalers. ship collisions, fouling of lines, etc. it makes people take them less seriously, not more.

Marius ~ 18 month old Giraffe
 

This is just too terrible really.. To even think about :(

WTF is wrong with people?!!! How can they even try to justify this.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/zo...s-lions-n25726


Attachment 2294

i saw the headline earlier, that they'd killed it. i wondered that they couldn't find another zoo to take it, and reading the article-the brits offered to take it.
they can't justify it.

It's just way beyond horrible and totally senseless :mad:

just saw this. i don't know if cows are smart, can be trained to do tricks or not.

all i do know is that there are cultures who hunt whales and dolphins, including the inuits, who are u.s. citizens.
i would never hunt or eat a dolphin.
but i'm no more going to tell someone else what they can and can't eat, just like i don't want anyone worrying about what i eat.

canadians, icelanders, greenlanders, norwegians, russians, etc, etc engage in whale or dolphin hunting.

at any rate, i don't agree with senseless killings like the poor giraffe, but that's a far cry from subsistence hunting, or hunting by aboriginal peoples, or people who hunt for both food and because they wish to maintain their cultural ways
if the dolphins or whales are endangered or protected, obviously the IWC would step in.

At least they fed it to the lions? Seems natural choice.

I knew someone would try to justify it by saying that.

Whoa there, not justifying it, but I don't like to judge others with regards to animal choices unless it is cruelty. Lots of people eat horses for example in Europe. Who am i to judge them? Sure this giraffe probably should have been moved. Of all the things and going on in the world, this isn't high on the list. Poaching kills far more elephants, giraffes, you name it. Context is key to all these discussions.

And further, you can be assured that by stopping the horse slaughter bill in this country, you have effectively made cruelty to horses much more likely in places like Mexico where they will still be killed in some of the most inhumane ways imaginable. That's a sin.