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