"In the past we have tried to make a distinction between animals which we acknowledge have some value and other which, having none, can be liquidated when we wish. This standard must be abandoned. Everything that lives has value simply as a living thing, as one of the manifestations of the mystery that is life." - Albert Schweitzer "Deprived of legal protection, animals are defenseless against exploitation and abuse by humans. Through the Animal Bill of Rights, the Animal Legal Defense Fund is working to show Congress a groundswell of support for legislation that protects animals and recognizes that, like all sentient beings, animals are entitled to basic legal rights in our society.
More than a quarter-million Americans have already signed the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Animal Bill of Rights. Sign on your support and speak out to your lawmakers today!" ANIMAL ACRES INVESTIGATES AND RESCUES ABUSED FARM ANIMALS - WATCH THE VIDEO 'LIVING SANCTUARY12/14/2011 "Animal Acres is a Los Angeles farmed animal sanctuary and compassionate learning center dedicated to rescuing and protecting farmed animals through rescue, education, and advocacy efforts. Animal Acres is located on a beautiful 26 acre hacienda ranch, just 45 minutes from Hollywood. We encourage people to visit, volunteer, and become involved in Animal Acres, to help create a more compassionate world for ALL." source: http://www.animalacres.org/ STRAIGHT FROM ANIMAL ACRES WEBSITE: "Animal Acres formed in 2005 to rescue and provide refuge for suffering farmed animals and teach people to extend compassion to all animals, and our continued growth is possible because of our dedicated Animal Acres team. Our rescue, education, and advocacy efforts depend on employees and volunteers who want to make a direct difference by being an active advocate for farmed animals. From fundraising and administrative operations which are the "back bone" of all our programs, to conducting educational tours and staffing outreach tables, to cleaning barns and providing tender-loving care for rescued farmed animals, each and every person is a vital participant in our mission to create a more compassionate world for all beings." For a list of current volunteer opportunities, please click here. Animal welfare is a relatively new concept in Nepal. Let me introduce you to the organization Animal Nepal. Here's the year end newsletter for Animal Nepal So much needs to be investigated here. If the numerous allegations, by various seemingly credibly witnesses, are found to be true, we need to understand how something like this came to be and 1) take all steps necessary to never have this awful pattern of abuse repeated and 2) punish the abusers with prison and a long enough sentence that clearly says this will never be tolerated! April Mitchem Birmingham Dog Care Examiner December 12, 2011 "Monsters are supposed to live under the bed and in the closet. They are not supposed to work at your local animal control facility. If the eyewitness reports are true, that's exactly where the monsters of Calhoun County, Alabama reside. Former employees of this facility and local rescuers are working with a local animal advocate and political liaison for AVRAL, Millie Harris, to stop the torture and abuse that is allegedly happening at Calhoun County Animal Control. Ms. Harris has spoken to the Calhoun County Commission and will be meeting with the Sheriff if the commissioners do nothing to stop the abuse, neglect, and torture being visited on the sick, weak, lost, injured, or abandoned animals." The photos of alleged animal abuse at Calhoun County Animal Shelter are graphic and tragic. "These allegations are supported by several eyewitnesses, former employees and local rescuers. Many of the eyewitnesses have consented to being recorded ..." HERE'S A LINK TO THE VIDEO April Mitchem
Birmingham Dog Care Examiner December 12, 2011 April reported: The numerous allegations as follows:
STRAIGHT FROM EXAMINER.COM: Do not support these monsters through silence. Contact the Calhoun County Commission and voice your concerns. Commission District 1--Commissioner James "Pappy" Dunn Commission District 2--Commissioner Tim Hodges Commission District 3--Commissioner Eli Henderson Commission District 4--Commissioner John "JD" Hess Commission District 5--Commissioner Rudy Abbott Calhoun County Commission 1702 Noble Street Suite 103 Anniston, AL 36201 Phone: (256) 241-2800 Email: ccc@calhouncounty.org Also contact Sheriff Larry Amerson at 256-236-6600 or send an email to Chief Deputy Wade at mwade@calcoso.org. Polar bears roam the Arctic ice sheets and swim in that region's coastal waters. They are very strong swimmers, and their large front paws, which they use to paddle, are slightly webbed. Some polar bears have been seen swimming hundreds of miles from land—though they probably cover most of that distance by floating on sheets of ice. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
PHOTOS SET TO MUSIC LEARN ABOUT POLAR BEARS (BELOW) VIEWPOINT OF WHY THE FUR TRADE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO FLOURISH AND THE PROS OF CONS OF THE FUR TRADE12/10/2011 You will enter a pro fur website if you click here or on the image below. Explore why they promote selling and wearing fur. Below the image are pros and cons with links to more information. You decide what's right. Making a fur coat or hat involves a lot of animal cruelty that cannot be justified. Many creatures have to die to produce just one piece of clothing, and each suffers greatly. Fur farms put animals like mink that naturally roam large distances in the wild into tiny cages. They are treated badly, often get injured or sick, and die painfully. Fur farming is no crueller than other types of farming. An unhealthy, badly treated animal will have poor-quality fur, so it is in the interests of fur-farmers to look after them very well. In the past some fur farms were badly run, but modern methods are much kinder and there are strict rules about how animals are kept and slaughtered. And remember, these animals live a much better life than they would in the wild, being housed safely and fed regularly without fear of predators. Other animals, such as seals or bears are hunted in the wild. Often they killed in brutal ways – baby seals are clubbed to death, animals like foxes are caught in traps which may kill them slowly over several days. Over-hunting can also put a species in danger of extinction. Just as the hunting of elephants for their ivory is now banned, so should the hunting of animals for their fur. Very little of the fur sold in clothing stores comes from wild animals, but wild fur still has a place in the industry. Larger animals like seals and bear cannot be farmed. Instead they live active, natural lives in the wild, which should appeal to animal rights groups who dislike farming. Their life is quickly and painlessly ended by professional hunters – not the painful and long-drawn out death from starvation, disease or wounds that is normal for wild animals. And many of these animals would be killed anyway to control their numbers – seals take fish that fishermen need to earn a living, bears can be a menace near towns. So why not make use of their fur? Fur also gives a species value so that hunters will make sure that enough animals are left to breed for the future, and that their environment is not destroyed. PROS It is wrong to exploit animals unnecessarily. We should see that they have rights just as people do and that we cannot morally justify making them suffer and die unnecessarily. No one has to wear fur today – there are plenty of man-made options now that our stone-age ancestors didn’t have. And just because people wore fur in the past, it doesn’t mean that we should still do so. Lots of things that used to happen, like slavery, child labour, bear-baiting and cock-fighting, are now seen as cruel and have been banned. Selling and wearing fur should go the same way. CHEF AND BRITISH TELEVISION CELEBRITY MERRILEES PARKER EXPLORES FUR FARMING IN DENMARK "When humans raise animals, they have a responsibility to provide for their welfare and prevent unnecessary suffering. In North America, mink, foxes and chinchillas are raised on farms, but mink are by far the most important in term of numbers. While providing animals with humane care is an ethical obligation for all livestock farmers, it also makes good business sense since the healthiest animals produce the finest furs." SOURCE: http://www.furisgreen.com/animalwelfare.aspx
Personal Commentary: I still am against wearing fur. It goes to my ideology that humans must rethink their whole concept of how they traditionally have treated animals. An excerpt of my opinion from an earlier blog: "A new breed of human must emerge out of the greater understanding that indisputably exists about how animals truly "feel" and how they experience a wide range of emotions and pain. Their experiences are as important to them as ours are to us. Their wants in life are much the same as ours. They want food, shelter, good health and happiness. They don't want to be hit, hurt, injured, used and abused. But without an immediate paradigm shift in the way humans regard them, animals needlessly and shamefully suffer unimaginably egregious pain at the hands of their human handlers and guardians. Human ignorance and greed must begin to spur outrage and ultimately be wholly unacceptable by the masses." I don't think animals should be killed for food or fur. I grew up eating elk and deer meat every year. My father was an avid hunter and I helped pack out the meat after his successful hunts. He cleaned and packaged his own animals. I was raised to fly fish from the time I was three. I had my own fly rod at the age of 5. I've been on both sides of the issue, and what feels right to me now is being vegetarian and heading toward being a vegan. To me, it feels healthy in mind, body and soul. I try not being too radical in my blogs because that doesn't serve a good purpose. Who wants to hear anyone rant? People need to be introduced to new ways of thinking, and of living, at a pace that is doable and one that resonates with them. I hope to plant seeds of thought for bringing the kind of change I think will make all life happier on this planet. |
"Ask not what an animal can do for you; ask what you can do for an animal." Jasper
"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." ~Alice Walker The source of the quote is Walker's preface to Marjorie Spiegel's 1988 book, "The Dreaded Comparison" . Her next sentence was, "This is the gist of Ms. Spiegel's cogent, humane and astute argument, and it is sound." Archives
February 2015
"I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on (the movie) Babe that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian." ~ James Cromwell Categories
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