Blogging About Critters Since 2007

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

New Jersey Bear Hunt to Continue as Planned

Despite efforts by animal rights activists to stop this hunt, it is scheduled to continue. That really sucks. It's a cull to "control the population."

From North Jersey.com...

New Jersey’s first bear hunt in five years is just a week away and set to go on as planned despite a last-ditch effort by several animal rights organizations to have the hunt postponed.

On Monday, Nov. 22, State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bob Martin rejected an appeal made by the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ) and the West Milford-based Bear Education and Resource (BEAR) Group to postpone the six-day hunt, scheduled for a seven-county region that includes parts of Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Passaic, Morris, Somerset and Bergen counties. The bear hunt, set to take place from Dec. 6 to 11, is authorized under the state’s recently adopted Comprehensive Black Bear Management Policy (CBBMP).

"The facts are clear, we have an overpopulation of black bears in New Jersey, and we must address that issue," said Martin in a press statement. "A regulated black bear hunt is one important and necessary tool to deal with the growing number of bears, as part of the state’s overall, comprehensive approach to managing its black bear population."

Monday, November 29, 2010

Happy Chimpanzees!

Here is a Thanksgiving video of the seven chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest.

Very heartwarming.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Customs Officials Meet to Discuss China/Russia Smuggling

From TRAFFIC,
Customs officers from Russia and China met last week to strengthen international co-operation in tackling cross-border smuggling of Tigers and other wildlife products.

Representatives from the Federal Russia Customs, Far East Customs Directorate, Far East Operative Customs, Siberian Customs Directorate, General Customs Directorate of China, TRAFFIC Russia and TRAFFIC China met from 16–18 November in Vladivostok, through a programme supported by WWF Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

During the meeting, participants carried out an analysis of the current situation regarding wildlife trafficking across the Russian-Chinese border, and discussed practical ways it could be addressed.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

SRI Denies Access to the Humane Society

If the incident is insignificant, then why deny access?

From the San Jose Mercury News...
A Menlo Park research facility Monday refused to allow a humane society representative to check up on a monkey that bit a female lab worker the day before.

SRI International officials said the lab worker is OK and because their facility is under federal oversight, the Peninsula Humane Society doesn't have to be given access to its research animals.

"The worker ... received a very minor injury to the finger, was treated onsite by emergency response personnel and then at a local medical facility," SRI said in a statement released Monday. "The worker is fine and returned to work on Monday."

Because an animal bite occurred, Menlo Park police alerted the Peninsula Humane Society, which is under county contract to follow up on such incidents. The organization is supposed to check whether an animal that bites a human poses a continued threat, is vaccinated for such diseases as rabies, and might need to be quarantined, said John Conley, deputy director of public health for San Mateo County.

....The humane society was rebuffed twice by the research facility, first on Sunday after the incident was reported and again on Monday when it sent a representative to see the monkey.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

NASA May End Monkey Radiation Experiments

Not sure yet, but it could happen per this action alert from Physicians for Responsible Medicine.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

"Change of Heart": New Book about Animal Activism

We received an email about a new book being released by Lantern Books. It's called "Change Of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change." The author is Nick Cooney and he's the Director of The Humane League, an animal advocacy non-profit with offices in Philadelphia, Boston, and Washington DC.

In the author's words...
"Change Of Heart provides science-based answers to many questions that are hotly debated among animal activists. For example, why is it so hard for our family members and co-workers – many of whom have companion animals that they love – to cut cruelty from their diets and go vegan? What messages and techniques have been proven effective in getting people to make compassionate decisions like boycotting fur and adopting companion animals instead of buying them? And why do so many people say the oppose the cruel practices of factory farming, yet still eat meat, eggs and dairy products?

Change of Heart has received rave reviews from leading animal activists. Rory Freedman, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Skinny Bitch, proclaims “If you want to create a better world, read this book!” Gene Baur, Director of Farm Sanctuary, adds that “Change of Heart provides fresh, research-based insight into how non-profits and individuals can more effectively create social change.” Ingrid Newkirk, Director of PETA, raves that “This should be mandatory reading for everyone with a good heart and a good cause.”

Monday, November 15, 2010

Sobering Tiger Statistics

Very sad. I wish I could say something inspiring or hopeful, but it's hard to feel that way when you read these kinds of stories.

For the rest of the article, go to this TRAFFIC link...
Parts of at least 1,069 Tigers have been seized in Tiger range countries over the past decade, according to new analysis of Tiger seizures carried out by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network.

Reduced to Skin and Bones (PDF, 4 MB) shows that from January 2000 to April 2010, parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 Tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 tiger range countries—or an average of 104 to 119 animals per year.

Of the 11, India, China and Nepal ranked highest in the number of tiger part seizures, the report states, with India by far the highest number of Tiger part seizures at 276, representing between 469 and 533 Tigers. China, with 40, had the second highest number of seizures, or 116-124 Tigers, and Nepal reported 39 seizures, or 113-130 Tigers, according to the report.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Mini-Pigs Identified by EU as Potential Lab Subjects

I guess their cuteness wore off too quick!

From myfoxny.com...
The mini-pig, darling of celebrities’ handbags, may have had its bacon Sunday after the EU earmarked it as the laboratory test animal of the future.

A research project into the feasibility of using miniature pigs in laboratories concluded they are better suited for testing toxins, drugs and chemicals than dogs and monkeys.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Election Victories for Animals

Two victories.

Proposition 8 passed in Missouri. It stops puppy mill abuses by establishing responsible standards for the proper care of dogs.

Also, Proposition 109 failed in Arizona. This proposition would have given the legislature exclusive authority over wildlife issues.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Increase in Dutch Animal Testing

From the DutchNews.nl...
Dutch researchers carried out 592,665 experiments on animals last year, a 2.5% increase on 2008, government inspectors said on Friday.

The increase was largely due to new EU rules on chemical compounds, which have led to an increase in testing on rats, the inspectors said.

More than half the experiments were carried out for academic research and one third of those were for medical research.
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