Blogging About Critters Since 2007

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Funny Cat Video

Maybe it's just me, but I think it's funny.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

University of British Columbia Has Extensive Animal Research Program

The writer is from Stop UBC Animal Research, so there is a bias. But, still, an informative overview.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Research Animals Rescued from North Carolina Lab

Awful story, but this is the reason I support PETA, even when they do wacky things sometimes. Their investigations produce results.

From the PR Newswire...
An enormous victory was achieved for animals this week when nearly 200 dogs and 54 cats were rescued from a North Carolina animal testing facility that closed its doors after an undercover investigation revealed apparent abuse of the animals by workers at the facility. Quick work on the part of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), in partnership with the Humane Society of the U.S. and more than a dozen animal shelters and rescues[1] succeeded in placing all of the rescued animals, offering hope that they will find loving homes and solace after their ordeal.

"This event serves as dramatic testament to what can happen when the humane community comes together to oppose cruelty," says AWI President, Cathy Liss. "We applaud the dedicated efforts of animal welfare advocates who stepped up to take in these animals, and hope that the exposure of this situation will underscore the need for stricter enforcement to protect animals in research facilities."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) conducted the initial investigation[2] that exposed the apparent cruelty at Professional Laboratory and Research Services, an inconspicuous rural lab funded by large pharmaceutical companies to test insecticides and other chemicals used in companion animal products. For nine months, a PETA investigator worked undercover at the facility, and shot video showing animals in excruciating pain from procedures, as well as employees kicking, throwing, and dragging petrified dogs, violently slamming cats into cages, and screaming obscenities at the animals for showing fear and being uncooperative.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

DeMuth Agrees to Plea Bargain

From the Science Insider...
Scott DeMuth, a sociology graduate student at the University of Minnesota charged last year with felony conspiracy under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act agreed yesterday to a plea bargain. DeMuth was originally charged in connection with a 2004 lab break-in at the University of Iowa that caused more than $400,000 in damage. His plea agreement does not mention the Iowa break-in. Instead, DeMuth will plead guilty to conspiring to damage a Minnesota company that breeds ferrets. (The Quad-City Times reports that DeMuth admitted to releasing ferrets and causing damage to computers and records in a 2006 break-in.) According to the plea agreement, the damage totaled less than $10,000.

DeMuth was arrested and charged in November 2009 after refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigating the Iowa break-in. DeMuth studies radical activist groups, and he argued that forcing him to break confidentiality agreements with his subjects would constitute a violation of his academic freedom.

He faces a maximum of 6 months in jail and/or a fine of up to $5000.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Silent Auction to Benefit Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

This is now one of my favorite organizations. The silent auction is set for October 1, 2010, and details are here.

You can donate too even if you can't attend the auction.

September 14th update - Auction is sold out! They are working on an online component that you can participate in. Good for them!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Celebrities who Disappoint

This is an interesting article that reveals some stuff I didn't know about celebrities I like.

**Angelina Jolie used to be a vegan. She went back to red meat because she said the vegan diet almost killed her and was aging her hands. (I just don't believe she tried all that hard or was very firm in her convictions. To go all the way back to red meat? She could have just become vegetarian if she had to do so.)

**Carrie Underwood, a vegetarian, is a spokesperson for Olay Skin Care, owned by Proctor and Gamble which perform animal testing.

**Hugh Jackman promised to become a vegan and still has not done so.

Disappointing, but, as the article asks, is it fair to hold celebrities to a higher standard?

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

EU Bans Use of Great Apes in Animal Research

Some may disagree, but I think this is a huge victory. I wish we could do the same here in the US, but I highly doubt it...especially considering that Congress may go Republican in November.

From the AFP...

Europe banned the use of great apes in animal testing Wednesday as part of drastically tightened rules to scale back the number of animals used in scientific research.

After two years of heated debate on how to protect animal welfare without scuppering scientific research, the new limits, updating regulations from 1986, were adopted by the European Parliament despite objections from Green MEPs.

Under the new legislations, experiments on great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans are to be banned and "strict" restrictions set on the use of primates in general.

Members of the 27-nation bloc, who are given two years to comply with the rules, also need "to ensure that whenever an alternative method is available, this is used instead of animal testing."

And they must work at "reducing levels of pain inflicted on animals."

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Unique Sea Horse Species Threatened

We still have a long way to go until we find out the true and complete impact of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

This is from the University of British Columbia's "Project Seahorse."
A species of seahorse unique to the waters of the Gulf Coast could face extinction because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, warns marine conservation organization Project Seahorse. Without careful intervention, the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) could virtually disappear within a few years, while many other fish populations, including several other species of seahorse, face a similarly bleak future as cleanup continues.

“We’re very worried,” says Assoc. Prof. Amanda Vincent, director of Project Seahorse at the University of British Columbia and a leading expert on seahorse conservation “All of the seahorse populations in the area will be affected, but the dwarf seahorse is at greatest risk of extinction because much of its habitat has been devastated by the spill.”

Monday, September 6, 2010

Write to Your Congressional Representatives to Help the Almagordo Chimps

Here is the text we sent to Congressman Jim McDermott and Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. It's based on the suggested text we saw on the web site for Physicians for Responsible Medicine.
Dear Senator Murray,

I have read articles in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times about the chimpanzees at Holloman Air Force Base. I am deeply troubled and angry that the National Institute of Health wants to move almost 200 chimpanzees from this facility to a laboratory in Texas where they may be subjected to testing.

Please ensure that the chimpanzees stay in Alamogordo. These highly intelligent animals should be PERMANENTLY retired and a PERMANENT sanctuary created for them.

This is a matter of human compassion to prevent the further suffering of animals that have already served this species in prior experiments. They deserve better and we are capable of providing them with better.

Sincerely,

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Smuggled Boa Constrictors Bust Out of Luggage

Bizarre.

From USA Today...

A Malaysian man has pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his luggage packed with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a conveyor belt at Kuala Lumpur International airport.

Almagordo Chimp Story Hits the Los Angeles Times

Story continues to gain media attention.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Almagordo Chimp Story Hits the New York Times

Here's hoping this poignant story will stir more public outrage and pressure on the NIH. These aging chimps deserve to retire permanently and NOT be subjected to more medical research.
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