Kudos to Coke for World Wildlife Fund Partnership

Coca-Cola has extended it's partnership with the WWF to reduce carbon emissions and save water. So drink Coke! That kind of corporate responsibility should be rewarded.

Light Posting Due to Halloween

Posting has been a little light. We'll post more on the weekend (and before then if we have time).

Proposition 2 Poll

I've been trying to find polling data on Proposition 2, but this is all I could find. It's from September 30, from the Humane Society.

As the quarterly campaign finance period closed today, the YES! on Prop 2 campaign reports a tidal wave of voter and donor support from Californians backing the effort to stop the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals on industrial factory farms. In contrast, the donations raised by the No on Prop 2 campaign have come from a handful of corporate factory farming interests—most from out of state and many which are embroiled in a national price-fixing scandal.

The results of a new statewide poll by KSFN-Fresno/SurveyUSA shows overwhelming support from voters, with Prop 2 commanding a 62-point lead: 72-10 (18 undecided).

The writer is Jennifer Fearing, the CHIEF ECONOMIST for the Humane Society.

Chief economist? That's so cool!

Need an Animal Law Talking Guy?

In Washington State, Adam Karp is your man.

But, he also has a list of referrals for lawyers in other states that do this kind of thing.

Quote of the Week

People always tell me that it's useless to be a vegetarian. But, if I can save a single cow during my entire life, I'll be happy.

--Bruna Angotti, student

ALF's Campaign Against Fast Food in Mexico

Every time I go to Bite Back Magazine, I'm struck by how many times ALF activists in Mexico have targeted fast food outlets. I suppose they are easy to get at. Here is just a brief summary:

Oct. 24 - They left some sort of awful smelling liquid at a KFC
Oct. 21 - Arson at a Burger King
Oct. 16 - Fake bomb left at McDonalds
Oct. 15 - Spilled paint at KFC

They have hit other types of targets, but it seems like the number of attacks on fast food restaurants has gone up in the month of October.

Profile of Karen Dawn

Here is a profile of vegan author and creator of DawnWatch.

How to Confront Cruelty

I came across this 2005 book from the Society & Animals Journal titled Confronting Cruelty Moral Orthodoxy and the Challenge of the Animal Rights Movement.

Sounds interesting.

Why and how do people campaign on behalf of a species that is not their own? Responses to this question provide important insights into the much misunderstood animal rights movement and the people in it who challenge the moral orthodoxy that underpins our attitudes towards nonhuman animals. The norm of moderate concern for animals - that animals matter albeit less than humans - permits the (ab)use of animals in vivisection, factory farming, bloodsports and other contexts where animals suffer.

Readership: This book will be of interest to anyone who wishes to understand the animal rights movement in England, the United States and Australia. It would also be useful to students of sociology and politics in general, and social movements
in particular

Animal Law Podcasts

Here's a link to some podcasts from the Animal Legal and Historical Center. The topics they have so far:

* Pet Sales Gone Bad
* Does My State Have a Leash Law?
* Can I Put My Pet in My Will?
* Lost and Found Pets
* The police shot my dog after it escaped. Do I have any recourse?

The Vet Who Did Not Vet

OK, it doesn't have a lot to do with "critters" per se, other then the fact that it deals with That One that approves of killing wolves and polar bears. And it's really really funny. And hey, the title also uses the word vet in TWO different ways that don't mean veterinarian.

Helping Feral Cats in Your Neighborhood

Cory Williams, of the famed "Mean Kitty" YouTube videos (which are really funny), has a good how-to video about doing a trap, spay/neuter, and release of feral cats in your neighborhood. The video was done on behalf of the Stray Cat Alliance.

NY Times Profile of Wayne Pacelle

The NY Times has a long bio on Wayne Pacelle, the president of the Humane Society.

Suit Against Circus Owners Goes to Trial

Finally, a cruelty suit against Feld Entertainment, which owns Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is coming to trial.

A U.S. Department of Agriculture investigator determined the use of the bull hook “precipitated in the physical harm and ultimate death” of Benjamin, said Tracy Silverman, general counsel for the Animal Welfare Institute....The suit, also filed by The Fund for Animals, of Maryland; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of Washington; The Animal Protection Institute of Sacramento; and Tom Rider, a former Ringling Bros. employee, claims the defendants inhumanely and illegally mistreat their Asian elephants and have done so for decades.

On Monday, Federal Court Judge Emmet Sullivan will begin hearing testimony in the case. The anticipated three-week, non-jury trial takes place in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

According to the complaint, the defendants routinely beat elephants, violating the 1973 Endangered Species Act by hitting them with bull hooks. It also contends they forcibly remove baby elephants from their mothers with ropes and chains before they are weaned.

Ebay Bans Ivory Sales

Hooray!

EBay has announced a worldwide ban on the sale of ivory products on its auction websites from next year.

An eBay spokesman said the move was the best way to help African and Asian elephants. The endangered animals are often hunted for their ivory tusks.

The ban comes as a conservation group prepares to release a report critical of the auction site.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare will say more than 4,000 ivory products have been listed on eBay

Sick Prank with Dead Bear Cub

This is not just stupid, but sick.

And don't forget that a bear cub was shot, not by the kids, but by some other monster.

Authorities said Tuesday that a student prank, not a political statement, was the motivation for dumping a dead bear cub draped in Barack Obama signs on a North Carolina campus earlier this week.

They found a bear cub that had been shot in the head, grabbed it, took political signs "at random" to cover the bleeding, then decided to leave it at the base of a statue on campus.

No political motivation either, huh?

I am so proud of being human.