Fearless Cat Faces Dog

This reminds me of the Monty Python Confuse a Cat sketch.

Elk Hunting For Idiots

From the Seattle PI:

The killing of about seven elk cornered in a farm pasture in eastern Skagit County has spurred state officials to close the elk archery season in the area and angered others who either witnessed or heard about the killings.

That's right, a herd of panicked elk were cornered in a cow pasture and a group of boneheads decided to "hunt" them. Even other hunters were disgusted:

"How can you call that hunting?" asked Bob Coombs, 70, of Mount Vernon. 'You pin some animals inside a barbed wire closure then allow people to come in there and take shots at them with arrows. Good Lord. That can't be called hunting. There are some fair chase rules that any ethical hunter subscribes to."

Sea Shepherd's New Vessel Arrives in Southern Ocean

Here is video of the Ady Gil:

EU Sends Inspectors to Portugal for Farm Animal Welfare

This happened earlier in the month, but I'm posting it anyway. The inspectors found nothing wrong, but at least they responded to the issues raised by Animal Angels, based in Germany.

My 2010 resolution is to try and track animal rights issues in the homelands of Spain and Portugal. Spain is much more advanced than Portugal in this area, but both need improvement (as do we all.)

December 26 Podcast Uploaded

This week's stories:

PETA demands that the National Institutes of Health take back grant money awarded to the University of Kansas;

The Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums prepares to investigate the Calgary Zoo next year;

Convicted dog fighter Michael Vick receives an award in courage from the Philadelphia Eagles;

Canada tries to find a public relations firm to counter anti-seal coverage;

and a Washington State man is convicted of selling bear gall bladders.

Natalie Portman's Vegan Transition

Here's an October interview with Natalie Portman who recently went vegan. Been meaning to post it for a while...

Big Ag Fighting Back with PR

They are fighting back due to all the information and images that have made it to the public sphere. There are no happy farm animals, you liars. And people are seeing it. So, now you just try to spend more money to spread more lies.

"Clearly the animal rights community is much more emboldened and aggressive than they have been in the past," said {National Milk Producers Federation} spokesman Chris Galen. "We need to play offense."

This article has a good summary of the victories to which this industry is reacting.

Obama Gets B- on Animal Protection

The Humane Society gives President Obama a B- on animal protection. Not that great, but I no longer think of Obama as a progressive anyway.

It's probably still better than w.

Jaguar Dies in Florida Zoo

A jaguar died during a routine procedure at the Brevard Zoo.

Washington Man Sentenced for Gall Bladder Trafficking

Good. This man is a meat-cutter from our home state of Washington. I'm not sure the sentencing is strict enough to keep him from doing it again. I hope he serves out his whole sentence though.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says Wednesday that William A. Page, a meat cutter from Curlew, was sentenced to a year jail in Ferry County Superior Court after being convicted on six counts of unlawful trafficking in wildlife.

Page, 63, was sentenced Dec. 18 and was also fined $3,000.

Investigators say Page admitted buying 35 gall bladders in 2007 and 2008, including 17 from undercover officers. Investigators say some believe gall bladders have healing powers and can draw thousands of dollars on the black market.

PETA Criticizes University of Kansas

We recently posted about the University of Kansas which, in response to USDA-cited lab violations, is spending about $1 million on lab renovations (although now I'm hearing it's more like $700,000.)

Now PETA is saying that the NIH (National Institutes of Health) should take back the grant money it gave the university.

Sorry for the cynicism, but....HAH! Good luck with that argument! The NIH doesn't take back grant money. This is economic development money...and Senator Sam Brownback would never allow it.

Man Who Hung, Electrocuted and Beat Dogs to Death Given Courage Award by Philadelphia Eagles

Because poor Michael Vick has been through so much. Another reason to root against the Eagles. Sorry but after seeing the victims that he left behind on Dog Town, I still think he's slime.

It takes a special kind of callousness and brutality to treat dogs that way. This isn't a bar fight. It's not the mistakes made from being young. This is making dogs tear each other to shreds. This is watching a dog hanging from a rope getting strangled to death because he didn't make the grade. That kind of cruelty is beyond what most normal people can conceive. I can, for instance, understand how someone can get drunk and do something stupid. I can understand how an NFL player can get into a fight over a girlfriend or something like that. They may be acting stupid, but I can at least understand it. I cannot understand how someone could do what Vick did. It is so utterly cruel.

This man didn't just go to dog fights. He didn't just bet on them. He set up a clandestine business to participate in it. He painted buildings black so nobody could see his dirty business. He set his dogs loose on others that couldn't defend themselves so they could get the taste of blood. And he ran this business for years. A lot of stuff came out in the indictment, but think of all the stuff we don't know about. I bet there's a lot.

I doubt he has the courage to tell us all about all the other nasty things he did. Shame on the Eagles.

New Book on Michael Vick Case

A new book has come out about the Vick case. You can read about it here.

UK Expects Spike in Christmas Poaching

Criminal gangs in the rural UK poach deer and salmon during the Christmas season. To curtail the rise and educate the public, the "Poachers Moon" initiative brings together the National Wildlife Crime Unit, Environment Agency, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation and the Deer Initiative.

Organized crime in England is really attacking wildlife lately. Recently, I've also read about wildlife being used for dogfight training. Perhaps this is nothing new to people who live in these areas though.

Ocean Advocacy and Animal Rights

We support two ocean protection organizations: People for Puget Sound (local) and the Ocean Conservancy.

I was reading Ocean Conservancy's magazine today. For the past couple of issues I've read, it has had a "sustainable seafood recipe." I understand that they are trying to encourage people to eat fish and other marine life that are not part of a collapsing fishery. The purpose is to protect ocean species as a whole. I'm not sure how this fits into my support of animal rights though. If you are eating a fish, you are still eating a living thing. I think that ocean life, with the exception of mammals, are often overlooked because they are not the sentient, communicating species that we identify with, like primates, dogs, cats, etc. I'm going to try and research other groups to see if there is a group that is more in line with the philosophy I'm trying to follow.

But I may not find one. And, at this point, I'd rather have oceans with healthy fisheries for the seafood industry than those without any fisheries left at all.