"Happy Cows" Campaign in California Under Fire

California dairy farmers have an ad campaign that cows are just darn happy on their factory farms. PETA is not convinced.

This article about the situation appears in the Merced Sun-Star which is from my home county of Merced!

Canada Okays Matching Seal Quota

This despite a dry market for seal products and a warming climate that is hurting the species?

Really, Canada? Really?

For the full article, go to The Globe and Mail here....

The market for Canadian seal pelts has gone dry but the federal government will still allow sealers to kill 400,000 of the marine mammals when the annual hunt opens next Monday.

The quota, announced in a release issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Tuesday, ignores the advice of one of the government’s own scientists who urged that fewer harp seals be taken this year because of waning sea ice.

Very Sweet Story about A Rescued Puppy

Awwwwwww.........

Supporters Still Trying to Keep Bullfighting in Spain

I was disappointed that Nobel Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa was one of those that signed a petition to keep this cruel and unnecessary torture of animals around. I guess I won't be reading his books!

For the full story, go here to latino.foxnews.

Looking for Books about Animal Experimentation

I've finally decided to take the plunge and really learn about animal experimentation. It's a horrible topic and I post news articles about the abuses from time to time. But I want to be able to argue about it intelligently, citing science, not just morals. Apparently, there is a lot of argument out there than animal experimentation is even good for humans. Many times tests fail. A drug may work on an animal, but fail miserably on a human. Or vice versa. Drugs are not always predictable from human to human even. And how can one expect an animal with a human disease to react the way the human body does? It's essentially a crap shoot.

And, in this day and age, do we really need to be stuck with this archaic and barbaric method of research? Isn't there anything better?

Graphic Photo of Protest in Spain

It's a pretty powerful image.

Northern Arapahoes Given Right to Kill Eagles for Religious Purposes

From the Seattle PI....

A federal government decision to allow a Wyoming tribe to kill two bald eagles for a religious ceremony is a victory for American Indian sovereignty as well as for long-suppressed religious freedoms, the tribe says.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted a permit March 9 to the Northern Arapaho Tribe allowing it either to kill or capture and release two bald eagles this year.

While no one questions the religious sincerity of Northern Arapaho tribal members, spokesmen for some conservation and animal rights groups question why the tribe can't meet its religious needs without killing wild eagles. They say the tribe could raise captive birds, or accept eagle feathers or carcasses already available from a federal repository that collects birds killed by power lines or other causes.

The Northern Arapaho share the Wind River Indian Reservation in central Wyoming with the Eastern Shoshone Tribe. The Northern Arapaho decline to say specifically what they will do with the eagles the federal permit allows them to kill.

Feds Approve Killing Sea Lions in the Columbia River

The Federal government has approved the killing of California Sea Lions in the Columbia River, blaming them for killing and eating endangered salmon. Never mind the main reasons for the problems with the salmon: hatcheries, human harvest, hydropower and the destruction of habitat.

Halal Slaughter Causing a Furor In Quebec

Quebec is not known for its animal welfare concerns or laws. I think the issue stems from this being an Islamic practice and the fear of contaminated meat, not concern for the animals.

From JTA, the Global News Service of the Jewish People....

Two political parties in Quebec are speaking out about the ritual slaughter of animals, but a Jewish advocacy group is confident that kashrut is not being targeted.

The opposition Parti Québécois and the Coalition For Quebec's Future declared their concerns about halal meat, which comes from animals that are slaughtered according to Islamic law.

A Parti Québécois legislator said Wednesday that slaughter for halal meat is an affront to animal rights and runs counter to the values cherished by Quebecers. The pro-independence party said it was worried that mainstream companies are selling halal meat without labeling to unsuspecting consumers. It wants to know how many companies are involved in producing halal meat and the number of animals are being slaughtered annually under Islamic ritual.

"This type of slaughter slams directly against Québécois values," the Parti Québécois said in a statement.

Animal Welfare Concerns May Be Influencing UK Animal Research

This article in the Herald Tribune claims that animal rights is winning out over animal research. I would take the article with a grain of salt. I've read the same on the other side. It depends on who's writing the article of course...I think it's still a long, long fight. But perhaps these are positive signs. In a very depressing fight, every sign is worth something.

Quote

No one in the world needs a mink coat but a mink.

~Murray Banks

Washington Town to Become Horse Slaughter Capital?

Stanwood is right near where we live in Seattle and, sadly, home to Pigs Peace Animal Sanctuary which rescues all kinds of animals. I can only imagine how they feel.

From the Sky Valley Chronicle....

A new report in the Staug News of St. Augustine, Florida doesn’t mince any words when it comes to what’s afoot in the Stanwood area.

The story, by author and animal rights activist Ernest Dempsey calls Stanwood, Washington “Death Row for horses” because of the location not far away of a “major buying station, collection point and feedlot for U.S. horses destined to die and be butchered in one of Canada’s equine slaughterhouses for human consumption abroad.”

Dempsey says if rumblings of a new plan by the giant Canadian horse meat packing company Bouvry Exports-Calgary to reopen the Florence Packing plant on Florence Road for equine slaughter are true, Stanwood soon might become better known as the region’s “Butcher Shop for Horses”.

The rumor mill has it that Bouvry wants to reopen the plant to service more inexpensively developing markets for its product in Russia, China and other Asian nations.

Second Time Bears Declared Extinct in Austria

Why is so much wildlife news so frigging sad?! From Wildlife Extra News....

For the second time in recent history, brown bears have been declared extinct in Austria. "Unfortunately there are no bears left in Austria, in the Northern Limestone Alps. The last bear, known as ‘Moritz', an Austrian born bear, has not been seen since 2010. . This sub-population is now deemed to be extinct." said Christian Pichler of WWF Austria

Wolfgang Puck Sends Letter Supporting End to Foie Gras Sales

From Sfist.com....

Although his gastronomic reputation has, let's fact it, been marred due to his frozen food and canned soup lines, Spago founder and chef Wolfgang Puck still has some pull. So, he penned an open letter to California restaurants still serving foie gras. And the letter, sent by Puck in February, was intended to sooth the frayed nerves of chefs who don't like being told what they can and cannot serve at their spoons. (As you know, foie gras will be banned at the start of July this year.) Vegansaurus' wonderful Laura Beck (by way of SF Weekly) got her hot hands on the letter. Check it:

Pale Male and Lola Fan Arrested - Again

He was arrested some years ago when Pale Male's nest was destroyed. Now, he's been arrested for actions surrounding the death of Pale Male's latest mate Lima.

He is very passionate about these hawks and I've followed his blog and beautiful photography for years. But he apparently took the dead bird to his place illegally. Read the story here and decide for yourself.

Too much this time?