Fur Stores in Vancouver Canada Vandalized

Four fur stories in the Vancouver, Canada, area were vandalized by animal rights activists who sprayed red paint on the windows and doors.  The four stores were Capilano Furs, Speiser Furs, Snowflake Canada and Pappas Furs.  Credit is being taken by ALF.

Read the full story here at the Vancouver Sun.

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.

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.

Mexican Activists Staged Protest Early this Month

Late on this story. I copied the full article from the Latin American Herald Tribune.

MEXICO CITY – Animal rights activists staged a protest against the sale of pets in Mexico City, urging residents to adopt dogs and other animals instead of buying them.

Twelve activists took part in the demonstration organized by the AnimaNaturalis group Tuesday at the iconic Juarez monument on one of the capital’s main streets.

Two of the activists, one painted to look like a dog and the other like a cat, stood in gift boxes holding signs that urged people not to view animals as toys and to adopt pets instead of purchasing them.

The protest’s goal was to make “society aware” of the fact that animals “need time, love and lots of care,” AnimaNaturalis said.

“Trade in animals considered objects or toys grows alarmingly” during this time of the year, “and when they grow or are kept for a time, they are discarded,” AnimaNaturalis Mexico director Maria Teresa Menendez told Efe.

Parents and children should be “conscientious and take responsibility for raising pets and, in any case, it is better to adopt, neuter and care for domestic animals,” Menendez said.

Eight of every 10 dogs sold in Mexico end up in the streets, with most of them having been family pets at some point, official figures show.

Mexico City, one of the world’s largest cities, has an estimated 3 million street dogs that end up being killed in shelters or the victims of human cruelty. EFE

Activists Set Fire to Idaho Fur Store

I just don't support these tactics. I hate fur....it's disgusting. But burning a store just 1) makes us into terrorists, 2) does nothing to stop the trade, 3) probably won't even stop the store because they'll get insurance money and reopen and 4) only feeds into sympathy for the industry and the business owners.

JMHO.

Excerpted from Reuters....
Animal rights activists claimed responsibility on Monday for a fire that caused $100,000 in damage to a Boise-area store that sells fur coats and fireworks, authorities said.

No one was injured in the early morning blaze at Rocky Mountain Fur & Fireworks, a retailer in Caldwell, Idaho, about 30 miles northwest of the state capital.

The North American Animal Liberation Press Office, which says it conveys messages for unnamed animal advocates, distributed a statement from a group calling itself the "arson unit" that said it set fire to a store stocked with "chemically treated skins of thousands of tortured animals".

"By oppressing innocent life, you've lost your rights. We've come to take you down a notch. Stay in business and we'll be back," the unit said.

Why Humans Are the Only Ones with Rights

Someone posted a question about why humans have human rights and whether they should considering that others do not. I responded. I'm reposting what I wrote as I rarely do any original writing for this blog anymore. It's not profound, but an opinion.

Please note the vast generalizations here, but, in the areas of religion, at least orthodox religion and there are varying levels of how fundamental you want to go, there is only one species with a soul and that is the human. We are made in God's image. Therefore, we are the only ones who matter and the only ones who should have rights. In the matter of science, and there are varying levels of this viewpoint, the human is the most advanced of creatures. we are at the top of the food and evolutionary ladder. We are the ones with the thumb, logical thinking, future planning abilities, the ability to self-analyze, worry, etc. Therefore, we are the only ones who should have rights.

Of course, there are also religious and science types that would argue that it is those very qualities that do not make us superior, but rather stewards. That it gives us more responsibility than simple dominion. However, then you get into the argument of whether creatures only deserve stewardship at the species level or the individual level. Do you care about the stray dog or the almost extinct tiger? What laws should be in effect, blah, blah (I could go on and on. )

Mexican Senators Look at Banning Bullfights

I'm very, very surprised. And not very optimistic. Mexico is notorious for its bullfights and lack of animal rights. But, still, I can't dismiss it.

From Fox News (blech)...

Senators from the opposition Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, are working on legislation to ban bullfights and guarantee animal rights in Mexico, a lawmaker said.

The legislation, which will be introduced in the next session, would impose fines and jail time on violators, Sen. Maria de los Angeles Moreno, who is sponsoring the bill, said.

"Bullfights seem really thoughtless and savage to me," the senator said in a press conference on Monday.

Several groups, including Spain's Plataforma Prou, the Mexican Association for Animal Rights, or Amedea, and the Proyecto Proteccion Animal, have been consulted on the bill, Moreno said.

The legislation provides for the punishment of those who abuse animals, including pets, and it would create incentives for people to adopt pets instead of purchasing them.

Spanish Tradition Under Threat by Activists

This sounds awful. Go to AFP for the full story....

Every year on the night of January 16, the eve of Saint Anthony's day, the patron saint of animals, the paved streets of the small town of 600 people are transformed into a sort of racetrack in which the fences are burning logs.

"It's a festival in which the horses are sanctified by the flames, they are liberated from all their ills," said Quique, 30, who takes part in the festival every year.

Tree branches for the fires are collected for weeks ahead of the festival. The flames are regularly doused with water to produce columns of smoke intended to purify the animals.

The tradition is under threat from animal rights groups, who say the horses suffer as they leap over the flames.

But the residents of San Bartolome de Pinares fiercely defend the festival, arguing that if the horses were really suffering they would not go near the flames.

"We don't force them," Quique said.

FBI Discussed Ways to Discredit Animal Rights Activists

This from the blog Green is the New Red. Read the full post here.

The FBI and a previously-unknown informant in the animal rights movement discussed, among other topics, how to disrupt political activism, according to FBI documents. The topics discussed echo COINTELPRO-era tactics of the 1960s, including the possibility of discrediting activists through planting rumors.

The FBI file is dated May 12, 2005, by the FBI’s Johnson City Resident Agency, which is part of the Knoxville field office. It is based on conversations between an FBI agent and “Source,” who is only identified as someone who was involved in “direct actions” and is willing to share information with the government in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

The result is an FBI agent’s notes that offer a rare glimpse of how the government is targeting its “number one domestic terrorism threat.”

Animal Rights Activists Jailed in Europe

They are members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC). I support their cause, but am uncomfortable with their tactics.

From Reuters...

The group had targeted about 40 firms as part of an international conspiracy to force the closure of Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), an animal research laboratory based near Cambridge. The members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC) posted hoax parcel bombs to staff and offices, carried out criminal damage, threatened violence and made abusive phone calls, Winchester Crown Court was told.

The campaign also used tactics such as false allegations of paedophilia against managers of the supply companies, and posting sanitary towels to their homes saying the blood was contaminated with the AIDS virus.

Some employees from firms in Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland had "puppy killer" and "scum" daubed on their houses.

The cost of the damage and increased security measures amounted to 12.6 million pounds, the court heard.

British Activist Jailed for Petrol Bombs

A British animal rights activist is starting a prison sentence after being found guilty of (I think) conspiracy to commit arson. He planted petrol bombs at Oxford University to protest plans to build an animal research laboratory.

I agree that the animal research lab sucks, but anything that threatens harm does not help the cause.

At What Point Are American Tea Baggers Labeled "Terrorists?"

According to our government, the animal rights and environmental movements are the number one domestic terrorism threat in the United States. That's BS. What about militias? White supremacists? Was Tim McVeigh who blew up the Oklahoma Federal Building an animal rights/environmental activist? What about the nut who flew his plane into the IRS building in Texas? What about the nutty Tea Party members who threaten personal violence and have already committed some property damage by throwing bricks through Congressional field office windows?

This is absolutely unfair. Green is the New Red has another good post from a few days ago about this double standard.

Examples of FBI Tactics Against Animal Rights Activist

This post is from the blog Green is the New Red. It briefly discusses some of the tactics used by the FBI against Scott DeMuth, Carrie Feldman and Peter Young. These methods include diary reading, informants, a YouTube video, MySpace, LiveJournal, etc. Interesting.

Animal Rights in the Middle East

Interesting article on the challenges faced by animal rights activists in the Middle East. Even though they are often met with condescension, the fact that they are out there means a lot. Hell, I'm met with condescension in my own country and my own home. And I'm in a "progressive" environment.

"Bold Native" is Film About Animal Rights

We received an email from Open Road Films with a link to the Bold Native website and trailer. The film looks really interesting to us and we are definitely going to check it out upon its re-release this summer. They will also be making the DVD available from their website.

Here's the trailer.

Animal Rights Lawyers Continue to Emerge

Interesting article in the Gazette, a Canadian publication.

Do PETA's Tactics Make a Difference?

My husband and I disagree over PETA's effectiveness. I think this opinion piece does a good job arguing in favor of PETA. I think that they are effective and, while I don't always agree with them, we would sorely miss them if they disappeared from the animal rights community. They have an energy and edginess that is fundamental to the movement. They keep people on their toes.

Activist Indicted on Contempt Charges

I'm late on this one. The article is from October 5.

Fox 13 Now reported...

A federal grand jury has indicted an animal rights activist who refused to testify about the release of thousands of mink from Utah ranches. Jordan Halliday, 22, served several months in jail for contempt of court after he said he invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination. When he was released in June, he was handed a federal grand jury indictment for contempt.

Is There Danger of Elitism in the Animal Rights Movement?

This post is inspired by a thought-provoking piece on the Provoked blog (clearly a good name for a blog!)

I believe that we have to be inclusive in the animal rights movement and attack the system using all kinds of methods in all sorts of fields. Economics, science, literature, film, politics, law, etc. I'm no sociologist or historian, but it seems like there has always been a variety of inputs involved in any kind of social change, even violence. Remember the impact John Brown and his failed raid on Harpers Ferry had on the abolition movement?

And, even though I sometimes want to smack people in the head because I am baffled at how little they care about, well, about ANYTHING, I am still practical enough to understand that there must be a mass change in thinking that involves a large number of people. This may take time and maybe lifetimes to build up to that tipping point, but we have to use everyone and every resource we can.

I do think that there is a real elitism in the movement, however. This is probably an unpopular view, but I think it's legitimate. Is a vegan's efforts at advocacy worth more than a vegetarian's or even a meat eater's if they happen to agree on the same issue? If a meat eater eats meat, but hates the factory farm system or animal experimentation, do we discount anything we can get out of them because they are not "pure." Or the vegetarian who still uses dairy? So instead of three votes, we alienate two, but still maintain our purity?

At the same time, do we have the time to wait for everyone to become vegan to enact laws that will at least allow more humane care in the short term. You can exhort people to go vegan, but if only vegans have legitimacy in the movement, then it's condemned to a very, very small voice and limited short-term impact.

Our Strange Relationship with Animals

I thought this was an interesting piece contrasting three different people and their relationships with animals. One is a meat-eating professor of animal welfare, another is an animal rights activist, and the third is an animal researcher.

This quote from the animal rights person is spot-on for me.

....[Maria's] strong opinions have made her somewhat of an outcast, even among old friends:

"Some of them think that I'm totally insane, and then there is people at work, some of them understand to a degree, but some of them think that I'm the craziest thing they ever met."

The article continues...

It's easy to look at somebody protesting outside a lab and think they are nuts, says Villanova ethicist Brett Wilmot:

Wilmot: We become very complacent when we're in an environment that for the most part reflects our sense of order, and justice and reasonableness, and then when other people are in that same environment and find it appalling and react that way, our first reaction is to think "wow - what on earth is wrong with them" when again, they may be simply exhibiting the same kind of reaction we would under different circumstances.