Brit Faces Huge Fine for Filming Seal Slaughter

Mark Glover of Respect for Animals faces a $100,000 fine for "breaching" a seal exclusion zone.

Mr Glover said: "The Canadians were getting fed-up with the level of cruelty we were filming."

He added: "The word went out and we were all arrested. The regulations are very straightforward, you cannot go within 10 metres of sealers killing seals.

"There was no reason for us to be within 10 metres and we weren't."

Hmmm. Seems more like a seal slaughter zone that they were excluding them from.

Here is the website for Respect for Animals.

Frankly, I don't know why they still do this. Canada has always been more liberal then the US in many ways, but seems to lag behind on environmental issues (and I don't say that the US has a particularly good record either).

I suppose I expected their more enlightened views on issues like guns, gay rights, and other issues to spill over into areas like environmental protection.

OK, I'm generalizing. BC is as different from Newfoundland as Washington State is from Georgia. Then again...

Photo by Minette

Cow Farts: the Silent Killer Among Us

Nobody will get the Nobel Prize for giving speeches about cow farts. But, according to research by the UN, cows provide 18% of all greenhouse gases worldwide.

The above link is to a very interesting and thought producing article on the effect that meat eating has on the environment.

It's a silent but deadly source of greenhouse gases that contributes more to global warming than the entire world transportation sector, yet politicians almost never discuss it, and environmental lobbyists and other green activist groups seem unaware of its existence.

That may be because it's tough to take cow flatulence seriously. But livestock emissions are no joke.

Most of the national debate about global warming centers on carbon dioxide, the world's most abundant greenhouse gas, and its major sources -- fossil fuels. Seldom mentioned is that cows and other ruminants, such as sheep and goats, are walking gas factories that take in fodder and put out methane and nitrous oxide, two greenhouse gases that are far more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. Methane, with 21 times the warming potential of CO2, comes from both ends of a cow, but mostly the front. Frat boys have nothing on bovines, as it's estimated that a single cow can belch out anywhere from 25 to 130 gallons of methane a day.

Here is a link to the UN FAO report should you wish to enhance your cow flatulence knowledge.

Photo by Fiskfisk

Prince William's Girlfriend: The Deer Slayer

I'm not a big fan of hunting, particularly for sport. But, I think it's a little much for groups like PETA and League Against Cruel Sports to go after Prince William's girlfriend, Kate Middleton because she went hunting with him.

Kate Middleton last night found herself at the centre of a public row over her decision to go deerstalking with the Royal Family.

Prince William's girlfriend - now hotly tipped again as a future royal bride - chose to join a shooting party in Scotland at the weekend, much to the anger of anti-blood sports campaigners.

"It is shocking and abhorrent that she is engaging in blood sports.

"Kate is obviously trying to endear herself to the Royal Family and her decision will do her no favours whatsoever," said a spokesman for campaign group People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Oh please. If you want to condemn sport hunting, fine. But go after the real targets here. Charles and William are the culprits. If she starts organizing hunting parties then by all means go after her. But in this instance, they come off looking like a bunch of kooks picking on a woman trying to impress her boyfriend.

Photo by Jon's Pics

Animal People vs Environmentalists: A Breed Apart?

As readers of this blog, you may have noticed that we cover animal issues and environmental issues. We feel that the two are inextricable. However, we do make a real effort to focus on environmental issues relating to wildlife or with an animal component. Otherwise, the scope would be too wide.

Some might ask....is there a difference between environmental issues and animal rights issues (or for that matter, is there a difference between animal rights and animal welfare, but that's a different post)? Here's how I understood it years ago.

I became politicized about animal issues back about 1995-1996. Around that time, there was an E Magazine article called The Agony of Animals (Part 3) about the very question of animal rights vs. environmental issues. This is the way the article defined the difference...

A few years ago, wildlife officials in South Africa's Pilanesburg National Park received an interesting proposition: A wealthy American, bent on shooting something impressive, offered to pay $500,000 to kill one of the park's rhinos. The officials had a candidate, a past-his-prime bull too old to breed. The money could finance the struggling park for a year, and the viability of the endangered species wouldn't be affected. But according to one South African conservationist, fear of a public outcry from beyond the nation's borders quelled the plans.

The bull was saved. But in the conservationist's eyes, an opportunity had been lost to what he called a radical fringe - a fringe that included animal advocates who he felt lost sight of the big picture by focusing on the well-being of a single animal.

I have never forgotten this article because of that trenchant illustration. Some people will be up in arms over the puppy burned to death by its owners while others will be up in arms about the mountain gorillas species nearing extinction. Some will be upset about hunting and killing that one deer, while others are okay with that as long as the deer population is healthy. What matters? The individual or the species?

We here at Critter News believe that the unifying principle is the respect for non-human life. Whether the groups disagree on the means, the values are the same. One could argue that's not the case in the deer example, but there is still the implicit belief that there is a value to the species and that it deserves a place on our planet. We humans are stewards and need to share the space with the nonhumans.

Whether it's the individual or the species, the two battles intertwine and complement each other. The real foes are the corporations and the materialists who only think of immediate profit and pleasure regardless of the consequences of their actions. They are willing to create untold destruction for an immediate pleasure because they don't think, contemplate the consequences of their actions or have the humility to realize that they share the world with others and they as a whole are not that important.

The achievement of a humble human species is really the key to saving this planet, its species and their individual members.

Photo by Ngsbrown

Life in the Green Zone for Stray Cats

Here is a good article by NY Times correspondent John Burns about the lives of stray cats in Baghdad.

Cat populations in the wild expand arithmetically with the supply of food, and ours multiplied rapidly, with as many as two or three litters at a time out in the shrubbery of our gardens, or beneath our water tanks.

Soon, our compound was home to as many as 60 cats at a time, their numbers carefully tallied by Younis and Saif, the enthusiastic young Iraqis who prepared heaped platters of rice and lamb and beef — and, as a special treat, cans of cat food trucked across the desert from Jordan, over highways synonymous with ambushes, kidnappings and bombings. As The Times’s bureau chief, part of my routine was to ask, each night, how many cats we had seated for dinner. In a place where we could do little else to relieve the war’s miseries, the tally became a measure of one small thing we could do to favor life over death. The American military command has a battery of “metrics” to gauge progress, and the nightly headcount of the cats became my personal measure, my mood varying as the numbers went up and down. Sometimes they went sharply down, during winter epidemics of cat flu, or after attacks by the compound’s two dogs (war refugees themselves) that proved, as they grew beyond puppies, to have a feral antipathy to cats programmed in their bones.

Times Book Review: Blood Sport by Ema Griffin

This looks like an interesting book. It's history of blood sports (fox hunting etc) in Britain.

Emma Griffin’s social history of hunting dates the onset of sport as a divisive force to 1066. While the chase has a much older pedigree, it was the Normans who made it explicitly the privilege of the rulers to kill deer and boar for their pleasure, and created an elaborate code of conduct that was refined through succeeding centuries. Ever since, sport has mostly been about class. “The par force hunt was an ostentatious demonstration of wealth, power and prestige,” writes Griffin, a lecturer in history at East Anglia University, “not a utilitarian search for food .. . [Hunting in Britain] is not a timeless, peasant tradition, but an endless, and often artificial, attempt to protect huntable ‘wild’ animals in an ever more cultivated land.”

Canada Providing Sanctuary to Right Whale

Good news from Canada!

Canada Wednesday said a safe haven has been set aside in the Atlantic Ocean where the endangered North Atlantic right whale can feed and socialize without fear of colliding with large ships.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has designated the Roseway Basin, some 20 nautical miles (37 kilometers) south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, as an "Area to be Avoided" by commercial shipping, on a seasonal basis, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement.

On the endangered list since 1935, the right whale is on the verge of extinction, with scientific estimates putting its current total population at less than 400.

Now let's try to do something about that seal hunting.

Photo by Marc Eschenlohr

Nightmare in Mountain Gorilla Country

More trouble in mountain gorilla country. It just seems to get worse and worse.

Renegade troops in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are trying to forcibly enlist park rangers charged with protecting rare mountain gorillas, an animal welfare charity charged Sunday.

Forces loyal to cashiered general Laurent Nkunda, a powerful local leader, took control of the gorilla sector in Virunga national park as they fought with government troops, Wildlife Direct said.

Wildlife Direct chief Emmanuel de Merode urged the feuding sides to pull out of the park, warning: "They (gorillas) are not a target, but can so easily get caught in crossfire and shelling...."

Lucy Fauveau of the London Zoological Society said security situation was "appalling" and made it "virtually impossible" to work with the gorillas.

When fighting flared up late August, Nkunda's men attacked ICCN gorilla patrol posts and looted weapons, ammunition and communication equipment.

A subsequent UN-mediated armistice unravelled, pushing fighting from the displaced countryside to the dense park.

Ten mountain gorillas have been killed and two have gone missing in Virunga national park since January. These slaughters, some blamed on Nkunda's men, have sparked outrage among conservationists....

Only about 700 critically endangered mountain gorillas remain in the wild, all of them in the mountain forests of Rwanda, Uganda and the eastern DRC.

DRC is also home to chimpanzees, forest elephant, rhinos and bonobos -- pygmy chimps whose population has been decimated over the past 15 years.

Photo by Futureatlas

Vick May Have to Pay Falcons Back $20 Million

Ouch. Looks like Vick might be giving up more then his job and freedom.

Michael Vick has already paid a heavy price for his role in a gruesome dogfighting ring: a brilliant career on hold, the possibility of prison time, the loss of lucrative endorsement deals.

He might have to tack on another $20 million to the cost.

The disgraced quarterback lost the first round in his financial battle with the Atlanta Falcons when an arbitrator ruled Tuesday that Vick should repay most of the bonus money he got while secretly bankrolling the long-running operation.

The case is far from over. The NFL Players Association said it will appeal the ruling by Stephen B. Burbank, a University of Pennsylvania law professor and special master who oversaw last week's arbitration hearing in Philadelphia.

The Falcons argued that Vick, who pleaded guilty to federal dogfighting charges, knew he was in violation of the contract when he signed a 10-year, $130 million deal in December 2004.

The team said he used proceeds from the contract to fund his illicit activities and sought the repayment of $19,970,000 in bonuses he was paid over the last three years.

Photo and artwork by Futternut

CSI: Animal Abuse

Animal abuse science is new, and this team works on forensic evidence to get convictions in animal cruelty investigations.

Forensic crime-scene investigations are no longer limited to human victims. Many of the very same techniques brought to public awareness by the popular CSI television series are being used to make cases against those who have harmed or killed cats, dogs, horses or other animals.

Applying forensic science to animal victims is a specialty still so new that it's fairly rare. But two self-taught experts who make up the recently formed Veterinary Forensics unit of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are writing book and chapter (three how-to tomes so far) and sharing their knowledge almost as quickly as they develop it.

Melinda Merck is a veterinarian who ran an Atlanta-area cat clinic for years before becoming intrigued with forensic science in the '90s. Randall Lockwood has a doctorate in psychology and has developed expertise in cruelty and violence. They travel the country to investigate crimes against animals (including the Michael Vick dogfighting case and a notorious Atlanta puppy-torture case last year).

How cool is that?

"Animal cases are similar to crimes against young children who can't speak for themselves," says Merck. "You have to use every resource and every investigative tool to attempt to put together the pieces of the puzzle."

Primarily Primates Turns on the Charm

As a former donor under the Wally Swett regime, I am still on the mailing list for Primarily Primates. The sanctuary was taken over by the State of Texas due to poor conditions for the animals and questionable use of funds. It was placed in the hands of a receivorship headed by a wildlife activist. This lasted from October 2006 to May 2007. There was a bitter fight in the courts with Priscilla Feral from Friends of Animals fighting to get the sanctuary restored to a "restructured" board. The State of Texas settled and the sanctuary returned to its previous directors, minus Wally Swett.

So, now I receive a letter from Priscilla asking for my renewed financial support of the refuge. While it sounds great, I am still mistrustful and wary. Can anyone validate all the "progress" they are claiming?

Here is the letter I received, with interesting lines in bold.

Dear Friend of Primarily Primates,

What's new at Primarily Primates? A lot of good things.

Today, everywhere you look there's new construction and renovation. Workers, donors, and volunteers have been busy since early May on projects from basic cleaning and lock repair to very exciting ideas for a comprehensive psychological stimulation package for the apes.

New living spaces are nearly completed for seven chimpanzees formerly used in a lab at Ohio State University supported with funding from the school. Shade trees are being planted in their area and also around the gibbons' space, which is being expnded in both length and height. Additional shading is being built in the areas where former Air Force chimpanzees reside. The capuchin monkeys, guenons, macaques, the baboons, and the lemur groups too will get a new, grass-based living space. Squirrel monkeys and lemurs will get new sleeping areas!

It was late April when the Texas Attorney General settled litigation over Primarily Primates, North America's pioneering primate refuge. From last October to May of this year, the site was managed under a receivership based on a number of charges on which the refuge sought and obtained acquittals. The Attorney General, with agreement of the probate judge in Austin, believed that the best interest of the state of Texas, of the refuge, and of the animals who live there would be advanced by enabling Primarily Primates to move ahead with a restructured board. Priscilla Feral, the newly appointed president, will help direct future policy and administration of the sanctuary. Stephen Tello, who has worked with the animals since 1986, was named as the sanctuary's new executive director.

My understanding is that Priscilla Feral and Stephen Tello were already involved with Primarily Primates before the seizure by the State of Texas. In fact, I thought Stephen Tello worked with Wally Swett. Why wasn't a renovation of the refuge happening before? And, as far as the State of Texas acting in the best interest of the animals, please, with all due respect, it is Texas. I think it just didn't want to be bothered with contentious animal advocates so it settled and dropped all charges.

The first priorities for Priscilla and Stephen are to assure the health and safety of the animals and workers, and to move forward on construction tasks interrupted by earlier litigation. Caregivers who know the animals, plus new hires and Dr. Valerie Kirk, Primarily Primates' staff veterinarian, were in place within the first week of May. Within a few weeks, all the living spaces were clean and the animals were enjoying the warmth and fresh air of summer. The goal is to ensure that the sanctuary is consistently tidy, well-run, communicative and a place advocates can be proud to support.

Before the receivorship, the sanctuary relied on about 18,000 donors to generate the funds needed to run a large sanctuary. In this respect, nothing has changed. Primarily Primates still depends on loyal donors, especially now, as we embark on improvements and new construction.

Why don't Patricia and Stephen explained what happened with the donations during the Swett regime instead of just ignoring it?

Under control of the receivorship, the sanctuary's website was unfortunately used to disparage the refuge – alas, exactly the wrong way to keep public support for a charity. The site is now run by the professional staff at Friends of Animals and is updated with new and exciting information and videos showing all the work in progress.

I never visited the sanctuary, but I watched videos taken right after the receivership came in. The videos were devastating. Those people were shocked at the condition of the sanctuary and they wanted to draw attention to it.

New septic systems are being installed for more efficient waste water treatment, new pressure washing systems are being put into place and a walk-in refrigerator will keep produce cool and fresh for primates, birds, foxes, and other refuge animals. Soon a major effort will begin that will expand exercise and recreational equipment for the apes and monkeys.

All in all, the refuge has more than thirty projects now underway and planned for the years ahead. A sleeping area is being designed for the leopard, as well as new housing for Arrell the African Lion. The mountain lions will have new areas to dine and sleep.

Arrell lost a ton of weight under the Swett regime. We saw a picture of him. Where were Feral and Tello then?

The refuge will relocate and redesign marmoset and tamarin housing, and build new spaces for the kinkajous – nocturnal mammals of South America who love fruit.

Etc. Etc.

I just hate it when issues are swept under the rug and, after feeling sorry for Wally for all these years (donations fell due to 9/11, etc), I don't know who to believe.

Animal Rights Group Claims More Product Tampering

A group identifying itself as the Animal Rights Militia has again claimed to have tampered with products made by Novartis. Novartis uses Huntingdon Life Sciences for research, and they in turn have been targeted because they do animal testing.

From the group's latest anonymous communication:

Over the last three months members of our cell have been inserted into various positions throughout the operations of numerous high street stores and supermarkets such as Superdrug and Tesco. These agents have once again tampered with bottles and tubes of Savlon. This time the tubes of Savlon were infected with sodium hydroxide that had been mixed with a large amount of Savlon in advance.

However, we have not stopped there, we have also tampered with numerous other Novartis products including, but in no way limited solely to, Lypsyl and Lamisil. Firstly the Lypsyl outer packaging was carefully removed and then the tamper-evident packaging on the tube itself was very easily removed, finally the Lypsyl was removed from the tube and then dunked into the contaminated savlon and replaced. The packaging was then glued back in place.

As members of the cell have now infiltrated numerous parts of the supply chain of these stores they were able to not only place the tampered with products on the shelves but also inside the boxes of products in the warehouse and depots ensuring a constant supply of tampered with product since the 1st of October when we began our operation.

The Animal Rights Militia has a long history, including grave robbing.

Here is a Wikipedia article on them.

Here is a fact sheet from ALF, which outlines how they have made these announcements in the past and have been hoaxes.

IFAW Campaigns Against Using Elephants in Safaris

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is trying to halt the practice of capturing elephants and using them for riding around in safaris.

Government must heed concerns over the capture and use of elephants in the safari industry, says the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

"The plight of elephants in captivity, particularly the safari industry, has been forgotten in the second draft of the government’s latest version of legislation regarding the management of elephants in South Africa," it said in a statement today.

IFAW has been campaigning against the removal of elephants from the wild, and particularly their being used for elephant-back safaris.

A government workshop to review the second draft of its National Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants in South Africa, is set to take place in Pretoria tomorrow.

Photo by Steven Parker

Call for Compassion in Cyprus

Here is an editorial that appeared in the Cyprus Mail, a daily newspaper, regarding the treatment of animals in Cyprus.

Truly sad statement of animal cruelty in this country, although not necessarily unique. Much larger and richer countries have the same problems.

Good to know there are people who notice and care.

Do Naked People Save Animals?

Last week, some activists in Paris protested animal skin designs by taking off all their clothes and painting their bodies like animals.

This is a common technique for animal activists. Is this effective? I don't know. Sounds entertaining though!