HBO Documentary on Factory Farm Premiers March 16th

Called Death on a Factory Farm, the documentary shows animal cruelty on a hog farm in Ohio. You can read about it here.

Zoo Chimp Shows Ability to Plan Ahead

He was storing hundreds of stones to throw at visitors at the Furuvik Zoo.

Keepers at Furuvik Zoo found that the chimp collected and stored stones that he would later use as missiles.

Further, the chimp learned to recognise how and when parts of his concrete enclosure could be pulled apart to fashion further projectiles.

The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.

There has been scant evidence in previous research that animals can plan for future events.

Connecticut Oil Company President Illegally Owns Primate

I'm starting to wonder about Connecticut. It's the same state where the Travis incident occurred.

However, this time the owner is an oil and gas company president, not some eccentric woman on Xanax.

Six weeks before a 200-pound chimpanzee nearly mauled a woman to death, state officials were cracking down on the owner of a 14-pound siamang that was still wearing diapers made for infants.

Pierce Onthank, the president of an oil and gas company, was charged in January with illegal possession of a primate for keeping a siamang, a type of gibbon that is native to rain forests in Malaysia and Indonesia and can weigh up to 30 pounds and stand 3 feet high.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection says he never had the required permit

Is Medical Research on Animals REALLY the Only Way?

I responded to a post on animalblog that cited a recent article in the journal "Proceedings" of the National Academy of Sciences. The article discusses how scientists are infecting monkeys with a surrogate HIV virus that does not even lead to AIDS, begging the question of why infect them in first place if there's no real simulation of what happens in humans?

Here's my response on medical research in general.

I recently had a discussion about medical research using animals. He said he didn’t know what his opinion was because he didn’t know all the facts. Perhaps it was a necessary “evil.”

This was disappointing for a variety of reasons.

1. There is more and more evidence that animal testing is NOT necessarily the best route to take. This story on HIV research is one example.

2. Even if there are certain situations in which animal testing is the only option, ie. a “necessary evil” does that mean we are stuck in that static stage? Do we just sit down and say, oh well, that’s the best we can do and never try to find alternatives?

3. If you don’t know about something, then LEARN about it.

Many people feel very uncomfortable with animal testing, even scientists I think, which is why they often get so emotional and defensive about their research. In my opinion, if we can send a man to the moon and create weapons to kill everything on the planet, if we can shove massive computing power into tiny chips and reattach human organs, we can certainly develop the means of replacing animal testing 100 percent of the time.

It’s just a question of WILL.

Horse Rescue Group Blogging from Marysville, WA

I've received so many donation requests from "People Helping Horses" that I finally decided to send a donation. I've never been around horses much, but a friend of mine who has 3 horses and 2 burros (!) told me that horse groups have been hit particularly hard with the economy. Not only have horses been dumped or starved due to owner finances, but the price of hay has risen sharply all around.

I came across this lovely blog by who I think is one of the group's volunteers. The blog is only updated about once a month, but the postings are very heartfelt and genuine. There's such a special passion surrounding horse lovers and rescuers and I think it comes across very nicely in this blog. One also learns a great deal about what's going on in the horse world from the rescue stories shared.

Definitely one I want to follow.

Doris Day Animal League is Part of the Humane Society?

I just recently became a member of the Doris Day Animal League. Checking out their website, I came across this page saying that they merged with the Humane Society in 2006.

The live link takes me to an announcement in 2006 about the merger. I also learned that the Humane Society merged with the Fund for Animals in 2005.

So now I'm a contributor and member of all three...without even realizing they were related!

It's Tax Time!

Before you report those charitable donations, make sure the organizations really do have tax-exempt status.

Go to this IRS website and punch in their name. Just because they do good work doesn't mean you can deduct your donations.

Kenny Glenn's Victims Removed from Home

Here is a video showing the cats. Dusty is the gray cat we saw being abused in the shower.

They are healthy and will be going to new homes.

Ontario Animal Welfare Law Goes Into Effect

It is now law as of March 1.

The provincial government says it's gone from "worst to first" and Ontario is now the only jurisdiction in Canada with special protections for law-enforcement animals like police dogs and horses.

The legislation also imposes new rules on the province's dozens of roadside zoos, giving the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals the right to inspect them.

Veterinarians are now required to report any instances of abuse or neglect.

And a new section of the act makes it illegal to cause an animal distress, train an animal to fight, or have structures or equipment used in animal fights.

Penalties for individuals under the act include fines between $1,000 and $60,000 and jail time between 30 days and two years.

Pet owners convicted of a crime under the act can also be barred from owning any animals for life.

King County, WA to Consider Law Against Continuous Dog-Chaining

This article was actually on the first page of the soon-to-be-exclusively online Seattle PI. While I know that sometimes people have little choice when it comes to keeping their animals outdoors, you can still tell when the animal is cared for. They have proper shelter, a generally clean environment, room to move, perhaps a leash tied to a runner so they don't get tangled when they run, etc.

The dog spotlighted in this article just doesn't seem to fit that "cared for" criteria.

And he is simply one of many.

Tiger Kills Chinese Man Who Jumped into Enclosure

Another Darwin Award nominee. He and some friends were trying to take a shortcut and climbed over a fence with signs warning of predatory animals. They didn't believe the signs because they couldn't see any.

Support the Great Ape Protection Act

End the use of chimpanzees in animal experiments.

It's unconscionable.

When You Have to Make a Choice About Your Beliefs

I've decided to quit my book club, which I dearly love, because of a member who works in medical research and supports animal experimentation.

This has been a very difficult decision for me, because I have such good friends in the group. I thought I could stay with the group because she does give me fodder for the blog. And like I said, I love the other people in it.

Then I read more about what's happening at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana. Here's a post from Animals and Politics.

Here's my email to my closest friends in the group....

I think the time has come for me to leave the book club.

I want to give you three a heads up about this. For at least a year, I have had a serious problem with XXXX and, specifically, her position on animals. I won't go into the list of problems I have with her, but I don't think I can be in the same room with her for much longer.

This is a link to a recent scandal at a primate center in Louisiana. http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2009/03/primate_investigation.html. I don't want to go into details, but it's bad. And it's only one of the few we know about.

She supports this. She has no issues with vivisection either. And researching the company she works for makes me wonder whether the clinical trials she sells actually include animal experiments. I understand the realities of medical research, and I have recently audited companies in which non-human primate studies are a "cost of goods sold," but the lack of interest in pursuing an alternative and the coldness of her reasoning makes me sick to my stomach. I am a hypocrite to my beliefs by associating with her.

These are core issues to me that are an integral part to who I am as a human being. I can be friends with Republicans and fundamentalists (and I am!), but not with this. I can't tell her what I think of her because of respect for my friends in the group whom I dearly love.

I am so sorry because I do enjoy the group and you three are so dear to me. But there comes a time in life when you must be true to your principles, even at a painful cost. And I can't do it anymore...

:-(

Body Shop Not Performing Well for L'Oreal

The Body Shop is causing some headaches for L'Oreal right now.

The Body Shop said that 150 UK jobs are at risk after the French-owned cosmetics retailer announced a restructuring drive.

The company said it was consulting employees about proposals to reduce its global workforce by 275 jobs to make the business more efficient. The retailer is streamlining operations in certain office-based areas, but the reorganisation will not affect store staff.

...The Body Shop recently revealed that like-for-like sales dipped 0.9% to 249.5 million euros (£223 million) in its last quarter.

Parent L'Oreal said the difficult economic climate hit Body Shop sales in Britain, Spain and North America.

I was stunned when Anita Roddick sold the Body Shop to L'Oreal a few years ago. I had read one of her books and had often pointed to her company as an example of a successful marriage between ethics and business. When she sold to L'Oreal, with its questionable history and animal testing, it was a real betrayal of the company's practices and principles (in my opinion.) I know she thought the Body Shop could change L'Oreal, but, come on, how naive can one be...

But it's better than believing she just wanted the money.

Puerto Rico Ships Monkey to....Baghdad?

The Baghdad Zoo rakes in some more animals. Puerto Rico is using it as a dumping ground for "nuisance" monkeys.

Puerto Rico is eager to rid itself of the estimated 2,000 patas and rhesus monkeys that have taken a toll on wildlife and agriculture in the Lajas Valley since escaping from nearby research centers 30 years ago.

"We will give them all the monkeys they want," said Sgt. Angel Atienza, a ranger with the department. "We don't have a problem with that."

Unlike rhesus monkeys, patas are not considered desirable for research, and there has been little demand for either from zoos — until now.

I am no fan of zoos, especially in an unstable country like Iraq. So, I actually agree with PETA in this case....

"In the middle of the war, animals are the least of anyone's concern," said Lisa Wathne, spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. "It's just reckless and insensitive to send these monkeys, who will be caged, helpless and completely dependent on humans to survive, to such a hazardous area."