Bloodless Bullfighting in California

Growing up in California, I always heard about the bullfights associated with the religious "festa." I went to one as a senior in high school in an arena outside of Gustine. There were Portuguese, Mexican and Portuguese-American matadors. The one I attended had "spikes" for the bulls, but they attached to the bull by what appeared to be velcro. The bull and the matador would go through their artistic dance and then at the end, a bunch of cows were released into the arena to herd the bull back inside.

No blood, no guts. And one could appreciate the artistry of the match. And, yes, someone could still get hurt. That's one heavy bull. And the bull is symbolically "emasculated" because he is technically beaten by the matador. But he's alive.

Apparently, this bloodless bullfighting in the Portuguese community of California is starting to rise in popularity. Last summer, there was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle and another in the LA Times.

Here are links to Rancho Cardoso which is heavily involved in the promotion of the activity as well as breeding the bulls.

I'm not into any kind of tormenting of animals, of course, but I'm the first to admit that the dance of a matador and a bull is exciting....as long as there is no blood and no killing. And careful regulation of course.

But as for killing...judging by the California practice, that can definitely be left OUT of bullfighting.

Photo by amenfoto.

Dolphin Slaughter Captured on Film

If you're a dolphin lover, brace yourself. It's not pretty.

Members of the group Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS) spent seven months filming the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, part of Japan. The film is due for worldwide release this summer.

There are some powerful images captured for the film.

Captured dolphins were filmed writhing in pain as Taiji whalers speared them repeatedly or cracked their spines with spiked weapons. Stricken dolphins are also shown thrashing about wildly, blood pouring from their wounds until they finally succumbed. Meanwhile, a number of dolphin trainers and officials from the Taiji Whale Museum are shown cooperating in the slaughter — some even laughing — as the killing cove's bloodied, ruby-red water swept round into the adjacent capture cove.

But perhaps the most iconic scene is one in which a baby dolphin leaps to its death on the rocks after its mother is killed. This really was a surreal and incredibly sad sight to see.

What is especially mind-boggling is that the dolphin meat is not even considered safe for human consumption due to high mercury levels.

One of the officials OPS filmed was Taiji City Councilman Junichiro Yamashita, who organized certified tests on local dolphin meat bought from retail outlets in the town. The shocking test results revealed mercury and methylmercury levels that were 30 and 16 times, respectively, above advisory levels set by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry. As a result, Yamashita hastily distributed newsletters to Taiji residents warning them to avoid consuming the meat — which he called "toxic waste."

So, another example where harm to humans and harm to animals clearly intersect.

Photo by Farl.

Sea Shepherd Mixes it up with Canadian Coast Guard

Once again, Sea Shepherd is in the thick of it. This time, with the Canadian Coast Guard over the seal killings.

A Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker and a ship steered by animal rights activists opposed to Canada's annual seal hunt collided in the Gulf of St. Lawrence overnight, officials said Monday.

A Fisheries and Oceans department spokesman said the Coast Guard vessel Des Groseilliers twice "grazed" the Farley Mowat owned by the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

There was "no damage done" nor any injuries reported, he said.

Canadian Seal Killers Said to be Breaking New Law

Well, that didn't take long. The Canadian government's new requirement that hunted seals be actually dead before they skin them is already being ignored.

Activists from the Humane Society of the United States and the International Fund for Animal Welfare were using helicopters to monitor the hunt's opening days.

"We've just filmed four seals being killed and not a single one was bled out before moving it," said Sheryl Fink, a hunt observer with IFAW.

Another observer, Cheryl Jacobson, said: "We filmed as a sealer struck a seal with a hakapik before it slipped into the water. The sealer tried to pull the seal out by the hind flippers but it slipped underwater anyway. This wounded seal will most likely die underwater."

What a dirty disgusting business.

Here is a slide show from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Gray Wolves May Be Hunted in US

Now that gray wolves are no longer in danger of being wiped out, we can get back to killing them! Hoo-ahh!

Good news for gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains: They no longer need federal protection. The bad news for the animals? Plans are already in the works to hunt them.

Federal Endangered Species Act protection of the wolves was lifted Friday in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, giving those states management of the estimated 1,500 gray wolves in the region.

Even though environmentalists plan to sue the federal government next month to restore wolf protections, hunts are already being scheduled by state wildlife agencies to reduce the wolf population to between 900 and 1,250.

Polar Bears and Dogs

Very cute. 'Nuff said.


Polar Bears And Dogs Playing - Awesome video clips here

Fox Releases Garbage Press Release as "News"

How friggin' lazy can you get. Fox news prints a phony "news" story about a group that favors animal research called Speaking of Research. From the article:

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 28, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The tide could be turning against animal rights activists who demonstrate on campuses around the nation. Today marks the launch of Speaking of Research (SR: 7.52, -0.05, -0.66%), a student outreach organization, which aims to rally students and faculty in support of lifesaving medical research using animals.

Speaking of Research seeks to challenge animal rights dominance of the isshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifue by participating in talks and debates on campuses across the country in the coming months. The group's website, http://www.speakingofresearch.org, provides students with the information and encouragement to enable them to speak out on the issue.

Oh no, the tide is turning! Based on what? Because some group funded by animal testing labs creates a front organization to push their agenda. The group behind this is Americans for Medical Progress. Here is their Board of Directors.

Aside from the whole astro-turf aspect of this "story", it pretty slimy for Fox to release this as news. It's not. It's a press release. Since when is it their job to launder this kind of crap and make it news? Oh right, I forgot. It's Fox.

3 Makah Whalers Plead Guilty, Prepare Selves for Stern Wrist Slapping

3 members of the Makah tribe have pled guilty to a misdemeanor of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Frankie Gonzales, William Secor Sr. and Theron Parker pleaded guilty Thursday to a single misdemeanor count of taking the whale in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The government agreed not to recommend a sentence of jail time to Magistrate Judge J. Kelley Arnold. Arnold could impose up to one year behind bars. The charge also carries a fine of up to $100,000. But it's unlikely that such an amount would be imposed on the men who come from the impoverished fishing village of Neah Bay.

Without the imposition of jail time, the men could receive up to five years of probation and be ordered to perform up to 100 hours of community service.

That really sucks rocks. I knew the tribe would go easy on them. I was hoping the feds would be a little tougher. Probation and community service? That's probably what you would get for spray painting the windows of a 7-11. They killed a whale for crying out loud!

China National Kennel Club

Here is the web site to the China National Kennel Club. They are the "official" body created by the government for "enthusiasts devoted to the breeding and raising of dogs". I didn't see any recipes there, but it is the English version. And I must say the picture of a a dog they have has a sad creepy look of a puppy on his way to a stew pot.

Being a dog in China is probably about as fun as being a Tibetan monk.

EU May Target Canadian Seal Hunt

Seal hunting is a barbaric practice. The EU may take steps to put pressure on Canada to stop it.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas is "looking into the nature of the inhumane killing of seals" and is drafting a text to be presented before June, EU spokeswoman Barbara Helfferich told reporters.

She would not say if the measures could include an import ban on products derived from Canadian seals or other economic or political sanctions.

Animal rights campaigners and lawmakers are putting increasing pressure on the EU's executive office to take a tougher stand against the annual hunt, which has been criticized as cruel.

Canada recently introduced the innovation of cutting the throat of clubbed seals if they aren't dead yet. Isn't that nice of them?

Sea Shepherd Targets Canada's Seal Hunt

I don't care what Greenpeace or anyone else says. I love Sea Shepherd. Why? Because they FIGHT BACK instead of just wringing their hands and wagging their fingers.

Despite a stern warning from Ottawa to steer clear of Canadian waters, animal rights activist Paul Watson is vowing to head to the ice floes in the Gulf of St. Lawrence next week to oppose the annual seal hunt.

Watson said Wednesday he and members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society will sail into Canadian waters aboard the Farley Mowat to document the "perverse abomination" of the hunt from outside Canada's 12-mile territorial limit.....

Federal Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon is threatening Watson with prosecution if the 54-metre, ice-class ship enters Canadian waters because he claims the Farley Mowat doesn't meet international shipping standards.

Photo by red.

Canadian Seal Hunt to Start Friday

The Canadian seal hunt starts Friday. Oh joy. Certainly something to make Canada proud.

Canada's contentious seal hunt starts on Friday with new rules requiring hunters to make extra sure the animals are dead before they are skinned.

So regulations are necessary to make extra sure animals are DEAD before they are SKINNED?

Sick.

Photo by animalrescueblog.

Russia Says OK to Kill Bear Cubs

The International Fund for Animal Welfare is reporting the following on bear hunting in Russia....

Hunting for bears with young cubs is illegal in Russia, but the rule is not enforced for hibernating bears.

......under the proposed new regulations, hunters will be permitted to shoot cubs if they discover they have killed the mother in the den.

There are so many things wrong with these two sentences, it's hard to know where to begin. First of all, I just don't understand why you can't kill wide-awake bears with cubs, but you can kill hibernating bears with cubs. It can't be for the benefit of the bears. They are sitting targets when they are hibernating. It must be to protect the almighty hunter. They have a cleaner and safer shot when the bear is hibernating. Otherwise, a mother protecting her young may actually be dangerous and create conditions for a fair fight.

The other is the issue of killing babies. Now, someone could argue that it's "humane" to kill the cubs because they are now motherless and may die from abandonment. But I refuse to be that dismissive and analytical. Because these are BABIES. That is heartless to me. Even though bear hunting is a tradition in Russia, to kill a baby bear is unfathomable to me. I wouldn't even want to meet the hunter who could do it.

Of course, they probably hunt baby seals too so it wouldn't really phase them a bit.

Photo by animalrescueblog.

Animal Law a Growing Field

The Chicago Tribune has a good (and long) article on the rise of animal law as a specialty. More schools are teaching it, and there are more people out there practicing in this particular area.

I won't pretend it's not a pretty controversial area. I think what concerns most people is the question on standing. Do they have certain legal rights? Is not being beaten or killed a right for an animal, or is it the humane treatment that we owe them as stewards of the planet? It's a question that needs answering. Every time I see something dealing with animal law, I see comments from people talking about being sued by a German shepherd. Yes, it's silly, but that's how many people view this stuff.

If you can leave your estate to a dog, does it become a property owner? Doesn't that open up a can of worms. Next thing you know they'll be barking at you to get off their lawn!

Quote of the Week

Poignantly, some people take good care of their animals; they treat them when they fell sick, feed them as per the required standards, provide them with good shelter and sometimes talk to them nicely. Do you know that animals talk? Try to talk to them and they will tell you how you are supposed to treat them.

--Jack Meena, journalist based in Tanzania