Animal Rights

More Than Half Million People Call For Protection Of Monarch Butterfly

March 3, 2015 Center for Food Safety, www.centerforfoodsafety.org Resist! Animal Rights, Conservation, Environment

More than half a million people called on the government to protect the monarch butterfly today, as the public comment period on protecting monarchs under the Endangered Species Act closed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now has nine months to determine whether to propose protections for the iconic orange and black butterfly which has declined by 90 percent in the last 20 years. The agency’s review of the monarch was spurred by a legal petition filed in August by the Center for Food Safety, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Xerces Society and renowned monarch scientist Dr. Lincoln Brower, all of whom submitted comments today renewing their call for the agency to list the monarch butterfly as threatened. In December the Service announced a positive initial finding on the petition and determined that Endangered Species Act protection for monarch butterflies may be warranted, triggering a one-year status review. The petition has been resoundingly supported by monarch experts, legislators, and the public.

All Forms Of Life Are Sacred

January 7, 2015 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Educate! Animal Rights, Wars and Militarism

The battle for the rights of animals is not only about animals. It is about us. Once we desanctify animals we desanctify all life. And once life is desanctified the industrial machines of death, and the drone-like bureaucrats, sadists and profiteers who operate them, carry out human carnage as easily as animal carnage. There is a direct link between our industrial slaughterhouses for animals and our industrial weapons used on the battlefields in the Middle East. Killing in our mechanized slaughterhouses is overseen by a tiny group of technicians. Industrial farms are factories. Machines kill the animals. And in modern warfare machines kill our enemies. Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, Somalis, Yemenis are condemned, like livestock, from a distance. Hired killers push buttons.

Saving the Planet, One Meal At A Time

November 11, 2014 Chris Hedges, www.truthdig.com Create! Animal Rights, Capitalism, Climate Change, Consumerism

My attitude toward becoming a vegan was similar to Augustine’s attitude toward becoming celibate—“God grant me abstinence, but not yet.” But with animal agriculture as the leading cause of species extinction, water pollution, ocean dead zones and habitat destruction2, and with the death spiral of the ecosystem ever more pronounced, becoming vegan is the most important and direct change we can immediately make to save the planet and its species. It is one that my wife—who was the engine behind our family’s shift—and I have made. Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all worldwide transportation combined—cars, trucks, trains, ships and planes.3 Livestock and their waste and flatulence account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51 percent of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.4Livestock causes 65 percent of all emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 296 times more destructive than carbon dioxide.5

San Francisco Recognizes The Rights Of Whales And Dolphins

October 23, 2014 Melissa Cronin, www.thedodo.com Create! Animal Rights

In a landmark ruling on Wednesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a measure stating that cetaceans, or whales, dolphins and porpoises, have the right to be free from life in captivity. The resolution states that the animals deserve “to be free of captivity, and to remain unrestricted in their natural environment.” It was backed by both San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener and sponsored by Earth Island Institute’s International Marine Mammal Project. As its rationale, the Board cited the complex emotional and intellectual capacities of cetaceans, as well as the documented psychological stress and high mortality rates caused by captivity at marine parks like SeaWorld. The resolution is the first of its kind in the U.S. San Francisco Animal Control and Welfare Commissioner Russell Tenofsky first introduced the resolution to the Commission earlier this year.

Anti-War, Animal Rights, Collective Liberation

September 6, 2014 The Greanville Post, www.greanvillepost.com Strategize! Animal Rights, Human Rights, Wars and Militarism

While photographing a #FreePalestine rally in NYC on July 15, I ran into many friends. That’s no surprise for me in my hometown but what does stand out is how rarely I ever encounter any of my vegan/animal rights (AR) comrades at such human rights events. Reminder: All our grievances are connected… Please allow me to use the aforementioned Gaza-related rally as an example: $3 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars go to the Israeli military each year with the requirement that 74 percent of that money be used to buy weapons and equipment from U.S. defense (sic) corporations. Translation: If you pay U.S. taxes, you’re culpable. Also, from a more strict AR perspective, do you really think the massive bombardment being imposed upon Gaza only injures and kills humans? Bigger picture: Do you think non-humans are spared in any war? War is unhealthy for all species On Feb. 13-14, 1945, Allied bombers laid siege to the German city of Dresden. Within the target zone was the Dresden Zoo, run by animal trainer Otto Sailer-Jackson. To help understand how deeply embedded speciesism can be, take a moment to ponder the standing Nazi order that if human life was endangered, all carnivores must be shot.

Animal Rights Need To Be Protected And Deserve Advocates

August 28, 2014 Bob Cesca, www.thedailybanter.com Organize! Activism, Animal Rights

My friend and founder of The Daily Banter, Ben Cohen, wrote a post today titled, Here Are 7 Causes More Important Than Animal Rights. I absolutely agree that all of the issues he listed are important, but as an animal rights supporter I believe there’s more than enough room for an entire menu of important issues, including the moral and humane treatment of animals and the protection of endangered species. Besides, it’s not as if the U.S. government is somehow busily prioritizing animal rights at the expense of thwarting Ebola or the ISIS threat. Unfortunately, there’s exactly nothing on the political docket with regards to protecting animals. So, it’s unclear why animal rights activism needed to be taken down a notch. Let me know when a congressional candidate or incumbent mentions animal rights during the midterm and I’ll post an update here. But it isn’t going to happen. Horrifying abuses to humans, animals and the environment by the American meat-packing industry — a major contributor to Ben’s number-one most important issue, global warming — will surely continue.

Corporate Victory Will ‘Screw’ Local Farmers As Amendment Passes In Missouri

August 7, 2014 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Educate! ALEC, Animal Rights, Corporatism, Food and Agriculture, Law, Missouri

Agribusiness giants scored a victory in Missouri on Tuesday when voters narrowly approved a corporate-backed state constitutional amendment that critics say will threaten animal rights, remove checks and balances around food safety, and make it more difficult to regulate industrial farming practices. The ballot question, which was supported by big-ag players like Monsanto and Cargill, asked: "Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to ensure that the right of Missouri citizens to engage in agricultural and ranching practices shall not be infringed?" With all precincts reporting, the measure passed 498,751 to 496,223 — a margin of just 2,528 votes, or less than one percentage point. This makes Missouri the second state in the nation, after North Dakota, to adopt such a provision. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has been promoting similar legislation in state capitols for almost two decades. While supporters of the so-called "Right to Farm" amendment described it as "a way for us to push back a little bit" against environmental groups and animal welfare organizations, opponents said it would open the door for foreign-owned factory farming in Missouri and "strip most local governments of their ability to stop foreign companies from polluting and contaminating our land."

The Latest Battleground In The Dolphin Debate

June 27, 2014 Adam May, www.america.aljazeera.com Create! Animal Rights, Baltimore, Dolphins

When John Racanelli arrived as CEO in 2011, the Baltimore’s National Aquarium was at a low point. The deaths of two dolphin calves, one from pneumonia and the other from internal bleeding, had created, in his words, “an incredibly depressed organization." And it brought Racanelli to a controversial revelation, one that the head of a zoo or aquarium has never reportedly, publicly said before: “Having calves in this setting may not be the best possible thing for their well-being and health in the long run.” For decades, bottlenose dolphins have entertained crowds across the country. The National Aquarium’s dolphin shows alone drew more than 1 million visitors a year. But after the calves’ passing, the aquarium shuttered the spectacle. Recent films “Blackfish” and “The Cove” have shifted public attitudes about captive sea mammals, and Racanelli is now making waves in the zoo industry by suggesting they close their dolphin exhibit entirely. “We’re asking some tough questions, we really are,” he said. “…I feel we’ve really only scratched the surface.”

Defeat Of Ag-Gag Laws Victory In Fight Against Animal Cruelty

April 25, 2014 Matthew Dominguez, www.commondreams.org Resist! Animal Rights, Food and Agriculture

Across the country, lobbyists for the meat and dairy industries have been pressuring legislators to pass laws that punish whistleblowers who expose crimes on agricultural facilities. Kentucky, Tennessee and Colorado are the latest states to reject these “ag-gag” bills aimed at keeping the public in the dark about rampant animal abuse and food safety violations on factory farms. The push in the Bluegrass State is particularly disturbing, given the circumstances surrounding its introduction. Just a month previous to the ag gag bill’s introduction, an undercover investigation conducted by the Humane Society of the United States at a pig factory in Owensboro, Ky. Footage from that investigation showed breeding pigs locked in cages so small the animals couldn’t turn around – a gruesome irony considering the name of the business is Iron Maiden Hog Farm—bringing to mind the medieval torture device.

Japan Ordered To Stop Hunting Whales

April 1, 2014 Lark Turner, www.bustle.com Resist! Animal Rights, Japan, Ocean

Japan’s secretive practice of hunting whales near Antarctica has to stop, the UN ordered today. For decades, Japanese whaling ships have set out in pursuit of hundreds of whales to sell for their blubber and meat. The practice has become so controversial that recently they’ve been leaving in the dead of night. Worse, the whalers are heavily funded and protected by the Japanese government, and many suspect the Japanese Coast Guard protects the ships. Remember the controversial show Whale Wars, which followed the conservationist pirates aboard the Sea Shepherd? Yeah — those are the whalers those guys were chasing. Australia brought the case against Japan to the International Court of Justice, the United Nations’ highest court. The justices decided, by a vote of 12-4, that Japan could not legally hunt and kill minke whales or issue permits to hunt and kill humpback and Fin whales.

Protesters Call On Seaworld To “Empty The Tanks”

March 28, 2014 Barb Dunsmore, www.obrag.org Organize! Animal Rights, Protest

When it comes to impassioned feelings about Sea World, most readers of the OB Rag are well aware that much has recently been written, discussed, filmed, and documented. The world began to take notice with the release of Gabriella Cowperthwaite’s documentary Blackfish. It started with ripples of awareness that have now become waves of deep concern. The worldwide anger the movie unleashed is nearly impossible to ignore. While SeaWorld was celebrating their 50th anniversary last Friday, everyday citizens, myself included, were standing on Sea World Drive protesting 50 years of inhumane captivity, drawing attention to what we, and a growing number of people around the world see as a new vision for SeaWorld: the recently proposed California Captive Orca Welfare and Safety Act – AB 2140.

Obama OK’s Oil Plan To Explore Atlantic Despite Harm To Mammals

March 2, 2014 John Upton, www,grist.org Educate! Animal Rights, Energy, Environment

But the air guns that the industry plans to use in its hunt for underwater oil fields won’t sound so sweet to the staggering numbers of dolphins and whales that could end up being maimed. The oil industry wants to drill along the East Coast, but the last surveys of oil deposits in coastal Atlantic areas were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s using technology that’s now obsolete. So now industry wants to survey with more modern techniques, which McClatchy news service describes this way: “The seismic tests involve vessels towing an array of air guns that blast compressed air underwater, sending intense sound waves to the bottom of the ocean. The booms are repeated every 10 seconds or so for days or weeks.” Thirty-four marine mammal species, which use sound to navigate, could be harmed by the seismic testing, and some of the animals could be killed.

Ten Environmental Victories Of 2013

January 6, 2014 ICTMN Staff, www.indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com Create! Animal Rights, Environment

With all the talk of rising temperatures, acidifying oceans and melting polar ice, it is hard to see the healthy trees for the forest, as it were. Yes, the emerald ash borer and the mountain pine beetle are making inroads, and yes, extreme weather is becoming the norm. But it’s important, too, to note the environmental triumphs and victories that tribes either helped engineer or benefited from, or both. Native peoples reintroduced fading species, restored habitats and stopped big industry in its tracks. They drew attention to these causes and showed how they unify Indigenous Peoples and European descendants alike. Several species began coming back, many of them thanks to the efforts of tribal programs.

6 Crimes Against Nature Perpetrated By the Food Industry

December 27, 2013 Martha Rosenberg, www.alternet.org Resist! Animal Rights, Food and Agriculture, Video

The horrors of factory farming are multifold. Treating animals like heads of lettuce—"forget it's an animal" says one farming magazine—has created institutionalized ruthlessness toward animals, workers and the environment at the same time it harms humans who eat the products. Factory farming even damages the economy thanks to meat-related obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and greedy, short-sighted land-use policies. While many procedures on factory farms are cruel, some practices like breeding animals into mutant-like parodies of their original species and violating mother/offspring bonds are truly crimes against nature. . . "There is, unfortunately, no way to breed eggs that only produce female hens," said spokesman United Egg Producers Mitch Head to the Associated Press after release of video showing the newborns being fed into the blades. "If someone has a need for 200 million male chicks, we're happy to provide them to anyone who wants them. But we can find no market, no need." Other egg-related industry tactics, while not as cruel, are just as shocking. In 2008, USDA caught Tyson injecting antibiotics directly into the eggs of future laying hens, despite its "no antibiotics" advertising claim. Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson said the vaccinations with the human antibiotic gentamicin are "standard practice," though the drug is far from harmless and comes with a rare black box FDA warning for renal, auditory and vestibular toxicity. Eggs with embryos are also sprayed with ammonia, phenolics and peroxides.

Study Links BP Oil Spill To Dolphin Deaths

December 21, 2013 Suzanne Goldenberg, www.theguardian.com Educate! Animal Rights, Corporatism, Energy, Environment, Ocean

"I've never seen such a high prevalence of very sick animals – and with unusual conditions such as the adrenal hormone abnormalities," Lori Schwake, the study's lead author, said in a statement. The scientists caught, examined and released about 30 bottlenose dolphins from Barataria Bay in 2011, one year after the disaster. The area was one of the most heavily oiled areas following the April 2010 blowout of BP's deepwater well, that killed 11 workers and spewed millions of barrels of crude oil into the Gulf. Government scientists and conservation groups had been concerned from the outset about the effects on marine life of the vast amounts of oil that entered the water.

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