Showing posts tagged animal welfare

I wish organizations/people would stop referring to the killing of cats, dogs, & other animals out of “convenience”, as “euthanasia”. 

Because seriously…it’s not euthanasia.  And maybe a few more people would start taking better care of their animals if we didn’t soft-pedal it, and called it what it is:  KILLING.

(Euthanasia (from the Greek: εὐθανασία meaning “good death”: εὖ, eu (well or good) + θάνατος, thanatos (death)) refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering.)

Please spay and neuter your pets, and also please go and rescue animals from the Sayreville New Jersey shelter and/or any other location, and give them a safe, loving home.  Thank you.

Will Teacup Cats Become a Disastrous Celebrity-Spawned Pet Trend?

“As much as I hate to give any attention to people who have become celebrities for no good reason, when I heard that reality TV star Kim Kardashian had bought a cat — and not just any cat, mind you, but a so-called teacup Persian — I had to speak up.

Before I heard about Kardashian’s new fashion accessory, I had no idea teacup cats even existed. (In case you’re wondering why I referred to her kitten as a fashion accessory, all you have to do is look here for proof.)

If you’re wondering what a teacup cat is, it’s not a cat in a teacup, it’s a cat that’s bred to be much smaller than the breed from which it originates.

Several breeds, including the Persian, have successfully been bred to teacup size and retained their health. This requires a lot of work and a lot of knowledge of the breed, and the people who are going to do it right are the responsible breeders. Naturally, this means teacup Persians are very rare and expensive.

Of course, when celebrities get designer pets, unethical breeders start seeing dollar signs and then do everything in their power to produce mass quantities of the latest fashionable pet. In case you didn’t know, there are plenty of kitten mills out there, too, and chances are the purebred kitten you see in a pet store is cranked out of a facility just as delightful and healthy as a puppy mill.

Kitten-mill operators don’t give a crap about potential health problems, the integrity of the breed, or the dangers of inbreeding. All they care about is making money.

There’s another kind of unscrupulous breeder who is capitalizing on the teacup fad. They sell runts or even deliberately deprive kittens of food in order to keep them small, and then pass them off as teacup cats.

If you want a tiny purebred cat, get a Singapura. They’re naturally small, they have short hair, and they’re ridiculously cute!”

The Romneys Appalling Record of Animal Abuse

First there was Seamus, the poor Irish Setter the Romney’s strapped to the roof of their car (at least once) for a 12-hour drive to Canada - leaving him up there after he became ill and soiled himself and the car. Mitt Romney admits to merely hosing poor Seamus down and continuing the trip for hours more.
Now, its horses. A dressage horse named Super Hit, in particular, had the misfortune of falling into the cold, cruel hands of the Romneys. Super Hit, used by Ann Romney for her “therapeutic” hobby of performing dressage (horse ballet), was sold by the Romneys for $125,000 in 2008. 
After the sale of Super Hit, the new owners soon discovered he was physically incapable of performing dressage. They consulted Dr. Stephen Soule, veterinarian for the United States Equestrian Team since 1978. Dr. Soule found that Super Hit, at the time he was sold by the Romneys, had a staggering amount of painkillers in his system. 
“In my 38-years of practice, ” Dr. Soule wrote, “I have never come across a drug screen such as this where the horse has been administered so many different medications at the same time.”
The new owners sued Ann Romney and her trainers in 2010, claiming that Super Hit had a defect in one of his feet and that the horse had been drugged with the massive amount of painkillers so that he could continue to perform, hiding his condition.
The Romneys settled the case against Ann last September.
One thing you DON’T EVER want to be is an animal in the care of the Romneys. Another thing you DON’T EVER want to be is a human under the rule of the Romneys.

For complete details about this story, see Buzzfeed’s article, “Ann Romney’s High Horse.” 

15 reasons not to eat turkey

karleybodis:

#1 

#2 

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#12

#13

#14

#15

(Reblogged from aleksandur)

If you reallyreallyreally have to eat turkey for Thanksgiving (or any other day), please consider getting a free-range turkey.  You can get them from many markets, though they often have to be pre-ordered…today will probably still be early enough to get one.

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Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.
Martin Luther King Jr.  (via shelivesquietly)
(Reblogged from aleksandur)

Pilots N Paws Program Matches Pilots With Animal Rescuers

Pilots N Paws, Animal Rescuers, Volunteer Animal Rescuers, volunteer

michaelwhays

Pilots N Paws is a non-profit organization that pairs those who rescue shelter or foster animals with pilot plane owners willing to assist with the transportation of animals. They help arrange or schedule rescue flights, overnight foster care or shelter care, and all other related activities.

According to Gimundo, volunteer pilots such as John Quimby, an IBM executive from West Chester, Ohio, has been using his pilot’s license for a good cause: airlifting animals in need of good homes. He’s one of the 2,000 recreational pilots registered with Pilots N Paws, which was launched in 2007 by animal rescuer Debi Boies and her friend Jon Wehrenberg, a recreational pilot.

This air-born volunteer organization was developed after Boies told her friend Wehrenberg that she wanted to adopt a Doberman who had been used in a dog-fighting ring, but was living several states away. Wehrenberg offered to fly her to Florida to collect the dog and bring him home.

(Source: freekibble.com)

Investigation Prompts First Ever Felony Cruelty Charges Against Lab Workers

Bulletin from the cause: End Animal Cosmetic Testing. [Facebook] Cause Posted By: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Dear Friend, I’d like to share some exciting and historic news about a victory for animals in laboratories!

In a landmark move and in the wake of PETA’s shocking undercover investigation of Professional Laboratory and Research Services (PLRS), a North Carolina grand jury has indicted four individuals who worked at PLRS—including a supervisor—on 14 felony charges of cruelty-to-animals. This case marks the first time in U.S. history that laboratory workers have faced felony cruelty charges for their abuse and neglect of animals in a laboratory.

The case also marks the second criminal prosecution of cruelty to animals used in experimentation; the first prosecution stemmed from PETA’s very first undercover investigation, the groundbreaking 1981 Silver Spring Monkeys case.

The defendants in the PLRS case are among those caught on video kicking, throwing, and dragging dogs; hoisting rabbits by their ears and puppies by their throats; violently slamming cats into cages; and screaming obscenities at terrified animals. One of the defendants is the worker seen on video trying to rip out a cat’s claws by violently pulling the cat from the fence onto which the animal clung in fear.

The felony indictments follow extensive citations by federal officials for multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act, the laboratory’s closure, and the surrender of nearly 250 dogs and cats just a week after PETA released its findings last fall.

Although PETA is pleased to have your help in winning this historic victory for animals in laboratories, there is still more that you can do! 

Please take another step to help animals who are suffering. Tell the National Science Foundation to stop funding barbaric experiments at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in which violent fights are staged between animals.

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I don’t always agree with PETA’s methods, but…well, sometimes I do.  Stuff like this is so very awesome.  ~whyinthehell

(Reblogged from aleksandur)

The Truth About HSUS

I was searching for an older HSUS All Animals magazine article and came across this website which is dedicated to shelter animal welfare, and exposing fraudulent practices of the HSUS and the ASPCA. 

At least I think that’s what the entire website’s focus is…I don’t have the stomach to read much of it today because I’d been ignorant of the things this man is researching with such conviction in order to help shelter animals and expose the practices of the big corporate organizations.  Silly me, believing that any large organization would put the welfare of animals above the almighty cha-ching…even just a little bit.

(Reblogged from aleksandur)
A glimpse into why I haven’t eaten pork for 15-20 years.  Humans are monsters in our god-complex greed and self-interest.

A glimpse into why I haven’t eaten pork for 15-20 years.  Humans are monsters in our god-complex greed and self-interest.

(Reblogged from aleksandur)

Amateur video of Knut's death surfaces

ryking:

“Footage shows famed polar bear walking in circles, collapsing into pool prior to sudden death at Berlin zoo.”

It looks like he had some kind of seizure before falling into his pool. No word yet on what, if anything, today’s autopsy might have turned up, when certain tests will be completed, or when the results will be published.

(Reblogged from diadoumenos)

Videos: The best of Knut the polar bear

(Reblogged from diadoumenos)
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In a rare bit of good news emerging from Japan in the wake of last week’s 8.9 [sic] magnitude earthquake, tsunami, and growing nuclear crisis, it appears that Tashirojima, also known as “Cat Island,” and its feline and human residents have survived.

The small island, located near the quake’s epicenter, is home to at least 100, mostly elderly, people and many more cats, which are valued for their beauty, companionship, and ability to keep the rodent population down in this fishing area. A shrine dedicated to cats exists in the middle of the island, and the location is a favorite of tourists and feline lovers worldwide.

Initially cat lovers feared that the island had been submerged under the 10-meter tsunami that followed the quake, but as the weekend progressed, signs of hope emerged. A few people studied the topography of the island and realized that its highest points were higher than the wave itself. NASA satellite views of Tashirojima also indicated that the island had not been destroyed.

…the island sank around 30 centimeters in the water and there was some damage to property, but cats and people are ok! They need help, of course, but the Island is still there.”

For information about how to help animals affected by the disaster in Japan, check this page on Love Meow, which gives information about ways to donate and keep up on the latest developments.

Japan’s ‘Cat Island’ Survived Disaster