Tomorrow night, tune in (or set your PVR) for PBS's POV, a documentary series exemplifying a personal brand of storytelling. For 20 years now, American Documentary has been producing the award-winning series, which aims to stimulate a public dialogue about some of America's most important issues.
In this case, director Eric Daniel Metzgar and co-producer Nell Carden Grey's The Chance of the World Changing highlights the plight of endangered turtles by focusing on a would-be savior, Richard Ogust, who cared for 1,200 turtles in his Manhattan apartment at one point, including several species thought to be extinct in the wild. His journey is traced from an awakening at a New York restaurant through to physical and material exhaustion, and some very hard decisions that may have animal activists thinking hard.
Metzgar says, "When one is fraught with immeasurable responsibility, an excess of strength, not gloom, powers the day. And that strength, again and again, in the face of all obstacles, is what we filmed." I think many of us will relate to this struggle.
One of the great things about POV is their award-winning interactive web components, including filmmaker interviews, talkback forums, the ability to ask the filmmakers a question, follow-ups on the films' subjects and more, so take a look. If you watch the documentary, please share your thoughts in the Comments below.
I really wanted to do a bunch of individual updates but, when I get behind from traveling as I did last week, the potential posts add up, especially since I also cross-post at Zaadz, CrueltyFree.com, and MySpace, all of which have their own individual time-consuming idiosyncrasies (I've given up on VeganMySpace and VegSpace for now, as they are even harder to work with, and I barely have time as it is). So, I'll post another digest and endeavor to get back into a more regular routine again. Thanks for your patience!
The Associated Press (by way of Forbes) neglects to tell readers that the EU's newly-banned cat and dog fur is morally indistinguishable from fur torn from the backs of other animals in EU Douses Cat and Dog Fur Trade.
Also from AP, this time by way of The Boston Globe, an Alaska man pleads guilty to illegally selling seal parts. The man, who once agreed to help "conserve" the "depleted" northern fur seals, if you can believe that, faces up to one year in prison and a $20,000 fine for illegally selling "more than 100 seal penises to a Korean gift shop in Anchorage, where they were to be resold for about $100 apiece in the traditional Chinese medicine trade."
Bernard Matthews, the British poultry processor that last year claimed it was committed to the "highest standards" of animal welfare, is back in the news for animal cruelty at one of its plants (Daily Mail: Bernard Matthews worker caught playing football with turkeys), further demonstrating that animals' welfare will never be assured so long as they are commodified. The story includes the damning photos and video.
From MSNBC.com: Japan kicks off whaling season along coast (WARNING: Disturbing photo of a dead whale being flensed at the top of the page). Japanese whalers, who at this year's International Whaling Commission conference found themselves under pressure for their continued whaling under the guise of science, make clear the attitude toward whales, saying that they should be managed like any other natural resource, rejecting anti-whaling arguments that the animals should be protected. This anthropocentric view of animals as natural resources must be countered prominently with the fact that these are sentient individuals suffering at the hands of the whalers, not "resources." If we are to live by our own humanitarian ethics, all sentient beings ought to be protected from such so-called harvesting.
A more positive article I dug up, from DentalPlans.com of all places, is called Taking Animals Out Of Laboratory Research. It originally appeared in Science Daily, which itself adapted a press release from the University of Nottingham, but it still bears reporting. While the piece does suggest that the immediate abolition of animal testing is not possible overnight--a self-perpetuating perspective I find particularly frustrating--it does bring with that message the good news that FRAME (Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments) will be officially opening its new Alternatives Laboratory on July 6th:
Pioneering work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research — and ultimately remove them from laboratories altogether — has received a major boost at The University of Nottingham.
A laboratory devoted to finding effective alternatives to animal testing has been expanded and completely remodelled in a £240,000 overhaul designed to hasten the development of effective non-animal techniques.
Scientists hope that by developing the use of cell and tissue cultures, computer modelling, cell and molecular biology, epidemiology and other methods, they will one day be able to completely remove animals from medical research — while still maintaining crucial work to defeat diseases that affect millions of people.
While I'm encouraged to see efforts to end animal research, that day can't come soon enough for the nonhuman animals who shouldn't be kept in cages and experimented on for our own specious purposes in the first place.
CHICAGO: A judge has extended an order allowing the United States' last operating horse slaughterhouse to remain in business while it challenges a state law that would force it to close.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Elephants emerged safer and tigers won a vote of support, but sharks and corals failed to win protection at a two-week wildlife trade conference that ended Friday.
The conference also saw a shift in conservation politics, with ministers throwing their weight behind negotiations.
China emerged for the first time as a major player at the triennial meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered species, or CITES, surprising delegates with its activism.
GO VEGAN RADIO is excited to announce that an agreement has been reached with the AIR AMERICA Network to carry "GO VEGAN with BOB LINDEN" on a weekly basis for a year. Finally, the animals have a voice of compassion coming to the media to advocate for kindness on their behalf, improved human health through complete vegetarianism, and environmental sustainability. The Air America audience, already acquainted with the major problems of the day -- war, violence, world hunger, disease, energy crises, global warming, deforestation, resource depletion -- will now have exposure to the most important solution for all of these -- to GO VEGAN!
"GO VEGAN with BOB LINDEN" will also have greater exposure through five weekly 30 second commercial announcements on other AIR AMERICA programs, ten 60 second commercials during web broadcasts of other AIR AMERICA programs, and a banner ad and page on the AIR AMERICA website.
Now, YOUR work begins. This is a grassroots group effort and you are being asked to do your share. GO VEGAN RADIO is now faced with a $200,000 annual expense for program production and distribution (and no, there is no salary in that figure).
If you made a pledge to make a tax-deductible donation, please send it now.
Make checks payable to GO VEGAN RADIO and mail to International Humanities Center, PO Box 923, Malibu, CA 90265. You may also donate on-line at http://www.GoVeganRadio.org.
If you were only considering a donation until now, please -- now is the time to decide to do it. GO VEGAN RADIO has promised to deliver $50,000 to AIR AMERICA on June 23 and $33,000 every three months after that. It can't be done without your tax-deductible donation NOW! If you pledged to be a "make-it-happen" vegan committed to raising $1000, please collect and send it now. All donations are important - $10, $100, $1000, $10,000. The animals are asking you to get your checkbook now.
You can also support this incredible outreach opportunity by advertising your vegan and cruelty-free products and services. Rates start as low as $300. Advertising opportunities are very limited, with two of available ten already committed. Please email or call (818) 623-6477 if interested in advertising.
Chicago Tribune: Ruffling feathers "Movement leaders acknowledge that part of the reason animal rights doctrine is becoming more accepted is that the focus now is on education."
I know I haven't posted since Friday. I had a nice dinner at Native Foods, as planned. But, since then, I have been stretched very thin, and some computer issues that have plagued me over the past 30 hours only made matters worse. But you don't visit AAFL for the excuses! You want content! So, without further ado, here's what's been crashing my Safari browser lately (thank goodness for Saft):
World Week for Animals in Labs began Sunday the 22nd. The purpose of this annual event is "to expose the plight of animals used for testing and research. WWAIL seeks to arouse concern for animals in laboratories as well as educate the public about the scientific, moral, and economic objections to animal experimentation, also known as vivisection." To learn what's happening in your area this week, visit the WWAIL website set up by In Defense of Animals.
Perhaps it's a coincidence, but I found it striking that, on the same day that WWAIL began, The Los Angeles Times | West Magazine published a fairly lengthy piece written by J.R. Moehringer from the point of view of Cheeta, a former chimpanzee "actor" who, in all his 75 years, was fortunate to avoid becoming a research subject (yes, 75 years is a very long time for a chimp).
Cheeta Speaks is kind of a fluff piece, but it doesn't shy away from describing the cruelties involved with exploiting animals for entertainment and that's a good thing, especially because many people will no doubt be reading this story with fascination.
On Monday, SignOnSanDiego's Animals get Legislature's attention took a look at the considerable amount of animal legislation being voted on by lawmakers in Sacramento this year. Read the article for analysis and quotes. Below is a sidebar from the article highlighting the bills:
Spaying and neutering: Requires all dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered at 4 months. Breeders are exempt.
Farm animals: Requires ranchers to provide space for animals to stand, turn around and spread wings.
Elephants: Bans the use of bullhooks and chaining. Requires more space and exercise for those in zoos or performing in circuses.
Condors: Prohibits the use by hunters of lead shot in condor ranges.
Rodeos: Changes definition of rodeos to require small Mexican-style charreadas to provide an on-call veterinarian during events.
Restraining orders: Allows judges to add pets to restraining orders issued as part of domestic abuse cases.
Kangaroos: Authorizes imported kangaroo products, except those made of kangaroo species that are endangered.
Trapped animals: Requires trappers to inform property owners of nonlethal ways to remove pesky mammals, such as raccoons.
It's a pretty weak lot of welfare-oriented bills, if you ask me, but we can't afford to let pro-animal legislation lose and animal-hostile legislation succeed simply because we'd like to see animal exploitation end altogether. A couple of these measures could offer tangible improvements in the lives of animals while we're working to secure their freedom. If you live in California, you may want to contact your representatives to ensure your views are considered. Do I even need to suggest opposition to authorizing kangaroo product imports?
Let's hope this is not some flash in the pan, but a sign of a long and lasting trend toward compassionate fashion. For more animal-friendly shopping options, please explore the "Links" menu above.
It's not common to hear the deliberate killing of an animal "murder" in print, but here we have it:
"Leopard murder can only be provoked by cowardice or stupidity, in this case most likely by both," Pavel Fomenko, WWF's biodiversity coordinator in Russia's Far East, said in a statement.
Hunters in Russia's Far East have shot and killed one of the last seven surviving female Amur leopards living in the wild, WWF said on Monday, driving the species even closer to extinction.
Last week environmentalists said there were only between 25 and 34 Amur leopards — described as one of the most graceful cats in the world — still living in the wild.
When people poo-poo you for suggesting there are powerful interests at work to prevent animal cruelty from being exposed, show them this story:
Wyeth was known for strongly defending its drugs from claims of harm. It had rallied for its estrogen replacement and for its half of the fen-phen diet combo. Its veterinary subsidiary, Fort Dodge Animal Health, had sold 18 million doses of Proheart 6, worth tens of millions of dollars. It surely wouldn’t give up without a fight.
Many vets also liked replacing pills with the twice-a-year shot, which put heartworm prevention back into their hands. One vet with ties to Wyeth lectured colleagues about seizing on Proheart 6 as a “hook” to pull in healthy pets for profitable regular exams.
As the FDA meeting unfolded, the company said [Victoria] Hampshire was inflating her side-effect numbers. Things turned nastier when Hampshire said Fort Dodge had previously expressed its own concerns over tumors. Fort Dodge said it hadn’t.
“Either you’re lying, or I’m imagining it,” Hampshire erupted.
Dr. Stephen Sundlof, FDA’s veterinary chief, grabbed her hand under the table, silencing her, Hampshire says. (He didn’t answer messages seeking comment for this story.)
“Tory did not have experience dealing with animal pharmaceutical community people, who are not different than the human pharmaceutical people. They make a lot of money on this stuff. They will never ever admit there’s something wrong,” says Tollefson, who is now FDA’s assistant commissioner for science.
On Sept. 4, 2004, in the face of Hampshire’s damning data, Wyeth ordered all Proheart 6 back from vets — without conceding it was dangerous.
It was perhaps the largest recall ever of a pet drug.
More than 650 million critters — from kangaroos and kinkajous to iguanas and tropical fish — were imported legally into the United States in the past three years, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documents obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act.
That's more than two for every American.
Countless more pets — along with animal parts and meats — are smuggled across the borders as part of a $10 billion-a-year international black market, second only to illegal drugs.
Most wildlife arrive in the United States with no quarantine and minimal screening for disease. The government employs just 120 full-time inspectors to record and inspect arriving wildlife. There is no requirement they be trained to detect diseases.
"A wild animal will be in the bush, and in less than a week it’s in a little girl’s bedroom," said Darin Carroll, a disease hunter with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How's that for scary? No?
Zoonotic diseases — those that jump to humans — account for three quarters of all emerging infectious threats, the CDC says. Five of the six diseases the agency regards as top threats to national security are zoonotic, and the CDC recently opened a center to better prepare and monitor such diseases.
The Journal of Internal Medicine this month estimated that 50 million people worldwide have been infected with zoonotic diseases since 2000 and as many as 78,000 have died.
U.S. experts don’t have complete totals for Americans, but partial numbers paint a serious picture:
Hantavirus, which is carried by rodents and can cause acute respiratory problems or death, has sickened at least 317 Americans and killed at least 93 since 1996.
More than 770 people have been sickened since 2000 with tularemia, a virulent disease that can be contracted from rabbits, hamsters and other rodents. At least three people have died. The plague, another animal-born disease, has sickened at least 22 Americans and killed at least one.
Three transplant patients in New England died last year after receiving organs from a human donor who had been infected with the lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus from a pet hamster. There have been 34 U.S. cases since 1993.
More than 210,000 Americans were sickened between 2000 and 2004 with salmonella, and at least 89 died. Most infections come from contaminated food — but up to 5 percent have been linked to pets, especially such reptiles as iguanas and turtles. And last year, at least 30 people in 10 states were sickened with a drug-resistant form linked to hamsters and other rodent "pocket pets."
Some of the scariest diseases to emerge since 2001 also have been tied to exotic animals: One of the first times the deadly Asian bird flu reached the West was in eagles smuggled aboard a plane to Europe. Likewise, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is believed to have jumped to people from caged civet cats in a Chinese market. The cats are believed to have gotten the virus from bats.
And this only accounts for a portion of the coverage in this first part of three covering the wildlife trade.
Wrapping up part one is this noteworthy quote:
"We should shift the burden to importers to prove that the animal imports are safe," said William Karesh, a zoonotic disease expert who works with the Wildlife Conservation Society. He suggests exotic importers take out insurance to foot the bill if their animals cause an outbreak.
"Why should you and I bear the cost of an outbreak when the industry makes all the money off this trade?"
Of course, the threat of disease transmission hits people on a more individual level, but let's not forget what non-native species do to native species in their natural habitats, to say nothing of the emptying of the world's wild places solely for the sake of a buck. People really ought to not be being any animal, much less an exotic, so hopefully this article reaches throughout the mass media and helps to blunt this trend somewhat.
Some weeks the animal stories seem to tumble forth with far greater frequency...
I've missed posting on some, due to commitments with The Artivist Film Festival, but with so many articles in major news media these past few days you'll not want for reading material and letters to write after this post.
I'm particularly fond of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's October 31st piece at Common Dreams, From Cradle to Grave, in which she targets the considerations often missed by those busy patting themselves on the back for providing or eating "humane meat": That is, even organic, grass fed, "free range" animals live truncated lives, at the end of which they are trucked many miles to USDA-licensed slaughterhouses, where their demise is no better than that of any of the machine-reared beings with whom they share an identical fate.
With "compassionate carnivores" positioned as the next big market after organics, these points need to be raised ubiquitously, especially in response to compassionate people who've allowed mere window dressing to cloud their view of the issue.
Hat tip to reader for Christopher Jones for making sure we saw this.
In response to the numerous stories referred to YESTERDAY regarding the self-awareness studies on elephants at the Bronx Zoo, the editors of The New York Times have published a surprising editorial called Horton Sees an Image.
While much of the buzz surrounding these tests focused on how elephants joined the ranks of the self-aware, lifting them "above" most other animals, the editors of The New York Times argue
...what they really do is raise questions about the value we attribute to consciousness and our inevitably human definition of it. It is always us setting the rules.
How many tests set by elephants could we pass?
My jaw just about dropped to the floor when I read that. This sounds like something I'd hear when talking to one of my animal advocate friends, not the editorial board of The New York Times. Could it be that an editorial like this might persuade some people to look at animals differently?
There's no way to be sure, but the very existence of this editorial gives me hope. With an ending like this, how can it not?:
There is every reason to value other life-forms as much for their difference from us as for their similarity, and to act accordingly. That may be the only intelligence test worthy of the name.
They don't tell anyone what acting accordingly means, but the implication is that our treatment of animals is a sort of intelligence test, and one would imagine that the better we treat them, the better it reflects on us, and that's a sentiment I'm happy to share.
Please, please, please, please take a moment to write a letter to the editors of The New York Times, thanking them for this insightful, compassionate editorial, and ask them for more of the same going forward. Remember to keep your praise below 250 words, and to include your full name, contact number, city and state in order to be considered for publication.
Bob Barker, friend to Los Angeles Zoos' imprisoned elephants (and all animals), announced that he is finally retiring from the long-running game show The Price is Right, and plans to spend his time focusing on animal rights causes. Go, Bob!!!
Sticking with pachyderms for the moment, Deb posted a comment at an earlier post that I wanted to bring to your attention.
She tells us that In Defense of Animals is campaigning to have animal-friendly people sign a petition and send their comments to the USDA. Deadline is December 11, and you can find more information on how to help elephants at HelpElephants.com. Deb also points out that we can submit comments to USA Today here. December 11th sounds like a long time from now, but the weeks go by fast, so please start working on your letter today.
On to Japan, I've postednumeroustimes about the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji. Activists around the world have been working hard to force the issue into the limelight, where Japanese authorities least want to see it.
Yesterday, The Japan Times covered the story on the front page in an article by Genesis Award-winning writer Boyd Harnell, titled Dolphin kill dogged by mercury, activists.
As he did in his previous piece on the subject, Harnell looks unflinchingly at the horror of the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, but you must see this slaughter for yourselves to truly comprehend it:
Please write a letter to the editors of The Japan Times to support them for putting this issue on the front page, and to express your dismay/outrage/disgust at this cruel, barbaric slaughter, during which randomly-stabbed dolphins have been seen dying an excruciating, prolonged death.
Remember also that there's more you can do. If you care about animals, please never give your money to a business that exploits marine mammals for entertainment, and do your best to dissuade friends and family from doing so, either. Many marine animals currently captive around the United States were taken from the wild, which is where they really belong. Regrettably, animals sold live for entertainment are worth around $20,000, whereas dead dolphins are only worth about $600 each, which means that marine park demand is a major factor in the annual drive fisheries in Taiji, so boycotts could have a meaningful on this practice.
Speaking of slaughter, Willie Nelson -- "Special to CNN," heh-heh -- followed up an open letter to congress with a commentary encouraging Americans to contact their senators and ask them to support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act, and to consider adopting rescued horses.
Foie gras continues to receive frequent coverage, including this lengthy piece in the Milford Daily News that gives some time to PETA's opposition, but lends most of its column inches to the American Veterinary Medical Association and chefs who serve foie gras, both of whom come out strongly in favor of allowing ducks to be force fed, slaughtered, and cut up for their livers, "an ingredient people enjoy."
Not this person.
Finally, The Scotsman published a story taking officials to task for a 4.5 increase in animal testing over the last year, despite government assurances that the "controversial practice" would be reduced:
The figures also reveal that Scotland is carrying out a disproportionate amount of animal testing in the UK, with tests north of the border making up 14.1 per cent of the UK's 2.91 million procedures even though Scots make up only around 8 per cent of the total population.
And testing is rising in Scotland much more quickly than in the rest of the UK. Total British animal testing in 2005 was 2.91 million, up from 2.8 million the year before, an annual rise of only 1.4 per cent.
Lest people assume these animals are all "unimportant" species like rats, the article puts things into perspective:
Among the animals used in the research in Scotland were: 910 monkeys, 1,308 dogs, 5,294 sheep, 3,016 rabbits, 941 pigs, 69 horses. 267,960 mice, 49,284 rats, 2,944 guinea pigs and four cats. Tests were also conducted on 7,854 birds, 238 amphibians and 56,993 fish.
Sure the vast majority are rodents, but what makes them so undeserving of our compassion, and what about the dogs, cats, monkeys, horses and pigs, among others? Everyone needs to know what is happening to all these innocent animals caged to satisfy human curiosity in a speculative quest for financial gain... Oh, yeah, and tantalizing possibility that such research could somehow provide clues for curing life-threatening diseases (forgetting for a moment all the testing done on drugs for sex enhancers, cosmetics, and other vanities). Bear in mind that 11,048 of these tests in Scotland involved animals with a harmful genetic defect, and think about whether that's something an animal-friendly person would ever find acceptable.
The article provides a number of other details, including specifics as to why certain animals are used in research, as well as comments from a researcher and an activist that don't shed much new light on the subject. That said, the article certainly merits your attention, so I hope you'll check it out. It's important for animal lovers to learn as much as they can about animal experimentation, because it's ignorance that allows it to continue and even grow like this.
PBS | POV: The Chance of the World Changing (July 17th, 10pm)
In this case, director Eric Daniel Metzgar and co-producer Nell Carden Grey's The Chance of the World Changing highlights the plight of endangered turtles by focusing on a would-be savior, Richard Ogust, who cared for 1,200 turtles in his Manhattan apartment at one point, including several species thought to be extinct in the wild. His journey is traced from an awakening at a New York restaurant through to physical and material exhaustion, and some very hard decisions that may have animal activists thinking hard. 
