Animals in Entertainment
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Jay Leno and Chris Rock Think Dog Fighting Is Funny
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Are Rodeos More Acceptable Than Bullfighting?
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Circuses: "A Lifetime of Misery"
No More Elephants in India's Circuses and Zoos
Published November 12, 2009 @ 07:51PM PT
In Defense of Animals has just sent out word of good news for elephants in India. Recognizing that zoos and circuses can't possibly, even in the best of circumstances, meet these animals' needs, the Central Zoo Authority has ordered the release of 140 captive elephants in the country. They will be moved to "semi-free ranging conditions" near national parks and on protected wildlife reserves.
Veterinarian, wildlife biologist, and IDA's executive director Dr. Anand Ramanathan makes excellent points in IDA's press release, asking how the United States can still fail to step up when India can recognize the problems inherent to captive breeding of elephants and the failure of captive programs to aid in real-world protection of species in their natural habitat.
If a country such as India, which has thousands of years' experience managing elephants in captivity, can make such a forward-thinking decision, then certainly the United States can take a stand against circuses that exploit elephants and sub-optimal zoo exhibits that cause elephants to suffer and die prematurely.
To be clear, this ban does not affect any other animals held captive in circuses and zoos. But it certainly is good news and progress for elephants. What's the holdup, America?
Read more here.
Protesting for Minks in Utah
Published November 12, 2009 @ 06:44AM PT
Thanks go to my friends at Food Fight! Grocery in Portland for the reminder on this one.
Morgan, Utah, is home to 15 active mink fur farms -- which makes it more entrenched in the abhorrent practice than any other U.S. community. And on Saturday, November 28, animal rights activists hope to make it the site of a major protest too: "For the first time, the animal rights movement will bring all the tears and rage for the millions killed every year for fur to the belly of the beast: Morgan, Utah. This convergence will climax in a one-mile march through the heart of this fur farm capital, past two of Morgan’s mink farms."
But Morgan County wants to put a damper on any protests; in the last couple months, it made some bold moves. First, it passed an ordinance prohibiting protesters from demonstrating within 1,000 feet of fur farms and the residences on them. Salt Lake animal advocate Colleen Hatfield had this to say in response:
Elephant Abuse Charges and Freed Circus Animals in Need of Homes
Published October 29, 2009 @ 02:05PM PT
Two pieces of recent good news in the United States and Bolivia, related to animals abused in entertainment venues, deserve some acknowledgment this month -- especially given that despite the good news, animals in both cases are still in danger and in need of help.
First, in the United States, as In Defense of Animals (IDA) reported late last week, the USDA has finally filed charges against Will Davenport. If you're stopping to ask yourself why that names sounds familiar, it's because he's the elephant handler from whom IDA and other advocates have been trying to rescue abused and sick elephants for year (previous related posts viewable here). According to IDA, "the charges state that 'the gravity of the violations alleged…is great' and that Davenport has 'not shown good faith' in his repeated unwillingness to comply with the AWA and its regulations and standards."
Love Is Not Only for Human Animals (and Circuses Aren't Sanctuaries)
Published September 30, 2009 @ 05:31AM PT
A series of videos and stories at National Geographic's Web site, from a special titled Unlikely Animal Friends, came to my attention yesterday via Facebook, courtesy animal-loving, link-providing pals Chad Miller, co-founder of Food Fight! Vegan Grocery in Portland, Oregon, and Dallas Rising, program director of the Minneapolis-based Animal Rights Coalition. The video above, of Tara and Bella at the Elephant Sanctuary, whose heartwarming story many animal advocates and even the general public know by now, is one of these. There is much good to take away from the profiles, and even the videos many of us have seen before are worth watching again, but as tends to be the case with these sorts of mainstream animal programs, there are troubling aspects of what we're shown in a couple cases too (I'll get to that in the last half of this post).
Greyhound Racing Updates: Massachusetts, Iowa, and Beyond
Published September 26, 2009 @ 07:24AM PT
In the last week or so, greyhounds were raced for what should be the last time in Massachusetts. As you may recall, voters in that state supported an end to dog racing last November, and animal advocates -- GREY2K USA in particular -- had been awaiting the final race ever since. Not surprisingly, though, greyhound breeders and others with an economic interest in the continued exploitation and endangerment of the dogs want the decision overturned. So Massachusetts readers, please be sure to keep contacting your state legislators about this issue and to sign up for GREY2K USA's action alerts, so that the group can keep you updated.
The battle over greyhound racing is far from over; dogs are still suffering in several states courtesy of this cruel, unnecessary industry (see a state-by-state map and information here), so advocates outside Massachusetts have as much reason to sign up for the nonprofit's alerts as anyone else. One of the states still racing dogs to death is Iowa, whose Des Moines Register ran an article this past week covering GREY2K USA's recent report on the state's racing industry and the injuries and deaths of dogs there:
Captive Tigers Languishing in Deplorable Conditions in Cancun
Published September 24, 2009 @ 02:33PM PT
For the last year, Mexican and American animal advocacy organizations have been working together in an increasingly critical effort to save seven tigers from horrid captive conditions in Cancun, amid the debris of a former restaurant (where they've been held for several years). And although it looked like the groups and the government had come to agreement on a plan to rescue the animals, officials failed to follow through.
A recent news release explains,
Last Chance for Animals (LCA), The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) and Gente Por La Defensa Animal (GEPDA) have been negotiating with the Mexican government since August 2008 to rescue and relocate 7 tigers held in abhorrent conditions at Pepe's restaurant, in Cancun, Mexico.
Animals, Nonviolence, and the International Day of Peace
Published September 21, 2009 @ 02:40PM PT
Today is the International Day of Peace, calling for nonviolence and ceasefire, as I learned last night from Kelly of easyVegan.info. And although my plans to post on a related topic this afternoon have been derailed along with the rest of my day, I'm lucky that Kelly (also a periodic contributor to this blog) wrote her thoughtful post on the topic last night, including this:
The day’s “ceasefire” most certainly does not include the millions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, horses, dogs, rats, seals, foxes and other domestic and wild-living nonhuman animals who will be slaughtered for food, clothing, vivisection, entertainment and the like. Quite the contrary: humans’ exploitation of nonhumans will continue, unabated, throughout the day and across the globe.
