Animals in Entertainment
"Unruly, Rogue" Horses and Whips at the Racetrack
Published August 19, 2009 @ 02:25PM PT
The Des Moines Register has an article up about the switch some jockeys in the horse-racing racket have made to so-called soft whips that supposedly "sting a horse less."
There's much talk of when and why which whips are "better." But of course, no one ever stops to point out that, hey, maybe if we have to force and even hit the horses at all, we're doing something to them we shouldn't be doing in the first place.
Some gems and translations from the article:
USDA Moves to Rescue Elephant Jewel--Act Today for Jewel and Her Friends
Published August 17, 2009 @ 11:18AM PT
Photo by Barbara Shepler
A month ago, many of you read "Lucky, Tina, Jewel, and Queenie: Speak Up for These Elephants" on this blog--and hopefully, many of you took action too. Now one of those elephants--Jewel--is close to finding safety and sanctuary, but an uncooperative handler and community are impeding the process. Additionally, the USDA is moving to rescue only Jewel, when her companions need their help too--and when separating the bonded elephants would be terribly traumatic for them. Below, I quote In Defense of Animals' just-released action alert in full because it doesn't appear to be available on their site yet (to link to), and I can't summarize the situation any better than they do:
They Loved Her--So They Mutilated and Tormented Her 60+ Times
Published August 04, 2009 @ 02:08PM PT
Normally, when there's a story about someone's death, and the "mourners" are interviewed and quoted, they don't express their grief by lamenting that before her death, they too didn't get a chance to jab a sharp hook through her face, threaten her with suffocation, and terrify her before tossing her aside for the next person to do the same.
But this AP story published in the New York Times isn't about a human, of course. It's about a 25-year-old "celebrity" carp who lived in a lake in Cambridgeshire, England. She is indeed referred to as "she" rather than "it" in this article--and by the name her so-called admirers gave her, Benson--but that's where acknowledgment of her as an actual living being rather than object of amusement stops.
Grey2K Founder Christine Dorchak Profiled
Published August 01, 2009 @ 06:54AM PT
I was pleased last night to see this profile of Grey2K founder Christine Dorchak in Boston University's newspaper: "A Dogged Fight." Christine's energy and dedication to ending greyhound racing and saving these dogs is admirable--and obvious to anyone who's ever met or spoken with her. Check out the article.
More Circus Abuse Revealed, Immediate Greyhound Help Needed
Published July 22, 2009 @ 03:19PM PT
Two-parter:
1. Given my general position that we should openly criticize what we see wrong in the major animal rights and welfare organizations while also acknowledging the good, in the hope that we'll eventually see a shift in the orgs' philosophy and strategies (and with the realization that they're not going anywhere), someone asked me this weekend what PETA does that I can get behind. "Undercover investigations" was my first answer.
And today PETA released the details, including video, of its latest undercover investigation. The target was Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and the video footage is clear--the elephants are being beaten; there is no other possible interpretation. See the investigation home page for more, including the damning video. Also check out Mark Hawthorne's post at Striking at the Roots for more on the undercover circus investigation as well as ideas on what steps you can take to help end animal use and abuse by circuses. As you may recall, Ringling was sued by a group of animal protection organizations for such abuse, and the closing arguments took place in March. The judge's verdict in that case is expected soon.
2. Grey2K is calling on animal advocates to act immediately to help greyhounds in Rhode Island (regular readers will recall my posting about this issue recently). The group has asked that their urgent alert be forwarded widely, so for the sake of time, I'm going to just give you their message verbatim after the jump (please note, though, that the call for people to contact their state senators and representatives is directed at Rhode Island residents; there are separate instructions in the alert regarding whom non-RI residents should contact):
Horse Racing: The Death Toll Continues to Rise in the UK
Published July 20, 2009 @ 05:08PM PT
Four horses died just this past weekend during races in the UK, Animal Aid reports:
Their deaths received no mention in the newspaper racing columns and would remain hidden were it not for Animal Aid’s online database, Deathwatch.
On Saturday 18 July at Market Rasen, seven-year-old Falpiase and six-year-old Stellenbosch both pulled up lame and were subsequently destroyed. Newton Abbot, which featured in Animal Aid’s second Deathwatch report for having the greatest number of Thoroughbred fatalities out of all 60 British racecourses, saw two more horses killed on Sunday’s ‘Family Day’. Olay Olay, a nine-year-old gelding, severed a tendon and was destroyed. Heathfield Flyer, another gelding of the same age, finished his race, but the subsequent discovery of an injury meant that he was also killed.
Even more disturbing is the online database mentioned, which I linked to in some earlier posts on horse racing. Visit the Death Watch page; you may find your fingers starting to tire from scrolling before you get through even the 2009 deaths alone.
And on an unrelated note, please forgive the continued light posting. I've run into a really frustrating problem with the hotel Internet connection that is interfering with even basic browsing and page loading, and it's taking me hours to accomplish what I should be able to do in 15 minutes. The posting schedule around here will get back to normal as soon as I'm back in St. Louis.
Bolivia Bans the Use of Animals in Circuses
Published July 15, 2009 @ 07:47PM PT
Here's your encouraging animal news of the day:
LA PAZ, Bolivia, July 14, 2009 (ENS) - Bolivian President Evo Morales has signed the world's first law prohibiting the use of both wild and domestic animals in traveling circuses.
This is the first national law to ban the use of both domestic and wild animals in circuses. To date, Croatia, Singapore, Austria, Israel and Costa Rica have all banned wild animals in circuses. Similar bans on animal use in traveling circuses in Costa Rica, Finland and Denmark only prohibit the use of wild animals or certain species.
Major kudos to Bolivia! Let's hope the rest of the world (including this waaaay-behind country) catches up soon. Read more here.
