Politics and Law
New Scientist: Japanese Whaling Activities Are Not Research
Published June 17, 2009 @ 11:08AM PT
Japan has already been widely criticised for its whaling, which is generally seen as a thinly disguised hunting operation. But with the 2009 IWC meeting looming, it is worth rehearsing the arguments against scientific whaling.
The New Scientist article's authors go on to explain just why Japanese whaling is unnecessary for research purposes. Check it out.
On a related note, have you been watching the second season of Whale Wars? I'm missing it because I no longer have cable (actually, I no longer have television service period, given that I've kept putting off getting a DTV converter box), but if you do get Animal Planet, you can tune in on Friday nights; it just started in the last week or two, I believe.
(Thanks go to Alex Felsinger for the tweet about the New Scientist article.)
In the Blogs: Fish Issues, High Rises, Leftists, Leather, and Non-Vegan Cookbooks
Published June 17, 2009 @ 07:34AM PT
I accidentally did it again--let two weeks instead of one pass before doing an Animals in the Blogs roundup. So to keep this list from being too out of control, I'll give you the first part of the list today (from the previous week) and the second tomorrow (from this more recent past week). And look--commentary this time!
On Why I Pick on the Left from Animal Person: "Leftists are supposed to be the people who do notice where, how and why various kinds of oppression and exploitation cross paths. They're supposed to be the people who have figured out that the entire system is rigged against the weak and less wealthy. And those unable to speak for themselves." Read it, non-AR-supporting Leftists.
The Underbelly of Horse Racing from Animal Blawg: Want a quick overview with the basic, disturbing facts about horse racing? Look no further.
-Much more after the jump-
Gov't Employees Kill Mountain Lions for Sport, Gov't Fires Whistleblower
Published June 16, 2009 @ 07:05AM PT
The Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility announced last week that "a federal agent who reported that his colleagues had illegally used government airplanes to hunt mountain lions was fired in retaliation." What we have here is not even an friend to animals reporting the killings, but a fellow hunter. The U.S. government hires hunters to kill incredible numbers of free-living animals every year, mostly on behalf of ranchers who don't want the hassle of competing with predators (who must kill to eat and survive) over who gets to kill domesticated animals or of dealing with animals whom they consider just a general nuisance.
Indeed, the press release from PEER explains,
Wildlife Groups Sue for Wolves; "Terrorism" Hypocrisy Continues
Published June 02, 2009 @ 12:07PM PT
There will be an overdue "Animals in the Blogs" roundup of other interesting posts sometime tomorrow or Wednesday, but in the meantime, please check out the following press release and post. [Edit: Was no one going to tell me that when I wrote this, "tomorrow" and "Wednesday" were the same day? Everyone was content to let me go on thinking it was Monday? Sheesh.]
First, wildlife/conservation groups--including the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and HSUS--have today filed suit in response to the removal of Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves. Read more from the press release here: "Suit Filed to Challenge Removal of Endangered Species Act Protection From Northern Rockies Wolves."
Second, all over the news and blogosphere in recent days, there has been outrage and mourning over the assassination of physician and abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. But there has also been frustration and outrage over what his murder is--or rather is not--being labeled. In "3 Reasons Why Murdering an Abortion Doctor Isn’t Being Called 'Terrorism,'" Will Potter of GreenIsTheNewRed.com lays out the facts and obvious hypocrisies. Please read Will's post. He does a great job of deconstructing what's happening here.
Farm Bureaus Warn About Undercover Investigations
Published June 01, 2009 @ 06:14PM PT
It's interesting how animal ag insists it has nothing to hide and yet goes to great lengths to keep its practices and facilities from the public view. "Be Wary of Unwanted Visitors," a Dairy Today blog post warned this past week. They might take photos and videos of all that stuff that you're not at all ashamed of and that's perfectly humane. The Fresno County Farm Bureau in California remarks that keeping visitors and their cameras away is necessary "to protect your operation and the health and safety of your animals." Yes, cameras--very, very dangerous. Showing the public what's happening to animals is clearly a threat to the animals' health and safety. Those "two recent incidents of unwanted visitors taking photos and asking to tour dairies in California’s Central Valley this spring" nearly killed the cows, I'm sure.
Go check out Tracy's related post at Digging through the Dirt if you haven't already (I included it in a recent roundup too): "Want to Avoid Pesky Animal-Cruelty Probes? Let the U.S. Government Show You How." That's right--the U.S. government is working to help animal agribusiness avoid those inconveneint undercover investigations. Lovely.
A Note on the Shark Finning Action
Published May 29, 2009 @ 08:19AM PT
I don't have time to write a detailed post on shark finning and fishing in general right now, but I do want to quickly make a request of you regarding the action in support of a bill aimed at stopping finning, about which you may have receieved an alert. First, for sake of clarity, do understand that no killing of sharks is humane or necessary, and this law will not make killing sharks illegal (unfortunately). But the narrowly focused Shark Conservation Act of 2009 does seek to stop the heinous practice of finning, in which people pull sharks from the water, hack off their fins, and then throw them back into the water--suffering terribly--to die terribly, unable to swim. And this is all for something as selfish and unnecessary as a specialty soup.
Here's what I want to ask of you before you sign the petition:
The default language of the petition remarks that the bill "will help put an end to the wasteful practice of 'finning.'" And I'm sure many of you know exactly what I'm going to request: get rid of that "wasteful," will you? This isn't about "wasting" the remaining body parts of a living being; it's about extraordinary cruelty and the decimation of species. So feel free to customize and personalize your e-mail in whatever other ways you see fit as well, but at least please change that "wasteful" to "cruel" before you hit send. We're not talking about throwing out half a loaf of bread because it got a little stale; we're talking about a sentient animal's suffering.
One-Strike Law for Animal Abusers in Your State?
Published May 26, 2009 @ 07:53AM PT
I received a note from the dedicated folks at the Animal Legal Defense Fund recently, letting me know about two things: (1) the campaign for One Strike and You're Out state laws for animal abusers and (2) the coverage of one of ALDF's major rescues and court cases in a popular mainstream venue, which (a) is excellent in terms of getting the information out there but (b) also warrants discussion related to the particular venue. I'll write about these in two separate posts.
First, the law. Despite the familiar name, this isn't a call for sending people to prison for the rest of their lives after the first offense. The ALDF explains:
