Politics and Law
The AVMA: Best Interests of Animals Not Important
Published May 20, 2009 @ 05:54AM PT
Want a prime example of why I take such issue with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)? (What--you didn't know I did? Then you must have missed this post.)
First, the good news: "The opinion, issued March 10, reverses a trial court's decision that pets are personal property lacking in the unique values typically associated with heirlooms, family treasures, and works of art that induce a strong sentimental attachment." Yeah, that's the good news. Animals (or rather, companion animals--not all animals) are now as "valuable" and as worthy of "sentimental attachment" as heirlooms and paintings in New Jersey. Great progress. But don't worry--they're definitely still "property." Here we go, straight from the AVMA's official journal, in response to this New Jersey court decision regarding the custody ownership of a dog after a couple split:
For a Calmer Response to the Obama Polar Bear News...
Published May 08, 2009 @ 01:13PM PT
...than what I wrote this morning, see Edward Humes's post on the issue at the Stop Global Warming blog. He went the level-headed route (where's the fun in that?), waited for the official announcement, and wrote out a thoughtful summary. He also quotes the Center for Biological Diversity statement, which wasn't up yet either when I wrote my post or when I updated it to link to the Defenders of Wildlife and National Wildlife Federation statements. And who, Edward reports, does agree with the Salazar/Obama decision? Sarah Palin. Nice. That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
Edit: My apologies for first writing that the post over at the global warming blog was written by Emily. I assumed and didn't pay attention to the byline.
Breaking: Obama and Salazar to Sell Out Polar Bears, Bush-Style
Published May 08, 2009 @ 09:24AM PT
Update: See the statements from Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation.
It's taking all the restraint I have right now not to say what I really want to say about and to President Barack Obama and Secretary of the Interior Sleazear Salazar.
At least with Bush and his administration, we knew what we were getting. We knew he didn't give a damn about animals. We knew he and his appointees would always put corporate and agribusiness interests ahead of animals.
Obama was supposed to be different. What-the-hell-ever. This administration's decision to throw polar bears to the wolves of corporate America and to throw the wolves to the ranchers and hunters is an outrage.
The shelter dogs. The gray wolves. The polar bears. Whom are you going to sell out next, fellas?
AP: Obama Sticks with Bush-Era Polar Bear Rule
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department is letting stand a Bush administration regulation that limits protection of polar bears from global warming, three people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce on Friday that he will not rescind the Bush rule, although Congress gave him authority to do so. . . .
Business Interests Trump Animal Welfare--Always
Published May 06, 2009 @ 04:04PM PT
The animal agribusiness and pharmaceutical lobbies are fucking unscrupulous. And the politicians who consistently, repeatedly bow to their demands aren't much better. I don't give a damn how many welfare reform laws we pass or try to pass, in this country or any other--the financial interests of the companies and individuals who make their money off abusing, tormenting, exploiting, and killing animals will always, always trump animals' basic interests in simply living free, natural lives. Governments and industries will always find a way around inconvenient reforms, even when the reforms are laughably minor, when it's in their financial interest to do so.
You don't want animals to be put through hell and then killed for no good reason? Wonderful. Then stop eating them. Stop donating to organizations that fund research on them. And when it comes to animal experimentation, start demanding not that governments and industries give animals bigger cages or nicer treatment or file more reports, but that they stop experimenting on animals. We have alternatives. We have excellent alternatives in terms of what eat. And we have excellent, scientifically superior alternatives in terms of how we conduct our research. What brought on this rant tonight? I'll let the folks at Animal Aid (UK) tell you:
The European Parliament has voted to allow millions of animal ‘procedures’ to go ahead throughout the EU each year without the need to seek formal approval. Only ‘moderate’, ‘severe’ and primate experiments would need approval from a central authority, leaving an estimated 4.3 million experiments to go ahead ‘on the nod’.
MEPs were voting on a draft Directive that will update the current 23-year old statute governing vivisection across the EU. The May 5th vote was a critical moment in a hard fought battle during which parliamentarians have been targeted by pharmaceutical company lobbyists who are desperate to create an even more profit-friendly regime at the expense of animal protection.
Despite MEPs having voted last year to phase out all primate experiments, months of intense lobbying weakened their resolve. On May 5th, they voted to delay indefinitely a proposal by the European Commission to phase out the capture of wild-caught monkeys for breeding purposes. The Commission had also wanted monkeys to be used only in experiments relating to ‘life-threatening or debilitating’ human conditions. But, MEPs backed an amendment permitting primate use also for ‘basic’ or curiosity-driven research. The back-tracking amendments were tabled by British Tory MEP for the South-West region, Neil Parish, who is Rapporteur for the European Parliament’s Agricultural Committee.
4 Days to Save Wolves
Published April 30, 2009 @ 09:29AM PT
Four days. Idaho's eager-to-kill governor and others could be heading out with their guns to start killing wolves in just 4 days. Please join Defenders of Wildlife in demanding (OK, Defenders says "urge"; I'm the one saying "demand") that Obama reverse course. Even if you don't agree with me that animals shouldn't be hunted period, the wolves as a species need the Endangered Species protections that they are set to lose. The recent decision made by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, great friend to ranchers and hunters, to delist the wolves was the wrong one, made for the wrong reasons, and it calls for the same approach that was widely criticized when the Bush administration went in that direction.
I know I've asked you to sign a couple other petitions already this week, but I'm going to ask you to read and sign this one too, right away. Some of you have signed already (this petition has been featured in the sidebar the last couple weeks), but those who haven't, please do. (Also, please remember that if you signed a pledge created by a Change.org member sometime in recent weeks, committing to take action, but did not actually follow the provided links to the Defenders of Wildlife petition and sign, you have not sent your message. So make sure to sign the petition as well.)
Related earlier posts:
Hey, Obama. Don't Be Another Bush for the Wolves
Salazar Continuing with Bush Admin Plan to Delist the Wolves
See also "Isle Royale Wolves’ Inbreeding Spells Caution for Northern Rockies Wolves" from the NRDC Switchboard.
Move Over, Montel. We're More Impressed with Your Daughter.
Published April 30, 2009 @ 08:33AM PT
Perhaps you've heard--Wyntergrace Williams, 15-year-old daughter of Montel Williams, is a smart, compassionate, healthy vegetarian. She's been instrumental in getting healthy vegan and vegetarian options onto the menu at her own school, and now she's working with the Healthy School Lunches campaign of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine to get those healthy, compassionate options into all schools. As Williams's petition to her own Connecticut middle school explained, "Whether we choose them out of compassion for animals, or because of concerns about health or the environment, we all benefit from having plant-based meals available. We want to work with our cafeteria to make these new healthful offerings a success." Does this young woman rock or what?
Wyntergrace is in D.C. this week, asking members of Congress to amend the Child Nutrition Act to reflect the importance and necessity of plant-based options in school cafeterias, and she's also hoping she can get two other famous daughters--Malia and Sasha Obama, themselves members of a health-conscious family--to join the effort.
Perhaps you've also noticed the related petition on this site, asking you to "Tell Congress to Provide Vegetarian and Vegan Meal Options in Public Schools." If you haven't signed it yet, now's the time to do it. During the voting for the Ideas for Change project, thousands supported the excellent idea posted by Alex Hershaft of FARM calling for healthy vegan school lunch options. Please support this petition to Congress now too.
Emphasis, of course, needs to be on vegan, truly healthy options, not just options labeled "vegetarian"--which are too often heavy on cream and cheese, neither compassionate nor healthy.
More on the FBI's Vegan "Terrorist"
Published April 23, 2009 @ 05:43PM PT
At the end of "On the FBI's 'Most Wanted' Vegan 'Terrorist'" yesterday, I rounded up some of the responses to the news from my fellow animal rights bloggers. At the time, Will Potter of GreenIsTheNewRed.com hadn't yet weighed in. Now he has, and given that this is his area of focus, I want to direct you to his take on the news too. Here's a part of it:
It was an overtly political move to neutralize the growing chorus of opposition to the recent DHS memo warning of right-wing extremism. When the memo came out, right wing groups sprang into action (much more so than environmental or animal groups have) and have already filed a lawsuit. Meanwhile, some environmentalists mistakenly saw it as reason to believe the Green Scare is over.
Enter Daniel Andreas San Diego. He hasn’t harmed anyone, and his crimes are nothing compared to Osama bin Laden and others on the list (and nothing compared to right wing groups who have admittedly created weapons of mass destruction). But he’s an easy way to create the false impression that this “War on Terrorism” is somehow bipartisan, that both the left and right are being targeted equally.
Chuck Norris recently showed us that’s a load of garbage. This political maneuvering my placate the right (and the DHS memo may placate some environmentalists). And then it’s back to business as usual.
Read the rest here. And see my previous post here.
Oh, and Will reports that one of his readers sent this in: "Word on the street is bin Laden really likes falafel." Funny how that hasn't made it into any news releases and bios, huh?
