by Jason on September 8, 2006
Back in June we ran a story about a woman who beat a dog breeder over the head with a dead puppy. That link has expired, so I can’t be sure, but I’m sincerely hoping that this is a follow-up to that post, because how many dead-puppies-as-weapons incidents can happen during one presidential term? (What, I needed a timeframe is all. I’m not blaming Dubya for this, not really.) Magic Stones reports that Lisa Hopfer has been found guilty of assault and trespassing, but because she basically hit the guy with meat, there’s nothing on her record about her attitudes towards animals, at least nothing that could stop her from buying another chihuaha, which she seems to have done. Link.
by Jason on August 23, 2006
Porphyry sent in a follow up to our earlier post about the World Hunting Association, which plans to air televised hunting events in which the deer are brought down by tranquilizer darts and arrows. It seems that, like hunting over the internet, we’ve found another issue where pro-animal groups and hunters have some common ground in their opposition. Of course, the reasons differ widely (animal groups are concerned for the animals, hunters think it’s not real hunting without the kill), but whenever you can get bipartisan rejection of an idea, it’s probably going to trump any focus group you can come up with. Regardless of the feedback, the WHA is still planning its first tournament this October, assuming they get around the legal challenges that are mounting. Link.
jellybones sent in an update on India’s controversial housing policies, where landlords are often insisting on renting out flats to vegetarians. We’ve talked about this before, and I don’t know if it’s as widespread as the media has been hyping it to be lately, but I sure would like to live in a vegan building! I’m not sure if stories like this help or hurt the vegetarian message worldwide – quotes like “It’s just not fair. It’s a monopoly by vegetarians… If you step out to eat, there’s nothing for miles because everything around is veggie” probably aren’t great for the cause, but news of large concentrated populations choosing vegetarianism can be helpful. What would happen if a large North American animal rights group was to direct some of its funds to establishing vegetarian housing? I’m not a lawyer, but as far as I know the practice would be legal here in Canada, as long as the policy wasn’t made on religious grounds. Link.
Dave Noisy sent in another study showing the link between antibiotics in food animals and antibiotic resistance in humans. This one came from Australia, where antibiotic use is restricted more than it is in some other countries. A survey of hospital patients there showed a 2 percent resistance rate to the drug ciprofloxacin, whereas in other countries the rate can be as high as 29 percent. The USA proposed banning this class of antibiotics in poultry back in 2000, but lobbying slowed the bill down until it was finally passed in 2005. Link.
sparkalina sent in an updated look at the fuel industry’s struggle to provide alternatives to gasoline and crude oil in the wake of rising prices and rumours of a limit to the supply hidden in the planet. Scientists have been developing new techniques to convert pig manure into fuel for lower costs, and while they still don’t quite make economic sense, the case is rising. The people behind it believe that this is an environmentally kinder way to deal with the massive amount of poop produced by pigs that often spills into waterways. Is it better than burning the stuff into the atmosphere? Well, oil people don’t like to talk about that part too much. I would expect that if farmers are willing to pay to have someone take the manure off of their hands, the base materials would be cheaper than plant-based fuel sources, but as demand increases for “greener” fuel options, consumers will pick up the cruelty-free banner as well and make a clear vote for fuels that don’t exploit animals. Link.
Happy dupe day! Today we’re going to post a few stories that we may have talked about in the past, but that are making the rounds again. Longtime readers may remember the earlier stories, but some of them were first posted several years ago, and it might be time for a fresh look, since the facts may have changed, and our porn surfers clearly didn’t get the message the first time around (and calling it dupe day in no way diminishes the value of the submissions – seriously folks, we couldn’t do this without your help). Leading off, mincus sent in a new opinion piece on vat meat, you know, meat that’s grown in a test tube from cell cultures. It’s written by an omnivore who’s part of a big demographic – the ones who think they’re carnivores but are at least tangentially aware of the cruelty that they inflict on animals by eating steak. Most stories I’ve seen have focused on the “would a vegetarian eat it” angle, so it’s nice to see a meat-eater take note of the development. Link.
Magic Stones sent in an update to her story about the hunter who was awaiting DNA testing on the animal he paid $50,000 for the privilege to kill. If you recall, Jim Martell had his heart set on shooting a polar bear, so he went and shot a bear, but it turned out that the victim’s hide was an odd colour, which prompted an investigation to see if he’d actually shot a grizzly or a rare grizzly/polar bear cross. If it was “merely” a grizzly bear, Martell was facing a fine and/or jail time, since he only had a polar bear license. As it turns out, the bear was indeed a “grolar” or “pizzly” cross breed, and despite the fact that it’s believed to be the only one ever seen in the wild, Martell is in the clear and will get to keep the skin as a souvenir. It’s believed to be nearly impossible for polars and grizzlies to mate, but it’s all to easy to go and kill things: Martell just got his grizzly bear license. Link.
by Jason on April 14, 2006
As follow-up to the fistula caption contest post, Magic Stones sent in a clip from a recent Mercer Report show that featured a tour of the University of Guelph’s agricultural facilities. There’s a lot of “untrained celebrity dealing with animals” footage and a seal bashing joke, but if you skip to the middle, you’ll see a fistula in action. (If you haven’t read the original post, it might help to know that a rumen fistula is a hole in the side of a cow that leads directly to one of the stomachs.) Link (go to March 28 and click on University of Guelph.)
by Jason on March 23, 2006
newsjunkie sent some more news on the horrific human drug test failure that we talked about recently – two of the men are still in a coma, and nobody has any idea what went wrong – after all, the animal tests came back fine. There’s not a lot of new info here (other than the fact that the animals used were monkeys, who only suffered from swollen glands), but it’s worth repeating – until scientists recognize that animal testing isn’t a magic safety bullet, we’re never going to see efforts on alternatives increase. Vivisection apologists like to point out the drugs we have today that save lives and were tested on animals, but think of how many drugs we may have lost because the animal studies didn’t pan out. Link.
by Jason on February 2, 2006
In case anyone still doubts the prophecy of the octopocalypse, as foretold in yesterday’s story about the submarine attack, Dagda Samildanc sent in a 2 minute Google Video clip of a shark vs octopus battle. In addition to the lesson on marine life, this is an important example of the problems with aquariums – yes, the two would have fought in the ocean as well, but it’s probably not our job to put two predators in the same enclosed space. Link.
