Livin’ Veg

Should Felony Animal Abusers Register Like Sex Offenders? February 24, 2010

Photo by Marci Stenberg

A bill by Sen. Dean Florez of California proposes that felony animal abusers should be listed on a public registry. This is the same tactic used with sex offenders. The hope is that if you know who has committed a crime, you can help prevent those same crimes in the future.

This article says:

Florez said animal abuse is especially bad in the Central Valley. He said the biggest problem has been with hoarders, people who keep more than usual numbers of animals as pets, without having the means to take care of those animals. Some hoarders have been found with hundreds of animals, often living in appalling conditions, Florez said.

“We’ve had a lot of convicted hoarders moving into the Valley,” Florez said. “There’s no way to find out about these people until it’s too late.”

The program would be paid for by placing a levy of 3 cents per pound of pet food. That figures to about a buck fifty a year for the average companion animal guardian. It also ensures that the state (as we all know, Cali is broke) doesn’t have to pay for the program.

This bill would surely help prevent animal abuse. I have no doubts about that. However, I’m always a bit nervous when we take away people’s rights to privacy. Should felons expect the same rights to privacy as a law abiding citizen? Should certain crimes be up for public display while others remain more confidential? For example, wouldn’t it be helpful for women out in the dating world to know if the guy they are seeing has been convicted of domestic abuse? Or is it wrong to judge people based on their past behavior? People do change. Any thoughts? I like this idea. It would be great for animals. But what about, instead of making it public, making it mandatory for a person who has been convicted of animal abuse to notify the local law enforcement about their crime instead of making it common public knowledge?

Op-Ed Argues For Making Farm Animals Even Closer to Machines February 22, 2010

I’ve read a lot of stupidity during my time involved with animal rights. A lot of people defending foie gras, factory farms, animal testing, etc. But on Friday I read the most idiotic argument ever. The funny thing is, it was posed as a solution for the inherent cruelty in our factory farming industry. What was the solution? Genetically alter animals so that they can no longer feel pain. That’s right. If they can’t feel pain, then treating them like dung becomes a little less grotesque. At least that’s the opinion in the article.

Writer Adam Shriver says in his opinion piece titled “Not Grass Fed But At Least Pain-Free:”

If we cannot avoid factory farms altogether, the least we can do is eliminate the unpleasantness of pain in the animals that must live and die on them. It would be far better than doing nothing at all.

Rather than actually fighting for real change (especially when humanity is the problem here) he’s saying that the animals should be the ones to change. That we should change them so drastically to better suit our needs that they barely resemble animals anymore. But he ignored the fact that pain isn’t the only abuse that makes factory farming cruel. The animals are aware. They are intelligent feeling creatures. They will still go mad from the boredom of being kept in a cage. They will still long for freedom or, if not freedom, then how about enough room to turn around or take part in some of their natural behaviors. A few people in the comments I saw said that the animals would probably injure themselves by banging against the cage to get out. What’s to stop them if they can’t feel pain?

This article, although it’s pretending to pose a solution for the suffering of animals, is actually just a shill for big ag. It’s trying to justify our disgusting treatment of animals by taking even more away from them. They take their lives. Now, they want to take the parts of them that make them what they are. Their ability to feel.

Mercy For Animals Dairy Investigation On ABC January 28, 2010

Mercy for Animals just released footage of their latest investigation. What’s the topic? Dairy farms. ABC gave them great coverage showing the inhumane treatment of dairy cows. I normally avoid the video…it’s too hard to watch but this, because it was on primetime gets the point across without spiraling a person into a state of depression and anxiety.

They talk about milk’s fabulous marketing campaigns with happy healthy cows and people. The reality is perpetually pregnant cows, tail docking without pain relief, open wounds, violence from the workers towards the animals and little or no space to move for the duration of their lives. Click here for the full story and video or visit Mercy for Animals for more information. Note, the footage on the MFA site is going to be way more graphic than the footage on ABC.

Repost the article to your facebooks, twitters and whatever else you have. The truth about dairy should be shown to the masses. We can help spread the word!

Scientists Say Dolphins Are “Non Human Persons” January 5, 2010

According to an article in the UK’s Times Online, Dolphins are second to humans in intelligence, putting primates in third place for the smartest species. The specifics of their brains - size and folds and other anatomy stuff I don’t really know a thing about - combined with their complex social structures and self awareness show beings who researchers say should be called “non human persons.” Yes! Non human persons! I like that. They are a people.

The researchers also say that keeping dolphins in theme parks and aquariums should be out of the question for such an intelligent species. I don’t think that intelligence should have much to do it. I believe it’s wrong to capture animals from the wild and place them in captivity for our own fleeting pleasure. But I’m all for another argument against the practice.

Check out the article and read all about the brains and behaviors of dolphins. Pass it along to friends and then watch the film The Cove if you haven’t seen it already.

An Open Letter to President Obama November 30, 2009

An Open Letter to President Obama:

Dear Mr. President,

Last Wednesday, in keeping with the annual Thanksgiving presidential tradition, you performed an act of compassion by pardoning a turkey the day before Thanksgiving. Sure, it’s just symbolic, but for one shining moment, it gives a face to all of the birds who are slaughtered for food, especially for this particular holiday. It forces people to see these birds as thinking feeling beings, instead of what they will see the following day on their plates - food.

However, I was thoroughly disappointed by the speech you gave that made light of the consumption of turkeys.

You said:

Today, I am pleased to announce that thanks to the interventions of Malia and Sasha — because I was planning to eat this sucker — “Courage” will also be spared this terrible and delicious fate. Later today, he’ll head to Disneyland, where he’ll be grand marshal of tomorrow’s parade.

Putting aside the fact that you continued your predecessor’s inhumane decision to send the birds to Disney instead of to a facility like Farm Sanctuary that can actually care for the bird’s needs, your jokes about the fate of so many turkeys who are tortured and killed on factory farms was in poor taste. When performing an act of compassion, is it necessary to make fun of the recipient?

So let me for a moment deconstruct why you might have chosen comedy as opposed to heartfelt gratitude when speaking about the animals you eat as food. After all, you aren’t alone in making jokes about the deaths of farm animals in reference to them being a tasty meal. We’ve all heard them before. But why all the joking? I believe that people use jokes to separate themselves from the act of eating an animal that if they saw in person, they would probably want to pet rather than kill. You have an even tougher job for all the omnivores out there. You are pardoning a turkey and giving a face and name to a creature that the citizens of the USA have to feel good about eating the next day. What better way to shrug off a life than by dismissing it with laughter? What could be a real moment of connection with a farm animal is turned into an absurd PR stunt, all for a few chuckles and to dismiss the responsibility we have towards the animals raised for food.

I’m hoping I’ll be seeing seven more turkey pardons from you. So you’ve got time to get it right. (I’m crossing my fingers next year you’ll both nix the jokes as well as the Disney adventure.) I also beg you to look into the turkey farms in this country and reflect on how we as Americans treat the animals so many people eat. You can start here by reading up on the treatment of birds specifically.

Thank you so much for your time.

Happy Holidays.

Ali Berman

India Frees Elephants. We Should Do The Same. November 17, 2009

Photo from the LA Times

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) in India has declared that all elephants in zoos and circuses should be taken off display and sent to national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves ASAP.

Why did they reach this fabulous conclusion? They say the following in the India Times:

“CZA’s order is binding on all zoos. Elephants are large animals and require a large area to move about freely. The environment of a zoo can be very restrictive. The animals have great use for departmental work, eco-tourism, patrolling etc and a decision has been taken to send them to national parks and tiger reserves where they can be under the supervision of mahauts,” said A N Prasad, director, Project Elephant.

Obviously the CZA gets what so many zoos and circuses in the USA do not. Elephants need more space than these facilities can provide. So why keep elephants especially if many zoos (as they claim) have the animal’s best interests in mind? Because elephants bring in big money. To be fair, some zoos have phased out their elephant exhibit for just the reasons the CZA expressed. A zoo cannot provide a quality habitat for an animal of that size. (I’d argue they can’t provide a quality habitat for any animal but I digress.) For a circus, elephants are a main attraction and a large source of income. No way they are giving up elephants without a claws out fight with animal activists. How wonderful India has an organization like the CZA that can give a independent assessment of the elephant’s needs. I’m so jealous.

Bad News For Farm Animals In Ohio November 4, 2009

Yesterday Ohio voters were swayed by big agribusiness and their proposal to “protect” farm animals.  It’s a bit confusing so read below to learn a bit about issue 2:

Ohio voters will hit the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of an agribusiness-backed proposal that would amend the state constitution and create a board of political appointees to act as arbiters of what constitutes proper treatment of farm animals. In the eyes of its critics, the heavily favored measure, called Issue 2, represents the meat industry’s preemptive strike against a fledgling nationwide movement toward humane food production.

The big AR orgs didn’t fight too hard against it. In fact HSUS released a statement saying exactly why they were putting very little money into Ohio. Wayne Pacelle said this: “By packaging Issue 2 as pro-animal welfare and pro-food safety, the architects of the ballot measure went a long way to assure its passage.”

So instead of wasting money on Issue 2 in Ohio, they are instead going to focus on getting Ohio to phase out veal crates, battery cages and gestation crates through different methods.

Big agribusiness won yesterday. But that doesn’t mean the fight is over.

In other totally depressing news, (not AR related) Maine decided to say screw civil rights yesterday. The Maine voters repealed the law legalizing gay marriage. We should not be able to vote on civil rights. Or we end up with garbage like this. So upsetting.

HSUS Uncovers Cruelty at Vermont Slaughter Plant November 3, 2009

HSUS released an undercover video of calves raised for veal being horrifically abused. It was so despicable that state and federal officials shut the plant down to investigate further. I do not recommend watching the video. It’s graphic and appalling and in my opinion best reserved for those who don’t know about the cruelty that happens on factory farms. If you’re on this blog, I assume you are familiar with what goes on. But if you want to watch the video, you can see it here.

Even if the video is too horrible to watch, it’s important to know what the footage revealed. Brace yourself:

In one scene, a worker attempts to skin a calf who is still alive, directly in front of a USDA inspector. This government official tells the worker, on hidden camera, that if another USDA inspector saw this, the plant would be shut down, but he allows the abuse to continue. In another scene, the slaughter plant’s co-owner, who has claimed in press reports that he had no knowledge of cruel treatment at his facility, is shown shocking downed calves with electric prods in futile attempts to force them to stand. Prodding one calf to stand up, he says to the animal, “There ain’t nothing wrong with you, sh*t box.” At one point he jokes that one of the staggering calves “looks like you on a Friday night,” referring to the USDA inspector, who laughs at the co-owner’s joke.

I’m assuming after reading that, you want to do something to help. Click here to help protect other calves from facing the same cruelty. A couple clicks of your mouse could make all the difference for these animals.

Town In NZ Tosses Dead Bunnies For Fun October 26, 2009

During the annual pig hunt (blech), a rural town in New Zealand has a dead bunny toss for the kids. What’s a dead bunny toss? The kids literally throw dead bunnies as a part of the festivities. Animal welfare groups in NZ have put pressure on the town and they canceled this years bunny toss. But the towns people are upset. They feel like it’s just a bit of wholesome fun and that the animal groups are being too sensitive.

I obviously agree with the AR groups. I think that throwing dead animals promotes a lack of respect for animals. In NZ rabbits are considered pests. Entire companies work on exterminating them. We have “pest” animals in the USA. Every country has them. But before this I’ve never heard of playing games with their corpses.

Watch this video and cringe. The news casters are especially awful.

Baltimore City Schools Have Meatless Mondays October 22, 2009

I learned about this a while ago and it’s just so incredibly exciting. The Baltimore City school system has implemented Meatless Mondays to promote healthy eating among the kids. It’s vegetarian, not vegan, but it’s a HUGE step for health, animals and the environment. Childhood obesity is a massive health problem in this country and (in my opinion) one of the biggest culprits is the awful food served to children in schools. Between the sodas, the hamburgers, the fries, the chicken nuggets, kids aren’t being introduced to fruits and veggies.

Here is a bit about what Baltimore is doing:

The 80,000 young people BCPS serves will begin each week with a Meatless Monday menu. And that’s not all. The school system has introduced a wide variety of projects to ensure its students eat and learn about healthy, environmentally friendly choices. BCPS has teemed up with local farmers and distributors to provide students fresh, locally raised fruits, vegetables and milk. They’ve also introduced Great Kids Farm, a 33-acre teaching farm, home to chickens, goats and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Educators on the farm teach kids and adults how to produce home-grown fresh food, even in an urban setting. BCPS is also in the process of developing gardens for each of the system’s 200 schools.

Watch the video to see more. Sadly, it’s a little controversial - mostly since PETA started paying attention to the school and praising them. Some people are against the things that PETA is for on principle. Because of PETA’s sketchy tactics. Alas. For all you Wire lovers, PETA is McNulty in this circumstance saying, “What the #^@% did I do?”