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Steve Trister: "The Most Important Video I Have Ever Posted Online In My Life and I Post It With a Very Heavy Heart :( "
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http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152406921975328&set=vb.605770327&type=2&theater
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152406921975328&set=vb.605770327&type=2&theater
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" The most important video I have ever posted online in my life and I post it with a very heavy heart :( "
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Steve's a relatively new friend of mine, and what he's got to say in this very short video is worth seeing... and then you'll just HAVE to take that one additional step... please?
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http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152406921975328&set=vb.605770327&type=2&theater
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152406921975328&set=vb.605770327&type=2&theater
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Animal Acres
. Animal Acres is a lovely, inspiring farmed animal sanctuary. .-
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- 1 year ago
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Baby Chicks Deserve Consideration, Too...
Intellectualyst...
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Baby Chicks Deserve Consideration, Too
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Easter is right around the corner, and unfortunately, while children and families across the nation are celebrating with large baskets filled with goodies, the baby chicks, whom we gush over as cute and sweet little creatures, are the ones who suffer the most harm.
One of the most widespread and careless trends is to give baby chicks as presents to children during Easter. The Humane Society notes that while they are adored for a few days, that baby chick you’ve just given to your four-year-old will soon grow into a full-sized hen or rooster, complete with all the responsibility that entails. The usual solution is simply to give it away. But what happens to all these abandoned animals? As you can guess, they are either dropped at roadsides, given to farms (who will eventually slaughter and serve them on a plate), or simply left to fend for themselves.
The eggs in that Easter basket, as well, likely came from a factory farm, where the chicken can’t flap her wings, or bathe, or perform many other natural behaviors and has only inches in which to live her whole life.
There are better presents to give your children for Easter this year, presents that are not living, breathing creatures which require compassion and energy to raise. Try a stuffed toy, or perhaps board game, or even a book.
And remember, too, that the animal on your plate also wanted to live, so get some Sweet & Sara vegan marshmallows, try some new plant-based recipes, and celebrate a cruelty-free Easter this year.
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Anjali Sareen
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Anjali is the creator and Editor-in-Chief of Intellectualyst, as well as a vegan and lawyer in NYC, owner of the law firm SareenLaw.com. She loves trying new vegan recipes and meeting new people! Email her at anjali@intellectualyst.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter today!
.Intellectualyst... . Baby Chicks Deserve Consideration, Too . Easter is... more-
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Undercover Video a Start to Combating Cockfighting
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/san-bernardino-county-cockfighting.html
Los Angeles Times...
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D.A. combats cockfighting with undercover video, $5,000 reward
December 6, 2011 | 9:30 am
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Click on link to view video:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/san-bernardino-county-cockfighting.html
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The San Bernardino County district attorney's office went multimedia in its efforts to combat cockfighting.
The district attorney's office released a video about the illegal blood sport in which roosters with blades strapped to their feet fight to the death. The six-minute video includes "undercover footage" of cockfighting matches provided by the Humane Society of the United States.
The video posts an offer of a $5,000 reward by the Humane Society to those who report cockfighting.
The district attorney's office has prosecuted 43 cockfighting cases in San Bernardino County in the last year. Cockfighting is illegal in all 50 states, but California is one of 11 states where it is a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
"One of the ways that a society should be judged is by how they treat their animals. I truly believe that," San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Michael Ramos said in the video.
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Click on link to view video:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/san-bernardino-county-cockfighting.html
.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/12/san-bernardino-county-cockfighting.html... more-
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"Why Love One But Eat the Other?" Billboards Stir Controversy in Toronto Subway System
treehugger...
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"Why Love One But Eat the Other?" Billboards Stir Controversy in Toronto Subway System
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They are pretty careful about who gets to put ads up in the Toronto subway system, and animal rights activists usually don't make the cut. But through September and October, subway riders have come face to face with a powerful campaign to convince people that if they like cute kittens and puppies, then they shouldn't be eating chickens and pigs. Kimberly Caroll, an organizer of the campaign says:
Pigs, cows and chickens are remarkable beings," says campaign spokesperson Kimberly Carroll. "Cows will walk for miles to reunite with a calf after being sold at auction. Pigs have intelligence beyond that of a 3 year-old human. Chickens mourn the loss of their loved ones. We hope that in connecting with these animals and the grievous suffering that is behind every burger, omelette, and hot dog, people will be motivated to make more compassionate food choices.
I was surprised that the campaign got approved at all; Kimberly explained:
We ran a similar campaign back in 2009 on the TTC at about a quarter of the size of the current one. At that point the ad had to go through various levels of approval while we waited on pins and needles, but it was approved! This time around, it seems there were no concerns. We've been very impressed with the TTC for this. We believe this is the first animal rights campaign to run on the TTC.
While the puppy and pig comparison is probably not a stretch for most people, the kitten and chicken one is probably a bit more difficult. But they make a case that chickens are "inquisitive, affectionate and personable."
It is not a new message, that animals are animals and it is crazy to treat one kind so differently from another; the British Vegetarian Society did it decades ago. But it is new, seeing it in Toronto plastered all over the subway, where the TTC says it will be seen by 5.7 million people every week. Kimberly says that it is effective; she is getting "several emails, posts, and twitters a day from folks saying they're going veg after seeing the ads."
.treehugger... . "Why Love One But Eat the Other?" Billboards Stir... more-
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Report: Underground Footage Reveals Unbelievable Abuse Against Animals | Article Only
Animal Aid (Great Britain)...
Revealed: cigarettes stubbed out on slaughter pigs' faces
Posted 28 July 2011
But Defra refuses to prosecute!
Cigarettes stubbed out on pigs’ faces; one animal punched in the head; another goaded in the face; regular blows and kicks; seriously injured pigs forced to drag themselves to slaughter… All these abuses in one UK slaughterhouse and Defra still won’t prosecute.
Today, Animal Aid has released footage shot secretly at Elmkirk Ltd (Cheale Meats), an Essex-based, family-run slaughterhouse that kills up to 6,000 pigs a week and whose website proclaims: ‘Be proud of higher welfare, buy British pork.’
The film – which was recorded on a number of secretly installed cameras over a period of four days – shows three different workers stubbing their cigarettes out on the faces of pigs, while one of the men landed a violent punch on the face of a pig who was walking by.
In addition, three seriously injured pigs were forced to crawl from the lairage, through the race and into the stun pen. Animal Aid’s cameras followed them as they were pushed, dragged by their ears and kicked along. Such treatment breaches the welfare laws multiple times.*
Animal Aid filmed many examples of incompetence. Pigs are stunned using electrified tongs, which should span their brains and render them immediately insensible. However, three of the four workers filmed stunning pigs showed a callous indifference to the suffering of the animals, many of whom were not stunned correctly. Some were subjected to painful electric shocks from the tongs, and fell to the ground screaming.
It is legal to use electric goads on the muscles of the hindquarters of pigs, but only for brief periods and only when there is space ahead of the animal in which to move. At Cheale Meats, the electric goad was used in the face of one pig and on the anus of another.
An additional worrying episode showed an apparently dead pig being dragged into the stun pen by a pole in her mouth. She was not stunned but she was shackled, hoisted and had her throat cut on the slaughter line. How this animal died, what she had been suffering from and where her meat ended up remain unknown.
Cheale Meats is the ninth UK slaughterhouse to be secretly filmed by Animal Aid in the past two-and-a-half years. The national campaign group has identified legal breaches in seven of the previous eight – some of them so serious that one slaughterhouse was forced to close down. Cases were built for the prosecution of nine men and four slaughterhouse operators before a change of government brought a change of heart, and all the cases were dropped. Defra, under the coalition government, said that, unlike its Labour predecessor, it could not proceed because the evidence was obtained without the permission of the slaughterhouses. Animal Aid believes that this is a politically motivated excuse and cites the recent Panorama programme, which secretly filmed care home workers without the permission of the owners, and whose film is being used to prosecute.
Animal Aid sent the Cheale Meats evidence to the Food Standards Agency (FSA). This is the body that supplies vets to slaughterhouses and investigates breaches of the welfare and hygiene law before passing the cases to Defra, which is the prosecuting body. The FSA replied on 14 June saying: ‘Defra is not prepared to commence prosecution proceedings where the initial allegation is based on CCTV footage gained without the consent of the relevant Food Business Operator.’
Kate Fowler, Head of Campaigns at Animal Aid says:
‘Since we first began investigating English slaughterhouses, we have been pressing everyone involved – regulators, industry bodies and the government – to act decisively to end the cruelty. At first, they appeared contrite and promised action but now their words ring hollow. If Defra won’t prosecute these flagrant breaches of the law; if the vets can’t or won’t act to stop the cruelties; and if the slaughterhouse owners look the other way, who is there to stop animals from being abused at the most vulnerable time of their lives? It seems that all involved are content to keep quiet and to allow these cruelties to continue. So much for the UK having the best welfare standards in the world!’
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Additional information
Animal Aid has secretly filmed inside eight other slaughterhouses from January 2009 until the present. Previous investigations can be seen here: http://www.animalaid.org.uk/h/n/CAMPAIGNS/slaughter//2419//
While the government has so far failed to take action to curb the cruelties, the supermarkets have responded to Animal Aid’s campaign for CCTV to be installed in the slaughterhouses that supply them. Ten major supermarkets Morrisons, Waitrose, the Co-op, Sainsbury’s, Aldi, Tesco, Lidl, Asda, Marks & Spencer and Iceland, along with wholesalers Booker, have now agreed to make CCTV mandatory.
* The treatment of the injured pigs breaches the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations in a number of ways:
The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard and any person engaged in the movement or lairaging of animals shall ensure that pending the slaughter or killing of any sick or disabled animal in the slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard, it is kept apart from any animal which is not sick or disabled. (Schedule 3, Part II 2 (e)) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/schedule/3/made
The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard and any person engaged in the movement or lairaging of any animal shall ensure that any animal which has experienced pain or suffering during transport or following its arrival at the slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard is slaughtered or killed immediately. (Schedule 3, Part II, paragraph 4 (a)) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/schedule/3/made
The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard and any person engaged in the movement or lairaging of any animal shall ensure that any animal which is unable to walk is not dragged to its place of slaughter or killing but is slaughtered or killed where it lies; or if it is possible and to do so would not cause any unnecessary pain or suffering, is transported on a trolley or movable platform to a place of emergency slaughter or killing where it is then immediately slaughtered or killed. (Schedule 3, Part II, paragraph 5 (a,b)) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/schedule/3/made
The occupier of a slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard and any person engaged in the movement of any animals shall ensure that every animal is moved with care and, when necessary, that animals are led individually. (Schedule 3, Part II, paragraph 9) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/schedule/3/made
No person shall inflict any blow or kick to any animal. (Schedule 3, Part II, paragraph 12) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/schedule/3/made
No person shall lift or drag, or cause or permit to be lifted or dragged, any animal by the head, horns, ears, feet, tail, fleece or any other part of its body in such a way as to cause it unnecessary pain or suffering. (Schedule 3, Part II, paragraph 7) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1995/731/schedule/3/madeAnimal Aid (Great Britain)... Revealed: cigarettes stubbed out on slaughter... more-
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Japan launches massive search
Japan to launch massive search for quake bodies
By SHINO YUASA, AP
4 hours ago
TOKYO — Japan will send nearly 25,000 soldiers backed by boats and aircraft into its disaster zone Monday on an intensive land-and-sea mission to recover the bodies of those killed by last month's earthquake and tsunami, the military said.
Agriculture officials also plan to send a team of veterinarians into the evacuation zone around a stricken nuclear plant to check on hundreds of thousands of abandoned cows, pigs and chickens, many of which are believed to have died of starvation and neglect. The government is considering euthanizing some of the dying animals, officials said.
About 14,300 people have been confirmed dead so far in the catastrophic March 11 tsunami and earthquake. Another 12,000 remain missing and are presumed killed. Some of their bodies were likely swept out to sea, while others were buried under the mass of rubble.
Cleanup crews have discovered some remains as they gingerly removed rotting debris to clear the area for rebuilding.
But the two-day military search operation will be far more extensive, Defense Ministry spokesman Ippo Maeyama said Sunday.
"We will do our utmost to recover bodies for bereaved families," he said.
A total of 24,800 soldiers will scour the rubble, backed by 90 helicopters and planes, he said. Another 50 boats, along with 100 navy divers, will search the waters up to 20 kilometers off the coast, he said. Police, coast guard and U.S. troops will also take part.
"It's been very difficult and challenging to find bodies because the areas hit by tsunami are so widespread," he said. "Many bodies also have been swept away by the tsunami."
The operation will be the third intensive military search for bodies since the disaster last month. With the waters receding, Maeyama hopes the teams will have more success.
The search was complicated by the decomposition of some of the corpses, he said. Some had already turned into skeletons.
"You have to be very careful in touching the bodies because they quickly disintegrate. We cannot tell the bodies' gender anymore, let alone their age," he said.
The searches will continue, however, "as long as families want us to look for their loved ones," Maeyama said.
Meanwhile, the government in the Fukushima prefecture will send a team of six veterinarians into the 12-mile (20-kilometer) evacuation zone around the radiation-leaking Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant to survey the livestock there.
Farmers in the area were estimated to have left 3,000 cows, 130,000 pigs and 680,000 chickens behind when they hurriedly fled the area last month when the nuclear crisis started.
With no time for burials, veterinarians who find dead livestock will spray lime over them to prevent them from spreading disease, agricultural officials said.
The government is also considering euthanizing dying animals, but only after getting permission from their owners, said Yutaka Kashimura, an agricultural official in Fukushima.
"Killing animals is the very last resort," he said.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewriJapan to launch massive search for quake bodies By SHINO YUASA, AP 4 hours ago... more-
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Hundreds of Birds Found in Major Cockfighting Ring Will Be Euthanized
Hundreds of birds found in major cockfighting ring will be euthanized
February 21, 2011 | 7:57 am
PHOTO: Cock fighting encampment found
San Diego officials said most of the 400 birds found when they broke up a large cockfighting ring will have to be euthanized.
Lt. Dan DeSousa of San Diego County Animal Services said official have no other choice because the birds have been trained to be aggressive. "At least they will receive a humane death rather than a horrible death during a fight," he said.
Seven people were arrested over the weekend -- four on suspicion of owning birds trained for fighting and three for allegedly watching a cockfight when an Animal Services officer arrived Saturday in rural Rainbow. All seven face misdemeanor charges.
Along with birds kept in cages, Animal Services officers found the kind of knives that are attached to the birds to allow them to slash each other during a fight, DeSousa said.
Rainbow, a community of about 2,000, is just east of Interstate 15, about 50 miles north of San Diego.
-- Tony Perry in San Diego
Photo credit: San Diego Animal ControlHundreds of birds found in major cockfighting ring will be euthanized February 21,... more-
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Cockfight Killing: Cockfight Attendee Killed By Rooster
Cockfight Killing: Jose Luis Ochoa Killed By Armed Bird
02/ 7/11 10:55 PM AP
DELANO, Calif. — A California man attending a cockfight has died after being stabbed in the leg by a bird that had a knife attached to its own limb.
The Kern County coroner says 35-year-old Jose Luis Ochoa was declared dead at a hospital about two hours after he suffered the injury in neighboring Tulare County on Jan. 30.
An autopsy concluded Ochoa died of an accidental "sharp force injury" to his right calf.
Sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt says it's unclear if a delay in seeking medical attention contributed to Ochoa's death. Tulare officials are investigating, and no arrests were made at the cockfight.
Cockfighting is a sport, illegal in the United States, in which specially bred roosters are put into a ring and encouraged to fight until one is incapacitated or killed.Cockfight Killing: Jose Luis Ochoa Killed By Armed Bird 02/ 7/11 10:55 PM AP... more-
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Man killed by cock-fighting rooster
The tables turned at a California cockfight after a man was fatally stabbed in the leg by a sharp blade attached to one of the fighting birds.Jose Luis Ochoa, 35, died after he bled out due to the gash in his thigh. Ochoa was taken to a local hospital shortly after police responded to a reported cockfight last Sunday in Lamont, California. Ochoa had a previous arrest for owning a cock-fighting bird.Police found five dead roosters at the scene and believe as much as $10,000 was being gambled on the fights.Knives are added to the cock-fighting roosters to make the contest more violent.Last month a man in India was killed after his champion rooster slashed his throat.The bird is said to have attacked owner Singrai Soren when he was pushing it back into the ring after it repeatedly tried to escape.The bird slit his throat with razor blades he had attached to its legs.
Source: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/rooster_revenge_cockfighting_bird_vdWgYmiTQbLmMBltVoPmxK The tables turned at a California cockfight after a man was fatally stabbed in the... more-
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Police Break Up Another Cockfighting Ring Run Out of Pacoima (California) Home | All 60 Roosters Were Subsequently Killed by Animal Control | Photos | Video
Police Break Up Cockfighting Ring Run Out Of Pacoima Home
November 13, 2010 8:55 PM
(credit: CBS)
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Police say they’ve broken up a cockfighting ring operation that was being held in the backyard of a Pacoima home.
Police seized dozens of bloody roosters from the home, where they were being conditioned and bred to fight to the death.
Suspects were taken into custody, but their identities were not released.
The seized roosters were bloody and badly injured, some with blades attached to their claws. All the roosters seized were past rehabilitation and had to be euthanized, CBS 2/KCAL 9’s Melissa Maynarich reported.
Neighbors say they’ve heard the sounds of roosters dying from behind the home for years.
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The case now goes to the city attorney’s office, where it will be decided whether criminal charges will be filed.Police Break Up Cockfighting Ring Run Out Of Pacoima Home November 13, 2010 8:55 PM... more-
- EthicalVegan
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"Bones" Star Emily Deschanel Supports World Go Vegan Week
Celebrate Compassion
The 5th annual World Go Vegan Week is taking place this year from October 24th through 31st. This week is a celebration of compassion and a time to take action for animals, the environment and everyone's well-being. A plant-based diet not only improves your health, it significantly reduces your carbon footprint and preserves resources for future generations. So please join me in creating a healthy future and go vegan for World Go Vegan Week.
- Emily Deschanel
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IDA would like to encourage people to use World Go Vegan Week to educate their community about the vegan lifestyle as a compassionate, sustainable, and healthy way of eating and living. Promoting veganism through outreach events and the media, we know that our annual World Go Vegan Week is helping make the word "vegan" a household word, universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings.
Take the Vegan Pledge [http://ida.convio.net/site/PageNavigator/Vegan_Pledge] and pledge to go vegan for the week of World Go Vegan Week, October 24 - 31. Join other compassionate and inspired people that are changing their diet, changing their life and changing the world! Then, hold an event to celebrate you commitment to World Go Vegan Week.
Here are some ways you can celebrate World Go Vegan Week:
Be sure to register your event with us so we can send you flyers, posters and other materials to make you event a success. Contact Hope Bohanec: hope@idausa.org (415)448-0058.
* Plan an event or activity to get people interested in veganism, such as a public lecture, cooking demonstration, feed-in with vegan food samples, leafleting, tabling, library exhibit, or street theater performance. If you serve vegan food at your event, you can get refunded for the cost through the VegFund
* Host a vegan potluck dinner or restaurant outing to show your family and friends that they don't have to sacrifice taste to save animals' lives. Sharing delicious vegan food with others is a fun and easy way to make a difference in the lives of animals and the people you care about.
* Ask your local natural foods store to offer vegan samples for the week. Ask your favorite local food store to offer vegan samples or specials for the last week of October. Let them know that we can send information, posters and materials to help them celebrate World Go Vegan Week.
* Ask veg-friendly restaurants to offer discounts or specials on their vegan food. Encourage restaurants to have vegan specials for the week or to offer a discount for bringing in a veg-curious customer.
* Show a powerful, short vegan video at your next potluck or social gathering. Here's one of our favorites: Vegan video by NonViolenceUnited.org.
* Host a vegan pie-baking contest. You can do this in your own home in a public place. Offer prizes like gift certificates to veggie restaurants or IDA T-shirts. Don't you want to be a judge? Yum!
* Host a Vegan Halloween Party. Have a costume party and have prizes for the best animal costume, most compassionate, and the most vegan creative! Have vegan Halloween candy and treats on hand and go trick-or-treating, offering folks at the door vegan candy and brochures.
* Students: join or start a vegan club in your school and plan an event with your friends that will educate people about the benefits of a vegan diet to human health, animals, and the environment. Write a paper on veganism, hand out vegan literature at a college campus or help get vegan meals into your school's cafeteria. Visit Choice to learn how.
* Have a well-known vegan author or athlete come speak in your community. Host an event where a famous vegan offers an inspiring presentation. Have vegan treats for folks to try. IDA can help you contact the person.
* Send a friend or family member who lives far away a gift certificate to a restaurant in their own town. Visit Happy Cow for reviews of vegetarian restaurants around the country.
* Write a letter to the editor about the benefits of a vegan diet or the cruelties of factory farming, or ask your local newspaper to write a story on the subject.
* If you are religious, or participate in spiritual services or gatherings, look for opportunities to incorporate the vegan message into the discussions. If you participate in study groups, suggest discussion fo the vegan message.
* Visit a farmed animal sanctuary and take a friend who still eats meat. There are a number of farmed animal sanctuaries where you can visit rescued cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, goats, sheep and rabbits live naturally in peace and harmony without fear of abuse or slaughter. Check out Animal Acres, Animal Place, Farm Sanctuary, Poplar Springs Animal Sanctuary, or IDA's Project Hope.
* Encourage a Compassionate Thanksgiving. Since Thanksgiving is coming up in a few weeks, talk to your community food banks about providing vegan options such as Tofurkys. Consider buying a few Tofurkys, preparing them, and bringing them to your food bank or other similar community dinner. Be sure to check out Gentle Thanksgiving which offers a lot of information and guidance on this special observance.
* Share the ideals of veganism with your community of friends and colleagues by adding this quote to your email signature:"Veganism gives us all the opportunity to say what we 'stand for' iin life -- the ideal of healthy, humane living. Add decades of health to your life, with a clear conscience as a bonus." - Donald Watson
* If you are a part of an animal protection organization, become a presenter of World Go Vegan Week. There are no costs to you for joining us as a co-presenter. All you need is to post the World Go Vegan Week banner on your web site, which links to the World Go Vegan Week web page. Contact Hope Bohanec, for more information: hope@idausa.org or call (415) 448-0058.Celebrate Compassion The 5th annual World Go Vegan Week is taking place this year... more-
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Why Factory Farms May Finally Be Held Responsible for Their Polluting Waste
In a groundbreaking legal settlement, the EPA has agreed to identify and investigate thousands of factory farms that have been avoiding government regulation for water pollution.
June 3, 2010
Photo Credit: Farm Sanctuary
In a legal settlement that could affect the entire U.S. meat industry, the Environmental Protection Agency has agreed to identify and investigate thousands of factory farms that have been avoiding government regulation for water pollution with animal waste.
The settlement requires the agency to propose a rule on greater information gathering on factory farms within the next 12 months. It will require the approximately 20,000 domestic factory farms to report such information as how they dispose of manure and other animal waste.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Waterkeeper Alliance filed the suit in 2009 over a rule that exempted thousands of factory farms from taking steps to minimize water pollution from the animal waste they generate.
"Thousands of factory farm polluters threaten America's water with animal waste, bacteria, viruses and parasites that can make people sick," said Jon Devine, an attorney with the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council.
"Many of these massive facilities are flying completely under the radar. EPA doesn't even know where they are," said Devine.
More than 30 years ago, Congress identified factory farms as water pollution sources to be regulated under the Clean Water Act's permit program.
But under a Bush administration regulation challenged by the environmental groups in this lawsuit, large facilities were able to escape government regulation by claiming, without government verification, that they do not discharge into waterways protected by the Clean Water Act.
Under the settlement reached May 26, the EPA will initiate a new national effort to track down factory farms operating without permits and determine if they must be regulated.
The specific information that EPA will require from individual facilities will be determined after a period of public comment. But the results of that investigation will enable the agency and the public to create stronger pollution controls in the future and make sure facilities are complying with current rules.
"The EPA's rules have failed to protect our rivers and lakes from polluting factory farms," said Ed Hopkins, director of Sierra Club's Environmental Quality Program. "Gathering more information to document factory farms' pollution will lay the groundwork for better protection of our waters."
The National Pork Producers Council expressed "deep frustration and anger" over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's continuing efforts "to develop costly agricultural regulations that provide few if any additional environmental benefits."
"With this one-sided settlement, EPA yanked the rug out from under America's livestock farmers," said Michael Formica, NPPC's chief environmental counsel. "NPPC is looking at all appropriate legal responses to EPA's disappointing course of action."
Factory farms, also known as concentrated animal feeding operations, CAFOs, confine animals on an industrial scale and produce massive amounts of manure and other waste that can pollute waterways with dangerous contaminants.
These CAFOs apply liquid animal waste on land, which runs off into waterways, killing fish, spreading disease, and contaminating drinking water. The plaintiff groups cite EPA estimates that pathogens, such as E. coli, are responsible for 35 percent of the nation's impaired river and stream miles, and factory farms are one of the most common pathogen sources.
"This agreement sets the stage for new Clean Water Act permitting measures that will add to producers' costs, drive more farmers out of business, increase concentration in livestock production to comply and hurt rural economies," said Randy Spronk, a Minnesota pork producer who heads NPPC's environmental committee. "And the measures will do nothing really to improve water quality.
"Additionally," said Spronk, "the settlement was negotiated in private and without consultation or input from the regulated farming community. This flies in the face of the Obama administration's pledges to operate government more transparently. And, in this economy, the administration should be enacting measures that create jobs, not implementing regulations that put American farmers out of business."
Today there are more than 67,000 pork operations compared with nearly three million in the 1950s. Farms have grown in size; 53 percent of them now produce 5,000 or more pigs per year.
"The record is clear -- large CAFO operations, and many medium and small operations, commonly discharge pollutants into the surrounding environment," said Waterkeeper Alliance attorney Hannah Connor. "What is also clear is that if we want to continue to drink, fish and enjoy water that is not contaminated with raw animal excrement, these discharges must be stopped."
"We believe that the terms of this settlement will help reverse this industry's history of bad behavior by improving implementation and enforcement of the law," Connor said.
Litigation brought by these three groups has forced the EPA to revise its CAFO rules twice within the past decade to tighten the pollution control requirements on these facilities.In a groundbreaking legal settlement, the EPA has agreed to identify and investigate... more-
- EthicalVegan
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Senior Prank Leads to Animal Cruelty Charges
Sat Jun 5, 3:37 pm ET
DENVILLE, N.J. – Seven northern New Jersey students are facing numerous charges for placing rabbits, mice, roosters and chickens inside ceilings at their high school as part of a senior prank.
Denville police say the students are all boys. Their names were not released because they're juveniles.
Officers went to Morris Knolls High School shortly before midnight Tuesday after a custodian reported seeing people inside the building.
Police say the boys got in through an open window and that most of the animals were stolen from farms.
The seven face various charges including burglary, criminal mischief and conspiracy. Authorities said Saturday that animal cruelty charges are pending because at least one of the animals was injured after falling through the ceiling.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100605/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_senior_prank_arrestsSat Jun 5, 3:37 pm ET DENVILLE, N.J. – Seven northern New Jersey students are... more-
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Revealed: The Very Unappetising Truth About McDonald's Chicken Meals (Jamie Oliver, Look Away Now)
PART ONE...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1278495/The-unappetising-truth-McDonalds-chicken-meals.html?ITO=1708&referrer=yahoo
Revealed: The very unappetising truth about McDonald's chicken meals (Jamie Oliver, look away now)
By Tom Rawstorne
Last updated at 2:02 PM on 15th May 2010
A chicken squats in a shed the size of a football pitch somewhere in the outback of Brazil. And it's not alone.
One of tens of thousands, each bird is allowed the floor space equivalent to a sheet of A4 paper and will live for just 40 days before it hits its genetically-engineered slaughter weight. That's if it doesn't perish along the way.
Five per cent or so will be unable to cope with the conditions and die even before then.
Those that survive will be plucked and butchered in an industrial process the like of which this planet has never before seen.
Every year billions of chickens will live and die in this way. Of course, South America is a long way away. But your local McDonald's is not. And that is where a significant proportion of this intensively reared meat will eventually end up.
Of all the chicken churned out by the fast-food chain - the equivalent of 30 million birds a year - 60 per cent is imported frozen from Brazil. A further nine per cent comes from Thailand and 30 per cent from Holland
A quick bit of arithmetic reveals just how much of the chicken sold in the fast-food giant's British restaurants is reared in this country: that's right, just one per cent.
It's a figure that's never before been published, and it will surprise and disturb many. After all, in recent years McDonald's has effectively relaunched itself as a chain that cares about the provenance of its food and its relationship with the nation's farmers.
There have been television adverts featuring bucolic rural scenes, paper tray mats that introduce the customer to the chain's suppliers and a website that boasts of lovingly nurtured, homegrown spuds.
The beef they use is sourced entirely from British and Irish farms, the eggs free-range, the milk organic and the coffee beans Rainforest Alliance-certified.
And, clearly, it is something that chimes with the public. During the past four years, McDonald's UK had added £465million to its sales, while in 2009 there was a double-digit increase in like-for-like sales as customer visits rose year on year. In terms of growth, Britain is leading the way across McDonald's international empire.
Impressive stuff, and it's not just the public who are reacting well. This month, the celebrity chef Jamie Oliver publicly gave his backing to the chain.
'The quality of the beef, they only sell free-range eggs, they only sell organic milk, their ethics and recycling is being improved and improved,' he said in an interview. 'And I can't even believe I'm telling you that McDonald's UK has come a long way, but actually, it probably puts quite a lot of gastro-pubs to shame, the amount of work they're doing in the back end.
'Also, they've just had their best commercial year in four years, so they're proving that being commercial and caring can work. Actually, it's the future.'
But what - and it is a very big 'what' - about the chicken, the dish which one suspects many customers seeking a healthier option would generally go for? What aspect of these birds' life cycle, of the impact their production has on the planet, could possibly be described as 'caring'?
More to the point, is it something about which Jamie Oliver or the millions of customers who eat in McDonald's every week are even aware?
A decade or two ago, people went to McDonald's for one thing and one thing alone: a beefburger.
Today, a glance at the menu shows just how much the fast-food chain - and the nation's tastes - has changed. Forget the Big Mac, it is chicken that is now equally big business.
On the menu there is the Chicken Legend burger, £2.99, the McChicken sandwich, £2.19, Chicken McNuggets, £2.19 for six, or £2.49 for nine, and Mayo Chicken, 99p. The toasted deli sandwiches include chicken and bacon, £2.99, chicken salad, £2.99, and sweet chilli chicken, £2.99. Then there are the salad options: crispy chicken and bacon, £3.29, and grilled chicken and bacon, £3.59.
Finally, on the recently introduced Little Tasters menu, there is the chicken caesar snack wrap, £1.49, and the salsa snack wrap, £1.49.
The growth of this side of the McDonald's menu is in no way accidental. The British perceive chicken as a healthy alternative to red meat and are eating ever-increasing amounts of it. Upping its presence on the McDonald's menu was a 'no-brainer' that has been integral to the company's success.
CONTINUED:PART ONE...... more-
- EthicalVegan
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Cockfighting birds seized at the San Diego/Tijuana Border crossing.
Raul Salcedo was cited for animal cruelty after being caught trying to smuggle 12 roosters and 5 hens into the Untied States for the purpose of cockfighting. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents discovered the bound birds during a routine inspection. Salcedo put the birds into nylon stockings to keep them quiet and ties their feet making it impossible for them to move.
http://bowlersdesk.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/cockfighting-birds-seized-at-the-san-diegotijuana-border-crossing/Raul Salcedo was cited for animal cruelty after being caught trying to smuggle 12... more-
- lmbowler
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- 3 years ago
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This Earth Day, go vegan
Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Approximately 1 billion people will participate in Earth Day celebrations this month, and today alone countless people will plant trees, clean up rivers, pledge not to use plastic bags and decide to walk rather than drive. All of this helps, of course, but it's not going to save the planet. To be truly "green", we've got to make our diets more environmentally friendly by kicking the meat habit and going vegan. An apple a day can help keep environmental destruction away.
Our most serious environmental problems – climate change, overexploited natural resources, deforestation, wasted land, water and air pollution – as well as today's most serious health problems, including heart disease and cancer, are all directly linked to the consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products.
A 2006 United Nations report revealed that the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, trains, planes and ships in the world combined. The report attributed 18% of annual worldwide greenhouse-gas emissions to farmed animals, but new research indicates that the figure actually could be much higher. In Livestock and Climate Change, the Worldwatch Institute estimates that raising animals for food actually accounts for 51% of all greenhouse-gas emissions.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates that 30% of the Earth's ice-free land is now involved – either directly or indirectly – in livestock production. Huge swaths of forests are being bulldozed to make more room for animals and the crops that feed them. According to Greenpeace, all the wild animals and trees in more than 2.9m acres of rain forest were destroyed in one year's crop season in order to grow crops that are used to feed chickens and other animals on factory farms.
Some activists will be showering in the street today behind a curtain that reads, "1kg of meat = 1 year of showers. Clean your conscience: go vegan". That's because between watering the crops that farmed animals eat, providing drinking water for billions of animals each year and cleaning away the filth on factory farms and in trucks and slaughterhouses, the farmed-animal industry places a serious strain on our water supply. A totally vegetarian diet can be produced with only 1,100 litres of water per day, while producing a diet that includes meat requires more than 15,000 litres of water per day.
Then there's the energy required to operate factory farms, feedlots, slaughterhouses and trucks that transport animals. The respected environmental magazine E noted in 2002 that more than one-third of all fossil fuels produced in the US are used to raise animals for food.
That's not all. Our meat-based diet is partly to blame for world hunger, because land, water and other resources that could be used to grow food for human beings are used to grow crops for farmed animals instead. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of meat.
It's time to face what some may consider an inconvenient truth: our meat, egg and dairy habits are destroying the planet. Let's not forget about being environmentalists the moment we sit down to eat.
If we are to halt climate change and environmental destruction while stopping animal suffering and improving our health, we must celebrate Earth Day every day – at every meal.Today marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Approximately 1 billion people will... more-
- heavenlytouch
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Funky chickens have sexual-identity issues
Some chickens have sexual-identity issues, waddling around with half-male and half-female plumage.
Now researchers have figured out the cause of the gender-confusing traits: Half of their bodies are full of female sex cells, while the other half contains mostly male cells.
"This research has completely overturned what we previously thought about how sexual characteristics were determined in birds," said study researcher Michael Clinton of the University of Edinburgh, Roslin, in Scotland. "We now believe that the major factors determining sexual development are built into male and female cells and derive from basic differences in how sex chromosome genes are expressed."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35806033/ns/technology_and_science-science/Some chickens have sexual-identity issues, waddling around with half-male and... more-
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Children and Cops Attend Illegal Cockfighting Event in Kentucky
Cops, kids attend cockfight, Humane Society says
February 24, 2010 10:31 a.m. EST
(CNN) -- Two roosters tear at each other in a fenced ring in a recent match in Kentucky.
But even more shocking then the illegal fight in the ring may be who was in the crowd watching, says the Humane Society of the United States.
Camera footage from an undercover operation shows children and uniformed police officers attending the recent cockfight, the Humane Society says.
"Cockfighting is a cruel blood sport that is illegal in Kentucky and every other state," said John Goodwin, manager of animal fighting issues for the group. "Kentucky police officers should not treat this criminal activity with a wink and a nod, and it's another sign that state lawmakers must act to strengthen the penalties for cockfighting."
The video released Tuesday shows fights at a cockfighting pit in Manchester, Kentucky, the Humane Society said.
As the roosters thrash at each other, the camera pans to the crowd of dozens gathered, cheering for the birds. At least four law enforcement officers can be seen in the crowd, including a Kentucky state trooper who was talking to a young boy.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear released a statement about the video.
"The Governor has spoken to the Kentucky State Police commissioner. Regarding this incident depicted on video, the Kentucky State Police are conducting an internal inquiry," the statement said. "However, Kentucky State Police are fully committed to enforcing all criminal laws, including those against animal cruelty."Cops, kids attend cockfight, Humane Society says February 24, 2010 10:31 a.m. EST... more-
- EthicalVegan
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Cockfighting Bust: Over 600 Chickens Seized In Raid - Yucaipa, California's Shame
Cockfighting Bust: Over 600 Chickens Seized In Raid
| 02/17/10 12:46 AM
YUCAIPA, Calif. — Sheriff's deputies have seized more than 600 chickens that authorities believe were being trained for cockfighting from a Southern California property.
Authorities say deputies seized about 400 roosters and 200 hens Tuesday morning at the residence in Yucaipa in San Bernardino County. The property owners were not there at the time.
Investigators believe the birds were going to be sold in Mexico to compete in cockfighting derbies. Humane Society of the United States law enforcement specialist Eric Sakach says the operation had been written about in a cockfighting magazine.
Deputies and animal control officers were acting on a tip from the Humane Society. Sheriff Rod Hoops says his Rural Crimes Task Force "will not allow this blood sport to flourish."Cockfighting Bust: Over 600 Chickens Seized In Raid | 02/17/10 12:46 AM... more-
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