nvestigators uncovered the cemetery with help from the cast of the National Geographic show, "Rescue Ink Unleased."
An anonymous tipster called the muscle-bound, motorcycle-riding cast and told them animals were being mistreated at McDonough's home.
When "Rescue Ink" cast members showed up at the house and discovered malnourished pets at the home, they called the SPCA, Gross said.
He said SPCA investigators found five gaunt dogs in small, cramped cages at the home.http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/11/08/2009-11-08_pet_cemetery_horror_house_fou... more
WARNING: CONTENT WILL BE DISTURBING TO MANY VIEWERS
many people could care less about factory farming and the killing of frogs, but how about your pets, cats and dogs are routinely slaughter by factories that provide animals for dissection in school across America...You money ,tax dollars are funding this!!!!WARNING: CONTENT WILL BE DISTURBING TO MANY VIEWERS
many people could care less about... more
[go to full link for the images and links because they won't be posted here]
One thing I hear from the anti-animal liberation movement (or those apathetic to it) is that the animal liberation movement is different from other movements because the animals don't come together to rise up against their exploiters. They also claim that the animal liberation movement is unlike that of other human animal struggles because x% of that struggle was the oppressed group (i.e. 50% of the population was women during the suffrage movement). Both of these misconceptions result from both speciesism and an effective campaign to demonize any retaliation from other animals against their captors.
A recent story inspired my entry on this topic: Russian Circus Bear Kills Manager
In short, a bear exploited, demeaned, and undoubtedly beaten into performing for humans on ice skates retaliated against his/her captors. The bear was shot on scene after giving fatal injuries to their exploiter.
In reading this story, others immediately came to mind. The horrid circus elephant attempt at escape in Honalulu. She made it out of the building, and through the gates, but then where was she to escape to? She was shot to death shortly after.
When performing monkeys banded together to attack their trainer in China, who had be imprisoning and beating them, their attack ended there. They were tied to the trainer by their necks and had nowhere to escape to. No one helped them.
When a mother cow attacked a farmer as he tried to steal her baby (as farmers do), she is labeled as "overprotective" as if there was something strange about her attempts to save her child. This cow was lucky enough not to be identified by the remaining farmers, but only at the cost of killing her captor and devastating his family.
These stories and many others beg the question: How are the animals to rise up against their exploiters (without our help) when every time they do they are met with weapons and immediate punishments of death? We do not speak their language nor they ours so no amount pleading will help (which they do do in their own forms of communication as they cry out from cages, scream in pain, and other noises which are ignored by their exploiters). Letter-writing and pleading doesn't even help us get things done within our own species.
The other point about x-amount of beings being part of a struggle begs the question: Why do only humans count in the percentage? The animals in the movement, while lacking in our weapons and technology, outnumber us. For this reason, their movement should be considered on level with our own as we are all animals. Also, in most other movements, it was NOT the oppressed group acting alone against the oppressor. The oppressed group almost always had allies from outside their demographic which helped make their revolutions a success. Could those suffering in the Holocaust have brought the Nazi war machine down on their own?
Before we judge the plight and worth of other species based on their ability to revolt, we must remember that the cruelty towards our fellow animals is so heinous that it can be compared to every single human struggle that has existed. Factory farms are concentration camps. Female farm animals serve as sex slaves and breeding machines. Animals in entertainment are slaves to their oppressors.
No one is free while others are oppressed.[go to full link for the images and links because they won't be posted here]
One... more
Scratch that $11.2 million underground animal research facility the University of Iowa's interim vice president for research, Jordan Cohen is probably saying to his Board of Regents right about now.
Related Stories on Scoop
A 35,000-square-foot underground vivarium where researchers could move mice, sheep, pigs, rabbits and primates without ever coming above ground made a lot of sense in 2004--when activists breached Iowa labs, opening cages and ruining research.
But it doesn't make a lot of sense when the enemy is, gulp one of one's own.
The Yale community might be breathing a little easier now that a suspect is in custody in connection with the murder of graduate student Annie Le who was killed inside a high security lab in September, but the animal research community isn't.
What good are electronic surveillance, code cards and high tech security when the foe is in your own household in the form of a laboratory technician like suspect Raymond Clark III some are asking?
Did he euthanize one too many decorticated cats? See too many primates pinned in stereotaxic devices? Spend too long under the ether hood?
Or was Clark "off" before he became a lab technician--even becoming a technician because he was off? (Does the job description read, "most love animals but not get too attached to them"?)
Whatever Clark's reasons if found guilty, animal researchers now have two new fears: depraved technicians--and the public peeling back the Plexiglas curtain on the secretive, pork-ridden world of animal research.
There's a reason for the security that keeps Beagle burn videos from surfacing like egg farm videos. Animal research is too lucrative for the university/government/pharma complex to risk macaques on YouTube and the public judging the asinine and repetitive experiments many researchers know they live on.
Do you think Northwestern University--or the National Institutes of Health (NIH)--want to acknowledge that every year from l978 through l985 Associate Professor Dr. Charles Larson fused monkeys' necks to their skulls and deprived them food five days per week to make them cry out in a specific manner according to Concerned Citizens for Ethical Research? At a tax payer cost of $472,370? To "gain insights into some of the neurological disorders affecting vocalization?" Even as his colleagues scoffed?
Thanks to the Stimulus Bill, NIH has a 2009 budget of $39.9 billion--think a year of the war in Iraq--and much of it goes to animal research.
University of Washington, for example, scored a cool $1 billion this year according to the Seattle Times for research, topping all public universities, despite its little incident with assistant professor of immunology Chen Dong in 2003.
Dong withheld food from mice, removed tips of their tails without anesthesia, failed to let babies wean and failed to euthanize suffering mice per the established mouse-pain scale said the university, barring him from animal research. Dong was also charged with falsifying his scientific articles and the Journal of Clinical Investigation asked for a retraction, reported the Times.
Nor does the University of Iowa seem to be hurting financially with its plans for a $122.5 million Iowa Institute for Biomedical Discovery which will connect to the underground vivarium mentioned earlier with its state of the art animal housing facilities, cage washing facilities and aseptic surgery space.
No, for animal researchers the bigger fear from Le's murder than technicians like Clark is the public seeing the heaps of unsupervised government pork behind their Plexiglas curtain. No wonder the research community wraps a "saves lives" cloak around its work whether falsified journal articles or Larson's "speech" studies.
It keeps the public from saying YOU'RE FUNDING WHAT? For how many years? With what results? about its tax dollars.by Martha Rosenberg
Scratch that $11.2 million underground animal research facility... more
WARNING: This video contains violent staged animal abuse not approved by the ASPCA nor the Humane Society. Reid Baer does not actually punch his dog in the face numerous times – his own Boston Terrier named Abigail takes every hit like a champ. It’s a dog eat dog world out there – and sometimes the man just has to win! Please do NOT laugh at this video. PETA will kill me.
p.s. I have never abused an animal. This was for fun, okay? Sorry for all the poor critters on the planet. We take very good care of Abigail.
;)
-WARNING: This video contains violent staged animal abuse not approved by the ASPCA nor... more
That's the flag of the Benin Empire, a pre-colonial African state situated in modern Nigeria that lasted from 1440 until 1897. (via andre)That's the flag of the Benin Empire, a pre-colonial African state situated in modern... more
Justice Antonin Scalia said the court needed to consider "the right of people who like cockfighting, who like dogfighting and who like bullfighting to present their side of the debate."
From AP:
Justice Antonin Scalia was having none of it. In the area of free speech, Scalia said, "it's not up to the government to decide what are people's worst instincts."
Scalia also pointed out that opponents of animal fighting may feel more free to use the images to express their views than proponents. "People who like bull fighting, who like dog fighting, who like cock fighting ... that side of the debate is entitled to make its point as forcefully as possible," he said.
Their "side of the debate"? "Entitled to make its point as forcefully as possible"? A Supreme Court justice thinks there's a debate about whether humans should be sadistically training animals to maim and kill each other for humans' amusement, about whether we should pit animals against each other and cheer and bet money on their suffering and gruesome, violent deaths.
A Supreme Court justice thinks that those who enjoy encouraging violence and inflicting extreme suffering on those more vulnerable are "entitled to make [their] point as forcefully as possible" by selling videos of that violence, to show how fun it really is.
You know what, Scalia? There are also people who truly believe that acts of pedophilia don't really hurt children. Should they be able to make their point "as forcefully as possible" too? Are their "rights" as people who like molesting children something we should consider when we make laws meant to protect children?
But according to these initial reports, it doesn't appear the other justices are falling all over themselves to stand up for animals either. No decision is expected until next year, but it doesn't look good. I'll be interested to read (and will pass along) the more detailed accounts of, and reactions to, what went on today later...Antonin Scalia thinks people's "right" to giddily watch animals rip each other apart... more
Nine mangled and mutilated dogs have been rescued from a dog fighting ring that ran from a home day care center in west suburban Maywood, Cook County Sheriff's police said.
A news release called the scene at the three Maywood homes "the most gruesome officers had ever uncovered." One dog had its eye ripped out, another had a leg twisted backward, and a third had its lower extremities almost severed from its body.
A licensed day care operation operated from one house, and one of the three ringleaders arrested in the case is related to the day care operator, the sheriff's office said.
"Kids were playing on a swing set just 10 feet away from a vicious fighting dog and blood-stained floors," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said in a news release. "The very equipment used to train these dogs to kill was being kept in the garage right behind the house. To be engaged in this sort of activity is disturbing enough, but to take a chance with anybody's children is reprehensible."
When police got to the day care facility, children were being watched at the house. In a garage behind the house was a dangerous pit bull, according to the sheriff's release.
There was also blood on the floor and along the sides of a car in the garage, and there were syringes, medication, bite sticks, and dog fighting harnesses, police said. The highly aggressive pit bull found in the garage had a shredded chest from recent fights, and his penis was almost completely bitten off, the release said.
The day care operator said she wasn't involved in dog fighting, and the children weren't allowed near the dogs or dog fighting materials.Nine mangled and mutilated dogs have been rescued from a dog fighting ring that ran... more
"Foie gras," literally fatty liver, is a disease marketed as a delicacy. It is the liver of a duck or goose who has been force fed to the point where his liver is over 10 times its normal size. Only male ducks are used, and females are discarded by the industry.
The sale and production of foie gras is illegal in California effective 2012 under Cal. Health and Safety Code section 25980. City councils have commended restaurants for removing this product of animal torture in the meantime, including San Diego, San Francisco, West Hollywood, Berkeley and Solana Beach.
Dr. Ward Stone, the senior wildlife pathologist for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, has conducted necropsies on ducks who died during force feeding at Hudson Valley Foie Gras and writes, "I eat meat including ducks on occassion. However, the short tortured lives of ducks raised for Foie Gras is well outside the norm of farm practice. Having seen the pathology that occurs from Foie Gras Production, I strongly recommend that this process be outlawed.""Foie gras," literally fatty liver, is a disease marketed as a delicacy. It is the... more
Sometimes Peta goes overboard but I think they are right on with this one. Peta was recently turned down at their request to temporarily place a 4 1/2 foot statue of a weeping, shackled elephant in a park or the plaza while the Barnum and Bailey Circus is in town. The city refused.Sometimes Peta goes overboard but I think they are right on with this one. Peta was... more
So, I've been getting reintroduced to many of my favorite shows growing up, because I am staying with a friend of mine and she has three children. Pokemon is one of these shows, and it has played endlessly in the background as the days drag on in it's usual hectic manner. As a nine year old, I never questioned the logic of this show. It was simple, In order to better understand himself and his place in the world our "hero" (Ash Ketchem from Pallet Town) goes on a journey to capture and fight different kinds of animals (known in this universe as Pokemon). By doing this he would win tiny buttons that represent some kind of merit towards the title of "Pokemon Master". His quest is often interrupted by Team Rocket. They are a team of "evil" pokemon poachers who try to steal pokemon from trainers - you know, because that's so much worse than forcing animal to beat another one until it's defenseless and then confining it to a tiny pocket sized prison until you need it to continue the cycle.Plot wise, that's all the show was/is.
As you can probably tell already, now that I am a young adult, my perspective on the show has changed. Now, before I begin to rant about this subject, let me make myself clear. This is satire, and I do not seriously think this show has or ever will corrupt children. I understand it's a cartoon. Still, in the interest of humor, I would like to break down the world of Pokemon in a realistic manner, as to show the strange moral and political issues it raises.
Let's suspend reality for a moment, and imagine a world where these creatures exist. First lets define what pokemon are exactly. They are, for the most part, animals. Some are mice, some are horses, owls, turtles, etc. Aside from the really cool powers each have, most are no different from animals we see about now. These powers are obviously evolutionary defense mechanisms, most likely evolved in order to help catch prey or fend of predators in an increasingly dangerous world.
For some reason or another, people have taken to removing these wild animals out of their natural habitats to be kept inside small spherical devices - known as pokeballs. They get them inside after weakening them - by forcing them to do battle against a pokemon they have personally trained - and - as if giving them one last kick in the groin - violently hurtling the pokeball at their heads, adding them to their 'collection'. Now, when people do this in the real world, making animals fight each other and then collecting them, it is known as animal cruelty and poaching. I assume, because nobody in this world really objects to this sort of animal abuse, that it is an ancient tradition carried over from generation to generation for centuries. It's something engraved in their culture. You know, the same excuse given when people ask why slavery went on for so long.
Now that the obvious issues are out of the way, let's dig a little deeper into their cultural ideologies. It's very western in thought. People of this land are told, as children, that they have to be the very best. This kind of social pressure makes many kid's snap. Those kids then dress in funny outfits and do borderline insane things, thus explaining all of the kooky goings on in the show. Somehow, they are convinced the only way to have any importance in this world is not to have a meaningful job, or raise a family. The only way they feel they can win back the hearts and pride of their parents is by collecting these pins and helpless animals. There's often contests between these kids to see who can catch the most. "gotta catch them all" is one slogan of this competition-obsessed youth culture.
By far the most disturbing, in some sort of reverse-Stockholm Syndrome, many of these "trainers", as they call themselves, justify their cruel and usual treatment of these animals, by developing pseudo-friendships with them, and insisting that they enjoy fighting as a favor to their "Friend".So, I've been getting reintroduced to many of my favorite shows growing up, because I... more
Police say an 18-year-old farmer in the Philippines is responsible for raping a two-year-old goat, then killing it after it tried to thwart his advances.
According to reports, after Roggie Calamaan was finished planting rice on Monday, he went on an alcohol binge. When he returned to ga http://www.tabloidprodigy.com/?p=5832Police say an 18-year-old farmer in the Philippines is responsible for raping a... more
Robin Starr left her blind and deaf 16 year old dog in the car to die. She should face neglect charges at the very minimum.
Send an email to info@richmondspca.org to let them know you feel about the situation.Robin Starr left her blind and deaf 16 year old dog in the car to die. She should face... more
Two men, two animals in two different states. And two separate arrests within the last week for having sex with four-legged animals. No one’s really counting, but probably more people than you realize, according to an Atlanta psychiatrist.
What kind of patients does this psychiatrist have??
Last week, Edwin Robles of Jonesboro was arrested by Clayton County police for allegedly having sex with his dog. Bestiality is a felony in Georgia, and Robles could face up to five years in prison if convicted. On Wednesday, South Carolina police said Rodell Vereen was arrested for the second time for having sex with the same horse. He could face up to five years in prison for the latest buggery charge.
Anyone surprised this is happening in Georgia and South Carolina?? I live in Georgia and I'm not. People here seem to be a little off.
“It’s not as uncommon as one would think,” said Tracey Marks, a forensic psychiatrist who practices in Atlanta. “Dogs and farm animals are probably the most common occurrences.” Like most sexually deviant behaviors, “zoophilia” is more common in men, Marks said. And now more than ever, it’s easier for the curious to explore sexual options.
I'll let the curious read the other 2/3 of the article. Although I found this to be a 'duh' moment: "But having sex with animals isn’t just a freakish fetish. Many consider it to be animal abuse."Two men, two animals in two different states. And two separate arrests within the last... more
NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Vick was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Monday and could play in regular season games as early as October.
Vick can immediately participate in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games - if he can find a team that will sign him. A number of teams have already said they would not.
"Needless to say, your margin for error is extremely limited," Goodell said in a letter to Vick. "I urge you to take full advantage of the resources available to support you and to dedicate yourself to rebuilding your life and your career. If you do this, the NFL will support you."
Goodell suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007 after the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback admitted bankrolling the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting operation. Goodell said then that Vick must show remorse and signs that he has changed before he would consider reinstating him.
Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19).
Goodell called a news conference for late Monday afternoon.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to commissioner Goodell for allowing me to be readmitted to the National Football League," Vick said through agent Joel Segal. "I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given.
"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward.
"Again, I want to thank the commissioner for the chance to return to the game I love and the opportunity to become an example of positive change."
The announcement came after a busy first week of freedom for Vick, who met with union leaders and Goodell on consecutive days last week. His 23-month federal sentence ended when an electronic monitor was removed from his ankle early on July 20 at his home in Hampton, Va.
He met with DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, last Tuesday and, on Wednesday, he sat down with Goodell at a security firm in Allendale, N.J.
But his issues are far from over. Already, the owners of the New York Giants and New York Jets said they have no interest in the 29-year-old quarterback, who once was the league's highest-paid player.NEW YORK (AP) - Michael Vick was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on... more
Undercover Video by PETA shows circus elephants and other animals being beaten.
An animal-rights group has released a video showing what it says is the abuse of circus elephants.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has released what it says is a secretly recorded video showing Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus handlers striking the animals backstage.
PETA said someone affiliated with the group made the four-minute video during a circus tour this year.
The recording shows circus trainers using bullhooks - tools with handles weighing between 1.8 and 3.6 kilograms and pointed metal hooks - to strike elephants across the face, legs and body.
In one section of the video, a trainer curses at an elephant then strikes it with a bullhook while telling it to "back up".
"Ringling Bros & Barnum and Bailey loves its elephants," she said.
Bullhooks "are used harmlessly by elephant trainers throughout the world", she said.
Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, called the video "questionable in its context regarding the portrayal of circus animal handlers".
It said the circus was in compliance with federal, state and local regulations at the time PETA says the video was made.
"Ringling Bros is proud of its efforts to care for and increase the population of the endangered Asian elephant and we encourage people to come see for themselves that the animals are thriving in our care," the company said.Undercover Video by PETA shows circus elephants and other animals being beaten.
An... more
PHOTO: Lily, a Chihuahua terrier mix, that has five legs, that was rescued by Allyson Siegel of Charlotte, N.C., licks a bowl.
STORY UPDATE:
She's a "freak" no more.
The owner of a five-legged puppy outfoxed a Coney Island sideshow - getting the dog's extra limb amputated Thursday before the zany proprietor could stop her.
Allyson Siegel, 45, called the animal hospital late Wednesday when she learned freak show impresario John Strong was trying to lay legal claim to Lilly, a 7-week-old Chihuahua-terrier mix.
"He had said he was putting a lawsuit in an injunction to stop it," Siegel, of Charleston, S.C., told the Daily News.
"I consulted with the surgeon to see if she was healthy enough to have it now. He looked at her, took some X-rays and scheduled it for this morning."
Lilly, who could barely walk, appeared to be in perfect condition after the operation - originally scheduled for next week, Siegel said.
"She's doing fantastic," Siegel added. "She was walking around when we saw her - all four legs, walking like a little puppy dog should."
The successful surgery was a blow to Strong, but he insisted he would continue his custody fight.
"I think it's just a story that the leg's been taken off," Strong said.
"Even if it's been taken off, we're going to sew it right back on when we win the civil case. What good is a four-legged puppy to a freak show?"
Strong was on the verge of purchasing the extra-pawed pup when Siegel swooped in, saying she wanted to save the dog from a life of humiliation.
Strong had offered the dog's original owner, Calvin Owensby, $3,000. When Siegel learned of the pup's fate, she ponied up $4,000.
"I just saw she had a deformity, and I did not think she had a voice," Siegel said, adding that she remains wary of Strong.
"I don't know where he's coming from. All I'm concerned with now is Lilly coming home and living a happy life."
Although the Prosecutors initially charged Tann with a felony under Scruffy’s Law-they had to revise the charges.The judge ruled that the Kansas felony law was worded too much like the misdemeanor law and he had to be sentenced under that.Although the Prosecutors initially charged Tann with a felony under Scruffy’s... more
The electronic monitor came off ex-Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick's ankle and made him a free man Monday.
Now the 29-year-old has to get on Roger Goodell's calendar and convince the league commissioner and team owners he is reformed and ready to play.
Vick's release after serving 23 months on a dogfighting conviction — the last 60 days in home confinement — came the week before most training camps open for veterans.
The last league game Vick played was Dec. 31, 2006, months before he was indicted on federal dogfighting conspiracy charges in July 2007.
Goodell has said he wants to see remorse and evidence of change from the player he suspended indefinitely. The last time they met, about two years ago, Vick denied his dogfighting involvement.
The owners of the New York Jets and the New York Giants said they will not pursue Vick.
Vick admitted bankrolling the "Bad Newz Kennels" dogfighting enterprise on his property in rural southeastern Virginia and participating in killing dogs that performed poorly in test fights.
Vick might make public appearances on behalf of the Humane Society of the United States.
Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society president, has met with Vick. Speaking about Vick, Pacelle said, "He said, 'Talk is cheap,' and that he wants to demonstrate his commitment through his deeds, and I agree."
Vick will remain on probation for three years. He also is under a three-year suspended sentence for a state dogfighting conviction.The electronic monitor came off ex-Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick's ankle and made... more
PHOENIX "The Pitbull"
From the Underdawgz
Villa Lobos Rescue center
Check out Vicktory to the Underdog All Proceeds go to villa lobos:
"Vicktory To The Underdog" takes an in depth look at world renowned tattoo artist "Brandon Bond" and his dog rescue efforts - particularly rescuing the infamous Michael Vick fighting dogs.
Rather than focusing on the dog fighting problem, the movie sheds light on solutions leading to "Vicktory" for all the underdogs in the movie - tattoo people, pitbulls, parolees and all the other people in this world that society has turned their back on through ignorance and racism.
The movie also examines the life of Brandon Bond and his struggle with balancing fame, fortune and the Rock-N-Roll tattoo lifestyle with a more fulfilling life that focuses on the betterment of both animals and society as a whole.
Featuring celebrities like Debbie and Danny Trejo, Michael Berryman, Pixie Acia and Donal Logue, the movie takes you on an incredible journey you will never forget! http://strangleholdmerch.com/vicktory-to-the-underdog-p-191.htmlPHOENIX "The Pitbull"
From the Underdawgz
Villa Lobos Rescue center
Check out... more
