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PART ONE...
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Author and legendary conservationist Lawrence Anthony died March 7. His family tells of a solemn procession on March 10 that defies human explanation.
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For 12 hours, two herds of wild South African elephants slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached the house of late author Lawrence Anthony, the conservationist who saved their lives. The formerly violent, rogue elephants, destined to be shot a few years ago as pests, were rescued and rehabilitated by Anthony, who had grown up in the bush and was known as the “Elephant Whisperer.”
For two days the herds loitered at Anthony’s rural compound on the vast Thula Thula game reserve in the South African KwaZulu – to say good-bye to the man they loved. But how did they know he had died March 7? Known for his unique ability to calm traumatized elephants, Anthony had become a legend. He is the author of three books, Babylon Ark, detailing his efforts to rescue the animals at Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi war, the forthcoming "The Last Rhinos", and his bestselling "The Elephant Whisperer".
There are two elephant herds at Thula Thula. According to his son Dylan, both arrived at the Anthony family compound shortly after Anthony’s death.
They had not visited the house for a year and a half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey,” Dylan is quoted in various local news accounts. “The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before making their way back into the bush."
Elephants have long been known to mourn their dead. In India, baby elephants often are raised with a boy who will be their lifelong “mahout.” The pair develop legendary bonds – and it is not uncommon for one to waste away without a will to live after the death of the other.
But these are wild elephants in the 21st century, not some Rudyard Kipling novel. The first herd to arrive at Thula Thula several years ago was violent. They hated humans. Anthony found himself fighting a desperate battle for their survival and their trust, which he detailed in "The Elephant Whisperer:“
"It was 4:45 a.m. and I was standing in front of Nana, an enraged wild elephant, pleading with her in desperation. Both our lives depended on it. The only thing separating us was an 8,000-volt electric fence that she was preparing to flatten and make her escape. Nana, the matriarch of her herd, tensed her enormous frame and flared her ears. ’Don’t do it, Nana,’ I said, as calmly as I could. She stood there, motionless but tense. The rest of the herd froze. ’This is your home now,’ I continued. ‘Please don’t do it, girl.’ I felt her eyes boring into me.
“’They’ll kill you all if you break out. This is your home now. You have no need to run any more.
"Suddenly, the absurdity of the situation struck me,” Anthony writes. “Here I was in pitch darkness, talking to a wild female elephant with a baby, the most dangerous possible combination, as if we were having a friendly chat. But I meant every word. ‘You will all die if you go. Stay here. I will be here with you and it’s a good place.’
"She took another step forward. I could see her tense up again, preparing to snap the electric wire and be out, the rest of the herd smashing after her in a flash. I was in their path, and would only have seconds to scramble out of their way and climb the nearest tree. I wondered if I would be fast enough to avoid being trampled. Possibly not. Then something happened between Nana and me, some tiny spark of recognition, flaring for the briefest of moments. Then it was gone. Nana turned and melted into the bush. The rest of the herd followed. I couldn’t explain what had happened between us, but it gave me the first glimmer of hope since the elephants had first thundered into my life.”
It had all started several weeks earlier with a phone call from an elephant welfare organization. Would Anthony be interested in adopting a problem herd of wild elephants? They lived on a game reserve 600 miles away and were “troublesome,” recalled Anthony. They had a tendency to break out of reserves and the owners wanted to get rid of them fast.
" If we didn’t take them, they would be shot."
The woman explained, "The matriarch is an amazing escape artist and has worked out how to break through electric fences. She just twists the wire around her tusks until it snaps, or takes the pain and smashes through."
“’Why me?’ I asked."
“'’I’ve heard you have a way with animals. You’re right for them. Or maybe they’re right for you.’”
What followed was heart-breaking. One of the females and her baby were shot and killed in the round-up, trying to evade capture.
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CONTINUED...
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PHOTO: A line of gentle elephants approaching Lawrence Anthony's house.
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PART ONE...
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Author and legendary conservationist Lawrence Anthony... more
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Symptoms of a mysterious disease that has killed scores of seals off Alaska and infected walruses are now showing up in polar bears, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said on Friday.
Nine polar bears from the Beaufort Sea region near Barrow were found with patchy hair loss and oozing sores on their skin, similar to conditions found in diseased seals and walruses, the agency said in a statement.
Unlike the sickened seals and walruses, the affected polar bears seem otherwise healthy, said Tony DeGange, chief of the biology office for the USGS's Alaska Science Center. There had been no deaths among polar bears, he said.
The nine affected bears were among the 33 that biologists have captured and sampled while doing routine studies on the Arctic coastline, DeGange said.
Patchy hair loss has been seen before in polar bears, but the high prevalence in those spotted by the researchers and the simultaneous problems in seal and walrus populations elevate the concern, he said.
The USGS is coordinating with agencies studying the other animals to investigate whether there is a link, he said.
"There's a lot we don't know yet, whether we're dealing with something that's different or something that's the same," he said.
The disease outbreak was first noticed last summer. About 60 seals were found dead and another 75 diseased, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most of the affected seals are ringed seals, but diseased ribbon, bearded and spotted seals were also found.
Several walruses in northwestern Alaska were found with the disease, and some of those died as well, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The diseased seals and walruses, many of them juveniles, had labored breathing and lethargy as well as the bleeding sores, according to the experts. The agencies launched an investigation into the cause of the disease, which has also turned up in bordering areas of Canada and Russia.
Preliminary studies showed that radiation poisoning is not the cause, temporarily ruling out a theory that the animals were sickened by contamination from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.
Spread of the disease among seals continues. A sickened and nearly bald ribbon seal pup was found about a month ago near Yakutat on the Gulf of Alaska coastline, according to the agency. The animal was so sick it had to be euthanized.
All of the afflicted species are dependent on Arctic sea ice and considered vulnerable to seasonal ice loss.
By Yereth Rosen
More at the linkSymptoms of a mysterious disease that has killed scores of seals off Alaska and... more
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Peru investigates mystery pelican deaths
By Marilia Brocchetto, CNN
updated 10:29 AM EDT, Mon April 30, 2012
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Mass dolphin die-off in Peru
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Hundreds of dead birds are found on shore, authorities say
It's not clear what killed them
The discovery of the dead birds comes weeks after hundreds of dead dolphins were found
The dolphin deaths remain a mystery
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(CNN) -- Authorities in Peru are investigating the death of over 538 pelicans, along with other birds, on the northern coast of the country, the Peruvian ministry of production said Sunday.
The new environmental investigation comes on the heels of an incident earlier in April when 877 dolphins washed up dead on the same stretch of coast.
It was not immediately clear if the deaths were connected.
The birds appear to have died on the beach, and more tests are needed to determine the cause of death, the ministry of production said.
The Peruvian Sea Institute surveyed about 43 miles (70km) of beach coastline on Sunday and estimated that 592 birds were dead along the shore.
State-run TV Peru estimated that up to 1,200 birds had been found dead on the 100 miles (160km) of northern shoreline extending from Punta Negra in Piura to San José in the state of Lambayeque.
The deaths began less than two weeks ago, local fishermen say.
The investigation into the mystery surrounding the dolphins is still ongoing. Peruvian Deputy Environment Minister Gabriel Quijandria told CNN the dolphins may have died from an outbreak of Morbillivirus or Brucella bacteria.
The Peruvian government has put together a panel from different ministries to analyze a report by the Peruvian Sea Institute (IMARPE). Officials have been able to conclude that the dolphins' deaths were not due to lack of food, interaction with fisheries, poisoning with pesticides, biotoxin poisoning or contamination by heavy metals.
"When you have something this large, my gut would tell me that there's something traumatic that happened," Sue Rocca, a marine biologist with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, told CNN. She raised a number of possibilities as to what could have killed the animals, including acoustic trauma.
Preliminary reports ruled out that seismic sound waves created by oil exploration in that stretch of sea could have killed the birds, the environment ministry said.
They also expressed concern for the fishermen in the area and restated their commitment to protecting the country's marine ecosystem.
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Peru investigates mystery pelican deaths
By Marilia Brocchetto,... more
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Laboratory chimps get a new lease on life
By Kim Segal and John Zarrella, CNN
updated 4:50 PM EDT, Sat April 21, 2012
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Save the Chimps spent nearly a decade rehabilitating chimps from the Coulston Foundation
The 266 chimps were used as medical research test subjects until 2002
The animal welfare group recently transported the chimps to a sanctuary in Florida
It's the first time these chimpanzees have lived outdoors
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More than a decade ago, more than 265 chimpanzees -- including Howard, pictured here in 2002 -- spent their days at a New Mexico medical research facility being poked, prodded and confined to small cages. Then, the Save the Chimps foundation intervened. After nearly a decade of rehabilitation, the chimps were transported to a 150-acre sanctuary in Florida. CNN went along with the last group as they made the journey and experienced their first time outdoors.
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PART ONE...
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Alamogordo, New Mexico (CNN) -- Shortly after her birth, Moesha was taken away from her mother and sent to a laboratory for a life of medical testing.
Like the 265 other chimpanzees at the Coulston Foundation's facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, Moesha would be poked and prodded in the name of medical research. Moesha was one of the lucky ones: She survived. Others were not so fortunate. Three chimpanzees housed at the Coulston Foundation were literally cooked to death when their enclosures heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
When federal authorities found out about the facility's mistreatment of these animals, it lost its funding and went bankrupt.
That's when a team of animal welfare experts stepped in and changed these chimpanzees' lives forever.
With the help of a $3.7 million grant, the Save the Chimps organization purchased the facility in 2002 and transformed it into the world's largest sanctuary for chimpanzees. It would serve as temporary housing for the chimps until the organization could create a more permanent outdoor sanctuary in Florida.
But first, Moesha and the others -- isolated for most of their lives -- would have to learn how to live as family units. And that process would take nearly a decade of rehabilitation.
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Learning to become chimps again
One of the first priorities in rehabilitating the chimps was modifying their cages, known by the Save the Chimps team as "the dungeon." This gray, concrete structure housed 54 chimpanzees, most of them crammed into small, individual cages. The cages where the rest of the chimpanzees were housed weren't much bigger but they shared the space with another animal or two.
"It was six months of cutting doors into six-inch thick concrete walls so that chimps could actually see each other for the first time and meet each other for the first time," said Save the Chimps sanctuary director Jennifer Feuerstein.
Even with the new doors and skylights, the dungeon still had a dark feel to it, and resembled a concrete block of prison cells. Once the buildings were modified, the care of the animals became routine and the team began to slowly create diverse family groups for the chimps.
"The ultimate goal was forming family groups of 20 to 25 chimpanzees," explained Feuerstein, "We did it by introducing one chimpanzee at a time, so we're talking over the past 10 years thousands of thousands of introductions."
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Laboratory chimps get a new lease on life
By Kim Segal and John... more
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There is no excuse for this needless slaughter of wolves, and it needs to be stopped.
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Animal Acres is a lovely, inspiring farmed animal sanctuary.
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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!
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Baby Chicks Deserve Consideration, Too
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Easter is... more
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Ecorazzi...
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DeGeneres Asks for Help for Sanctuary’s Rescued Animals
by Jennifer Mishler April 6, 2012
Photo: The Gentle Barn
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Ellen DeGeneres has been a long-time supporter of The Gentle Barn. She and wife Portia have adopted two cows, Holy and Madonna, that were rescued by the organization.
The nonprofit organization rescues and rehabilitates animals saved from “severe abuse, neglect or slaughter,” while also working with at-risk children and children with disabilities. The Gentle Barn recently rescued over 20 animals from a “backyard butcher,” and Ellen is asking for help. She tweeted yesterday, “There are 20 new animals that could use our help. Donate here. http://say.ly/FDc1HNn.”
The Gentle Barn writes on their blog, “There are over 20 goats and sheep that were brought to us yesterday. They are sick, infested with parasites, malnourished, emaciated and terrified. They have such bad eye infections they are going blind! We are working hard to save them but cannot do it without your help, please support us, we need you now more than ever!” The first of the animals in the group to be rescued was a horse who is also in bad condition. “She is hundreds of pounds underweight and every bone protruding, covered with mud, she has hair falling off in clumps, sores on her face and body, a huge wound on her leg that is infected down to the bone, both eye[s] are infected, her knees are swollen and we are fighting hard to save her life.”
The “backyard butcher,” located in Santa Clarita Valley, has been arrested and according to NBC, the founders of The Gentle Barn Jay Weiner and Ellie Laks have been following the situation for four years. They and other staff call it “one of the worst cases of animal abuse and cruelty they’ve ever seen.” They had been buying animals from the butcher, picking ones that were in the worst conditions and bringing them to the sanctuary.
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DeGeneres Asks for Help for Sanctuary’s Rescued Animals... more
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Wolf advocates hope that these pictures will go viral, shaming a nation into facing the torture people inflict on animals and the moral and political failures that promote and legitimize it.Wolf advocates hope that these pictures will go viral, shaming a nation into facing... more
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ABC News Wins Genesis Award for Egg Farm Investigation
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PHOTO: Ross investigative unit producer Cindy Galli (at microphone) accepts a Genesis Award March 24, 2012, for a "20/20" report on alleged cruelty at egg farms.
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Investigation: Inside Egg 'Factory Farm'
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WATCH the "20/20" report on alleged cruelty at egg farms - click on link
PHOTO: Ross investigative unit producer Cindy Galli (at microphone) accepts a Genesis Award March 24, 2012, for a "20/20" report on alleged cruelty at egg farms.
Courtesy HSUS
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By RANDY KREIDER
March 26, 2012
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Ross unit producer Cindy Galli accepted a Genesis Award Saturday night for an undercover expose of alleged animal abuse at the egg farms that once supplied half the nation's McDonald's restaurants -- an investigation that might now be impossible to replicate because of a batch of new state laws that "gag" undercover reporters.
"We can give these stories an audience on ABC News," said Galli, accepting the award from the Humane Society of the United States for a "20/20" report on Iowa-based Sparboe Farms. "That's easy compared to what groups like the Humane Society and Mercy for Animals do. They do the tough work of exposing inhumane treatment of animals every day."
The "20/20" report used hidden-camera footage gathered by a Mercy for Animals activist working undercover at Sparboe Farms facilities in several states, including Iowa. The footage, shot during the summer of 2011, appears to show unsanitary conditions and repeated acts of animal cruelty. After being shown the video, as well as learning of an FDA warning letter sent to Sparboe regarding unsanitary conditions, McDonald's and Target ended their relationship with Sparboe. Sparboe had supplied eggs to all McDonald's restaurants west of the Mississippi River.
Legislators in a number of agricultural states, however, have responded to animal abuse exposes by proposing new laws that would make it difficult for an undercover reporter to get a job at a farm. The bills do not ban hidden camera footage, but they do make it a crime for a job applicant to lie on an employment application when asked if he or she is a member of a specific group. The governor of Iowa -- where much of the Sparboe footage was shot -- signed the country's first so-called "ag gag" bill into law earlier this month. On Friday Utah became the second state to adopt an ag gag law. Indiana, Missouri, New York, Nebraska, Illinois and Tennessee are also considering legislation.
"If Mercy for Animals had tried to go undercover today," said Galli after the Genesis ceremony, "they most likely would not have been successful. We would not have been given the video, and McDonald's would not have been made aware and pulled their contract."
Mercy for Animals, which has shot undercover footage at chicken, turkey, pig and dairy farms around the country, has joined with 26 other groups, including the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the U.S., to oppose the ag gag laws. A statement from the coalition called the bills "a wholesale assault on many fundamental values" and a threat to health, safety and freedom of the press.
"This flawed and misdirected legislation," said Nathan Runkle, executive director of Mercy for Animals, "could set a dangerous precedent nationwide by throwing shut the doors to industrial factory farms and allowing animal abuse, environmental violations, and food contamination issues to flourish undetected, unchallenged, and unaddressed."
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2012 Genesis Award Winners
The Genesis Awards have been bestowed annually for the past 26 years by the Humane Society of the United States. Other winners of 2012 Genesis Awards, presented at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on Saturday night, include "The Colbert Report," the film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "Hawaii Five-0," "NBC Nightly News" and "Today." Carrie Inaba, a judge on the ABC show "Dancing with the Stars," hosted the ceremony. The awards show will air on the Animal Planet network in May.
"We paid tribute to an amazing array of works that address animal protection concerns, but the real winners of The HSUS's 26th Genesis Awards are the animals themselves, who rely on these invaluable voices to speak for them," says Beverly Kaskey, senior director of The HSUS's Hollywood Outreach program and executive producer of the annual Genesis Awards.
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Critic Calls 'Battery Cages' Cruel Watch Video
McDonald's Drops Large McMuffin Egg Supplier Watch Video - Click on above link to view videos
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Dolphins in Barataria Bay off Louisiana, which was hit hard by the BP oil spill in 2010, are seriously ill, and their ailments are probably related to toxic substances in the petroleum, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggested on Friday.
As part of an ongoing assessment of damages caused by the three-month spill, which began with an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA scientists performed comprehensive physicals last summer on 32 dolphins from the bay. They found problems like drastically low weight, low blood sugar and, in some cases, cancer of the liver and lungs.
Yet the most common symptom among the dolphins, found in about half the group, was an abnormally low level of stress hormones like cortisol. Such hormones regulate many functions in the animal, including the immune system and responses to threats. Scientists said the dearth of hormones suggested that the animals were suffering from adrenal insufficiency.
Lori Schwacke, the lead scientist for the health assessment, said the findings were preliminary and could not be conclusively linked to the oil spill at this point. But she said the exams were also conducted on control groups of dolphins that live along the Atlantic coast and in other areas that were not affected by the 2010 spill and that those dolphins did not manifest those symptoms.
“The findings we have are also consistent with other studies that have looked at the effects of oil exposure in other mammals,” Dr. Schwacke added, citing experimental studies of mink that were dosed with oil. Some of those minks developed adrenal insufficiency.
More at the linkDolphins in Barataria Bay off Louisiana, which was hit hard by the BP oil spill in... more
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Severed dog heads found in South LA dumpster
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The area behind a CVS Pharmacy on South Vermont and West Slauson avenues is shown in this March photo. The severed heads of two large dogs were found in a trash bin in the area on Tuesday, March 20, 2012. (KABC Photo)
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SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The severed heads of two large dogs were found in a trash bin in South Los Angeles.
The gruesome discovery was made on the 5800 block of Menlo Avenue on Tuesday at about 10:35 p.m. The dumpster was located near the back of a CVS Pharmacy on South Vermont and West Slauson avenues.
Investigators with the LAPD Animal Cruelty Task Force said it was apparent that the dogs' heads had been clearly severed from their bodies with a sharp object. The bodies of the dogs were not found.
Police said it's unclear whether the incident involved dog fighting, and if the dogs had been dead before their heads were removed. Upon investigation, authorities believe the perpetrator cut the dogs' heads at a different location before placing them inside the dumpster.
Authorities say the dogs appeared to have been full grown. One of the dogs was a chocolate Labrador-Retriever mix and the other was a tan Shepherd mix.
Investigators are reviewing evidence including surrounding surveillance footage to catch the suspect or suspects responsible.
"We're always looking for information because if somebody's capable of killing two family dogs like this and dismembering their bodies and leaving them in a dumpster, we don't know what they're capable of and we want to make sure we find out who did this and bring them to justice," said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith.
If you have any information regarding this case, you're urged to contact the Department of Animal Services and Sanitation at (213) 486-0450 or contact LAPD at (877) 527-3247.
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Severed dog heads found in South LA dumpster... more
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Rhino poaching: 'These animals are all too easy to kill’
A close friend of Prince William talks of the senseless slaughter of a favourite rhinoceros.
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Proud beast: Max the rhino on the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya Photo:
TEEKU PATEL/WWW.SOKOMOTO.COM
By Victoria Moore
7:00AM GMT 01 Mar 2012
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It’s a terribly patchy mobile telephone connection to northern Kenya when I speak to Ian Craig. We’re shouting and repeating ourselves, whole sentences vanishing frustratingly into the ether as I try to talk to the conservationist about the brutal murder by poachers of a very special and rather famous white rhinoceros called Max.
The Duke of Cambridge has said he is “appalled” by the animal’s “senseless slaughter”. As a close friend of Craig and his daughter Jecca, with whom he was once linked romantically, he has been a regular visitor to the family’s Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya where Max was hand-raised. He would have seen the rhino as it was growing up.
The Prince takes a keen interest in the plight of these animals, which are at ever-increasing risk from the poachers who sell their horns for more than the price of gold. They need protection and on a recent visit, he agreed to sponsor a black hook-lipped rhino at a cost of £6,000 a year. The beast was named William in his honour.
“Rhino are so vulnerable,” says Craig. “They have bad eyesight. They’re all too easy to kill.”
Then suddenly the line is crystal clear, as if it’s being held together by the great force of his wrath. I can hear every word he says.
“How do I feel about yet another rhino being killed by poachers who only want to sell its horn?” says Craig. “It’s such a massive, deep anger. That we have failed to protect these animals. And that the world can have such a demand for something that in real terms is just worthless. The value of rhino horn, which is thought in some cultures to have medicinal properties, is founded on myth. The case of Max highlights the fate of so many other rhino. It’s important that the world sees what’s going on because it’s very real. We need to do more about it.”
Rhino horn can be traded illegally for up to £60,000 a kilogram in some Asian countries, where it is renowned for its supposed therapeutic benefits. Over the past few years, its rising value has created a surge in poaching incidents. In 2007 in South Africa, where the rhino population is closely monitored, the number of rhinos poached was just 13. The following year it was 83; then up to 333 in 2010.
But, as Craig points out, this is not a South African but a “pan-African” problem.
Conservation has long been his passion. Kenyan-born, he converted the family cattle ranch into a rhino sanctuary back in the Eighties and went on to found the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in 1995.
In 2001, Prince William spent six weeks working at Lewa as a volunteer and has returned on several occasions since, even becoming a patron of the Tusk Trust [a conservation and community development organisation] after being inspired by Craig’s work.
Kenya is certainly a country close to the Prince’s heart; it was there that in 2010 he took Kate on the romantic holiday in the wilds during which he asked her to be his wife. And it was with the Craigs at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy that the couple enjoyed their first, very informal, celebratory drinks after the Prince had proposed.
It was to Lewa that Max the rhino came too, as a two-week-old after Craig got a call from an animal sanctuary saying he needed a new home.
“His mother was missing, presumed killed,” says Craig, who was speaking to me yesterday from Northern Kenya where he is helping the charity Save the Elephants treat an injured matriarch called Monsoon. “We flew to pick him up, blindfolded him, put cotton-wool in his ears, and brought him home. He was hand-reared on Lewa by teams of rangers: fed every four hours on lactogen and vitamins, kept warm at night in stables, taken out during the day and walked around. Whether it’s a rhino or a Labrador, you pick up a very close bond with an animal. Max became like a dog. He knew people. He wasn’t aggressive at all.”
When he was two years old Max was moved from Lewa to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy where, in common with other rhinos, he was dehorned in the hope of protecting him from poachers.
Poaching can be highly sophisticated. As the financial stakes have become higher, so the gangs can afford to invest in more equipment, deploying helicopters as well as night-vision goggles in search of their bounty, chainsaws (to remove the horn) and shotguns. It is becoming an increasingly bloody battle between conservationists and poachers, as even the prospect of excavating a few scraps from a rhino that has been dehorned makes an animal a lucrative kill.
This was to be Max’s bloody fate in June 2011 – although news of the death emerged only this week. He was six years old when, at 3 o’clock in the morning, Craig took a phone call to say that gunshots had been heard in the conservancy. Later, Max’s carcass was found lying in the warm mud. He had been shot 17 times and poachers had sliced deep into his face in an attempt to hack out what remained of the precious stumps of his horns, leaving it a grisly mess.
“I didn’t go to see him,” says Craig. “I didn’t want to go near. I put my energies into working with the police to try to apprehend the guys who had done it.”
In Craig’s view, so much more could be done to contain the poaching problem. “The issues for elephants and for rhinos are different and not just because ivory is a luxury product for wealthy people. Elephants are free-ranging animals. It is easier to keep rhino alive in a sanctuary by paying for high levels of security. But it costs a lot.
“Kenya has been relatively successful at protecting its rhino. The number dropped at one stage to 260 and now it is three times that. The government’s been putting a lot of resources into it. But you also have to remember that’s money that could be going into schools or water.
The demand for ivory and rhino horn is coming from outside Africa. It’s a world issue – but Africa is having to pay for the protection.”
And, sadly, not every rhino is lucky enough to have a royal sponsor.
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Daily Animal News...
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Animal Slaughter On Urban Farms A Growing Concern Among Local Activists
Urban Farms Animal Slaughter
First Posted: 02/15/2012 6:30 pm Updated: 02/15/2012 6:41 pm
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This article comes to us courtesy of SF Weekly's SFoodie.
By Jonathan Kauffman
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If you go to farmers' markets in the East Bay, you may have seen them: A group of activists from Neighbors Opposed to Backyard Slaughter handing out flyers raising concerns about Oakland's new Urban Agriculture Policy. "The last thing I want my daughter to see or hear are the sounds of an animal being killed next door by a DIY slaughter hobbyist," says a cartoon of a ponytailed man.
NO Slaughter's latest action, according to its website, was to appear at the El Cerrito City Council earlier this week, protesting the fact that the city's Animals Ordinance didn't include any provision regarding animal slaughter. "By not addressing slaughter specifically, El Cerrito left the interests of animals to the whims of the farmer, which as we know from observing industrial agriculture is never a good idea," spokesperson Ian Elwood wrote in an email to SFoodie. "We have seen too many instances of cruelty by urban homesteaders to recount, and there is no reason to believe that without regulation, anyone will do anything differently than what is being done already."
San Francisco, like Oakland and El Cerrito, doesn't have strict controls around what residents do with any animals they raise for food. Article 1, section 37, of San Francisco's Health Code states that people can keep up to four small animals such as rabbits, chicken, and ducks on their property. According to SF Health Department spokesperson Colleen Chawla, there are regulations around the slaughter of animals for retail sale, but "there's nothing in the health code that addresses the slaughter of these animals for personal use," she says, adding, "At the Health Department, we primarily get complaints if the animals are too noisy."
Are backyard butchers that much of a problem in the Bay Area? Last week, Mother Jones editor Kiera Butler, who has written about raising and killing her Thanksgiving turkey, wrote a rebuttal to NO Slaughter's flyer, addressing it point by point. For instance, the animal-rights group claimed that local animal shelters would be overwhelmed by backyard chickens and goats that urban farmers had tired of (but couldn't slaughter?), and Butler quotes an Oakland Animal Shelter rep who says there has been an uptick in chickens that the shelter has taken in -- due to a cockfighting ring that police had busted.
When asked about the problem of urban farmers besieging their neighbors with the death screams of dying bunnies, Novella Carpenter, author of the new Essential Urban Farmer, told SFoodie, "If you think you'll be sitting in your kitchen, drinking your coffee, when you hear the blood-curdling call of a chicken being slaughtered, you have never even seen an animal being slaughtered."
"There is no noise," she continued, "and [NO Slaughter] makes it sound like there's blood splattered everywhere and maniacal laughter. You wouldn't even know if it was happening next door. It's not a slaughterhouse, and that's the whole point. One animal has been loved by by the farmer, who kills it humanely and quickly. Why aren't they protesting at Tyson instead?"
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Animal Slaughter On Urban Farms A Growing Concern Among... more
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The Jambar...
Youngstown, Ohio...
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Animal cruelty laws take next step
By Chelsea Telega
Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Updated: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 21:02
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An animal rights gathering scheduled for this Saturday will be not only a demonstration but also a celebration.
On Wednesday, House Bill 108 for Nitro's Law passed through the Ohio House of Representatives, increasing the animal cruelty penalties in Ohio from a misdemeanor to a felony.
The bill will now make its way to the Senate.
The recent House Bill vote encouraged Youngstown State University student Nova Sanguinetti to organize a demonstration for people to raise awareness for future votes and to celebrate their advancement.
On Saturday, local animal supporters plan to gather at the corner of Market Street and state Route 224.
"There are going to be a lot of tears of joy, a lot of happy people. Now we're just letting people know that we were heard," Sanguinetti said. "Your message and your voice will be heard; it just comes down to being diligent."
A page created on Facebook for the event has already had 715 positive responses from people who want to attend. Sanguinetti said she hopes to organize a group that will travel and fight for the cause.
Sanguinetti said the people she talks to are worried about their pets, and that, for many, pets are not considered animals, but as a part of the family. She wants to organize more community watches to increase progress.
"People are either heartbroken, pissed off or both. They want to be heard and want to be recognized. Our representatives have to hear us," Sanguinetti said.
Within the past month in Youngstown, two German Shepherd puppies were found strangled, two dogs were stolen and thrown over a bridge onto Interstate 680, a pit bull mix was found dead in a trash heap and a Labrador Retriever mix was found with its leg and part of its tail cut off.
To many concerned residents, Ohio's punishment laws for the first offense of animal abuse were less than sufficient.
"I looked into the Nitro laws, and I saw that the penalties for animal abuse are less than if someone had one joint on them," said animal activist Katelyn Bowden. "It's little to no penalty. Maybe 30 days in prison."
Current animal cruelty penalties in Ohio range from a minor misdemeanor to a first-degree misdemeanor, while the most costly penalty enforced if the animal is killed or injured is worth $300 or more, according to Ohio Revised Code.
The decision to pass the bill on to the Senate, however, acts as a double-edged sword for some.
"I just kind of calmed down. It's been a rough day, but of course it's very hard. My dog suffered and died, so while I'm happy, it's bittersweet," said Elizabeth Raad, the founder of Nitro Foundation
In 2009, Nitro's Law was introduced after Raad encountered a devastating issue at High Caliber K9, a dog daycare and obedience school in Youngstown. Raad left her dog, Nitro, at the facility while tending to a family crisis.
Raad said she would call the facility a few times a week to check on her dog, and during one phone call, she was told that Nitro was excelling and that she and her husband could even extend the dog's stay.
"We were told to leave him for another week or two and that he was doing great," Raad said. "When he told us that, Nitro was already dead. This is definitely not an accident; you don't starve to death overnight."
Seven dogs were found dead and 12 were found starving in the facility after a police investigation.
Steve Croley, the owner of the facility, was sentenced to four months in jail on four counts of animal cruelty and neglect.
Raad said that while the votes were coming in, she was "hysterically crying" because she was proud that her efforts came to fruition as the bill passed through the Ohio House.
"A lot of people have really stepped up to the plate, went door to door, passing out fliers. This is 100 percent a grass-root effort," Raad said.
Younger people are becoming increasingly passionate about combating the abuse of animals in the area and are elated with the news of Nitro Foundation's progress.
Sanguinetti watched live coverage of the decision and recalled all of the work the group has done up to this point.
"It's kind of ridiculous, but as I was watching it, I just began crying. I couldn't believe that it was finally there and on the floor," she said. "When I saw how many people voted ‘yea' for it, it warmed my heart. I just felt a great sense of accomplishment that all of these calls we made and letters we have written aren't in vain."
Years ago, Sanguinetti found a stray cat in the woods behind her grandparents' house. Not long after, she took in the stray and found that its neck had been slit with fishing wire, as though someone had tried to hang it.
Another one of her past pet cats, she said, was poisoned.
After experiencing these — and multiple other — cases of animal abuse, Sanguinetti became a fervent supporter of Nitro's Law and its components.
"When I had heard about what had happened to Nitro, it completely broke my heart, especially because it was someone who was supposed to be trusted," Sanguinetti said. "When you leave your animal with a professional, you expect them to be safe."
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Youngstown, Ohio...
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Animal cruelty laws take next step
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Harling Farm exposed | Inside the British Pork Industry
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Animal Equality has carried out an intensive two-month undercover investigation into Harling Farm, belonging to A. J. Edwards & Son. Harling Farm is typical of a farm in Britain.
Over 200 hours of footage and recorded conversations, and 335 photos provide a shocking insight into the British pig industry and demonstrate that regardless of whether a farm is labelled as 'Quality Assured' there exists pain, suffering and exploitation on a huge scale.
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Harling Farm exposed | Inside the British Pork Industry
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Los Angeles Times...
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Tejon Ranch to pay fine for killing mountain lions
Tejon Ranch is north of Los Angeles, California
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The corporation, which illegally killed at least 11 cats to keep them away from game wanted by high-paying trophy hunters, must pay $136,500, according to a settlement with the state fish and game agency.
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PHOTO:
Whistleblower Bron Sanders with a dead mountain lion; he said he witnessed 20 mountain lions killed without authorization between 2004 and late 2010.
(Rob Gayer / July 29, 2005)
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By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times
February 11, 2012
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The Tejon Ranch has agreed to pay $136,500 in fines and restitution for illegally killing at least 11 mountain lions to prevent them from competing for game with high-paying trophy hunters, the Kern County district attorney's office announced Friday.
The settlement capped a 10-month investigation by the California Department of Fish and Game into claims made by a former Tejon Ranch Corp. hunting guide who said he was fired after he complained about the illegal killing of the wild predators.
In a lawsuit filed in May, whistle-blower Bron Sanders said ranch managers were angry about a 1990 law that made hunting mountain lions without a special permit illegal in California. He said managers blamed mountain lions for killing deer, elk, wild pigs and other animals on the 270,000-acre ranch, the largest chunk of privately owned wilderness remaining in Southern California. Hunting generates up to $2 million a year in revenue for the company, with hunters paying up to $20,000 to shoot elk.
Sanders, whose lawsuit was recently settled, said he witnessed 20 mountain lions killed without authorization between 2004 and late 2010 on the historic ranch about 60 miles north of Los Angeles.
As a result of their investigation, state wildlife authorities determined that mountain lions were, in fact, unlawfully killed by Tejon ranch employees, and that Sanders was personally involved in the unlawful killing of at least 11 of them, according to a complaint for civil penalties filed by Kern County prosecutors.
Kern County Deputy Dist. Atty. John Mitchell said in an interview that criminal charges were not filed against individuals in the case because such violations would be misdemeanors and subject to a one-year statute of limitations.
However, since state law provides district attorneys with the jurisdiction to bring civil charges against businesses, the case was filed and settled under provisions of California's Unfair Business Act, which provides for penalties, recovery of costs to investigating agencies and restitution to the public. "The company was ultimately responsible," Mitchell said.
Tejon Ranch agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties, $21,500 to the fish and game department to cover the costs of its investigation, and $15,000 in restitution, which will be directed to Kern County Animal Control, Mitchell said.
Tejon Ranch officials initially called Sanders' allegations "ridiculous and untrue."
In a prepared statement Friday, Tejon Ranch spokesman Barry Zoeller said the company "wants to express its deep regret that such incidents took place on ranch property and the company is doing everything within its power to ensure that something like this never happens again."
Zoeller also said the killings "occurred without the knowledge and/or consent of Tejon Ranch's senior officers."
Tejon Ranch has temporarily suspended its hunting operations with the cooperation of state and federal wildlife authorities. The suspension will remain in force until the company completes an evaluation of the operations.
The company plans to build several urban centers, including more than 26,000 homes as well as hotels, condominiums and golf courses, at the western and southwestern edge of the ranch. A coalition of environmental groups agreed not to oppose the development under terms of a plan to conserve 90% of the untrammeled tableau of oak forests and ridgelines considered crucial to the endangered California condor.
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Dogs Saved from Slaughter
A Chinese blogger's call to action has saved the lives of more than 1,100 dogs that were destined for dinner plates.
By Hilary Pollack
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A vigilante blogger in China saved the lives of thousands of dogs by posting an online plea to have them saved, according to China Daily.
After spotting more than 1,100 dogs tightly packed into stacked crates on a flatbed truck, a blogger with the Chongqing Small Animal Protection Association posted a call to action online to intercept the animals and save them from their fate at a butchery.
Other similar stories have taken place in China this past year, as in April 2011, a truck was blockaded by activists who negotiated the release of hundreds of dogs, and last September, residents of Qianxi protested and successfully cancelled an ancient dog-slaughtering ritual for the first time in 600 years.
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Dogs Saved from Slaughter
A Chinese blogger's call to... more
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California animal-slaughter law struck down; activists pin hopes on federal bill
The Supreme Court rejects the 2008 California law against slaughtering animals if they cannot walk on their own. Animal activists push for a federal law instead.
CLICK ON PICTURE:
A 2008 video that showed workers at a California slaughterhouse dragging sick cows prompted stricter federal regulations that involve cattle but not pigs. Above, hogs in Auxvasse, Mo. (Jeff Roberson, Associated Press / April 30, 2009)
By David G. Savage and Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times
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January 24, 2012
Reporting from Washington and Los Angeles—
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Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a California law against slaughtering pigs and other animals unable to walk, activists are pressing forward with efforts to get a tough federal measure passed.
The 2008 state law had made it illegal for slaughterhouses in California to "receive a non-ambulatory animal." Any animal that could not stand on its own was to be returned to the farm or "humanely euthanized."
But the court's 9-0 decision Monday held that since Congress had already adopted its Federal Meat Inspection Act, California was not free to enforce differing rules or standards. Justice Elena Kagan wrote that "the California law runs smack into" the federal regulations.
The state measure was adopted shortly after an undercover video in 2008 showed workers at a California slaughterhouse dragging sick and disabled cows. It led the federal government to institute the largest beef recall in U.S. history and prompted stricter federal regulations involving cattle. But the federal laws did not include pigs.
Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, which sponsored the state bill, said the group's hope rested on a federal bill, HR 3704. The measure was introduced in Congress in mid-December and is being considered by the House Agriculture Committee.
"This ruling places the matter squarely in the Congress and USDA to take meaningful action to protect animals unable to walk, and prevent the food safety threats that arise from these animals," Pacelle said. "But it's a very tall hill to climb because of the power of the meat industry in D.C."
The National Meat Assn., which represents pork producers, cheered the court decision.
"We need to have one law for the nation," spokesman Jeremy Russell said. "In California, companies would have had to find some way to exclude animals who were going to become fatigued. It was sort of an impossible situation."
Lesa Carlton of the California Pork Producers Assn. said if the law had stuck, it would have placed California pork producers at a severe disadvantage. She said that the state ranks about 29th in pork production and that any additional burden would have compromised its ability to compete in the market.
The Supreme Court's attention Monday was primarily on pigs, but the ruling also allows the slaughter of sheep, goats and veal calves that cannot walk.
The California attorney general's office said it had no comment on the ruling.
.Los Angeles Times...
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California animal-slaughter law struck down; activists... more
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