tagged w/ Animal Welfare
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I love Burger King's food, and now I can eat it with less guilt. They have set an example for all food producers in this country, and they should be applauded.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/burger-king-makes-cage-free-eggs-pork-promise-231049720--finance.html
"On Wednesday, the world's second-biggest burger chain pledged that all of its eggs and pork will come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017, hoping to satisfy rising consumer demand for humanely produced fare and increase its sales in the process."I love Burger King's food, and now I can eat it with less guilt. They have set... more
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everal weeks ago, a California egg producer abandoned his farm—and an estimated 50,000 hens—leaving a horrifying mess for animal rescuers who came in to save the survivors. The LA Times reports that authorities said 47,000 of the chickens died, and that the survivors had not been fed in more than two weeks.
Authorities only discovered the hens because a citizen complained about the growing stench. The Modesto Bee reports that the local animal services agency "plans to seek prosecution of Andy Keung Cheung, owner of A&L Poultry, where the hens were found."
The LA Times quotes a woman from one of the sanctuaries that participated in the rescue:
"My heart is in my throat," said Anne Martin, with Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary...
"These are the sicker birds from the group ... most are able to stand on their feet ... they are interested in food, they are drinking but they are not as lively as the other birds, not as enthusiastic," Martin told Fox 40.
The Humane Society of the United States describes more of the scene:
For two days, volunteers from across California answered the calls from Animal Place, Harvest Home Animal Sanctuary, and Farm Sanctuary. Volunteers raced against the clock to load the emaciated birds into hundreds of animal carriers, makeshift crates, and cardboard boxes, hoisting them onto trailers and truck beds, bound for better lives at sanctuaries.
These kinds of stories aren't rare, whether it's an isolated incident or ongoing cruelty exposed, so it's easy to tire of reading about them. But their prevalence is indicative of the larger systemic problem.
HSUS explains:
It used to be standard procedure on huge egg farms to starve hens periodically to force them into another laying cycle. Burger King, McDonald's, Safeway, and others demanded an end to this starvation-induced "forced molting," and the practice was ended by most—though not all—egg producers in the United States.
Many agricultural techniques may be standard today and unforgiveable tomorrow, like gestation crates. Rather than reassuring itself that today's procedures are the best, animal agribusiness should make improvements in animal welfare now, or face the judgment of history.
These tens of thousands of hens had been trapped inside tiny cages with no food or water, and while the sanctuaries will give or find new homes for the couple thousand that were rescued, HSUS says chickens on other farms aren't so lucky. Things could be improving slightly with new legislation, but the larger problem remains. If our consumption patterns demand it, these practices will continue.everal weeks ago, a California egg producer abandoned his farm—and an estimated... more
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The CareerBuilder ad that uses live chimpanzees is a sad testament to corporate insentience about our sentient cousins. “No chimps were beaten during the taping of our ad,” their PR spokespeople protest. Well, of course not. That happens earlier. But while CareerBuilder deliberately thumbs its nose at people who are concerned about the welfare of these chimps, and about the implications for chimpanzee conservation, responsible companies are listening to ape welfare advocates. Pfizer created an innovative ad campaign for Robitussin, using a computer generated image of an orangutan. Which company is smart and forward looking, and which one is mired in the ignorant yuck-yucks of the last century?
Please sign my petition, asking CareerBuilder to stop using live chimps in the Super Bowl ad. They need to look forward, and respect the views of their potential customers. If they try real hard, maybe someday they could even be as innovative as Pfizer. Go to http://www.change.org/petitions/careerbuilder-stop-using-chimpanzees-in-super-bowl-ads.The CareerBuilder ad that uses live chimpanzees is a sad testament to corporate... more
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Three years ago, Austin Pets Alive! set a goal of making Austin a no-kill city and we never once doubted that, of all cities, Austin would be able to do it. Yesterday, TLAC announced that in the month of February their Live Outcome rate was 92%. The No-Kill goal is 90% so not only did Austin reach No-Kill, we passed it! We have been so impressed by the efforts of TLAC staff to increase adoptions, improve their capabilities, and decrease intake since the no-kill ordinance was passed. This achievement is a sign that a no-kill city IS possible, but we must remain persistent to ensure that it remains no matter the month or year.
One month of No-Kill doesn’t mean we’ve finished the race but we’re sure glad to see a no-kill shelter director, Abigail Smith, come to TLAC to continue working on making sure that Austin STAYS No-Kill.
We’re also proud to have been such a major part of this incredible achievement. APA! received the breakdown of transfer to rescues today and we transferred 149 pets into our program from TLAC. 102 were transferred to all other rescues combined. Our hard work and innovative approach to adoption is clearly making a huge difference in the lives of Austin’s homeless pets!
Congratulations are owed to everyone. Every volunteer, foster, donor, every other rescue group and anyone who simply supported the No-Kill goal. All of you made this happen!
http://www.austinpetsalive.org/2011/03/austin-goes-no-kill/Three years ago, Austin Pets Alive! set a goal of making Austin a no-kill city and we... more
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There is, unfortunately, no shortage of homeless pets in the U.S. By now, we know the importance of supporting shelters and rescue groups whose efforts are critical in providing the care, attention and second chances these animals desperately need as they wait to find forever homes.
Thankfully there are also many shelter workers and rescuers who are in the trenches dedicating their time and resources to save animals and educate people about the importance of adoption and spaying and neutering.
Now, you can do more to help animals in your community by voting for your favorite shelter in America’s Favorite Animal Shelter Contest to help them win up to $15,000. The second place charity will receive $7,000 and third place will receive $3,000.
http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/There is, unfortunately, no shortage of homeless pets in the U.S. By now, we know the... more
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When shoppers in a Frankfurt shopping center walked up to a curious vending machine called the "Egg Machine," most thought they would be walking away with candy eggs. Instead they came face-to-face with a vending machine filled with live chickens.
The machine was the brainchild of NOAH, an animal rights organization and an advertising agency called Publicis Frankfurt.
The purpose of the clever scheme was to make the public aware of the inhumane living conditions of battery-caged hens.
When people interacted with the machine, a coin popped out that explained four farming systems and the different ways egg laying hens are treated. The coins were numbered 0-3 and addressed the importance of humane farming methods.
The coins marked 0 (Organic) and 1 (free range) were suggested as the preferred eggs. Tokens numbered 2 (bottom position) and 3 (cage) referred to eggs that came from factory farms where hens are confined in wire battery-cages that are stacked on top of each other inside huge warehouses. In the U.S. those hens are allowed only 4 inches of space between birds. They cannot stretch their wings or legs and never see daylight their entire lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8NmjSh19wU&feature=player_embeddedWhen shoppers in a Frankfurt shopping center walked up to a curious vending machine... more
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The Boulder County District Attorney's Office announced today that it will launch an investigation into the fatal shooting of a family dog by a police officer.
The shooting occured on Tuesday, May 10th, in Erie, Colorado, a small town located approximately 30 miles north of Denver.
On Tuesday evening, Officer Jamie Chester responded to a harassment call at an Erie home. Upon leaving the patrol car, the officer encountered Ava, a German shepherd, in the home's driveway.
The dog's owner said the officer was backing away from the dog when he suddenly pulled out his gun and fired.
"He was starting to back away and he just pulled his gun and shot her without a warning or anything," Brittany Landis, Ava's owner, told KDVR. "He just pulled out his gun and shot her." Witnesses say the dog was not being aggressive toward the officer.
So far, the police department has defended Officer Chester's actions. They claim that Chester felt threatened by Ava because she had followed him up the driveway of another residence.
Erie Police Lt. Lee Mathis told KDVR, "the officer felt threatened by the dog and felt that the dog might attack him."
Erie's Chief of Police says that they take the incident very seriously, and they believe the District Attorney's office will conduct a thorough investigation.
http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-boulder-da-investigating-fatal-dog-shooting-20110513,0,6693889.storyThe Boulder County District Attorney's Office announced today that it will launch... more
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The identities of all 80 members of the American commando team who thundered into Abbottabad, Pakistan, and ALLEGEDLY killed Osama bin Laden are the subject of intense speculation, but perhaps none more so than the only member with four legs.
Little is known about what may be the nation’s most courageous dog. Even its breed is the subject of great interest, although it was most likely a German shepherd or a Belgian Malinois, military sources say. But its use in the raid reflects the military’s growing dependence on dogs in wars in which improvised explosive devices have caused two-thirds of all casualties. Dogs have proved far better than people or machines at quickly finding bombs.
Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of United States forces in Afghanistan, said last year that the military needed more dogs. “The capability they bring to the fight cannot be replicated by man or machine,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/science/05dog.html?_r=2&hpThe identities of all 80 members of the American commando team who thundered into... more
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In the forests of Italy's Abruzzo National Park live one of the rarest creatures on Earth: the Marsican brown bear. For the last several decades the species has been on the brink of extinction -- with current estimates putting their population at less than 50 individuals, down from over 100 in the early 1980s. Recently, a program funded by the EU set out to help preserve the threatened animals, though a sad event today suggests that it may not be enough.
Sadly, threats facing the marsican bears are far more numerous than the bears themselves -- from poison intended for other animal and illegal hunting to human development and vehicle strikes. Most, if not all, remaining individuals -- members of a subspecies of European brown bear -- are thought to be living under protection in Abruzzo National Park, but that fact alone hasn't managed to curb their decline.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2011/0503/Italy-s-largest-animal-is-on-the-brink-of-extinctionIn the forests of Italy's Abruzzo National Park live one of the rarest creatures... more
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On the heels of recently proposed legislation in Florida and Iowa that would make the filming or photographing of factory farm operations a crime, comes an undercover video made by Mercy for Animals (MFA) at a Texas cattle ranch.
The video is so graphic and disturbing you must be forewarned; it will take courage to watch it. The sudden, loud sound of a pickaxe slamming down on the head of a young calf in the opening moments of the film is appalling.
http://youtu.be/6366t4ramD8On the heels of recently proposed legislation in Florida and Iowa that would make the... more
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The Minnesota woman accused of killing her chihuahua puppy after he urinated on her leg denied in a preliminary hearing that she murdered the puppy, and claims that she has been a member of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) for over a decade.
According to the Fridley Patch, Holly Boyd stated that she did not kill the puppy, despite telling the police after the incident that she threw him against a piece of furniture.
The ASPCA has said that they have no record of Boyd being a current or former member
http://fridley.patch.com/articles/protest-group-packs-courtroom-for-fridley-womans-hearing-on-animal-cruelty-charge#photo-5743290The Minnesota woman accused of killing her chihuahua puppy after he urinated on her... more
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Lawmakers in Iran have proposed a bill that would ban people from keeping dogs as pets. The measure would criminalize dog ownership, assess fines and confiscate animals.
The proposed bill is latest tactic by the Iranian government to crack down on the popularity of Western culture creeping into their country, but if passed it will endanger the lives of thousands of dogs.
This isn't the first time Iran has tried to make it a criminal act to own a dog. During the past decade police have periodically seized dogs from their owners -- right off the street.
Traditionally dogs have not been kept as pets because civil and religious custom consider dogs to be najes, or unclean animals.
But as Western values have become more acceptable to wealthy Iranians and city dwellers -- dog ownership has become commonplace. Thousands of dogs, especially small lap dogs live throughout Tehran.
However, the Iranian Parliament now wants to put an end to any tolerance of Western values and they want to begin the new era by making an example out of dogs.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/21/the-latest-enemies-of-iran-dogs-and-their-owners/Lawmakers in Iran have proposed a bill that would ban people from keeping dogs as... more
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A Newark woman accused of tying up a 1-year-old pit bull and then leaving New Jersey pleaded not guilty today to animal cruelty charges.
Public defender Regina Lynch entered the plea on behalf of Kisha Curtis, 27, who is in the Essex County Jail, during Curtis’ first appearance via video conference today in Superior Court in Newark.
Curtis faces two counts of tormenting and torturing a living creature by failing to provide sustenance and two counts of abandonment, said Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Cheryl Cucinello.
After the hearing, Tammie Curtis said her daughter left the dog, whose rescuers named him Patrick, tethered at the Garden Spires apartments in Newark and went to Albany, N.Y.
“Anybody would take that dog,” the mother said. “If she tied the dog, she didn’t leave the dog to die.”
Patrick was tied to a stairway railing with a leather leash, Mark Ortman, a security guard at the 520-unit complex, said today in a phone interview. He said residents started complaining about the dog about a month and a half ago.
“It would whimper, and it would yelp when you would come up to it,” Ortman said.
Judge Amilkar Velez-Lopez kept Curtis’ bail at $10,000 bond or $1,000 cash and forbid her to have contact with pets.
If convicted, Curtis faces 18 months in prison, a $3,000 fine and community service.
More at the link...
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/03/newark_woman_pleads_not_guilty_3.html#cmpid=v2mode_be_smoref_faceA Newark woman accused of tying up a 1-year-old pit bull and then leaving New Jersey... more
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KSirys
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added this
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1 year ago
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Dan Imhoff: From the cream in our Monday morning coffee to the roast chicken at Sunday night dinner, we accrue an incalculable debt to food animals. We depend on them for nourishment. We gather festively around the cooking of a turkey or ham during holidays. Yet many people do not realize that most of the animals that grace our tables are the victims of harsh suffering long before slaughter.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-imhoff/honoring-food-animals-cafos_b_826016.html#243731Dan Imhoff: From the cream in our Monday morning coffee to the roast chicken at Sunday... more
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Shoppers at Whole Foods Markets will now have a better source of information about where their meat comes from and how it was treated. The rating program holds farmers and producers to a set of protocols.Shoppers at Whole Foods Markets will now have a better source of information about... more
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"After our founding in 2008, we took on the challenge of revising and expanding Whole Foods Market’s draft standards. Global Animal Partnership’s leadership came to realize that a multi-tiered standards program would be able to engage a broad spectrum of producers, expand markets for farmers committed to providing higher welfare for animals, and more effectively advance our singular aim of promoting continuous improvement in animal agriculture."After our founding in 2008, we took on the challenge of revising and expanding... more
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This group, Animal Welfare News & Animal Welfare Videos, misuses the term "Animal Welfare" by commandeering the term to promote an underlying agenda. Working towards the cessation of eating, keeping, using and raising animals for any purpose is Animal RIghts, not Animal Welfare. This group would more truthfully be called "Animal Rights News & Animal Rights Videos". I joined because I'm an animal welfare activist and not a vegan.
What's the difference? Animal Welfare advocates wish to free the billions of chickens, hogs and cows from the terrible conditions of industrial agriculture - where they're crowded together in horrific conditions and dosed with antibiotics to keep them alive, all in the pursuit of engineered efficiency and lower unit cost of production.
Animal Welfare means that people want to return to family farms where animals live a life, however short, where they have shelter, companionship, and the ability to engage in natural behaviors where chickens live outside pecking at bugs and pigs rooting in the woods, and dairy cows munching on pasture with their buddies. Yes, their lives end at human hands, but while they're alive they have a vastly different existence than in industrial factories that make up 90+ percent of America's meat production industry. Animal Welfare overlaps Animal Rights when animals are treated cruelly in zoos, circuses, and in the wild. We share common areas of concern and have much to help each other to rid the world of so much cruelty. But our paths diverge when it comes to animals for food.
Animal Welfare means working to relieve suffering now, rather than Animal Rights, which advocates waiting until every last person on the earth changes what they eat and all livestock cease to exist. I truly wonder which path animals would choose, if they could?This group, Animal Welfare News & Animal Welfare Videos, misuses the term... more
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Environment Films is an independent production company, based in London, specialising in sophisticated films and documentaries. Creating films for many charities, NGOs and Green Company’s. They are offering a great service to those who usually can't afford it.
www.environmentfilms.org
Have a look at "The Performance". Environmental Films & Animals Asia Foundation spent months documenting the use of animals in entertainment across China and as a result had a bank of distressing footage. Over 10 hours had to be pulled into 10 minutes. The script is read by Terry Waite CBE. Music donated by Moby.
http://www.environmentfilms.org/EF/Animals_Asia_The_Performance.htmlEnvironment Films is an independent production company, based in London, specialising... more
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