My animal rights news comes via peta and Farm Sanctuary for the most part. I also get updates from Project R & R that is focused on ending the use of chimpanzees for medical research. This week Wandering Coyote has brought my attention to the cruel act to a pitbull in Trail. You can follow the link here and read the story and WC's comments on it.

All I have to say (and as I've said in the comments on WC's blog) is that I am sickened by this and am appalled knowing that so far someone has gotten away with this crime.

What can we do to teach others to be compassionate to all living creatures? How can kids learn to treat animals with respect? Everywhere in our culture animals are portrayed as being there to serve us (as food) and entertain us. This is where I see problems:

• Puppies and kittens as gifts for kids like any other gift under the tree, presented with a bow. You should not be able to "buy" animals from pet stores. This suggests that animals are merely another product consumed.
  
• The high price of a pure-bred animal. What chance does an animal in a shelter have if people are encouraged to buy designer animals? Breeding also suggests that there are some animals that are better than others. This just isn't so.
  
• Petting zoos. I've heard too many horror stories about the actual living conditions of these animals that are expected to be there for our entertainment. Do kids learn anything here? No. It's merely entertainment.
  
• The circus. Do I even need to say what's wrong with animals being trained for the circus ring? How do the animals learn such tricks? Well, the preferred method of training is using whips and electric prods to force the animals to perform.
  
• Chimps in film and t.v. It's not funny. It's not even close to funny when you think of the abuse a chimp goes through to be trained to do such tricks. Then once they get too old and are no longer "cute" they can end up living the rest of their lives in a cage (that can be another 40 years or so), in a roadside zoos or in a lab.
  
• And yes I do have a problem with the blind acceptance that we are to grow up eating meat as if this is normal.

I was a teenager before I learned about battery cages that hens are kept in and I haven't eaten chicken since. I remember feeling naive and I was also angry that such things were going on and no one had told me (no parent, no teacher, no t.v. show). It was extremely difficult for me to find any information on how animals were being raised for our consumption (this was very pre-internet and I lived in rural New Brunswick).

I know I've digressed a little, but I guess where I'm going with this is me trying to figure out what i can do. When I discovered about the lives of animals in the meat industry becoming veg was a form of activism for me. What can I do when I hear a story like the one about the pitbull? I can be angry and upset, but what bothers me the most is that I feel helpless in preventing such acts.

When is it deemed animal cruelty?

Of course I'm glad about this story. The BCSPCA (British Columbia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty towards Animals) raided two places in Surrey that were keeping roosters for the sole purpose of cockfighting. On one location they found several cock pits that is proof that this illegal and inhumane activity was actually happening. The birds were tethered to confine their movement and many had injuries incurred from fights.

Unfortunately all of the birds had to be killed after their rescue because of an outdated animal cruelty law that does not permit the birds to be kept alive. The BCSPCA was quite upset at having to euthanize the birds. The animal cruelty laws seriously need to be updated.

Now what is really bothering me is that through all this media coverage not once does anyone mention the appalling conditions that egg laying hens live through when living in battery cages that are so small they can't even fully stand up or spread their wings. This is their whole life. Suffering is suffering is it not? So why do battery cages still exist?

Taser Study

Well a new study has just been released on tasers that raises more questions about their use. The testing was done on pigs. This is so horrific to imagine the terror and screaming of those animals as they were tasered with forty second shots! Not surprising all of the pigs' hearts were affected. Also not surprising was that some also died.
Now "experts" are saying that "human studies are much more relevant." Really? So why were animals tortured? I don't know. What are we left with? More questions and the suffering of more animals until someone is satisfied that tasers can kill. Now wait a minute...isn't that what happened at the Vancouver Airport?

Fifth Estate draws attention to the Chimpanzee Plight

The Fifth Estate on CBC broadcast Cruel Camera tonight that revisited it's program that was originally aired 25 years ago that showed what really went on in those "nature" shows (Mutual of Omaha, Disney) that depicts animals in their so called natural environments. What was revealed was that animals were intentionally placed in order to create drama and string a narrative together. While the filmmakers got the shot they wanted, it was the animals that paid the price with cruel treatment all for our entertainment.

Twenty-five years later the Fifth Estate takes another look, focusing on perhaps the most used animal in the entertainment industry, the Chimpanzee. I am so glad the Fifth Estate aired this program. It is important for everyone to know that whenever you see a Chimpanzee in the entertainment industry whether it is a circus, a t.v. show, a movie etc you can be certain that Chimp was physically abused in some way. You can also be certain that after their two or three years in the entertainment industry they will mostly likely end up in a cage or, as in the case in the United States, in a lab (the Fifth Estate didn't really touch on this area at all, keeping its focus on the entertainment side of the cruelty).

As you know I am a Fauna Foundation support and have raised money for that Chimp Sanctuary through my running. So while the information wasn't new to me it was still shocking and horrific to watch and hear about the abuse and suffering of these incredible animals that we are supposed to be sharing the planet with. I'm not sure why the Fifth Estate did not show the Fauna Foundation along with the U.S. Sanctuaries since Fauna is right here in Canada? I thought they would at least link it on their website, but when I checked the site Fauna wasn't linked their either. I guess I'll have to email them.

I urge you to click on my Chimp links on my sidebar to find out more.

Kentucky Fried Cruelty

Nothing makes me angrier than this horrific fast food nightmare. Okay, anytime animals suffer for human greed makes me angry. Okay, anytime animals suffer makes me angry. Anywho...I've always hated "dirty bird" as we call it and when one was planning to open up, coupled with Taco Hell, next to my supermarket I was livid. It happened. Taco Hell and Kentucky Fried Cruelty opened. That whole area stinks now like death. I'm always astounded when I hear people say "that smells so good." Huh? I guess I've been so far removed from the fast food scene that all I smell is burning fat and oil and all I think about is tortured animals.

Yesterday's Sun made me very happy when I saw this story. PETA is launching a tv add in Vancouver to boycott KFC in Canada. Woohoo! I tried showing the article to someone at work and she said "I can't read that I don't want to know." There's the problem right there. People have an idea that something awful is going on but refuse to look and see what exactly is happening to animals. Just go to PETA's website or Farm Sanctuary's website to find out a little truth.